Shadow of a cat

Movie
German title	Shadow of a cat
Original title	The Shadow of the Cat
Country of production	United Kingdom
original language	English
Publishing year	1961
length	79 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	John Gilling
script	George Baxt
production	Jon Penington
music	Mikis Theodorakis
camera	Arthur Grant
cut	James Needs
occupation
	André Morell : Walter Venable; Barbara Shelley : Beth Venable; William Lucas : Jacob Venable; Freda Jackson : Clara, the maid; Conrad Phillips : Michael Latimer; Richard Warner : Edgar Venable; Vanda Godsell : Louise Venable; Alan Wheatley : Inspector Rowles; Andrew Crawford : Bulter Andrew; Kynaston Reeves : grandfather; Catherine Lacey : Ella Venable; Henry Kendall : Doctor;

Shadow of a Cat is a British crime film from 1961. Directed by John Gilling , André Morell , Barbara Shelley and the house cat Tabitha star.

action

When Ella Venable, who no longer sees too well, is alone in her mansion in the dark of night, several people penetrate in the darkness, one of whom brutally kills her. Only Ella's tabitha, the house cat, is witness to the event, and this loyal friend of the old lady, who understands the evil behind the crime, will not go unpunished for this terrible murder of her mistress. The culprit is Andrew, the butler, and he has his accomplices in Walter Venable, the newly minted widower, and the housemaid Clara. All three carry Ella's body out of the house and bury it on the property. Soon the three evildoers will understand that the loyal house cat is after them and they plan to dispose of the uncomfortable witness. But Tabitha is a very clever velvet paw and knows how to hide well.

The disappearance of Ella Venable a few days later calls Scotland Yard inspector Rowles and the newspaper reporter Michael Latimer on the scene. You pay a visit to the Venable Villa to secure traces. Soon the murderous husband comes under suspicion, he has quite clearly married Ella Venable because of her fortune. Walter has also forced his wife Ella to sign a document stating that she will bequeath everything to him. But this does not correspond to Ella's real last will, in which Walter Venable comes away empty-handed. This actual will is believed to be hidden in the attic. Walter goes there immediately to track down and destroy this dangerous document. But the attic is rotten and the boards on the floor do not support the heavy man and allow him to break through on a floor board. Walter then decides not to look any further under the roof. Meanwhile, butler has discovered Andrew Tabitha and begins to hunt her down. The cat scratches him and Walter has a heart attack in all this excitement.

Walter has invited Ella's favorite niece, Beth Venable, to visit him and spend the night at the property. She, too, he believes, could be dangerous to him, since Beth could possibly question the "last will" imposed by Walter Ella. He hopes to negotiate a deal with Beth that will lead her not to dig deeper into the matter. When Beth arrives at the house, she meets the journalist Michael, who both have known each other from before. Beth doesn't mind that she wasn't included in Ella's will. Since the heart attack ties him to bed, Walter brings his devious and criminal nephew Jacob Venable into the house, who is supposed to continue searching for the true will instead of him. His father Edgar and Jacob's wife Louise also arrive at the property. Walter promises everyone a share of Ella's fortune should they find Ella's last will and get rid of the cat. But Tabitha is clever, she suspects what to expect.

Beth soon begins to wonder why the other family members are stalking the cat so badly, as she always remembers the cat as gentle and loving. Michael assumes that Tabitha's change in character is due to the fact that the cat knows about Ella's disappearance ... maybe even more than he and the police. The criminal part of the cat's family desperately tries to get hold of the cat, and Tabitha is finally caught. When the butler wants to go into the moor with his velvet paw to drown her there, the four-legged murder witness can escape at a favorable moment. Andrew falls victim to his own evil deed and sinks into the moor instead of the cat himself. Andrew's disappearance worries Walter and the other Venable crooks. Muddy cat's paw prints appearing in the house do not suggest anything good: Tabitha is back and is now teaching Walter and his cronies fear. House maid Clara spots the cat on the top of the stairs. Tabitha jumps at the accomplice, so that Clara falls backwards and breaks her neck.

Meanwhile, Jacob Venable continues his search for the hidden will in the attic on Walter's behalf. However, the nephew does not trust his uncle Walter and believes that he will later try to get him out of the boat. So he opens the door of the maladen Walter so that Tabitha can sneak into his sickroom. Jacob's plan works. When Walter sees Tabitha in a waking moment, he succumbs to a second, now fatal, heart attack. Jacob's father Edgar will now inherit everything. In the meantime, police have fished butler Andrew's body out of the moor. Inspector Rowles is certain that Edgar, his son Jacob and Louise have planned a conspiracy and is supported in his conviction by Beth and Michael. Unfortunately, the police lack any evidence and so the new owner Edgar throws the three out of the house without further ado. At that moment Jacob discovers Tabitha and pursues the cat on the roof. This action is observed by the three Rowles, Beth and Michael, who leave the property. Edgar takes advantage of this moment of general inattention and in turn goes to the attic to continue looking for the will. Jacob dies while trying to finally catch Tabitha and twist her neck from the roof and breaks his neck. Almost at the same time, Edgar discovers the long-sought document that Ella had once hidden in the wall behind a painting by Tabitha. Suddenly the cat shows up there, and Edgar's desperate attempt to murder Tabitha results in him ravaging the entire attic, whereupon a load-bearing beam falls down and kills him. When none of the villains are left, it is Tabitha, the cat, who leads the police as well as Michael and Beth to the place where the corpse of their mistress was buried. The real will says that Beth should inherit everything, but she tells Michael that she never wants to see this house again and asks him to take her away.

After the house is sold, Tabitha stays alone in the front yard and watches the new owners move in. The grandfather complains right at the beginning that he would probably die here out of sheer boredom. The one generation younger couple tries to convince the old man to change his last will ...