Starring: Orangey (aka Minerva)

Directed by: Lewis Seiler

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

Synopsis: Lila Crane (Cleo Moore) is a former dance club girl turned successful photographer who has everything until she risks it all on blackmail.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): In the beginning of the film Lily (later to change her name to Lila) is befriended outside of a police station by a photographer named Max West (Raymond Greenleaf). In his apartment, Lily is waiting for Max to exit his darkroom and give her the photo he took of her. A ginger tabby cat is standing on a nearby chair.

Max picks up the cat, whose name is Napoleon, as he asks Lily what she plans to do. When he finds out she has little money, he suggests she pose for some bathing suit photos for him.

Napoleon constantly nuzzles and licks Max (clearly something tasty, possibly fish oil, was placed on the actor’s neck to entice such affection).

As Lily changes, Max sits down with Napoleon and has a drink.

The next morning Max is hung over. A shot of Napoleon running across the floor is shown in slow motion to make the cat’s movements even more gentle, yet Max still cries, “Napoleon! Stop stomping!”

Lily is soon interested in becoming a photographer and Max becomes her teacher. Napoleon is on hand to pose with Max as Lily takes a photo.

In a montage scene representing the passing of time as Lily learns photography, we see Napoleon being posed for a portrait.

Oddly enough Napoleon is not seen again, even when Lily leaves. Max returns to the story in the latter half, traveling to New York to work with Lila, but he never mentions Napoleon or says what happened to his faithful feline friend.

Behind the Scenes

The cat actor playing the part of Napoleon is one of the Orangey team of cats. Ironically this is the same cat who played Minerva in the Our Miss Brooks series which co-starred Richard Crenna who also stars in this movie (although he and the cat don’t share any scenes). In fact the name Minerva came from the Our Miss Brooks‘ feline character (which existed on radio long before the television and movie incarnations) and was just one of the names used by various members of the Orangey team (or to refer to the entire team itself). This particular Orangey’s slightly turned right ear has become a tell-tale identifier for us.

A November 1955 article by Harold Hefferman about Frank Inn confirms this identification:

     One of Inn’s cats just completed an important part in Columbia’s “Over-Exposed,” which stars Cleo Moore. It’s name is Minerva, and Minerva is actor Raymond Greenleaf’s pet in the shabby portrait studio where Cleo becomes his assistant in the early part of the film.
     Minerva, probably the highest paid cat in the world, first achieved stardom in the movie “Rhubarb,” playing the title role. Like all successful Hollywood actors, Minerva has been in constant demand ever since, appearing on numerous TV shows and in many other motion pictures. Her background includes a stay in the Los Angeles pound. That’s where Inn found her — on the eve of her scheduled destruction.
     Inn claims that the tom cat is much easier to handle than the female. Minerva, actually, is a female impersonator.

Final Mewsings: Cat actors have often been gender-fluid.

Many thanks to Brian H. for letting us know about the cat in this film!

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