T.H.E. Cat

(intro narration) Night. A man is running away, he's being chased by 2 goons in a Rolls Royce. In the alley behind the Casa del Gato, the hoods (dressed as cops) get out of the car and shoot the man. Cat whales into the crooks, but they escape. Pepe asks Cat if he knows the murdered man; Cat doesn't, but the dead man had a note with Cat's name on it. Cat goes to meet Lisa, a beautiful woman around 30; she is on the 6th floor terrace of a swanky hotel. ""You got my message,"" Lisa says, as she offers Cat some champagne and they sip it together. Cat reminds his felonious friend, ""The last time you sent me a message, you cost me 50,000 pesetas."" (about $312) Cat tells her the man who delivered her message is dead; she says he was ""a dear friend"" yet seems remarkably unconcerned with his death. Cat quips her friends have a high mortality rate; and even as Lisa tells Cat of her latest $1.5-million larceny, she has drugged his champagne. When Cat wakes up, he is greeted by General Bu

(intro narration) Night. Dozens of policemen are having a big shootout with escaped convict Laurent, who is holed up in a large steel works plant. 2 officers are dead; Lieutenant Lassiter has sent for Cat. Lassiter explains to Cat that they can't rush Laurent, he has a hostage: nurse Valerie. Cat is an expert at high steel and high wires; so is Laurent. Complicating matters is the fact Laurent once saved Cat's life; Cat figures he still owes him, and will try to take him alive. Daylight. Laurent, armed with a high-powered rifle and a gun, is somewhere on the upper floors of a factory building, which consists of steel girders and exposed pipes (no walls, as if it were still under construction). The police fire to create a diversion, but Laurent sees Cat enter the site. Cat, silently as a panther, prowls about the upper stories-- but Laurent still manages to sneak up behind Cat and get the drop on him. Cat says he comes as a friend; Laurent retorts, ""To capture me and lock me b

(intro narration) Daytime. Cat is called to the mansion of Amelia Ferret, a rich lady in her late 70s. She fears for her life because of a large, rare ruby she wears, the ""sangre de Cristo"" (blood of Christ) ruby. She tells Cat the ruby has an evil power. Her father gave it to her mother; 2 days later she died. Amelia wore it on her wedding day; her fiancé died, and she became a spinster. It has brought nothing but death; she was afraid to sell the ruby, since it would bring death to the new owner and guilt to her. Now, after all these decades, she is going to shatter the evil spell: a jewel-cutter will fragment the ruby into 3 stones. Then the small rubies will be sold, and the money (a sizable sum) will be given to charity. The beautiful Gail Ogden tells Cat that death threats have been phoned in, warning them not to cut the ruby; the phone rings and Cat hears another threat himself. Amelia says they will all be safe at Carver Parmiter's ranch in the desert, which is where

(intro narration) There is a fashion show at some ritzy club. It is being presided over by Claudine Peyser, wearing a divine silver lamé outfit-- she's an attractive woman, but with a stern face (and whose irritating singsong voice sounds like she is doing a bad Phyllis Diller impression), ""LOOK at them, EMPty headed little VIXens. GREGory, reMIND me to send some ROses to that SEAMstress in PARis who got us into SAN SIOUX's showing... you wouldn't beLIEEEVE PARis."" Gregory Tyrole is her weirdo sidekick, wearing glasses indoors; (he's the actor who played the lunatic Cosmo in episode #10). Cat shows up, looking out of place at this showing of Paris fashions, and orders a vodka on the rocks from the bartender (rare for Cat to drink on the job). Cat talks to Valerie Evans, she hires the models for Claudine, at the exorbitant cost of $25 per hour (this is 1967 prices); Valerie makes a date with Cat for later that evening, a quiet dinner for two. Shortly thereafter, in the dressing roo

