Mousey

Kirk Douglas is "Mousey", a man who has clearly had enough of being just that -- timid, not respected and taken advantage of (apparently).

He stalks his ex-wife who is remarrying and pines for his ex-stepson, but his motives seem too cartoonish or stereotypical, not well-explained beyond the above broad strokes. The story line feels robotic rather than tense, you're not really given enough time with the imperiled parties to care.

Kirk Douglas is hammy. He also reminds me of his son Michael's movie Falling Down, also about an ex-husband coming apart, particularly as they both wore horn-rimmed glasses.

Jean Seberg is still gorgeous in her 30s but with a rather limited role that any TV actress could have easily played.

Apparently this was meant to be an official movie release that wound up in the ABC Movie of the Week? If this is so, one can see why.

I have a soft spot for made for TV movies from the 1970s, but you won't miss anything if you pass.

"Mousy" (also known as "Cat and Mouse") is a made for television movie that was, according to IMDB, shown as a theatrical release overseas. It stars Kirk Douglas and Jean Seberg and John Vernon co-star in the film.

When the film begins, George Anderson (Douglas) is in a foul mood and walks off his job as a school teacher. Apparently, his wife left him for another man and he's sick of being seen as a meek man....hence the students' calling him 'Mousey'. He spends the rest of the movie working out a twisted revenge against her, though much of it is directed against innocent folks, as he travels to Montreal where his ex- lives and begins a reign of terror.

While in some ways the film is an interesting character study by Douglas and the filmmakers, it borders on being 'murder porn'....a movie that seems to get off showing a vile human being killing for kicks. And, unlike Freddy Kruger or Jason, this is realistic. I also worry that some sicko might watch the film and enjoy it or take their queue from it. Overall, a disturbing and somewhat offensive movie...one I cannot believe they actually made for television. Not for the squeamish!

Disregard the relatively low score and negative comments. MOUSEY is one of the best made-for-TV suspense/horror films of the '70s, and that's saying something.

The film is taut from beginning to end....the sort of sustained low-key tension that keeps you on edge and engrossed, but rarely provides jump-out-of-your-seat moments. The alternate title, CAT AND MOUSE, is more apposite, for that's the game Kirk Douglas's character is playing throughout. How he outwits his ex-wife, her new husband, and their crew of private investigators is wonderfully entertaining.

Douglas's performance is a well-judged balance of pathos, dementia, and understandable spite, that ably evokes sympathy from the viewer. The remainder of the cast is not particularly noteworthy, but the other actors aren't given much to do anyway. It's Douglas's show.

The film's only other liability (minor as it is), aside from the odd snippet of painfully trite expository dialogue, is the music score. It isn't awful, but it doesn't do much to accentuate the suspense at key moments, and the same melancholy theme is repeated a little too often. Director Daniel Petrie's craftsmanship, however, is flawless and understated.

The thrilling conclusion of MOUSEY, a sequence of events that uncannily recalls the memorable, allegedly precedent-setting "call-tracing" scene from the estimable BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974), actually predates its more famous cousin: "Mousey" was broadcast on TV just weeks before "Black Christmas" started filming. Coincidence?

That is indeed the question. This movie has a lot of questions, but -provide few answers.

For instance: Why is Kirk Douglas taking revenge on his ex wife? Is it because she divorced him? Because she is giving her son her new husband's name instead of his? Or is it something else?

We get no answers to these questions. Maybe he is blaming his ex for being called "Mousey?" Who knows!

Here is the bottom line: Kirk Douglas is engaging the people involved in a game of cat & mouse and we are not told why.

This is no way to make a movie, even for TV. If they are going to make movies-don't ask questions and then not provide answers. There are far worse movies than this, but at least most of them provide answers as to why the characters do what they do.

Don't expect to get much pleasure out of watching this one-note, slow-moving made-for-TV thriller. It's just too thinly plotted for a feature-length film, and despite its cinematic look and Kirk Douglas' convincing performance, it has only a handful of mildly tense moments. (**)