Gay Purr-ee (1962)

Paul Frees: Meowrice, Cat at Railway Station

Quotes 

• Meowrice : If you ever decide to marry, boys, marry for love... of money.

• Meowrice : [after his henchcats run into a bulldog while chasing Mewsette]  Get rid of that dog, you bumbling idiots!

  Bulldog : Your whiskers tickle, cats. And since I can't stand to be tickled by no cats, I'm going to tear your tails off and have 'em for breakfast.

  Meowrice : [pleading with him]  We understand your feelings, sir. Nothing like cats' tails for breakfast...

  [Meowrice motioning towards Mewsette] 

  Meowrice : ... but back there among those barrels is a...

  [the bulldog growls and then chases him and the henchcats] 

  Meowrice : Yee-ow! Please, let's talk this over!

  [groans] 

• Meowrice : [eats some sardines from a can]  Canned fish, what will they think of next? Everything is packaged these days, even pretty girls, hmm?

  [turns towards Mewsette who is locked in a basket crying] 

• Meowrice : As they say, evil is the root of all money... money trees, that is! Big, green money trees!

• Meowrice : [singing]  When teacher can't teach you, and preacher can't preach you, when agents can't reach you... the money cat can! The money cat knows where the money tree grows!

• Bartender : What'll it be your pleasure you're having, s'il vous plaît?

  Jaune-Tom : Uh... Uh, milk.

  Bartender : Milk?

  Robespierre : No, no, let's live it up big, Jaune-Tom: STRAIGHT CREAM!

  Meowrice : No, no, Messieurs. On an occasion such as this, we drink champagne.

• Meowrice : [to Mewsette]  Tonight, I wish to speak of love and marriage. You have thought of marriage, haven't you?

  Mewsette : Yes, I... I suppose I have.

  Meowrice : Good, then I know just the one for you.

  [gestures toward a picture] 

  Meowrice : Here's his picture. His name is Henry Pfft of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

  Mewsette : [looking at the picture with disgust]  You mean you want me to marry this... this fat old...

  Meowrice : [interrupting her, laughing]  You are as bright as you are pretty, my dear, so please get into the basket like a good little bride to be.

  [His henchcats show her the basket] 

  Mewsette : [frightened]  Who are they?

  Meowrice : Business associates, cherie. Just get into the basket and you won't have to look at them anymore.

  Mewsette : [horrified]  Into the basket? No, oh, no!

  Meowrice : [mocking her]  Yes, oh, yes! You are going to Pittsburgh to marry that rich American. Isn't that what you wanted? Isn't that why you left the farm?

  Mewsette : Yes! I mean, no!

  [crying] 

  Mewsette : I just... I just want Jaune-Tom!

  Meowrice : Jaune-Tom? You mean the world's greatest mouser?

  [laughs] 

  Meowrice : Why, old Jaune-Tom is probably in Alaska about now.

  Mewsette : He is not. You're lying, just like you did about everything else!

  Meowrice : [coming towards her menacingly]  Call it a weakness. Now get into the basket!

  Mewsette : No, I won't! I'm not going to marry anybody!

  [Runs away] 

  Meowrice : [to his henchcats]  After her, boys!

  [his henchcats trap her in a bell tower] 

  Meowrice : Don't let her fall! I have already paid the postage!

• Meowrice : [His henchcats catch Mewsette in a sack after she tries to jump off a bridge]  Nice fielding, team. Come along, we'll take the scenic route home.

• Meowrice : Never send kittens to do a cat's job, I always say.

• Meowrice : [threatening his hench-cats]  Now - get out and find Mewsette... or there will be four new violins in the world!

• Meowrice : [writing a letter]  Dear Mr. Phtt: According to your instructions, I am having Mewsette's portrait painted by the most famous artists in Paris. Many of them are not yet well-known in America, so please allow me to tell you a little bit about each one. Monsieur Claude Monet might well be said to be the father of the Impressionist movement. You will notice how Monsieur Monet achieves a shimmering light throughout the picture and an impression of air and space. A man of noble birth is Monsieur Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec who is perhaps best known for his striking posters for the Moulin Rouge. Pointillism is a highly individual style developed by Georges Seurat, in which he creates his astonishing effects by the clever placing of tiny dots of paint next to each other. Henri Rousseau is an ex-soldier with no formal art training. He is known as a primitive painter. With his vivid imagination, he is creating a charming world of his own, where oranges grow on banana trees. Amadeo Modigliani is a talented young Italian painter who shows great promise. Sometimes, his models have great difficulty holding the pose for him. A Dutch painter who has found new inspiration here in Paris is a man of violent temperament: Vincent Van Gogh. To achieve a strong emotional impact, he sometimes applies paint directly from the tube. Monsieur Edgar Degas frequently uses ballet dancers as his models. To arrive at his delicate color harmonies, he often uses pastels instead of oil paints. Don't be concerned when you see Auguste Renoir's portrait. Mewsette has not gotten fat. Monsieur Paul Cézanne is an intellectual artist. He is a masterful organizer of color, composition and form. His subjects often take on the aspects of a still life. The dynamic Paul Gauguin has only recently returned from Tahiti, and his paintings show the influence of the South Sea Islands. Another young painter here in Paris is a volatile Spaniard who shows every indication of someday setting the art world afire. His name is Pablo Picasso. And so, hoping that you will enjoy them, I ship these paintings on to you. And tonight, I am sending the original article: Mewsette herself.

  [he finishes writing his letter and seals it in an envelope, which he then hands to one of his hench-cats] 

  Meowrice : Here, mail this letter, Armand. Now, I want no slip-ups. The train leaves at midnight. I'll be back shortly with the belle of Paris. I want you to see that she is comfortably settled in her... compartment.

• [in pursuing Mewsette, Meowrice and his hench-cats have a run-in with a bulldog that results in Meowrice having to be bandaged up for a while] 

  Meowrice : [to his hench-cats]  After all I've done for you, taught you everything I know, made you despicable scoundrels beyond compare! And what happens? You meet one little dog, and I, Meowrice, have to save your miserable, worthless lives. Now get out there and find Mewsette!

• [When Meowrice sees Mewsette's new look, he becomes so amazed that his whiskers and tail go rigid] 

  Mme. Rubens-Chatte : [to Meowrice]  Why, brother! Don't tell me...

  Meowrice : Momentary lapse, my dear. Even cats are sometimes human.