Spring and Port Wine (1970)

by Ted Davis and Linda Kay

Directed by: Peter Hammond

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

Synopsis: An adaptation of the stage play by Bill Naughton. The traditional values of hardworking Rafe Crompton (James Mason), the unyielding patriarch of a working class Bolton family, are tested in this slice-of-life comedy-drama when his equally stubborn and spirited daughter, toothily appealing Hilda (Susan George), refuses to submit to her father’s demand that she eat a piece of herring for supper, which initiates an ongoing clash of wills. Caught up in the domestic strife are loyal yet mollifying wife Daisy (Diana Coupland), frustrated eldest daughter Florence (Hannah Gordon), easily intimidated oldest son Harold (Rodney Bewes), plucky youngest son Wilfred (Len Jones) and even the engaging family cat.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): The family cat, a healthy satisfied looking longhair tuxedo, is a definite presence in the every day Crompton life, and is seen throughout the movie, usually with the affectionate Wilfred, with whom he has a special rapport.

Spring and Port Wine - Wilfred Len Jones holding longhair black and white cat petted by Hilda Susan George with Harold Rodney Bewes

Spring and Port Wine - Wilfred Len Jones holding longhair black and white cat

Early in the film there is a blooper when the cat is seen walking under Hilda’s chair in the background, yet materializes in Wilfred’s arms in the next shot.

Spring and Port Wine - longhair black and white cat walking beneath Hilda Susan George with Rafe James Mason and then in arms of Wilfred Len Jones animated gif

Spring and Port Wine - Wilfred Len Jones holding longhair black and white cat Florence Hannah Gordon, Arthur Keith Buckley and Harold Rodney Bewes

The cat’s most notable moment, and likely the whole reason to include a cat at all, is when Wilfred attempts to resolve the impasse between father and daughter by feeding the offending (and significantly aging) fish to the obliging moggy, who devours the remnants on the back stoop.

Spring and Port Wine - Wilfred Len Jones sneaking out back with longhair black and white cat

Spring and Port Wine - longhair black and white cat being fed old herring on back step

Spring and Port Wine - longhair black and white cat being set outside with herring by Wilfred Len Jones animated gif

When the family finds out the herring is missing, Rafe goes to investigate. His discovery of the cat eating the herring, coupled with Wilfred’s insistence that he had nothing to do with it, precipitates another Crompton family crisis.

Spring and Port Wine - longhair black and white cat discovered eating herring out back by Rafe James Mason animated gif

Spring and Port Wine - longhair black and white cat eating herring on back step

After things have calmed down, Rafe and the cat commune together near the fireplace while listening blissfully to a classical record, as Harold and Wilfred play dominoes at the table.

Spring and Port Wine - Rafe James Mason with longhair black and white cat by fireplace

Near the end of the film, the children have decided to leave home. Wilfred ambitiously contemplates exactly how to pack the cat until Harold points out he can’t take the animal with them.

Spring and Port Wine - Wilfred Len Jones holding longhair black and white cat with Harold Rodney Bewes

Spring and Port Wine - Wilfred Len Jones holding longhair black and white cat with Hilda Susan George, Florence Hannah Gordon, Arthur Keith Buckley and Harold Rodney Bewes

The cat is present in the final scenes in which the family finally comes together.

Spring and Port Wine - Wilfred Len Jones holding longhair black and white cat with Hilda Susan George, Rafe James Mason, Florence Hannah Gordon and Harold Rodney Bewes

Behind the Scenes

While the cat’s role in this film is quite pivotal, and even though the unnamed kitty’s role was somewhat expanded for the big screen, publicity about the cat actor is sorely lacking. In stage productions of the play, the cat was usually one of the most notable aspects put forth by the press, with casting calls often accompanying the productions and photos of the cats offered in newspapers. This despite the fact the cat’s stage presence usually consisted of just a couple of walks across the stage in Wilfred’s arms. In some cases where a cat actor could not be obtained even a stuffed cat sufficed to fill the role.

However the cat was featured in posters for the film as well as numerous publicity stills and even the film’s trailer.