(intro narration) Night. A luxury liner, the Princess Louise, is docked. There is a huge party on board-- but there is also at least one uninvited guest: the Cat. The man in black sneaks into a forward cabin, and finds a beautiful young woman in black (Blossom) has just picked a wall-safe. She guesses correctly that her mother had sent for Cat to stop her. Then Cat struggles with her as he forces her out of the room, for her own safety. Ironically, it is Cat who is caught by 2 armed guards: Vincent and Bayo. Blossom escapes. Vincent and Bayo are actually nothing more than thugs, working for the crooked, dethroned King Delphine. They take Cat to the King's private room, and the King asks Cat who he works for. When Cat refuses to talk, Vincent suggests that when they are out to sea: a few bullets in Cat's head, and then throw him to the sharks. Cat retorts that in America, even a burglar has rights; and his friends would go to the police if he doesn't return. Since the former

(intro narration) Night, on a millionaire's estate. Cat climbs to the 2nd story of the mansion, and sneaks into a bedroom; immediately a beautiful woman, who was hiding behind the curtains, holds a small gun to the back of Cat's head. She says facetiously, ""Turn and face your punishment."" Cat quips, ""A punishment fit for a king."" The lady is his long-time friend, the Countess De Laurent; Cat kisses her. The Countess, with her charming foreign accent, tells Cat why she sent for him. She has been married for many years now to a rich American, Robert Lampson. But 3 years ago, she foolishly had a dalliance with that suave knave Gordon Amley, whom she describes as ""handsome and dashing."" When they broke up, Gordon blackmailed her: he threatened to tell her husband about their affair. She gave him a $50,000 diamond necklace, for his silence. The Countess had an excellently-crafted copy of the diamond necklace made; she is wearing the copy now. Trouble: her husband is having all th

The jazz band is playing at the Casa del Gato. A beautiful woman, Christine Martell, is nervous and wants Cat to protect someone; she gives Cat a blank check. He asks, ""Do I fill it out before or after?"" On the back of the check is written: Joey Crato -- Luna Arcade. Cat goes there, and enters Joey's Antique Shop, which is dark and deserted. Suddenly, a man wearing a red fez starts blasting with a chopper-- he hits a row of antiques and the windows, and misses Cat by a mile. Outside, Fetlock is sitting in the back-seat of a car, being chauffeured by a man wearing a turban; Fetlock uses his car phone to call the shop. Inside the shop, the man wearing the fez goes to answer the phone; he gets the cat's-claw knife thrown through his heart. Cat picks up the phone and hears, ""This is Fetlock. Is he dead?"" Cat answers, ""If you mean Joey Crato, he's not in."" A surprised Fetlock asks, ""Who is this? What is your name?"" The man in black answers, ""The name is Cat--T. Hewitt Edward Ca

An assassin dressed like a sailor walks up to the El Pescador (fisherman) Cafe, there are hotel rooms upstairs. In a hotel room, Vasco and another man quickly try to smuggle a boy (Victor) to safety, downstairs and out the back way. But downstairs in the cafe, the assassin stabs Vasco in the back. Our hero shows up, and there's a Cat fight; the assassin winds up with a sword in his gut. Vasco is lying injured on the floor, and says to Cat, ""I owe you 2 lives, my own and the boy's. Maybe only one life. A debt I acknowledge, Señor...?"" The man in black answers, ""Cat--T. Hewitt Edward Cat."" (intro music) Later, at the Casa del Gato, Pepe has housed the boy upstairs in one of his rooms; it's an hour before the Casa opens for business. The beautiful Terese Blanchert asks Cat to take care of the boy, and gives him an envelope full of money. But she refuses to answer any questions: who the boy is, who is trying to kill him. Cat gives her back her money; but for the sake of the boy,

Night. Andrea March is sitting at one of the restaurant's outdoor tables, on the sidewalk. She is sketching Moonface who is sitting at another table; his bald head, thick glasses and stark features make his face unique. Suddenly, 2 thugs show up and kill the proprietor. Moonface and the thugs are about to run away, but there was a witness: Andrea with her sketch pad. Moonface says, ""The girl-- she has my face!"" (well, that didn't come out right.) As they attack the girl, she screams for help. Just then, Cat is driving by in his cool sportscar; he stops, gets out and beats up the bad guys, but Moonface escapes. Andrea says, ""Thanks, mister. Mister...?"" The man in black answers, ""Cat--T. Hewitt Edward Cat."" (intro music) The cops show up. Cat is talking to Andrea who seems like a very nice, normal woman. She tells Cat he can keep the sketch and give it to the police. Cat seems attracted to her, and says he can be reached at the Casa del Gato. Then McAllister shows up; he ex

