Tudor Productions
Starring: Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins, George Woodbridge
Directed by: Robert Day
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: Three British convicts plan an escape, hoping to pull a robbery before sneaking back into prison the day before their release, giving themselves the perfect alibi.
Featured Feline: The convicts Dodger Lane (Peter Sellers), Jelly Knight (David Lodge) and Lennie Price (Bernard Cribbins) are living large as trustees in their prison cell and even have their own cat, a tortoise shell named Strangeways. Chief Jenkins (George Woodbridge) is their lenient officer and even takes Strangeways out for walks for them.
Jenkins brings the cat back when he returns and Lennie places Strangeways on the top bunk.
When the boys find out that Jenkins is going to retire they throw him a party. Strangeways is also in attendance.
They say they don’t know how they’ll get by without Jenkins and Lennie adds that he doesn’t know who will take Strangeways out for walks.
They ask Jenkins if he will take the cat down with him one last time.
Later Jenkins is replaced by the strict military Chief Crout (Lionel Jeffries). When Crout spots a guard with Strangeways he tells him to get rid of the cat.
Strangeways is not seen again until the end of the film when the boys’ cohort Soapy (Wilfrid Hyde-White) finally ends up doing time and is seen behind bars petting the cat.
Final Mewsings: Cats are sure doing a lot of hard time in movies.
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