The Moon-Spinners (1964)

Directed by: James Neilson

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

Synopsis: Teenager Nikky Ferris (Hayley Mills) is on a working vacation with her aunt (Joan Greenwood) on Crete when they meet a mysterious young man named Mark (Peter McEnery) who inadvertently draws Nikky into mystery and danger.

Cat Cattle Call: In one scene Nikky is running away with Mark to help him on his mission. They enter the ruins of a temple built into a cave and immediately hear a screeching sound. Nikky is startled but Mark assures her it is only cats. He explains that cats are bad luck on Crete. As they enter the temple we see several shots of very angry looking cats.

The Moon-Spinners - tabby cats and tuxedo cat on cave shelves

The Moon-Spinners - long-haired black cat hissing

The Moon-Spinners - angry looking orange tabby

The Moon-Spinners - orange tabby cat hissing close

The Moon-Spinners - orange tabby cat hissing

Cat Attack! Later Stratos (Eli Wallach), the man who is after Mark, shows up at the temple. He hears the cats inside and is nervous. He is about to leave when Nikky drops a rifle and Stratos hears the sound. He returns and starts to search for the young people. A cat suddenly flies out in front of Stratos and several cats hissing and yowling are seen.

The Moon-Spinners - long-haired black cat screeching

The Moon-Spinners - angry looking tuxedo cat

Stratos still attempts to go farther into the cave but the cats attack him from all sides.

The Moon-Spinners - Stratos Eli Wallach being attacked by numerous cats in cave temple animated gif

Stratos then runs from the temple with several cats on the steps around him. He even jumps over one cat to escape.

The Moon-Spinners - Stratos Eli Wallach running from cave temple amongst cats

The Moon-Spinners - Stratos Eli Wallach jumping over cat on steps to escape from cave temple

The latter part of the film features a flamboyant character played by former silent film actress Pola Negri. In one interview given by Negri published in the Journal and Courier (Lafayette, Indiana) on November 26, 1966, she explains how she was influential in the casting on her pet cheetah. Originally the script called for her to have a pet Siamese cat. “I suggested that we use a cheetah instead – and Walt loved the idea. You know, I always had a cheetah around the house in the old days.” One wonders if Syn Cat would have been originally cast in the role if not for this change!