The Pumpkin Eater (1964)

The Pumpkin Eater DVD

Romulus Films
Starring:
 Anne Bancroft, Peter Finch
Directed by: Jack Clayton

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

Synopsis: Jo Armitage (Anne Bancroft) has been married three times and has eight children, six of whom live with her and her husband screenwriter Jake (Peter Finch).  This film watches as their marriage disintegrates into what may be an irreconcilable division.

Kitty Cameos: Throughout the film several cats are seen.  The first cat appears when Jo is flashing back to her second marriage and the barn where the large family used to live.  As she leaves the room with the children and enters the kitchen, there is a white Angora cat sitting on the back of a chair.

The Pumpkin Eater - white cat on back of chair

Jake is visiting the married couple and enters the kitchen area behind Jo, stopping to pet the cat.

The Pumpkin Eater - Peter Finch pets white cat on back of chair

When Jake and Jo are married, they move to a house in London.  They arrive at the home and one of the girls is carrying a large long haired tabby cat.

The Pumpkin Eater - girl carries cat into house

Later the white Angora cat is seen entering Jo and Jake’s bedroom.

The Pumpkin Eater - white cat walking through doorway

The longhaired tabby is seen again in the kitchen when Jo is talking to Philpot (Maggie Smith).

The Pumpkin Eater - cat on back of chair

This same cat is also seen by Jo exiting the room where her husband and a doctor are talking.

The Pumpkin Eater - longhaired tabby exiting room through doorway

Jo and Jake sit down and talk in front of a roaring fire and the cat is seen sitting in the middle of the room, apparently interested in the camera.

The Pumpkin Eater - longhaired tabby sitting in middle of room

Finally at the end of the film Jo returns to the newly built home on the land where they used to live in the barn.  As she enters the home, a tabby and a black cat scurry quickly up the stairs.

The Pumpkin Eater - tabby cat and black cat running up stairs

Animal trainer John Holmes received a rare opening title credit for his work on this film.

The Pumpkin Eater - tabby longhaired being carried by girl

Final Mewsings: Husbands should not have their wives fixed like a cat.


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