Movies Main
Movies-to-View
Movie Database
Trailer Database
 Close Screen 

 Close Screen 

Cat from Outer Space, The

Cat from Outer Space, The (1978) Movie Poster
  •  USA  •    •  104m  •    •  Directed by: Norman Tokar.  •  Starring: Ken Berry, Sandy Duncan, Harry Morgan, Roddy McDowall, McLean Stevenson, Jesse White, Alan Young, Hans Conried, Ronnie Schell, James Hampton, Howard Platt, William Prince, Ralph Manza.  •  Music by: Lalo Schifrin.
        A damaged UFO comes down on a farm. The inhabitant, a cat, emerges unnoticed as the military come. The ship is taken to the Energy Research Laboratory where scientists attempt to find out what powers it. The cat goes to one of the scientists, Frank Wilson, who adopts it, naming it Jake. But then the cat speaks to Frank, telling him its name is Zunar J5/9 Doric 47, and demonstrating a range of telekinetic abilities, which are produced by the collar it wears. It must return and dock with its mothership within a matter of days or be abandoned on Earth for the next 11 years. Frank sets about trying to help Jake, but then Jake announces that he needs the equivalent of $120,000 in gold to power the ship. And so their only recourse is to win the money at the gambling table, aided by Jake's psychic powers.

Trailers:

   Length:  Languages:  Subtitles:

Review:

Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Image from: Cat from Outer Space, The (1978)
Why would I watch TCFOS let alone write about it? (Or is that "why would I write about it, let alone watch it"?) Well, for one thing, it gives me a small measure of satisfaction to rate a silly old Disney flick much higher than I would "Avatar". (Much much much higher.) Secondly, it's a nice little opportunity to compare the cat's "performance" to Tom Cruise's inÂ… just about any movie he's been in. The cat beats him every time, hands down. (And it only got paid in Friskies, not millions of dollars.) It has only one facial expression, but it's a multi-faceted expression compared to Cruise's wide "variety" of annoying grins.

Someone pointed out that the cat used for TCFOS waggled its tail every time someone lifted it. "It didn't like being handled," this amazing Agatha-Christian detective pointed out. Which brings me to the third reason for writing this comment: considering what crap some daft people write, nothing I include in this comment can be any worse. Look, I can be a detective too! Example: I have NOTICED that the cat doesn't open its mouth when it talks. So they must have used a NORMAL cat as opposed to an actual alien feline that can talk. The bleedin'-obvious detective work; I am so glad I am capable of it too.

TCFOS is a cute little feature with a simple plot, the usual broad Disney acting, and dialog aimed at young kids -' so it should be right up Nicholas Cage's alley. (I also hotly recommend the movie and its non-complex story to Sean Penn.) In fact, I'd suggest TCFOS to Nick as study material should he ever want to "improve" on his over-acting shout-a-lot method-acting technique (which I hear normally takes 500 years to develop). In any case, he should watch the film because I hear that these kinds of Disney flicks help develop the young, under-developed mind.

On a more embarrassing note, the grand-finale chopperplane action sequence beats almost anything any recent James Bond film had given us. Daniel Craig is actually shorter than the damsel-in-distress being rescued here (and she's of average female height), so I don't even know if she could have been cast in any new 007 movie; Bond should never be towered over by a taller woman -' not even in a Craig "Bond". What this has got to do with either TCFOS or the rotting Bond franchise, you ask.


Review by Fedor Petrovic (fedor8) from the Internet Movie Database.

 
Conventions & Events
All
Latest Teasers
Latest Trailers
Latest TV Spots