Alternative title: ffolkes
Universal Pictures
Starring: Roger Moore, Anthony Perkins, James Mason
Directed by: Andrew V. McLaglen
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: Rufus Excalibur ffolkes (Roger Moore) is in charge of an elite SWAT-style team who specialize in underwater tactics. The British government finds itself in need of his services when a vicious criminal group headed by a mysterious man named Kramer (Anthony Perkins) hijack an oil rig command platform in the North Sea and threaten to blow up two oil rigs unless they are paid a hefty ransom.
Kitty Cameos: ffolkes is an unorthodox espionage hero in that he loves cats, does needlepoint to help him concentrate and, in direct contrast with Moore’s Bond personage, strongly dislikes women. In the early part of the film we see ffolkes training his men at his castle headquarters. Having been called to London on business, ffolkes packs his bags and we see he owns several cats which are all around the room.
One tabby cat keeps sneaking into ffolkes’ overnight bag. He gently removes the cat each time, saying, “Not this trip, Mary.”
Another cat can be seen sitting on the safe after ffolkes retrieves some money. This black cat he refers to as Enoch (according to the trivia on IMDb, this was likely a jab at Enoch Powell, a British politician with a firm stand against immigration.)
Later in the film when Admiral Brinsden (James Mason) comes to recruit ffolkes to aid them in wresting control of the oil rigs away from the hijackers, ffolkes sits at his desk with his tabby cat Mary on his lap. He tells the Admiral in his straight-forward style, “I like cats. I don’t like people who don’t.”
Cat Burglars (Scene Stealers): At the end of the film when ffolkes and his team have saved the day, the prime minister and those involved in the effort gather to reward ffolkes at his retreat. The prime minister says she knows that ffolkes doesn’t care for medals or honors, so instead he is presented with a lovely red box. The lid is removed to reveal it contains three adorable white kittens! ffolkes is genuinely appreciative of the gesture and excuses himself to get them some milk.
Also according to the IMDb trivia, Roger Moore wrote in his autobiography that members of the film’s crew tried to sedate some of the cats on the set without James Mason finding out. James Mason, as you may know from one of our Feature Stories, was a great lover of cats along with his wife. One would guess this was done to make the cats more managable during filming.
Final Mewsings: Every hero deserves a boxful of kittens!
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