Rhubarb

An eccentric millionaire (Lockhart), soured by his daughter's lack of affection, leaves his empire - including a baseball team - to a stray cat called Rhubarb, appointing the team's publicity manager (Milland) as the cat's guardian. A nice opening sequence has Lockhart watching gleefully as the disrespectful stray drives the VIP members of an exclusive golf club crazy by stealing balls from under their noses. After that it's downhill all the way as Milland fights off escalating problems: the disgruntled daughter (Elsie Holmes) tries to discredit Rhubarb in court as an impostor, then to have him eliminated; Milland's wedding has to be postponed several times because his fiancée (Sterling) seems to be allergic to Rhubarb; and worried bookies kidnap the cat when the baseball team, convinced he is a good luck charm, unexpectedly starts winning. Laboriously written, directed and acted (apart from Lockhart and the splendid cat), the comedy obstinately refuses to fizz.