Product Description

In a modern Western box-office hit, Burt Reynolds plays an outlaw whose gang kidnaps an independent-minded woman (Sarah Miles).

Product Details

• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Format: NTSC

Amazon.com
A psychologically intriguing Western that has much in common with the genre's Hollywood renaissance in the 1950s, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing stars Burt Reynolds as Jay Grobart, an outlaw who kidnaps the aristocratic Catherine Crocker (Sarah Miles) after she witnesses his gang pull a train robbery. Forced to travel with the desperadoes, Mrs. Crocker is repeatedly subjected to threats of sexual violence by two of the men (Jack Warden, Bo Hopkins), but is protected by the otherwise seemingly dispassionate Grobart. Meanwhile, the hostage's insufferable husband (George Hamilton) hires a bounty hunter (Lee J. Cobb) to track Grobart down, which proves relatively easy since the fugitive, who becomes the lonely Mrs. Crocker's lover, is headed into dangerous Indian territory for reasons that are as heartbreaking as they are illuminating. A harsh film that asks viewers to care about a hero who did something unforgivable but who finds love unexpectedly, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing is full of surprises. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Top 25 all-time favorites
If you like a well-done Western, you'll enjoy this one. It has everything - train robberies, shoot outs, Outlaws, Indians, bad guys, heroes, strong women and strong men, romance and a touch of humor. It's too bad Burt Reynolds didn't choose more movies roles like this. He plays the part very well and Sara Miles is enchanting as the strong-willed Catherine. And what Western would be complete without Lee J. Cobb and Jack Warden? Look for an amazingly well done performance by (of all people) George Hamilton.

Now - I only wish Warner would put it out on DVD!

ONE OF BURT REYNOLD'S BEST SCREEN PERFORMANCES, PERIOD.

Reading westerns and watching western films has always been something of an enjoyment. In my humble estimation this film is as good as it gets. The movie comes from the book THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING by Marilyn Durham, a 1972 hardcover book published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. was a nationwide bestseller, eventually republished as Dell mass market paperback #5246, July, 1973. Marilyn Durham is also the author of DUTCH UNCLE.

Though an off-beat western with equal sadness and joy, the actors, rugged scenery, and tight script make 'Cat Dancing' a movie very hard to equal. As usual Lee J. Cobb is just a gem, and has one of the best spoken lines in a movie, ever. There is a gritty reality to this movie that few others ever attain, Yellow Sky, 100 Rifles, Shane, and The Walking Hills, and The Professionals all come to mind.

In this film though Reynolds is not only a very flawed man, but equally one in denial, the viewer is still on his side. And at film's end you just gotta believe Sarah Mile's injunction willing him to live will carry through. Even the crusty Lee J Cobb is willing to walk away.

I have a couple copies of this film on VHS from TV movie channels, but nothing would be better than to have it on DVD. Keep the faith, I never thought the movies YELLOW SKY or RAWHIDE would make it to DVD but they did. So hope lives on that this one will be issued on DVD, too.

Semper Fi.

Ladies Love Outlaws
I once had a roommate who often played a song with the lyrics, "Ladies love outlaws like babies love stray dogs." This movie sets out to prove that point when a spirited woman, Sarah Miles, fleeing her husband gets kidnapped by a band of outlaws led by Burt Reynolds. Romance on the Range soon ensues. As westerns go, it's pretty enjoyable.