Jean-Louis Nounez
Starring: Michel Simon, Jean Dasté, Dita Parlo
Directed by: Jean Vigo

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

Synopsis: Jean (Jean Dasté) is the captain of a barge who brings his new bride Juliette (Dita Parlo) aboard to begin their life together, although her dreams of travel and adventure are quickly dashed.

Cat Burglars (Scene Stealers): The second mate on the ship is the rugged Le pére Jules (Michel Simon) who has countless cats on board.  As he and the cabin boy (Louis Lefebvre) step aboard the barge after Jean’s marriage to Juliette, Jules starts picking up cats.  One of these is a tabby kitten which sits on his shoulder and is seen several times throughout the film.

The kitten stays on the man’s shoulders even when he bends over and jumps about.

Jules also picks up a tuxedo cat which is seen several times throughout the film, along with another tuxedo cat.

Another scene stealer is the black cat which has her kittens on Juliette’s bed.

The black cat is also seen slipping off the top of the barge onto the walkway in one scene.

Cat Cattle Call: Many cats are featured in several scenes, as when Juliette first arrives on the barge.  She is startled by the cats which run over her and Jean as they kiss on the deck.

Jules cabin is often full of cats, who also sleep with him and the cabin boy.

Jules’ affection for cats even extends to stray cats on shore.

Slight Kitty Carnage Warning: A couple of the scenes in the film are a bit rough, as when Jean gets furious at Juliette hanging around Jules and trashes the man’s cabin.  The cats are seen scampering amongst broken ceramics and glass but don’t appear to be hit or cut by the pieces.

Also Jules signals the cabin boy to throw a cat at the checkers board while he and Jean are playing to end the game, but again the cat doesn’t seem too distressed.

The inclusion of cats was director Vigo’s idea as he envisioned the character of peré Jules having traveled the world picking up cats on the way.  Assistant director Pierre Merle was put in charge of casting the cats.  He explained that it was not breeding season so the kittens were hard to come by.  The cats were kept in a cage and fed raw meat which made them feisty, much to the consternation of the actors who were having the animals thrown at them.  The owners of the cats were reportedly not happy with the treatment the cats had received on the set.  In fact this film probably does set some kind of record for “catapults” where cat actors are tossed into the scenes or at the actors.

Final Mewsings: This makes up for all the boat movies that don’t include cats!

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