That Darn Cat!

Synopsis
Disney golden girl Hayley Mills headlined an ensemble cast of comic character actors in this screwball comedy. Walt Disney hired Gordon and Mildred Gordon to adapt their book Undercover Cat to the big screen, with the help of producer/screenwriter Bill Walsh. The resulting film tried to maintain a sense of danger while playing up the slapstick comedy. The formula worked wonderfully, as That Darn Cat! proved a worthy successor to Mills’ earlier Disney works like Pollyanna and The Parent Trap.

The young actress plays Patti Randall, co-owner with her sister Ingrid of a Siamese cat named D.C. (“Darn Cat”). One night, the cat comes home with a watch attached around his neck in place of a collar. On the back, someone has scratched the partial plea, “HEL.” Suspecting the message may have come from kidnapped bank teller Margaret Miller, Patti takes the watch to the FBI.

The agency takes the lead, assigning agent Zeke Kelso to follow the feline on its nightly prowls. Naturally, Zeke is allergic to cats. The wily kitty leads the feds through a series of comic false leads—including some inspired mayhem at the drive-in—and Zeke is ready to give up. But when Patti plants a false lead, the allergic agent is back on D.C.’s trail, straight to the kidnappers’ hideout for a climactic showdown.

Veteran Disney director Robert Stevenson (Mary Poppins, Darby O’Gill and the Little People and several others) again did the honors on That Darn Cat!. The film was Hayley Mills’ last for Disney as a child actress, though she did return to her The Parent Trap roles for a handful of made-for-TV sequels in the 1980’s.

That Darn Cat! was a smashing success in its holiday release, and its popularity continued over years of television airings. In 1997, Disney updated the characters and dropped the exclamation point for That Darn Cat, a remake starring Christina Ricci and Doug E. Doug as the pet owner and FBI agent, respectively.

Release History 1965 - That Darn Cat!

Sub Categories live-action
comedy

Studio Disney

Cast

Patti Randall		Hayley Mills
Zeke Kelso		Dean Jones
Ingrid Randall		Dorothy Provine
Gregory Benson		Roddy McDowall
Dan		Neville Brand
Mrs. MacDougall		Elsa Lanchester
Mr. MacDougall		William Demarest
Iggy		Frank Gorshin
Supervisor Newton		Richard Eastham
Margaret Miller		Grayson Hall
Mr. Hofstedder		Ed Wynn
Canoe		Tom Lowell
Drive-in Manager		Richard Deacon
Landlady		Iris Adrian
Graham		Liam Sullivan