A note about The Cuddlywumps Chronicles

This blog is written and maintained by Miss Cuddlywumps, a fluffy-tailed calico cat who is both classically educated and familiar with mysteries. She receives creative input from the Real Cats and clerical assistance from She of Little Talent (old SoLT, a.k.a. Roby Sweet). Comments or complaints should be addressed to Miss C rather than to old SoLt (Ms. Sweet). Ms. Sweet accepts no responsibility for Miss C's opinions.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Cat Classics on Film: Breakfast at Tiffany’s



Breakfast at Tiffany's DVD box
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.
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 the cat with Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's
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!

Two Paws up, A Great Movie!

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!

4 comments:

  1. 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.

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  2. I 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.

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  3. I've read the book but never watched the movie...what is wrong with me???

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    Replies
    1. Dunno but there's time to fix you, just watch the dvd.

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