Love Nest (1951)

Love Nest poster

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Starring: June Haver, William Lundigan
Directed by: Joseph Newman

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

Synopsis: Jim Scott (William Lundigan) comes home from military service to find his wife Connie (June Haver) has invested in a dilapidated New York apartment building with an interesting variety of tenants.

Featured Feline: As Connie shows Jim around their apartment (in the converted basement of the building) they enter the bedroom. Jim sits on the bed which is covered with newspapers. There is a cry and a long-haired tabby cat jumps out from beneath the papers.

Love Nest - long haired tabby cat Suds jumps out from newspapers on bed

Connie explains the cat’s name is Suds and she believes the cat is a she.

Love Nest - long haired tabby cat Suds jumps off bed animated gif

Moments later some fire trucks roll by, causing the building to shake. A plate on a shelf falls down (or is pulled down by a string) onto Suds the cat, who goes running.

Love Nest - plate flies off shelf and lands on long haired tabby cat Suds animated gif

Suds next appears outside the door of the basement apartment, looking to get inside. We hear Charles Patterson (Frank Fay) as he calls “Here Kitty!”

Love Nest - long haired tabby cat Suds outside door

Charles picks up the cat as he approaches the basement apartment.

Love Nest - long haired tabby cat Suds held by Charles Frank Fay

Connie answers the door and Charles explains that he believes their cat got outside. Connie explains that her husband threw the cat out.

Love Nest - long haired tabby cat Suds held by Charles Frank Fay with Connie June Haver

Jim doesn’t show a great deal of fondness for Suds, mostly because Suds seems to constantly be underfoot the few times they are together. This happens when Jim is helping to move a couch up a flight of stairs. Their friend Ed (Jack Paar) shows up in time to hear a loud cat cry and the sound of Jim and the couch falling down the stairs. Suds is sitting on top of the couch at the scene of the accident.

Love Nest - long haired tabby cat Suds on couch on top of Jim William Lundigan

Jim also steps on or trips over Suds in a scene in the dark. Later Jim and Connie have a fight and Jim heads out back to sleep in a hammock. He gets inside the hammock just in time for Suds to come along the fence and jump over on top of the hammock’s cover. The hammock crashes to the ground and a cat cry is heard but Suds is not seen when the hammock falls.

Love Nest - long haired tabby cat Suds jumps onto hammock animated gif