Directed by: Eric Sykes

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

Synopsis: Two workmen find themselves a plank short from finishing a floor and set out on a quest to find one and get it back to the construction site.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): The opening credits are full of fun and clever animations and voice overs. Just when they get to the last credit for Writing and Directing by Eric Sykes, they cut away to shot of a black and white kitten with the credit “Oh! . . . And the Cat!”

Two men are working on the floor, a taller man (Tommy Cooper) and a smaller man (Eric Sykes). The smaller man is the one who is looking out for the kitten. He is startled when the kitten comes around a corner and runs out to where the his mate is hammering planks.

The taller workman looks as if he is about the accidentally hit the kitten with a hammer, but the smaller man runs out and pulls the kitten out of harm’s way.

After buying a bottle of milk, the smaller workman lifts the kitten onto a board and feeds him from a small bowl.

After this they realize they are one plank short and spend most of the film looking for one and getting it back, causing all kinds of problems as they go. Once back they finish the floor, only the smaller workman hears the kitten mewing and thinks it’s under the floorboards. He proceeds to rip up the floor which shocks his partner. They then realize the kitten is watching them from the stairs.

The short was redone for British television some years later but a kitten was not included in that version.

Final Mewsings: It’s probably best not to let kittens on construction sites.

Many thanks to RobG and Mark Murton for letting us know about the kitten in this classic comedy short!

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