Side Street (1950)

Directed by: Anthony Mann

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

Synopsis: Letter carrier Joe Norson (Farley Granger) is an everyman struggling to make ends meet with a young wife (Cathy O’Donnell) and a baby on the way. But the temptation to steal money when it presents itself is too great and Joe quickly finds himself tangled up in a web of blackmail, gangsters and police hunts.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): When Joe is delivering mail in the building of the lawyer he will eventually steal from he first stops at another door where a tabby cat approaches him. He pets the cat and moves on to the lawyer’s office.

Side Street - Joe Farley Granger petting tabby cat by door

Side Street - Joe Farley Granger petting tabby cat by door animated gif

Later in the pivotal scene when Joe steals the money, the cat follows him into the lawyer’s office and jumps onto the absent man’s desk, watching as Joe breaks into the file cabinet to steal the file folder which he believes contains just two hundred dollars.

Side Street - tabby cat sneaking in through door

Side Street - tabby cat climbing onto desk

Side Street - tabby cat standing on desk

There is a meow and the sound of glass breaking. When Joe looks up he sees the cat sniffing at some liquid in a tray containing another upright glass. It isn’t clear what the cat broke, although one would assume it was a second glass on the tray.