British International Pictures
Starring: Herbert Marshall, Norah Baring
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Synopsis: This early Hitchcock crime thriller begins with the murder of a young actress, supposedly at the hands of a fellow young actress (Norah Baring) with whom she was known to quarrel and who is found sitting next to the body with a bloody poker at her feet and blood on her dress.  When she is brought to trial, she insists she doesn’t remember anything about what happened.  There is some disagreement amongst the jury members as to her guilt, but in the end the jury agrees to vote for her conviction and, inevitably, her execution.  But one man, a well-known thespian named Sir John Menier (Herbert Marshall), still doubts his decision and sets out to try to prove the girl’s innocence.

Purr Blur: At the beginning of the film we see a British neighborhood and then hear a blood-curdling scream, which scares some birds to take flight from the eaves of one house.  We next see a cat as it scurries along a wall away from the scene.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): At one point Sir John stays in one of the boarding houses frequented by the actors at the local theater.  He is awoken in the morning by the landlady who not only carries with her a screaming baby but is also followed by her many children.  A boy and girl stand at the edge of Sir John’s bed and the little girl hands him a black kitten, which promptly gets lost amongst his bedding.  The adorable kitten can be seen throughout the rest of the scene in the boy’s arms, clearly upstaging the little girl as she climbs into bed with Sir John and hugs him around the neck.

Final Mewsings: There’s no better way to be woken up than with a kitten.

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