The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973)

Western story about a defiant wife who leaves her husband to take up riding with outlaws.

Director:

Richard C. Sarafian

Writers:

Marilyn Durham (novel), Eleanor Perry (screenplay)

Stars:

Burt Reynolds, Sarah Miles, Lee J. Cobb

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Burt Reynolds	...	Jay Grobart
Sarah Miles	...	Catherine Crocker
Lee J. Cobb	...	Harvey Lapchance
Jack Warden	...	Dawes
George Hamilton	...	Willard Crocker
Bo Hopkins	...	Billy Bowen
Robert Donner	...	Dub
Sandy McPeak	...	Ben (as Sandy Kevin)
Larry Littlebird	...	Iron Knife
Nancy Malone	...	Sudie
Jay Silverheels	...	The Chief
Jay Varela	...	Charlie Bent
Owen Bush	...	Conductor
Larry Finley	...	Bartender
Sutero García Jr.	...	Dream Speaker

Storyline

It's the frontier of the American west. Shortly after being released from prison where he was serving a sentence for murder, Jay Grobart leads a band of three other men - Dawes, Billy Bowen and an Indian named Charlie Bent - in robbing a train of its Wells Fargo cargo of $100,000. In their escape from the scene, they are forced out of circumstance to take along a young woman, against her will, she who is traveling by herself on horseback. She is Mrs. Willard Crocker - Catherine - who they can tell is wealthy. Although they do not let her go, she vows that she will not tell the authorities about them as she, like them, is running away. As Jay, the leader, embarks on his next mission - to fulfill the reason he stole the money - he has the problems of managing the three men, Dawes and Billy in particular who are solely out for their own selfish wants which now includes their carnal wants with Catherine, and making sure Catherine does not escape. But as they spend more time together and ...

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | outlaw | unlikely romance | interracial relationship | train tracks | 

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Taglines:

Two women loved him. One died for him. One killed for him.

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Genres:

Romance | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 1973 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

A férfi, aki szerette a táncoló macskát

Filming Locations:

Ajo, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min 123 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The phrase "Cat Dancing" refers to the name of the first wife of the central character Jay (played by Burt Reynolds).

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Goofs

During the opening credits Catherine is riding "side saddle" but her legs are both on the right side of the horse, which is the "wrong" side for an English ladies' saddle. The film is flopped in this shot as later she has her legs on the proper side.

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Quotes

Jay: I told you I didn't want anybody killed back there!
Dawes: Yeah, well, I forgot.

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Connections

Referenced in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)

User Reviews

Great Western

John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Humphry Bogart, James Coburn, Lee Marvin, Sean Connery, Harrison Ford -- well maybe not Harrison Ford -- created unique male personas on film and Burt Reynolds joins them. Cat Dancing is a 70's road film on horseback and Reynolds' performance shines with personal subtlety among other luminaries including Jack Warden, George Hamilton, Lee J. Cobb, and Jay Silverheels (AKA Tonto). The story line is not predictable and angst threads through the script. True love, what is it? The answer rolls down from the screen in Cat Dancing while Burt bites the dust and recovers. The Western by the 1970's was fading, but Cat Dancing proves the genre can be fresh in any decade.