Rhubarb, le chat millionnaire

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.

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***

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!

This was one of my favorite movies growing up. My office has about about a two foot camel as you walk in and I named him Rhubarb, and have all my employees "pat" him on the head for good luck. I have to tell the story of Rhubarb to everyone because it seems NO ONE has ever seen this movie. There is a line in the first Batman movie where the joker says "Don't pat another man's Rhubarb"; though it doesn't seem anyone online knows where the phrase comes. In fact you can find many sites that quote that line with the explanation that Rhubarb means genitals! Maybe sometime in the near future this lost treasure will be available on DVD. Its also interesting to see a VERY young Lenard Nemoy as one of the baseball players. I think he may have one or two lines in the whole movie.

The movie is great fun. However, younger viewers, i.e Gen-Xers may not get some of the references. The plot is about a lovable but crusty industrialist, T. J. Banner, who finds a even more crustier cat which he names Rhubarb. When the man dies, six years later, he lives his fortune and baseball team, the Brookln Loons, to Rhubarb. Ray Milland plays the dead man's attorney Eric Yeager who is assigned as guardian to the the cat. The team resist the idea of being owned by the cat until Yeager convinces them that the cat is a good luck charm. Complicating matters is the late owner's daughter who was left with nothing and Yeager's fiancee, who is the teams manager's daughter, Polly Sickles, played by Jan Sterling, who is allergic to Rhubarb. This condition prevents the couple from marrying.

This movie is a skewed window on a bygone era. What I found amusing is that a TV broadcast broke away from a game during play for a commercial. Something I've never seen. Polly's reaction was no doubt standard for fans of that era.

Watch for the ending where Sterling's real-life husband, Paul Douglas, is sitting at a park bench, as Sterling, Milland, and Rhubarb walk by.