Customer Reviews

The cat's-paw

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Cat's-Paw seemed like such a stretch from the other Kelland books I've read that I ended up doing a little Google search for the author. To my slight surprise many of his books were turned into films. Probably his best known adaptation is Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (recently remade as just Mr. Deeds). I also learned that Kelland is Harlan Ellison's favorite author and he has a rant on his website bemoaning that no one reads Kelland's books anymore or even remembers him.

This particular book was in fact made into a film, also called "The Cat's-Paw" and it starred Harold Lloyd in 1934. Harold Lloyd playing a rather serious character who grew up in China (but is not Chinese)? From the description on IMDB, it sounds like the book was turned from a cautionary tale against government and business corruption to a full-out screwball comedy romance. Yes, there is a romantic element to the book (all Kelland books contain a romantic boy-meets-girl thread) but in Cat's-Paw, this romance is muted and down-played. If I ever come across a copy of the film I'll have to rent it just to see how it was bastardized.

Another important theme which was probably tossed out for the film was that of prejudice. The main character, though American by birth, is culturally Chinese having spent his entire life in China. He speaks Chinese (Catonese), he respects the Chinese leaders and philosophers (and quotes them frequently). He is always respectful to the Chinese imigrants living in Middlesex (much to the bemusement of the other characters) and rebukes his friends who do not show the same respect. From the movie poster on IMDB, I think all of this was tossed out.