Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Starring: Gracie Allen, William Post Jr., Millard Mitchell
Directed by: Robert B. Sinclair

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

Synopsis: Gerald North (William Post Jr.) often gets exasperated with his hair-brained wife Pamela (Gracie Allen) but even moreso when her meddling in other people’s business gets them directly involved with a murder case.

Featured Feline: The North’s return to their apartment after each has spent a day away, Mr. North on business and Mrs. North visiting her mother.  The building supervisor meets them and tells Mrs. North that her neighbor locked Pete in the bathroom because she was afraid he would eat her canary.  Mrs. North leaves and returns a short time later with Pete, a beautiful Siamese cat.

Mrs. North asks her husband to greet the cat but Pete hisses and swipes at him.  Mrs. North says it’s his own fault because Pete knows Mr. North really doesn’t love him.

Mrs. North takes Pete into the kitchen to feed him.  Pete is not seen again until after the body of a murdered man is found in their apartment and the police arrive.  One investigating officer is named Mullins (Millard Mitchell) and when Mrs. North mentions Pete he asks for the full name of this new suspect.  Mrs. North answers, “Peter Aloysius Velvet Paws the Third.”  When Mullins is confused she explains Pete is a purebreed.  Later when Mullins returns to the apartment to investigate further, he is often seen holding and petting Pete.

Mrs. North deduces that a cat paw print on the window sill was Pete coming into the apartment then turning back because he saw the murderer.  Sure enough when the murderer returns to the apartment, Pete hisses at the person’s arm as it reaches inside to turn out the lights.

Pete then runs out the window.

The murderer targets the mailmain, Mr. Barnes (Lucien Littlefield) who sees Pete on the windowsill and walks over to pet him. Pete hisses as the murderer approaches but it’s too late to warn Mr. Barnes.

The character of Pete was adapted directly from the original Mr. and Mrs. North story by Richard and Frances Lockridge.  It’s not clear if Pete appeared in the stage production written by Owen Davis, which was the basis for this film version.  Pete was eventually replaced in the books by other cats but the authors were definitely cat lovers.

Final Mewsings: Cats have no desire to get involved with murderers.

Relevant Links:

To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on
Facebook and Twitter.