Rhubarb (1951 film)

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Rhubarb is a 1951 comedy "Screwball-noir" film directed by Arthur Lubin starring Orangey (a cat), Jan Sterling and Ray Milland.

[edit] Synopsis

The film concerns the consequences when a rich eccentric bequeaths ownership of a baseball team to a cat named Rhubarb, played by Orangey. A millionaire finds a stray cat and takes him into his home, making him his one true friend. When the millionaire dies, Rhubarb is his sole beneficiary.

When the team finds out they are owned by a cat they protest. Their publicist Eric Yeager (Milland) convinces them that Rhubarb is good luck. But Eric's fiancée Polly, played by Jan Sterling, seems to be allergic to cats, and the team's success may mean new hazards for Rhubarb, including gangsters and thwarted romances.

[edit] The lead role

Orangey was also known for his performance as "Cat" ("the poor slob without a name") in the 1961 Blake Edwards film Breakfast at Tiffany's. He won Patsy Awards (Picture Animal Top Star of the Year, an animal actor's version of an Oscar) for his appearances in both Rhubarb and Breakfast at Tiffany's, the only cat so far to win more than once.