I will open this post by saying, if you have not seen Breakfast at Tiffany’s, something is
missing from your life, and that little hole could be filled completely if you would
just spend about two hours watching this film. Not because of the romance or the
comedy or because you could look at Audrey Hepburn for a very long time and
never get tired of it. No, it’s because of the masterful performance given by
Orangey the cat in his pivotal role as Cat in this 1961 adaptation of a Truman
Capote novella.
Holly Golightly has issues … and a cat
The scene is New York City, where we meet one Holly
Golightly, an attractive young woman who is discombobulated, outrageous, unsettled
and, yes, a little nuts—but in the most charming way. She's an escort, basically, and she's also unknowingly passing information from a convict in Sing Sing to his "lawyer." Let's say Holly's life is ... interesting.
Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Holly also has a thing for
Tiffany’s. I mean “a thing.” When she gets a case of the “mean reds” (when you’re
afraid but you don’t know what of), a visit to the high-end jewelry store,
where everything is always perfect, makes her feel better. If she could just
find another place that made her feel like Tiffany’s does, she’d buy herself some
furniture and give her cat a name.
Which brings me to the cat, who is called, extremely
unimaginatively, Cat. But the fact that she hasn’t bothered to name her cat is
just one more bit of evidence for Holly’s inability or unwillingness to face
life as it is, her insistence that she not own or be owned by anything or
anyone. So much better to party, to search for a rich, eligible bachelor or
some other means of making her fortune so she can move to Mexico and raise
horses with her beloved brother, Fred.
Orangey as "Cat" with Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Which brings me to Fred—not Holly’s brother, but her new
upstairs neighbor. He’s actually a struggling writer named Paul Varjack (played
by George Peppard) who is currently being kept by his “designer.” I mean “kept” as in the designer deposits some
cash on the nightstand when she leaves his apartment. Anyway, Paul reminds
Holly of her brother, and so she insists on calling him Fred. They do some fun
things together, and Paul naturally falls in love, while Holly … well, she
continues to be Holly.
More about Cat
But let’s get to the important stuff: the cat. Cat is played
by the handsome orange tabby named Orangey. He does all sorts of things in this
film: he kneads Holly’s back, jumps on men’s shoulders, wanders along high
places during a party, rests in the kitchen sink. Orangey also plays in two
very dramatic scenes: one in which Holly has a breakdown and Cat gets tossed
against the wall (unhurt, thankfully), and the climactic rain scene, in which
he gets all wet. Truly, this is a cat devoted to his craft.
Sure, you can watch Breakfast
at Tiffany’s for its romance, its comedy, its tear-inducing finale. But you
should really watch it to see Orangey at work. What a cat! His performance in
this film earned him and his assistant (well, okay, technically his “trainer”)
Frank Inn a PATSY* award in 1962. (*Performing Animal Top
Star of the Year.)
Some details
Breakfast at Tiffany’s,
directed by Blake Edwards, is unrated and was released in 1961. We’d give it a
PG rating—there is kind of a lot of drinking, smoking, and general partying,
but nothing terribly gross, violent, or naughty. Well, a little bit naughty,
but you can probably handle it.
Recommended!
A
note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up.
One paw is for a good movie; two paws is for a great movie. She never gives
three or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss
C does not do that!
The
link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you purchase the movie through this
link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account. Thank you!
I got very upset when she lets her cat out of the taxi in the rain. I do love the song Moon River in the movie too.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen this movie (yes, yes, I know ... I didn't see Star Wars until I was an adult even though I was alive for all three of the originals). I read the book though and I was disappointed (I'm not a fan of Truman Capote). Thank you for reminding me to check out this movie ... I've been meaning to see it for years.
ReplyDeleteI've read the book but never watched the movie...what is wrong with me???
ReplyDeleteDunno but there's time to fix you, just watch the dvd.
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