by Linda Kay
Directed by: Michael Powell
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: The residents of a lonely Scottish island find their way of life slowly coming to an end, yet some hold out hope that they can remain in their homeland.
Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): The elderly Jean (Kitty Kirwan), grandmother of the Manson family, sits in her chair outside their home instead of making the long trek to church. As she sits in the sun, a tabby and white cat rests on her lap.
The Catechist’s (Grant Sutherland) sermon goes on a very long time and the woman falls asleep. The cat finally jumps down from her lap.
Kitty Cameos: A shot of two cats, the tabby and white we saw previously and a black cat, eating outside a home is inserted between two scenes.
When the island’s resources can no longer sustain the residents’ way of life they are forced to move, gathering their belongings to board a boat. A little girl is placing kittens into a basket which she presumably carries to the vessel.
James Gray (Finlay Currie) discusses the fate of the cats and dogs with the Catechist. The horrifying decision is to leave the cats to fend for themselves. Even worse, it’s decided that the loyal sheepdogs, who are deemed of no further use, should be drowned.
Final Mewsings: Even a cat doesn’t think a dog deserves such a heartless fate!
Many thanks to Ted Davis and Mark Murton for letting us know about the cats in this film.
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