Starring: Orangey
Directed by: Jack Arnold
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: Based on Richard Matheson’s novel (with a screenplay by Matheson himself.) Scott Carey (Grant Williams) is out for a boat ride with his wife Louise (Randy Stuart) when he is exposed to a strange cloud filled with radioactive materials. Later he is accidentally sprayed with pesticides and from then on he notices that he seems to be growing smaller. Doctors scramble to find both the cause and the cure, but will they be able to stop Scott from shrinking in time?
Featured Feline: The Careys own a ginger tabby cat named Butch. He first appears when Louise puts out some milk for him after the milkman delivers.
Butch is lying on the bed when Scott sits next to him and assures the cat that everything will be all right.
Louise is holding Butch when it is revealed that Scott has shrunk to the size of a small child.
Later the cat is lying on an ottoman playing with a ball of yarn which rolls across the room to the feet of Scott who is now even smaller.
Butch moves to a chair as Louise and Scott argue.
When Scott has reduced to the size of a rat, he takes up residence in a doll house situated in the living room. One night Louise goes out but accidentally turns her back on the open front door and Butch sneaks inside the house.
Louise leaves and Scott has no idea the cat is outside the doll house.
Scott hears a strange scratching and, picking up a makeshift knife, listens at the front door of his dollhouse before opening it. He is confronted by the enormous face of Butch yowling.
Slamming the door shut, Scott backs away only to have Butch claw at him through a window.
Butch starts to push his way into the back of the doll house so Scott makes a run through the front door to the shelter of a chair leg.
Scott tries to run away but Butch spots him and takes chase.
Butch manages to knock Scott down then sits nearby, striking out when Scott tries to move away.
Thinking quickly, Scott grabs the cord of a lamp and pulls it down, scaring Butch away for a moment.
Scott runs through the door to the basement but cannot get down the stairs. He attempts to close the door behind him but Butch fights to get through the door.
As Louise walks through the front door, the cat is distracted and pushes the door open, knocking Scott down into a laundry hamper in the basement. She finds the moved doll house, fallen lamp and a piece of bloody clothing then spots Butch licking his lips and paw nearby. Of course she assumes the worst and Butch is not seen again.
Behind the Scenes
Butch was played by screen veteran Orangey or, to be more precise, members of the Orangey team under the tutelage of trainer Frank Inn. The docile Butch appears to have been played by the team member we often refer to as Minerva (because of their regular role as the cat Minerva in Our Miss Brooks).
Another Orangey team member pushed their way behind the doll house. Most of the up-close snarling was performed by a team member with noticeably longer fur. Yet another member had a very dark and distinct classic tabby pattern. But all together the cats created a very memorable performance.
A combination of rear projection, as well as some film matting techniques and giant props, helped to sell the illusion of Scott being attacked by his once-loving pet.
The scene with the cat was often regarded as the most chilling part of the film, and singled out in newspaper promotions for the movie.
The menacing cat also figured prominently on lobby cards and posters for the film.
Final Mewsings: When a cat comes calling at your dollhouse, don’t open the door!
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