Zebra in the Kitchen (1965)

A young boy lets the animals out of their cages at the Zoo, to set them free, but the animals start taking over the town.

Director:

Ivan Tors

Writers:

Art Arthur (screenplay), Elgin Ciampi (story)

Stars:

Jay North, Martin Milner, Andy Devine

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jay North	...	Chris Carlyle
Martin Milner	...	Dr. Del Hartwood
Andy Devine	...	Branch Hawksbill
Joyce Meadows	...	Isobel Moon
Jim Davis	...	Adam Carlyle
Dorothy Green	...	Anne Carlyle
Karen Green	...	Wilma Carlyle
Vaughn Taylor	...	Councilman Pew
John Milford	...	Sgt. Freebee
Tristram Coffin	...	Councilman Lawrence (as Tris Coffin)
Merritt Bohn	...	Chief of Police (as Merrit Bohnt)
Robert Clarke	...	Sheriff
Percy Helton	...	Mr. Richardson
Jimmy Stiles	...	Tim
Dal Jenkins	...	Kookie

Storyline

A young boy lets the animals out of their cages at the Zoo, to set them free, but the animals start taking over the town.

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Plot Keywords:

police officer | telephone booth | dog | lion | watching tv | 

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Taglines:

The animal kingdom escapes from the zoo and winds up in everybody's back yard.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ein Zebra in der Küche

Filming Locations:

Canyon Country, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last film of Harry Strang

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Goofs

During the filming, Jay North had braces put on his bottom row of teeth. There are scenes where his close ups show him, pre-braces with his front teeth crooked. Other times it is clear in closeups that he is wearing braces.

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Connections

Featured in MGM 40th Anniversary (1964)

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Soundtracks

Zebra in the Kitchen
Words and Music by Hal Hopper
Sung by The Standells

User Reviews

Mixture of animal horseplay and financial seriousness is uneven, at best

Ivan Tors, who brought "Flipper" to movie (and later television) screens, tried his luck again with this animal-based comedy-drama starring Jay North, from TV's "Dennis the Menace". Framed in flashback for no apparent reason (other than to pad the reedy-thin narrative with exposition), story concerns a domesticated Puma mountain lion and his unhappy preteen owner, who is forced to give his pet to the local zoo after his parents relocate them from the sticks to the city. Nothing in this movie feels accurate: the boy's father lost the family homestead because he was apparently hurt, but there seems nothing wrong with sturdy Jim Davis in the part; the zoo appears to be in mountain terrain (away from the town) and is described for us as "shabby" and "pitiful" when, actually, it seems well-staffed and very clean; also, the youngster is taken in quite readily by the friendly zookeepers as an assistant, yet he treats this job indifferently (while scheming to betray everybody and free the Puma). North, a competent child actor, isn't allowed much mischief beyond stealing Andy Devine's cage-keys, and is kept petulant and scowling. The extraneous shots of animals eating or pacing their cages are dropped in sloppily (much of the time, they're not even reacting to anything, so there's no humor in their presence), while the quasi-slapstick finale--with zoo animals finding their way into homes, as well as the local ice cream shop--lays a big egg. *1/2 from ****