Off the Record (1939)

Off the Record artwork

Warner Bros.
Starring:
 Pat O’Brien, Joan Blondell, Bobby Jordan
Directed by: James Flood

Synopsis: Mickey Fallon (Bobby Jordan) is taken in by his older brother Joe (Alan Baxter) after their mother dies. But Joe is working for a notorious criminal and gets Mickey involved as well.  When newspaper columnist Jane Morgan (Joan Blondell) exposes the racketeer’s use of children both Joe and Mickey take the fall for the kingpin.  Jane decides to make it right by accepting responsibility for Mickey, but needs her longtime boyfriend, fellow reporter ‘Breezy’ Elliott (Pat O’Brien), to be on board with the idea.

Kitty Cameo: When we first see Joan she is heading into the newspaper copy room where a crowd has gathered around Breezy’s desk.  First aid supplies, a pharmacist and a doctor have all been called to the scene.  Fearing the worst, Jane runs to his desk but finds Breezy apparently okay.  When asked what’s happening, Breezy reminds her of the alley cat she made him adopt a month before, then points down.  We see a large, long-haired cat sitting in Breezy’s desk drawer with a litter of mewing kittens at her side.  Jane laughs about the fact that she has been calling the cat “Herman” all this time.  Breezy is less amused.

Off the Record

But wait . . . let’s take another look at the shot of the cat in the film.  It’s only on screen for a few seconds, and they dubbed in the sounds of kittens mewing, but those aren’t kittens.  They’re baby bunnies!  Apparently baby kittens weren’t available when the footage was taken and so baby bunnies were substituted.  Back in the days before freeze frame this probably would have gone unnoticed by most movie-goers.

Off the Record close

Final Mewsings: A cat giving birth to bunnies. Now that’s news!


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