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Lubin recalled that on the first day of filming the cat who played
Rhubarb "deliberately bit me in the leg. I was quick enough to retaliate with a quick kick that sent me spinning. Fortunately the Humane Association representative was not looking. From then on the cat and I had a good actor-director
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Brooklyn begins winning and will play the powerful New York team for the championship. But a bookie who stands to lose big if
Brooklyn wins decides to kidnap the cat. Brooklyn's fortunes turn for the worse while the search for Rhubarb goes on, until the cat finally escapes from his captors and races
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expressed interest. Todd bought the film rights for $ 100,000 but then had financial troubles and could not pay. Smith was approached by other producers - one wanted to change the cat to a dog, another wanted to change the baseball team to a football team so as to appeal to
Britain. The project was
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magazine wrote "There are some funny moments though the director can’t overcome the main problem of all live action movies about cats – namely, their personality doesn’t come across screen. There’s no strong relationship between
Rhubarb and Ray Milland so the film feels hollow at its core in a way
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Filming took place in March 1951. Fourteen different cats portrayed
Rhubarb at different points in the film. Each cat was trained to do a different trick. Three of the most similar looking cats appeared in the courtroom scene where Polly Sickles has to choose which one is the real Rhubarb.
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Banner's spoiled, greedy, and unhappy daughter Myra (Elsie Holmes) files a lawsuit, contesting the will. And when the team's players discover they are owned by a cat, they stage a protest until Yeager persuades them that
Rhubarb brings them luck.
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optioned to another producer who did not pay the option fee and another producer wanted the cat to inherit a burlesque house. There was no interest in the project for two years, then film rights were bought by
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A nationwide talent search was held to discover a cat to play the title role. It went to Moody, who belonged to Agnes Murray of
Sherman Oaks. Moody had twenty three different stand ins.
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PARAMOUNT TEAM GETS 3 NEW FILMS: Perlberg-Seaton
Production Unit Assigned to Handle Story by H. Allen Smith, 2 Others By THOMAS F. BRADY Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES 20 Oct 1950: 34
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but they passed. So too did several other studios. In August 1950 Lubin sold the project to
Paramount. In September the film was assigned to a production unit at Paramount run by
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ROLE IN U.-I. FILM FOR DAVID WAYNE: He Will Play Joe in Studio's 'Up Front With
Mauldin'-- Paramount Buys Novel By THOMAS F. BRADY Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES 12 Aug 1950: 20.
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The film was based on a novel by H. Allen Smith which was published in 1946. Smith had written several books of humorous items but this was his first novel. The
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said the film had "a lot of good natured chuckles" but also "some arid stretches and the humor is seldom as sharp as it was in the book."
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Feline Star Has Retinue Of Stand-Ins: Hollywood Letter By Richard Dyer MacCann Hollywood. The Christian Science Monitor 17 Apr 1951: 7.
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CONFESSION OF A CONFIRMED AILUROPHILE: PROVING THAT LIFE WITH FATHER CAN BE TOUGH By H. ALLEN SMITH. New York Times 19 Aug 1951: 92.
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Helen Kane Will Again 'Boop-a-Doop;' Joshua Logan Acts in 'Outbreak' Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 27 Dec 1949: A7.
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Milland to Play Press Agent for Cat; Margaret Sheridan Debut Slated Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 24 Oct 1950: B9.
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Looking at Hollywood: How a Story Reaches Screen One Writer's Tale Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune 27 Jan 1951: a2.
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Books of the Times: Rhubarb Gets the Loons Double Your Money Back By CHARLES POORE. New York Times 2 Aug 1946: 28.
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relationship. He was cruel and nasty to everyone on set but he respected me and kept his distance."
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Flynn, Charles; McCarthy, Todd (1975). "Arthur Lubin". In Flynn, Charles; McCarthy, Todd (eds.).
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Williams of Red Sox Gets $ 50,000 Film Offer Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 8 Oct 1946: A3.
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In 1973 Lubin was working on a TV series based on the movie. It was never made.
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team, the Brooklyn Loons, takes a liking to a dog-chasing stray cat (played by
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In January 1950 Lubin had hired Dorothy Reid to work on the script and wanted
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RHUBARB Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 18, Iss. 204, (Jan 1, 1951): 349.
