Original Air Date: March 12, 1960

Directed by: David Butler

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this episode!

Synopsis: Having seen a movie about a mad hypnotist, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) decides to try it out himself and Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond) is all too willing to be his subject.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): After trying to coax his mother (Barbara Billingsley) and Wally (Tony Dow) into letting him try his hypnotism on them and being soundly rejected, Beaver sits on a bench outside the house with a ginger tabby cat.

Swinging his “omelette” (his malapropism for amulet), a washer tied to a piece of string, in front of the cat, Beaver invokes lines from the film. “Go to sleep, my darling. You are in my power.”

The cat pays no attention to the washer, not even to play with it. Beaver directs the cat’s face toward his, complaining, “Pay attention, will you cat? I’m not playing with you. I’m hypnotizing you!” The cat jumps off the bench just before Eddie arrives.

After walking into the house, Eddie tells Ward (Hugh Beaumont) that his younger son is outside annoying the cat from across the street. Ward steps outside the front door and scolds, “Beaver, will you leave that cat alone?” “Yes, sir,” Beaver sighs.

Final Mewsings: Cats know that only they have the power to hypnotize people, not the other way around!

Many thanks to Laurie Morrison for letting us know about the cat in this episode.

Relevant Links:

To discuss this show and other cats in movies and on television, join us on Facebook and Twitter.