Plot

The scene is Boston, “before the turn of the century”. A rich businessman is annoyed at his wife’s pestering, so he calls for the maid to prepare some warm milk. However, a pair of inept robbers kidnap a maid from a house, believing her to be the wife. The film switches to a small New England town called “Edgefield”, where 16-year-old Patti Randall (Ricci) is disgusted with how boring and old-fashioned the town is. She does love her cat, D.C. (“Darn Cat”) however. Her parents are unhappy at the way Patti acts and dresses. Every night D.C. leaves at 8 and harasses the neighborhood (such as tricking the dog and eating the dog food or playing with a bird cage while a geriatric and senile old lady orders travel packages). However, Patti’s big break comes when D.C. walks into a dilapidated building where the maid wraps a Timex watch around D.C.’s neck with “Hell” scratched on it (she meant to write “Help” but only came in some of the way). Patti (Ricci) discovers the watch around her cat’s neck and informs the FBI. The rest of the film revolves around the various humorous scrapes and struggles that Patti and the agent Zeke (Doug) face trying to get D.C. to lead them to the victim.

Production & Awards

Title sequences were produced by Pacific Titles & Optical. Animal Makers created the animatronic version of the cat. Buena Vista Home Entertainment distributed the video in most regions, while Abril Vídeo covered Brazil. It was filmed using a 35mm camera for both the coloured moving and black and white still pictures. The aspect ratio of the film was 1.85/1.

The film was shot in three main locations, 1) Aiken, South Carolina, 2) Augusta, Georgia and 3) Edgefield, South Carolina. It was given these certificates in various countries: Australia: PG, Iceland: L, UK: U, USA: PG, Canada: G, Singapore: PG.

The film earned Ricci two award nominations in 1998. The first was for a Kids Choice Awards for favourite movie actress and the second was for a Young Artist Award, Best Performance in a feature film – Leading actress.

The role of “D.C.” the cat was played by five cats, one of whom was called “Elvis.”

Plot

“That Darn Cat” or “DC” is the feline pet of suburbanite sisters Ingrid (Dorothy Provine) and Patti Randall (Hayley Mills). One night, DC follows Iggy (Frank Gorshin), a bank robber, to an apartment where he and his partner Dan (Neville Brand) are holding bank employee Margaret Miller (Grayson Hall) hostage. The robbers let the cat in and feed him. When Margaret is alone for a moment, she scratches “help” into the wristband of her watch, places it around the cat’s neck, and releases him into the outdoors. At home, Patti discovers the watch and calls the FBI. Supervisor Newton (Richard Eastham) assigns Zeke Kelso (Dean Jones) to the case but DC eludes Kelso and his three agents. Eventually a bugging device is implanted in DC’s collar and the cat leads Zeke into a comical chase at a drive-in movie and several backyards. Eventually, Patti and Zeke rescue Margaret and bring the robbers to justice. A subplot involves a romance between Patti’s sister Ingrid and Gregory Benson (Roddy McDowall). Cast includes Elsa Lanchester and William Demarest as nosy neighbors, the MacDougalls, Ed Wynn as Mr. Hofstedder, Richard Deacon as a Drive-In Theatre Manager, Liam Sullivan as Graham, Iris Adrian as the Landlady, and Tom Lowell as Patti’s boyfriend Canoe.

Reception

Bosley Crowther of the New York Times wrote, “The feline that plays the informant, as the F.B.I. puts it, is superb. Clark Gable at the peak of his performing never played a tom cat more winningly. This elegant, blue-eyed creature is a paragon of suavity and grace”, and concluded, “…it’s an entertaining picture. Even a king might profitably look at That Darn Cat.“