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(intro narration) Gangster Milo Andrade, along with 2 of his thugs, is having a meeting in his penthouse apartment with handsome, young black comedian Timmie Taylor. In front of them is a 10-gallon aquarium filled with piranha, their teeth "sharper than razors." Milo tells Timmie to sign the management contract: 90% for Milo, 10% for Timmie-- no wonder Timmie has got The Ninety Percent Blues. When Timmie refuses, Frankie Welles and the other thug grab him, and force his hand into the piranha tank-- but only for a second, as a warning. One thug forces Timmie into the next room. Then Cat silently enters the room, knocks out Frankie Welles and throws him across a table. Cat sneaks Timmie out, and to safety.

That night, at a nightclub, Timmie is doing his act: dancing with a 4-piece band (bass guitar, horn, drums and piano) and telling jokes-- "My friend was on a far-out diet. For 3 weeks all he ate was bananas. He didn't lose any weight, but man, you should see him climb trees!" (it's a wonder Timmie doesn't starve, even with 100% of his salary.) In the audience are Cat, and Timmie's beautiful black girlfriend Marcie Moore; Timmie sits at their table after his show. Marcie is the one who hired Cat; she also wants Timmie to sign, because she doesn't want to see him dead.

Then Milo Andrade, with Frankie Welles and 2 other goons, crash the scene. Milo points out that a few years ago, Frankie Welles was one of the most promising middleweight boxers, and had a shot at being champion-- but he didn't like his contract. Now Frankie has a stump wrapped in leather where his right hand used to be. Milo says with Timmie, they'll cut his vocal cords so he can't talk above a whisper. But Timmie tears up the contract. Cat gives Milo an elbow to the gut that knocks the wind out of him. Milo threatens, "There'll be other times," and Milo and his thugs leave.

Not much later, Milo's 3 hoods follow Cat, outside the Casa del Gato. Cat starts beating them up, but they finally overpower him; they take Cat for a ride in Milo's car. Milo wants to pay Cat to stay out of it; Cat refuses, and they dump him in the street. Then, a roughed-up Cat visits Timmie and Marcie; (beating up Cat only makes him more determined). Cat asks Timmie if he has enough information on Milo to testify against him and put him behind bars. Timmie says yes, and adds that Milo has records and papers in a wall-safe at his apartment. So Cat does what he does best-- he uses his grappling hook and rope to scale to the top of Milo's building, and cracks his wall-safe. (but Cat keeps his gloves on! Some safecrackers actually use sandpaper on their fingertips to make their fingers more sensitive, to feel the tumblers in the lock.)

Frankie Welles sneaks up behind Cat. Even though Milo had piranhas eat off his right hand, Frankie is going to fight to defend his boss. Frankie attaches a metal hook to his right stump. Even though Frankie was a middleweight boxer, and coulda been a contender, Cat finishes him off with 2 punches. Milo and a thug enter; Cat flips the thug, and shatters a stool over his head-- the thug crashes into the aquarium, sending broken glass and piranhas onto the floor. Then Cat turns his attention to Milo. Cat pounces like a panther on Milo, and slugs him, and tells him, "You're through, Andrade. All your dirty wash is in that safe." And Timmie's testimony will put him away for a long time.

Later, Timmie is doing his nightclub act. Timmie says he talked to a producer about getting his own TV series: he will be Superman who is also the president of the United States, and he fights bug-eyed monsters from outer space who work in cahoots with Ho Chi Min; the producer said it's too far-fetched, leave out the part about Ho Chi Min. (Timmie's jokes aren't any better, but at least he's a free man, not controlled by any gangster.) Cat and Marcie and the rest of the audience laugh, and give Timmie heartfelt applause. (synopsis by: kdh)


[trivia: Carol Cole is the adopted daughter of Nat "King" Cole, and the sister of singer Natalie Cole.] Add a recap »