THE CAT BURGLAR

Produced by Gene Corman (Roger's little brother) and directed by serial and action movie veteran William Witney, THE CAT BURGLAR (1961)  is a stripped down (65 minutes running time), knock off of Samuel Fuller's far better film, PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (1953). Although the film's share a similar plot, CAT is nonetheless an effective little crime film, economically shot and assembled in a matter of days with a small but solid cast. 

Jack Coley (Jack Hogan) is a small time Los Angeles cat burglar. One night, he breaks into the apartment of a beautiful young woman, Nan Baker (June Kenney) and steals her briefcase. Unbeknownst to both Jack and Nan, the briefcase contains stolen chemical formulae that were supposed to be delivered to a couple of foreign spies. Jack tries to bargain with the spies for more money but his efforts ultimately put Nan in peril. Jack (who is not really a bad guy, despite his life of crime), has a chance to redeem himself and save Nan in a climactic warehouse shootout. 

Shot on location and on sparse sets, THE CAT BURGLAR moves fast thanks to director Witney and cinematographer Taylor Byars. The leads are solid and the supporting cast includes a couple of Corman regulars: Gene Roth (as a pawn shop owner) and Bruno VeSota as a fence for stolen goods. 

THE CAT BURGLAR is no minimalist masterpiece but it is a fun little film. Check it out if you're a fan of low budget B films.