The Crawling Hand (1963)

Directed by: Herbert L. Strock

This review contains a Kitty Carnage Warning!

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

Synopsis: The murderous disembodied arm of an infected astronaut is discovered by a teenager named Paul (Rod Lauren) who also becomes imbued with the urge to kill.

Kitty Cameo: Paul lives with a woman named Mrs. Hotchkiss (Arline Judge) who is startled when she hears the sound of breaking jars in the kitchen (Paul brought home the arm and it has gotten loose). She gets her gun and investigates, only to find her gray and white cat Jackson on the counter.

The Crawling Hand - Mrs. Hotchkiss Arline Judge scolding grey and white cat Jackson on counter

Mrs. Hotchkiss scolds Jackson and pushes him off the counter, but for some reason she blames the broken jars on Paul. Some very loud cat meows are dubbed into the scene, supposedly to remind us that the cat is there (either that or the cat actor didn’t like being pushed off the counter!) As she is cleaning up the broken jars, Jackson sniffs at the glove the disembodied hand was previously wearing.

The Crawling Hand - Mrs. Hotchkiss Arline Judge with grey and white cat Jackson on floor

The Crawling Hand - grey and white cat Jackson sniffing at glove on floor

After the crawling hand manages to kill Mrs. Hotchkiss, Sheriff Townsend (Alan Hale, Jr.) arrives and immediately suspects Paul. Jackson is drinking milk from a bowl on the counter at the beginning and end of the scene.

The Crawling Hand - grey and white cat Jackson drinking milk from bowl on counter

The Crawling Hand - shorthair gray and white cat Jackson drinking milk from bowl on counter animated gif

Kitty Carnage Warning! Near the end of the film, Paul has taken the arm to get rid of it, only it attacks him and he drives into a scrap yard. Paul fights with the arm and manages to stab it with a broken bottle several times. Two cats, a gray and white cat and a tabby, are fighting nearby. In some shots, the gray and white cat could very possibly be the same cat actor who played Jackson earlier in the film (albeit with some dirt rubbed on the fur).

The Crawling Hand - grey and white cat fighting with shorthair tabby cat in scrap yard

The Crawling Hand - shorthair tabby cat in scrap yard

The Crawling Hand - grey and white cat in scrap yard

The Crawling Hand - tabby and gray and white cats fighting in scrap yard animated gif

The cats find the bleeding arm and start eating it and fighting over it. Now a longhair gray and white cat is in on the action, as well as a longhair tabby. Some overly intense cat screeches are added to the soundtrack.