Rhubarb, le chat millionnaire

Hello Rhubarb fans...back in 1984 I stumbled across this movie and loved it! I went out the next day in "search" of my own Rhubarb. Found and orange tabby and he is awesome. Here it is 2002 ,he's 18 ys. old and still the the star around here! Whenever someone asks why I named my cat Rhubarb, I tell them about the movie. My kids and neighbor kids like to watch it too. Comical, sassy and full of spice...that's Rhubarb! ***MUST SEE***

Rhubarb stars Orangey the cat, who apparently lived for quite a long time. This film was made in 1951. Over the years, this feline appeared in Our Miss Brooks, as Minerva, Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961) as Cat, a pivotal role in that film, and the latest credit I could find, a 1964 episode of My Favorite Martian in which the cat is credited as Rhubarb in the end credits. This may or may not have been the cat that appeared as Rusty, Elly May's cat in several episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies as well. The film Rhubarb is a neatly plotted comedy which delivers the laughs. Ray Milland shows his easy-going style as Rhubarb's "guardian". Jan Sterling is the girlfriend who is allergic to the feline. Gene Lockhart is good as always, and William Frawley appears (probably because of the baseball subject of the storyline) just prior to his I Love Lucy success. The film has sprightly direction by Arthur Lubin, a master in dealing with animals. After this film he went on to do the Francis the Talking Mule Films and Mister Ed for television (of course, of course). The film is fast moving and funny, and the DVD from Legend Films has a lovely transfer of the film. Especially fun for cat lovers.

If you've never seen this 1951 screwball comedy, you have missed a real gem. A cat that can fight and beat dogs, an eccentric baseball team owner who dies and leaves the team to the cat (Rhubarb), the cat's guardian (Ray Milland) whose fiancée is allergic to cats, a group of gangsters who believe Rhubarb is hurting their earnings in the field of betting (the team begins to win after they believe Rhubarb is good luck), and the dead owner's relations who have been left penniless by Rhubarb usurping them in their inheritance all mix together to make great fun for cat lovers and baseball lovers alike. Nobody remembers this one very much because it is rarely televised and also because it was made by Paramount, a studio that tends to neglect its many classic films. In fact, the expression that the Joker utters in the 1989 Batman film : "Never rub another man's Rhubarb" refers to this film, although almost everyone assumed a more unsavory meaning for the expression. The baseball team in this film starts to turn their luck around when one batter pets (rubs) Rhubarb before a game. It really is a great family movie, but not many people at all have seen this one and thus few understand what the Joker was talking about.

Todays young audiences probably won't find much to keep their attention, but none-the-less, it's a gem by any standards. A simple, yet charming tail (and everyone else here has pretty much summed up the plot) that I enjoyed through the early and mid 80's on television. I haven't seen it in probably well over 10... probably 15 years, but I've never forgotten it, and I would love to see again. It's story is so basic and timeless, that I'm surprised Hollywood hasn't jumped on the re-make bandwagon with this one. But probably just as well. The performances were priceless, and I'd hate to see anything in the story altered or changed in any way. If you've never seen it, take the time to do so. It'll be worth it!

A true classic especially for those lovers of furry little beasts and baseball. Gene Lockhart is delightful as T.J. Banner, owner of a baseball team that is not very good. He adopts a cat, a mean cat that has a "fire in his heart" that T.J. wants his ball team to have. That is why the name of Rhubarb is given to the cat. The team at first cannot stand being the laughing stock of the baseball world with a "cat" as the mascot. When another team brings a dog to chase Rhubarb the cat is the victor and the team slowly begins to behave with the "fighting spirit of the cat." Before T.J. can see all of this he dies and leaves his baseball team to Rhubarb with Ray Milland "Eric Yaeger" as the protector of the cat. This "cat team" starts to win and win and win. A must see comedy for all.