Rhubarb (1951)

Rich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes an affectionate pet. Then T.J. dies, leaving to Rhubarb most of his money and a pro baseball team, the Brooklyn Loons. When the ... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writers:

Dorothy Davenport (screenplay) (as Dorothy Reid), Francis M. Cockrell (screenplay) (as Francis Cockrell)

Stars:

Ray Milland, Jan Sterling, Gene Lockhart

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ray Milland	...	Eric Yeager
Jan Sterling	...	Polly Sickles
Gene Lockhart	...	Thaddeus J. Banner
William Frawley	...	Len Sickles
Elsie Holmes	...	Myra Banner
Taylor Holmes	...	P. Duncan Munk
Willard Waterman	...	Orlando Dill
Henry Slate	...	Dud Logan
James Griffith	...	Ogelthorpe 'Oggie' Meadows (as James W. Griffith)
Jim Hayward	...	Doom
Donald MacBride	...	Pheeny
Hal K. Dawson	...	Mr. Fisher
Orangey	...	Rhubarb (as Rhubarb)

Storyline

Rich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes an affectionate pet. Then T.J. dies, leaving to Rhubarb most of his money and a pro baseball team, the Brooklyn Loons. When the team protests, publicist Eric Yeager convinces them Rhubarb is good luck. But Eric's fiancée Polly seems to be allergic to cats, and the team's success may mean new hazards for Rhubarb.

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Plot Keywords:

cat | baseball | feral cat | golf ball | golf | 

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Taglines:

The Story of the Millionaire Tomcat ... who inherits a big-league ball team!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Sport

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 February 1952 (France)

Also Known As:

Aj, som katten

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Perlberg-Seaton Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fourteen different cats portrayed Rhubarb at different points in the film. Each cat was trained to do a different trick. Three of the most identical cats appeared in the courtroom scene where Polly Sickles has to choose which one is the real Rhubarb.

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Goofs

Near the beginning of the movie when rhubarb is being chased by dogs across the golf course, rhubarb runs into the bushes a golf ball lying on the ground shifts positions (without being touched) one second before the dogs enter the bushes.

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Quotes

Eric Yeager: [to Rhubarb] Now listen ya lug, you're in the chips now, the blue chips. So stop acting like a goon squad. This is an okay dame. She doesn't want a nickel of your dough.
[to Polly]
Eric Yeager: stroke him very gently on his head.
Polly Sickles: Why, he doesn't even hiss.
Eric Yeager: You're now a member of the club.

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Crazy Credits

The opening cast list ends: "and introducing the newest addition to Hollywood's great galaxy of stars -- that dynamic, exciting, scintillating personality RHUBARB (by special arrangement with the S.P.C.A.) ...A.H.A. Y.M.C.A. U.C.L.A. B.P.O.E. R.F.C.)"

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Connections

Referenced in The Comedy of Terrors (1963)

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Soundtracks

FRIENDLY FINANCE COMPANY
Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Sung by chorus in parody TV commercial

User Reviews

simple as this:

It had baseball, it had kitties. They would have had to really labor to screw that up. Utterly consequential but really sweet, with a good line about artichokes.