The Cat from Outer Space – 1978
Mysterious visitor with unknown powers on our planet for supplies…. A six-pack of tuna?
Director
Norman Tokar

Writer
Ted Key

Producers
Ron Miller producer
Norman Tokar co-producer
Jan Williams associate producer

Cast
Ken Berry – Dr. Franklin ‘Frank’ Wilson
Sandy Duncan – Dr. Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Bartlett
Harry Morgan – Gen. Stilton
Roddy McDowall – Mr. Stallwood
McLean Stevenson – Dr. Norman Link
Jesse White – Earnest Ernie (the Gambling Dealer)
Alan Young – Dr. Winger (veterinarian)
Hans Conried – Chief Dr. Heffel
Ronnie Schell – Sgt. Duffy/Voice of Jake the cat
James Hampton – Capt. Anderson
Howard Platt – Col. Woodruff
William Prince – Mr. Charlie Olympus
Ralph Manza – Weasel
Tom Pedi – Honest Harry
Hank Jones – Officer
Rick Hurst – Dydee guard
John Alderson – Mr. Smith
Tiger Joe Marsh – Omar (Olympus’ thug)
Arnold Soboloff – NASA executive
Mel Carter – Soldier #1
Dal McKennon – Charlie Cooney (farmer)
Alice Backes – Ada (farmer’s wife)
Henry Slate – Sandwich man
Roger Pancake – Red
Roger Price – ERL expert #1
Jerry Fujikawa – Scientist
Jim Begg – Dydee driver
Peter Renaday – Bailiff (as Pete Renaday)
Nick Sorenson – Technician
Tom Jackman – Army engineer
Fred L. Whalen – Sarasota Slim
Joseph G. Medalis – Sucker (as Joe Medalis)
Gil Stratton – NASA scientist #1
Jana Milo – NASA scientist #2
Sorrell Booke – Presiding judge (uncredited)

Review by Theo Robertson

Cat from Outer Space (1978)
One Of The Lesser Disney Movies,
2004 has been a really awful year for Disney movies and I will not add insult to injury by reeling out a list of mega turkeys they`ve released in the past 12 months . If it`s any consolation to the studio at least their recent flops have had high production values unlike this 1978 offering.

The story itself is fair though somewhat silly but what really brings the movie down are the simply irredemable production values . First up is the picture quality which instantly reminded me of an old 70s cop show that had been lying in a TV archive for too long . You know those old repeats of STARSKY AND HUTCH and KOJAK that turn up on cable late at night ? well that`s how the picture quality looks like on this movie . Secondly I lost count (or rather I stopped counting after 300) of the number of times that the action cuts away from a location long shot to an actor standing in front of some laughably obvious back projection . I say “laughably obvious” but that gives the impression there`s something amusing about it when there`s not. Finally if this movie is called THE CAT FROM OUTER SPACE then why couldn`t they have dubbed the cat with a voice that sounds feline ? I know the cat is called Jake but couldn`t the producers have changed its name to something female and got Eartha Kitt to do the voice ?

All in all very grim stuff from the studio that brought us MARY POPPINS and 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA