Movie Review: The Cat Burglar (1961)

Synopsis: Impoverished Jack Coley works as a cat burglar to pay his rent and steals some jewelry and a briefcase from Nan Baker's apartment. What he doesn't know is Nan is an unwitting mule for an espionage ring her boyfriend, Alan, is involved with and the briefcase contained important stolen papers he threw out, putting both his and Nan's lives in danger.

Who's in it? The movie stars Jack Hogan, June Kenney, John Baer, Gregg Palmer and Billie Bird.

Review: I had planned on watching another movie this morning but since Stormcloud decided to join me by curling up on my lap, I instead looked for a movie that had a cat theme to it. The Cat Burglar was the first one I could find in a reasonable amount of time, so I gave it a try.

It turned out to be a good choice.

This is one of those movies that revolves around someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time and, in the case of Jack (Hogan), it was about as wrong as he could get with the notebook he winds up with containing a secret formula that could either make him a lot of money or, more likely, get him killed. As the movie's bad guys, including Alan (Baer) grew more desperate, it certainly seemed like the latter would be the case - especially since he was letting greed get the better of him.

I was more intrigued by Nan (Kenney), who was an unwitting pawn in all of it but started to wise up as the movie progressed. It was unclear just how much danger she was in. Alan was a bad guy but did seem like he genuinely cared for her. At the same time, his partners likely would have gunned him down to silence her. Plus, since he had lied to her for so long, it was also very possible his romantic feelings were a lie too.

The final battle between Jack and the gang of spies was an exciting one, with Jack outnumbered 3-to-1 and doing the heroic thing of trying to keep Nan safe. Alan, for the reason I mentioned above, remained a bit of a wild card in all of it and I didn't know for certain which side he'd take until the end.

My only real complaint about the movie is the ending, which is a little too abrupt and, as it too often the case in movies like this, leaves someone standing around a dead body without bothering to show what happens next. I would have liked to see the film tack on five more minutes to add a bit more closure, especially since it was unclear if Nan was completely in the clear as far as criminal espionage charges were concerned.

Final Opinion: As I said, I wasn't crazy about the ending. However, the overall movie turned out to be an entertaining crime drama and I'd recommend it.

My Grade: A-

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Here are some reviews of other movies with spies:

Movie Review: Fanfare for a Death Scene (1964)

Movie Review: The Accidental Spy (2001)

Movie Review: Back in Action (2025)

Movie Review: 5 Steps to Danger (1957)