That Darn Cat!
In That Darn Cat, the unintentional appearance of a feline passerby led the FBI (Federal Bureau of Incompetence?) on a merry chase round sundry backyards, carparks and even under the bed a few times before the villains were caught.
Maybe the villains gave up because they got tired of being upstaged by a cat. And, mind you, the cat was just passing by on his way to pick up his little tabby and kittens.
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This 1965 Walt Disney Productions movie directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Hayley Mills and Dean Jones revolved around the punctual 9 pm strollabout of a fine specimen of a Siamese cat named “D.C.”. Said name may or may not be related to the title of the movie which being That Darn Cat is more likely to be an euphemisized version of what many of the other characters call the cat. After they fall flat on their faces chasing after the cat.
Basically, the plot was about a robbery which got complicated by the robbers kidnapping the bank teller, as well. Why they did that, even they themselves probably didn’t know, for they could have just taken the money and be gone way across the border had they not have to lug a kidnappee along. But then again the movie would be just five minutes long and nobody’s going to pay to watch that.
So, along came D.C. the cat. A handsome, dark-hued Siamese. A smart cat, too. But that’s with the help of the director. Like in the opening scene where D.C. the cat got the better of a bulldog. If it weren’t for the director, the cat could very well have been added to the dog’s dinner plate. Maybe the bulldog actually screamed “That G*d#@%n Director” but since it was a movie meant for kids, it got emphemisized into “That Darn Cat”.
Actually, throughout the movie D.C. was just minding it’s own business. Said business including simple things like wanting to get a piece of salmon or a piece of duck. However the humans in the movie saw it fit to read more into it’s feline inclinations. The FBI was brought into the picture. Of course, the agent assigned to tail the cat had to be allergic to cat fur. How else could the director add complications to a simple storyline?
Throw in a cigar-smoking boyfriend, a too-nosy-for-her-own-good neighbour and a too-innocent-to-be-true owner and we have a very entertaining movie. Provided we don’t think too hard about it. Like how come a cat would allow a complete stranger to pick it up in the first place? Or how come a bank robber could put his kidnappee in a room with the door unlocked?
But then again, this is moviedom and moviedom is about make-believe. In this particular case, the make-believe was good entertainment. Still, I can’t get over how a young man and a young woman can spend the night together in the same house with the young man sleeping on the couch and the young woman sleeping in her bedroom. Alright, alright, it’s all make-believe. I will make like I believe it.
At the end of the That Darn Cat DVD, we get to see where D.C. was actually going all this time. It appeared that he had promised his little tabby and kittens to take them out for a nice evening stroll at 9 pm sharp every night. Which was what every good tom cat should do.
Instead of getting messed up with bank robbers and Fumbling Bipedal Incompetents.
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