At midnight, Cat is on the roof of a tall building, and enters through the skylight. He slides down a long rope. He is immediately surrounded by many men in the dark; a spotlight hits Cat, who remains motionless. A man, obviously the leader (Silvio), steps forward and demands to know what Cat is doing here. Cat shows him a card (sort of like a Tarot card) with 2 crossed daggers, pointing down and dripping blood; in the background there is a coiled snake. Cat turns the card over, the back was blank but on it is some handwriting: ""12 o'clock."" The leader says this card was not meant for him, it was meant for Pepe Cordoza of the tribe Barbiria Cordoz. Cat says he came in his stead; the leader says he should not meddle in gypsy affairs, but adds, ""We will give you a reading. But I do not think you will relish your future, Señor...?"" The man in black answers, ""Cat--T. Hewitt Edward Cat."" (intro music) The beautiful gypsy Mariana reads Cat's left palm; she says his false loyalty to

Late afternoon, in a large castle-like home, filled with relics and paintings and statues, Cat walks down a corridor. Cat asks an old woman, ""Where are the servants?"" The old woman says, ""When death is about to enter the house, no one may remain to bar his way."" Cat opens a door, and sees a dead man (Hadis) propped up. The woman asks, ""You are not...?"" Cat says, ""Death? No."" The old woman asks, ""Then who are you? What is the name by which you walk?"" He answers, ""Cat-- T. Hewitt Edward Cat."" (intro music) Later, at the Casa del Gato, Cat is discussing the case with his pals. Captain McAllister thinks it was death by natural causes, there are no injuries on the body-- the old man's heart just stopped. Pepe says the man was marked for death, and talks of feuds, cults and rites of blood. The widow of Hadis phones Pepe asking for help; Pepe promises her that Cat will come. Back at Hadis' mansion, the widow Lilah (she was Hadis' 4th wife) tells Cat that she is worried her stepso

Cat walks up to a dilapidated apartment building. He goes upstairs and silently unlocks the door, and walks through the front room; then he kicks open the kitchen door. Inside the room, Omar Cantorte is holding a sawed-off shotgun to a girl's head; she is tied to a chair. Cantorte asks, ""You're the one? Your name?"" The man in black answers, ""Cat-- T. Hewitt Edward Cat."" (intro music) Cantorte tells the story. 17 years ago, his younger brother shot policeman J. W. Hardman's wife; she'd just had a baby (the girl now in the chair). Hardman went on a shooting spree and killed 5 members of the Brotherhood, including Cantorte's brother. Hardman has spent the last 17 years in prison, he is being released today. The Brotherhood has ordained his death. Cantorte offers a trade: the girl's life, if Cat brings him Hardman alive. Cat goes to the prison, and rides with Hardman on the train back to town. On the train, Cat saves Hardman from the Man with Pale Eyes, and 3 other members of th

Late at night, an elderly cat burglar, dressed all in black, breaks into a mansion, and cracks a wall safe; he tries to steal an object. The owner, Mr. Cahill, bursts into the room, and fires several shots at the burglar, who escapes out the window. On the roof, the elderly cat burglar is confronted by a young cat burglar, dressed in an identical all-black outfit. The young burglar asks, ""Don't you remember your best student?"" The elderly man says no, and asks, ""Who are you?"" The young man in black answers, ""Cat-- T. Hewitt Edward Cat."" (intro music) At the Casa del Gato, Pepe is telling Cat about the world-famous emerald called ""the Portuguese"" which is in the possession of that racketeer Cahill. It was no doubt the Portuguese that the Sandman tried to steal last night. Cat says the Sandman was more than just his teacher, he was a Master. McAllister shows up and talks to Cat. Even though McAllister knows Cahill has stolen the emerald, he can't just search his place without a