Narcotic (1933)

Directed by: Dwain Esper

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

Synopsis: This cautionary tale follows the true life story of Dr. William G. Davis and his addiction to drugs.

Kitty Cameo: The doctor became a carnival huckster to support his habit. In the sideshow, some cages and tanks holding skunks and snakes are shown. Between them is a white cat who is eating something.

Narcotic - white cat on crate eating something
Narcotic - white cat on crate eating something
Narcotic - white cat on crate

A couple of shots of the white cat eyeing the rattlesnake is shown. There really isn’t any point to the shot, but we think that Esper was trying for some kind of symbolism. When the doctor and some men are fighting, the snakes get loose and fight each other. The white cat might represent the innocent intrigued with the idea of drugs, wanting to play with them but not knowing how dangerous they really are.

Narcotic - white cat looking at rattlesnake in glass tank
Narcotic - white cat looking at rattlesnake in glass tank

Final Mewsings: Cats should just say no to rattlesnakes.

Many thanks to Nick Wale for letting us know about the cat in this film!

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