Treasures of the Snow (1983)

by Linda Kay

Directed by: Mike Pritchard

This review contains a slight Kitty Carnage Warning for rough handling and scruffing!

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

Synopsis: Based on the book by Patricia M. St. John. Lucien (Paul Dean) is a mischievous boy who feels guilty when his carelessness causes an accident that cripples the neighbor boy Dani (Timothy Fleetwood). Dani’s sister Annette (Carey Born) is filled with so much anger towards the boy until both she and Lucien learn a lesson in humility and forgiveness.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Dani is playing with Klaus, his adorable white kitten with calico markings, on the hillside as Lucien teases Annette and she storms off angrily claiming he pushed her. Dani laughs at their fight.

Treasures of the Snow - Dani Timothy Fleetwood laughing while holding white and calico kitten Klaus

Lucien starts teasing Dani, pushing a stick towards his face and stealing the flowers the boy picked for his sister. When Lucien walks away with the flowers, Dani gathers up Klaus and follows.

Treasures of the Snow - Dani Timothy Fleetwood playing on grassy hill with white and calico kitten Klaus

Treasures of the Snow - Dani Timothy Fleetwood carrying white and calico kitten Klaus as he follows Lucien Paul Dean

Lucien ruins the flowers and Dani threatens to tell his father. Lucien suddenly grabs Klaus from the boy and dangles the poor thing by the scruff over the side of a cliff.

Treasures of the Snow - white and calico kitten Klaus being held by scruff over cliff by Lucien Paul Dean

Dani starts struggling with Lucien who drops the kitten over the edge. Thankfully the kitty lands on a ledge just below.

Treasures of the Snow - Dani Timothy Fleetwood struggling to save white and calico kitten Klaus from Lucien Paul Dean

Ignoring Lucien’s warnings to stop, Dani starts to climb down to save Klaus but slips and falls to the bottom of the ravine.

Treasures of the Snow - white and calico kitten Klaus on cliff ledge

Too scared to tell anyone, Lucien hides until Annette comes looking for Dani. He then admits what’s happened and Annette gets her father (William Boyde) and Grandmother (Bay White). They follow Lucien to the top of the cliff and the father starts to descend on a rope, pausing to rescue Klaus whom he hands to Annette.

Treasures of the Snow - white and calico kitten Klaus being rescued from cliff ledge

Treasures of the Snow - Annette Carey Born holding white and calico kitten Klaus at top of cliff with grandmother Bay White

Treasures of the Snow - Annette Carey Born holding white and calico kitten Klaus at top of cliff with grandmother Bay White and Lucien Paul Dean

Dani has suffered a badly broken leg and is unconscious when the father brings him back up. Annette carries Klaus as they make their way back down the mountain with the boy.

Treasures of the Snow - Dani Timothy Fleetwood lying prone with Annette Carey Born holding white and calico kitten Klaus with father William Boyde

Dani has to go to the hospital and when he comes back home he does what any cat lover would do . . . ask for Klaus right away! The kitten is brought to him immediately.

Treasures of the Snow - Annette Carey Boyn and father William Boyde watch as grandmother Bay White brings white and calico kitten Klaus

Treasures of the Snow - Annette Carey Boyn and father William Boyde watch as grandmother Bay White brings white and calico kitten Klaus to Dani Timothy Fleetwood animated gif

Treasures of the Snow - Dani Timothy Fleetwood with white and calico kitten Klaus on his chest

Treasures of the Snow - Annette Carey Born with Dani Timothy Fleetwood and sleeping white and calico kitten Klaus

Much later in the film, Dani is sitting on the grass of the hill playing with Klaus when Lucien approaches him, trying to be friendly. Dani is afraid of the boy and doesn’t believe him when he said he made the little wooden animals they are playing with (Annette wouldn’t let Lucien give the toys to her brother). The kitten is very frisky in this scene and even gives Dani a bit of a scratch to the face as the boy is dangling blades of grass for Klaus to play with.

Treasures of the Snow - Dani Timothy Fleetwood playing with white and calico kitten Klaus on grassy hill

Treasures of the Snow - Dani Timothy Fleetwood playing with white and calico kitten Klaus on grassy hill animated gif

The last time we see Klaus is a bit of a shock. A doctor (Julian Battersby) has come to look at the boy and asks to see the cat, which Dani goes to the woodshed to retrieve. When he returns with Klaus we are not really aware of the length of time since we’ve seen the kitten, but Klaus is now a huge, chonky white cat!

Treasures of the Snow - Dani Timothy Fleetwood holding huge white and calico cat Klaus

While it is not specified in the film, the book makes it clear that Klaus is actually a female kitten. The author explains in a note that she had her own white kitten given to her by a farmer when she was a child living in a similar area of Switzerland. In the story the kitten was a Christmas present given to Dani and was named Klaus after the Christmas saint.