Universal International Pictures (UI)
Starring: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall
Directed by: Michael Gordon

Cat Out of the Bag Alert!  This review contains a spoiler for the end of this movie!

Synopsis: Jan Morrow (Doris Day) is a successful interior designer living alone in New York City.  She loves her life, all except for the annoying playboy named Brad Allen (Rock Hudson) who ties up their shared party line with his constant phone calls to countless girls.

Kitty Cameo: At the end of the film, Brad is carrying an electric blanket-clad Jan down the streets of New York from her apartment to his.  The cord from the blanket is dragging on the ground and as they approach his building we see an orange tabby cat chasing after the tempting cord.

According to one press release, this scene was completely unexpected and unplanned:

Big Scene Not Cast
      Director Michael Gordon was shooting a scene on Universal studio’s four-block-long New York street in which Hudson was carrying Miss Day, clad only in pajamas and wrapped in an electric blanket.  Doris was furious — the script said she had to be — at being transported along a busy public street.  She kept kicking and beating Rock with her fists in an attempt to get loose.  But Rock was being very determined, and Doris’ actions weren’t getting her anywhere.  However, she did kick loose the electric cord on the blanket so that it dragged behind them on the sidewalk.
      That undoubtedly was the luckiest kick Miss Day has made in many a moon.  Suddenly, from out of nowhere — probably a partially open door — sprang a big yellow cat.
      For fully half a block the cat scampered after the electric cord, leaping on it and batting it with its paw until Rock, with Doris still battling him, turned into the entrance of an apartment building.
      Only then did Gordon take a deep breath and shout, “Cut.”  At which the entire crew let out a big cheer — bringing Doris and Rock popping out of the doorway, both with puzzled looks on their faces.  They knew it had been a long scene, but they couldn’t figure out what the shouting was about.
      “That was one of the greatest scenes ever,” Director Gordon exclaimed.  “Wait until you see it in the ‘rushes.’  That cat was just terrific!”
      “What cat?” asked the two stars in unison.

While this makes for a great story, one has to question the legitimacy of the claim that the cat just happened to wander onto the studio lot and into the scene.  It also doesn’t explain how the cat appears in the next scene where he follows them all the way upstairs to the apartment, which Jan has redecorated in a tacky fashion for revenge.  The cat runs in the door and then stops and hisses at the sight of a particularly hideous statue before turning tail and running away.

It is not plausible that a stray cat just happened to be on hand for both of these scenes and was able to pull off a hiss take without any planning.  While it’s possible that the first scene on the street could have been an accident, the second scene had to have been staged.  Whether or not they hired a cat actor for the follow-up joke after accidentally capturing the first cat chasing the cord down the street or if the “happy accident” was just a fanciful whim of the press department we can’t say for sure.  What we do know is however it came about the cat at the end of this film is a great addition to a fun movie.

Final Mewsings: Cats don’t have to be finicky to know bad taste when they see it!

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