View source for Mousey

{{Short description|1974 Canadian film by Daniel Petrie}}
{{About|the 1974 Canadian thriller film|the American jazz drummer|Mousey Alexander}}
{{See also|Mousie (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Mousey
| image          = 
| caption        = 
| director       = [[Daniel Petrie]]
| writer         = John Peacock
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Beryl Vertue]]
* [[Aida Young]]
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Kirk Douglas]]
* [[Jean Seberg]]
}}
| music          = [[Ron Grainer]]
| cinematography = [[Jack Hildyard]]
| editing        = John Trumper
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* Associated London Films
* [[Universal Television]]
}}
| distributor    = {{Plainlist|
* [[American Broadcasting Company]]
* [[Anglo-EMI Film Distributors]]
* [[Alliance Films]]
* [[MCA/Universal Pictures]]
* MTC Video
* New Gold Entertainment
* VTI Home Vídeo
* [[Warner Home Video]]
}}
| released       = {{Film date|1974|03|09|US}}
| runtime        = 89 minutes<ref name="monthly" />
| country        = Canada
| language       = English
}}

'''''Mousey''''' (released as '''''Cat and Mouse''''' in cinemas and on UK television)<ref>{{harvnb|Coates-Smith|McGee|2014|p=184}}</ref> is a 1974 Canadian [[thriller film|thriller]] [[action drama]] directed by [[Daniel Petrie]],<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kW8j6sHvrewC&pg=PA444 |title=Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors |first=Jerry |last=Roberts |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |date=5 June 2009 |page=444 |isbn=978-0-8108-6378-1}}</ref> and starring [[Kirk Douglas]], [[Jean Seberg]], and [[John Vernon]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_nvGCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA378 |title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2005 |first=Harris M. |last=Lentz III |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |date=24 October 2008 |page=378 |isbn=978-0-7864-5210-1}}</ref>

Although produced for television, the film was released theatrically outside Canada and the United States. In London, it was shown as part of a double feature with ''[[Craze (film)|Craze]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NPDHYMa025wC |title=The Wallflower Critical Guide to Contemporary North American Directors |first1=Yoram |last1=Allon |first2=Del |last2=Cullen |first3=Hannah |last3=Patterson |publisher=Wallflower |year=2000 |page=355 |isbn=978-1-903364-10-9}}</ref><ref name="seberg186">{{harvnb|Coates-Smith|McGee|2014|p=186}}</ref>

== Plot ==
In Halifax, Nova Scotia, biology teacher George Anderson (Douglas) is nicknamed "Mousey" by his students after he fails to dissect a frog. When he learns that his pregnant wife (Seberg) is carrying another man's child, he follows her to Montreal, where he intends to kill both her and her lover.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Tony |author-link=Tony Thomas (film historian) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6neu4_y238C&pg=PA283 |page=283 |title=The Films of Kirk Douglas |publisher=Citadel Press |date=1991 |isbn=978-0-8065-1217-4}}</ref><ref name="latimes" /><ref name="monthly" />

== Cast ==
{{cast list|
* [[Kirk Douglas]] as George Anderson
* [[Jean Seberg]] as Laura Anderson / Richardson
* [[John Vernon]] as David Richardson
* [[Bessie Love]] as Mrs. Richardson
* [[Beth Porter]] as Sandra
* [[Sam Wanamaker]] as Inspector
* James Bradford as Private Detective
* [[Suzanne Lloyd]] as Nancy
* Stuart Chandler as Simon
* Valerie Colgan as Miss Wainwright
* [[Mavis Villiers]] as Martha
* [[Elliott Sullivan]] as Harry
* [[Bob Sherman (actor)|Bob Sherman]] as Barman
* James Berwick as Headmaster
* Margo Alexis as Miss Carter
* [[Robert Henderson (actor)|Robert Henderson]] as Attorney
* [[Louis Negin]] as Couturier
* Jennifer Watts as Party Guest
* Tony Sibbald as Workman
* [[Don Fellows]] as Foreman
* Francis Napier as Engineer
* Roy Stephens as Hotel Receptionist
* Elsa Pickthorne as Concierge
* [[John Corbett]] as Pawnshop Customer
}}

== Production ==

''Mousey'' was filmed on location in [[Montreal]], Canada and at [[Pinewood Studios]] in England. Filming commenced in November 1973.<ref name="seberg186" />

== Reception ==
The film received mixed reviews. [[Steven H. Scheuer]] called it "complicated and not very interesting",<ref>{{cite book |first=Steven H. |last=Scheuer |author-link=Steven H. Scheuer |url=https://archive.org/details/moviesontv00sche/page/487 |url-access=registration |page=487 |title=Movies on TV |year=1977 |publisher=Bantam Books |isbn=978-0-553-11451-5}}</ref> and the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that it "seems to have been doomed from the start".<ref name="latimes">{{cite news |title=Kirk at the Breaking Point in 'Mousey' |last=Thomas |first=Kevin |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=9 March 1974 |page=B3}}</ref>

[[Leonard Maltin]] reviewed the film more favourably, calling it "tightly made" and praising Douglas as "wonderfully sinister".<ref>{{cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |author-link=Leonard Maltin |url=https://archive.org/details/tvmovies00malt/page/742 |url-access=registration |title=Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide |page=742 |year=1989}}</ref> ''Amis du film'' described it as a "good 'suspense' film", though noted a lack of originality in its plot.<ref>{{harvnb|Coates-Smith|McGee|2014|p=185}}</ref> The ''[[Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' called it "a thriller with some pretensions to psychological depth".<ref name="monthly">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Monthly Film Bulletin]] |first=John |last=Raisbeck |title=Cat and Mouse |location=London |volume=41 |issue=480 |date=1 January 1974 |page=122}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
''Mousey'' has been re-aired on television and released on VHS, with several film blogs noting a developing cult following.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tinaaumontseyes.com/the-tie-that-binds-rediscovering-mousey-usuk-1974-86-mins/ |title=The Tie That Binds – Rediscovering 'Mousey' (US/UK 1974–86 mins) |date=26 January 2015 |website=Tina Aumont's Eyes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ninjadixon.blogspot.com/2011/08/cat-and-mouse-1974.html |date=10 August 2011 |title=Cat and Mouse (1974) |website=Ninja Dixon}}</ref>

== References ==
;Citations
{{reflist|30em}}

;Bibliography
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7JjyHTthybAC |title=The Films of Jean Seberg |first1=Michael |last1=Coates-Smith |first2=Garry |last2=McGee |publisher=[[McFarland Publishing]] |date=January 10, 2014 |isbn=978-0-7864-9022-6 }}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0071862}}
* {{TCMDb title|474681}}
* [https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150024445 ''Cat and Mouse''] at the [[British Film Institute]]
* {{Allocine title|174165}}

{{Daniel Petrie}}

[[Category:Canadian action thriller films]]
[[Category:1970s action thriller films]]
[[Category:Canadian drama films]]
[[Category:English-language Canadian films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Daniel Petrie]]
[[Category:Films produced by Beryl Vertue]]
[[Category:Films produced by Aida Young]]
[[Category:Films scored by Ron Grainer]]
[[Category:Films shot in Montreal]]
[[Category:Films shot in London]]
[[Category:EMI]]
[[Category:Alliance Atlantis films]]
[[Category:ABC Motion Pictures films]]
[[Category:Universal Pictures films]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:1974 drama films]]
[[Category:1974 films]]
[[Category:1970s Canadian films]]


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