Universal Pictures
Starring: Charles Laughton, Ella Raines, Henry Daniell
Directed by: Robert Siodmak

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

Synopsis: Philip Marshall (Charles Laughton) is an unhappily married shopkeeper in 1902 London who meets a charming young woman named Mary (Ella Raines) and strikes up a friendship with her.  He longs for more but is refused a divorce by his domineering wife (Rosalind Ivan) and eventually resorts to the unthinkable to keep Mary safe.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): The fuzzy white kitten which appears in this film doesn’t show up until later (after Philip’s wife Cora is out of the picture) but when he does he steals every scene.  We first see the kitten when Philip is packing a bag and finds the kitten hiding inside.

The kitten is present during one of the more suspenseful moments of the film when a neighbor, the drunken, wife-beater Mr. Simmons (Henry Daniell), threatens to blackmail Philip.  Philip decides to poison the man and prepares a toxic drink while Mr. Simmons is playing with the kitten, dangling his keys for the cat to play with.

Right after disposing of Mr. Simmons, Philip’s wife, son and others come home unexpectedly and he’s forced to hide the body under a sofa.

Philip’s son and his girlfriend sit on the sofa and the girl cries out that something grabbed her leg.  Philip’s son reaches under the sofa and there is a moment of suspense before he pulls out the kitten.  Sadly the kitten is not seen in the film again after this.

What’s interesting is the fact that at least three publicity photos were taken of Charles Laughton with the kitten to help promote the film.  None of the scenarios depicted actually happened in the movie itself, but the shots of Laughton holding a mirror and a fan in front of the kitten and then using a tassel to play with him are simply adorable.

Final Mewsings: It’s suspicious that the kitten disappears, since he was the only witness to the murder of Mr. Simmons.

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