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The film earned an estimated $ 1.45 million at the US box office in 1951.
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to star; Reid and Lubin had collaborated numerous times, most recently on
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called it a "rough and raucous satire". The book became a best seller.
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was interested in the film rights but stepped aside when
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http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/88160/Rhubarb/trivia.html
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William Frawley began portraying "Fred Mertz" in the
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THE SCREEN IN REVIEW New York Times 31 Aug 1951: 25.
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initially broadcast two months after the release of
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728:PUSS GETS BOOT New York Times 8 July 1951: 69.
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589:"The Top Box Office Hits of 1951"
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299:to the ballpark to save the day.
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940:The House of a Thousand Candles
516:the Francis movies never did."
244:. The supporting cast features
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1116:Where Did You Get That Girl?
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779:. E. P. Dutton. p. 370.
758:"The Cinema of Arthur Lubin"
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1092:I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now
595:. January 2, 1952. p.
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1100:Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
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405:who had just made
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234:Jan Sterling
226:Arthur Lubin
220:by humorist
217:
212:
211:
210:
177:Running time
154:Release date
103:Jan Sterling
69:
40:Arthur Lubin
1236:New Orleans
1172:Keeping Fit
1132:In the Navy
1060:The Big Guy
948:Yellowstone
924:Two Sinners
479:I Love Lucy
447:Ray Milland
354:Henry Slate
315:Ray Milland
281:Ray Milland
277:beneficiary
238:Ray Milland
232:along with
205:$ 1,450,000
99:Ray Milland
81:Produced by
49:David Stern
36:Directed by
1419:1951 films
1413:Categories
572:References
513:Diabolique
488:Desi Arnaz
424:Glenn Ford
382:Production
311:as Rhubarb
202:Box office
181:94 minutes
165:1951-08-29
137:Van Cleave
46:Written by
498:Reception
398:Mike Todd
371:as Pheeny
123:Edited by
1388:Hold On!
822:AllMovie
560:See also
266:baseball
194:Language
133:Music by
95:Starring
66:Based on
1276:Rhubarb
1252:Francis
842:at the
839:Rhubarb
831:at the
828:Rhubarb
817:Rhubarb
806:Rhubarb
795:Rhubarb
593:Variety
537:Rhubarb
492:Rhubarb
435:Francis
428:Francis
420:Francis
309:Orangey
270:Orangey
230:Orangey
218:Rhubarb
213:Rhubarb
197:English
186:Country
163: (
70:Rhubarb
22:Rhubarb
1399:(1971)
1391:(1966)
1383:(1964)
1375:(1961)
1367:(1957)
1359:(1956)
1351:(1955)
1343:(1955)
1335:(1955)
1327:(1954)
1319:(1954)
1311:(1953)
1303:(1953)
1295:(1952)
1287:(1952)
1279:(1951)
1271:(1951)
1263:(1951)
1255:(1950)
1247:(1949)
1244:Impact
1239:(1947)
1231:(1946)
1223:(1946)
1215:(1945)
1207:(1944)
1199:(1943)
1191:(1943)
1167:(1942)
1159:(1942)
1151:(1941)
1143:(1941)
1135:(1941)
1127:(1941)
1119:(1941)
1111:(1940)
1103:(1940)
1095:(1940)
1087:(1940)
1079:(1940)
1071:(1940)
1063:(1939)
1055:(1939)
1047:(1939)
1039:(1939)
1031:(1939)
1023:(1938)
1015:(1938)
1007:(1938)
999:(1938)
991:(1937)
983:(1937)
975:(1937)
967:(1937)
959:(1936)
951:(1936)
943:(1936)
935:(1935)
927:(1935)
919:(1935)
911:(1935)
903:(1934)
523:Awards
533:Oscar
800:IMDb
539:and
505:The
486:and
469:and
441:and
303:Cast
256:Plot
248:and
236:and
820:at
809:at
798:at
552:by
550:DVD
73:by
1415::
760:.
597:70
591:.
580:^
430:.
252:.
879:e
872:t
865:v
764:.
599:.
167:)
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