Cinema: Creepy Comedy

That Darn Cat. Come December, Walt Disney can be relied upon to deliver a big, bright Christmasy gewgaw for the holiday trade. Sometimes it is a stray animal epic, sometimes a folksy romantic comedy, sometimes a wholesome teen-age adventure. This year it is all three, wrapped around the substantial screen presence of Hayley Mills, who goes gumshoeing on the trail of a criminal tomcat while her sister (Dorothy Provine) scrutinizes FBI Agent Dean Jones. Hayley nips through her role as though English accents were an absolute must among subdebs of Southern California, and Scrooge himself might unbend when she reports saucily to the FBI: “I have some information about one of your crimes.”

The cat Hayley lets out of the bag is a Siamese. Male. Blue-eyed. Seal point. She calls him “D.C.” which means “darn cat” but nonetheless has a nice bureaucratic ring to it. Quite appropriate, since D.C. is soon to be photographed and paw-printed, and have federal investigators on his tail. They are interested because he came home wearing a wristwatch, which may have been slipped around his neck by a kidnaped lady bank teller (Grayson Hall). Suppose the teller is right in the neighborhood? Suppose a pair of psychotic holdup men (Frank Gorshin, Neville Brand) are itching to do away with her so they can leave town with their swag?

Despite its amiable air, this thriller could do with a few less supposes, a few more surprises. Of course, J. Edgar Hoover’s man Jones has an allergy to felines. He sneezes a lot as D.C. leads everyone a hairy chase over fences, under bushes, and through one hilarious mixup at ‘a drive-in movie, cleverly avoiding the crooks’ hideout until the very last reel. Meanwhile, eccentric comedy bits are supplied by Roddy McDowall, Ed Wynn, Elsa Lanchester and gravel-throated Iris Adrian.

Though Cat is often too cute for words, it is not too cute for music. A soundtrack orchestra plays so puckishly that seasoned Disney fans are apt to expect an interlude of mating tarantulas. Instead Uncle Walt opts for a conventional fur-flying climax, and by fadeout time the heroic Siamese has somehow sired a litter of adorable kittens. Such bounties adequately fill a kid’s stocking, but parents not previously afflicted with cat allergy may well feel the first faint sniffle.