The Cat From Outer Space Needs a Little Human Help

Years ago, my great-uncle, a jovial man known by the nickname Happy, died, leaving behind a large collection of movies he had taped off of television. We inherited many of those, one of which was The Cat from Outer Space. Most of those tapes went kaput long ago, but I remember my brother Benjamin being enthralled with this particular movie when it made its way to us. This fall, I watched it again for the first time since the mid-90s, this time with my brother Nathan, who wasn’t quite so mesmerized but still found the movie fun.

As the movie opens, we see the landing of a vessel from outer space that contains an alien intelligence in communication with his commander. It isn’t until the conversation ends that we see who was talking: a nondescript cat who spends the next 20 minutes or so of the movie silently observing the ruckus the landing of his ship has caused. Finally, he reveals himself to a bumbling scientist rather like the title character in The Absent-Minded Professor, explaining that he needs help getting back to his ship after gathering the materials needed to get it running again.

That scientist is the endearing Frank, played by Ken Berry, who I mostly know as the sweet-natured Willoughby in Herbie Rides Again. I found his presence interesting because I could have sworn that his role was occupied by Dean Jones, who starred in the original Herbie movie and a sequel. I think Berry makes more sense in this role, however; while Jones tends to come across as rather arrogant, Berry instead projects a charming awkwardness that is especially apparent in his dealings with his perky colleague Liz (Sandy Duncan), whose crush on him causes considerable complications throughout the movie.

The cat, who takes on the name Jake after Frank gives it to him, is voiced by Ronnie Schell, whose delivery is rather detached, with certain novelties arousing unexpected interest. For instance, Jake is very impressed with human cuisine, particularly tuna, and Sandy’s female cat proves a definite distraction. Jake’s ability to interact with humanity in an unusual way comes from his collar, which glows when its powers are in use. With it, he can transmit thoughts out loud and manipulate matter with his mind as well; without it, his skills are limited to those of a typical housecat.

As a big fan of the classic TV show M*A*S*H, I found it curious that both McLean Stevenson and Harry Morgan are in this movie, though they rarely interact. Stevenson played the rather inept Colonel Blake on the series, while Morgan was the more efficient Colonel Potter, who replaced him several seasons in. Here, Stevenson is Frank’s buddy Link, a loafer whose addiction to gambling proves surprisingly helpful, while Morgan is the irritable General Stilton, who is trailed by a gaggle of underlings who pass instructions to each other. Stilton is in charge of the investigation into Jake’s ship, so getting past him is an obstacle, though he mostly serves as comic relief. The more potent antagonist is Mr. Olympus (William Prince), who, thanks to the efforts of weaselly freelance spy Stallwood (Roddy McDowall), has a pretty good idea of what Jake’s collar can do and will stop at nothing to harness that power himself.

This is a silly movie, no doubt about it. Like countless Disney sports comedies, it involves using dubious methods in order to secure a victory, in this case for the purposes of winning enough money to repair Jake’s ship. The government officials are ineffective, and as concerned as they are about Jake’s ship, they certainly don’t keep it very well guarded. The ending leaves some rather significant threads dangling, and some of the dialogue is just plain goofy. My favorite instance would have to be Link, having burst in on Frank in the middle of using Jake’s collar to levitate himself, plopping down on the couch and then casually asking, “Say, what were you doing up in the air?”

I knew from my experience of watching Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo with him a couple years back that my sophisticated brother would probably find plenty of reasons to pick the movie apart, and I was right, but we still had a great time watching the movie together, and his running commentary just added to the hilarity of the movie for me. The Cat from Outer Space is a madcap comedy with an A-list cast, and I happily recommend its brand of intergalactic silliness.