By Richard Harland Smith
Zebra in the Kitchen
Brief Synopsis
A young boy tries to liberate animals from the city zoo.
Cast & Crew
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Ivan Tors
Director
Jay North
Chris Carlyle
Martin Milner
Dr. Del Hartwood
Andy Devine
Branch Hawksbill
Joyce Meadows
Isabel Moon
Jim Davis
Adam Carlyle
Film Details
MPAA Rating
Genre
Comedy
Adventure
Family
Release Date
Jun
1965
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Ivan Tors Enterprises
Distribution Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 32m
Sound
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Color
Color (Metrocolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.85 : 1
Synopsis
Young Chris Carlyle lives with his parents, Adam and Anne, on a ranch where he has made friends with a mountain lion cub. When the Carlyle family moves to a small town, Chris is told that he must leave his pet behind, but the lion hides in the trailer and arrives with the family. Upon discovering the stowaway, Chris's father finally persuades the boy to give the lion to a local zoo. Dr. Del Hartwood, the superintendent, and Branch Hawksbill, the zoo keeper, are friendly; but the zoo is crowded and Chris feels sorry for the animals caged there. One day Chris picks up the zoo keeper's keys and frees his lion as well as the rest of the animals. The animals run rampant with their new freedom; lions, hippos, elephants, monkeys, and zebras romp through the town and into the homes of the people. Hartwood and Hawksbill manage to round them all up before the police can shoot them, and the town finally awards the zoo much-needed funds for improvements.
Director
Ivan Tors
Director
Cast
Jay North
Chris Carlyle
Martin Milner
Dr. Del Hartwood
Andy Devine
Branch Hawksbill
Joyce Meadows
Isabel Moon
Jim Davis
Adam Carlyle
Dorothy Green
Anne Carlyle
Karen Green
Wilma Carlyle
Vaughn Taylor
Councilman Pew
John Milford
Sergeant Freebee
Tris Coffin
Councilman Lawrence
Merritt Bohn
Chief of police
Robert Clarke
Sheriff
Percy Helton
Mr. Richardson
Jimmy Stiles
Tim
Dal Jenkins
Kookie
Gordon Wescourt
Ribs
Gary Judis
Greenie
Robert Lowery
Preston Heston
Wayne Thomas
Newscaster
Doodles Weaver
Nearsighted man
Jon Lormer
Judge
Vince Barnett
Man in man-hole
Phil Arnold
Man in tub
Crew
Warren Adams
Film Editor
Africa U. S. A.
Wild animals supplied by
Art Arthur
Screenwriter
Warren Barker
Music
Lamar Boren
Director of Photography
Elgin Ciampi
Story
George W. Davis
Art Director
Henry Grace
Set Decoration
Addison Hehr
Art Director
Ralph Helfer
Associate Producer
Hal Hopper
Composer
Jack Mills
Set Decoration
Franklin Milton
Recording Supervisor
Harry Redmond Jr.
Associate Producer
Eddie Saeta
Assistant Director
Norman Siegel
Assistant to the prod
Ivan Tors
Company
Ivan Tors
Producer
William Tuttle
Makeup Supervisor
Film Details
MPAA Rating
Genre
Comedy
Adventure
Family
Release Date
Jun
1965
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Ivan Tors Enterprises
Distribution Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 32m
Sound
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Color
Color (Metrocolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.85 : 1
Articles
Zebra in the Kitchen -
Maverick producer-director Ivan Tors got his start in Hollywood as an MGM contract writer, contributing to the scripts for In the Good Old Summertime (1949) and That Forsyte Woman (1949) before breaking out on his own to make science fiction films (The Magnetic Monster, Riders to the Stars) based on science fact. Eventually, the Hungarian émigré turned away from overtly fantastic themes to focus on the wonders of the natural world, producing such features as Underwater Warrior (1958), Rhino! (1964), and Around the World Under the Sea (1966), and creating such family-friendly hit TV series as Flipper, Daktari, and Gentle Ben. One of only three features directed by Tors himself, Zebra in the Kitchen (1965) marked the comeback of child star Jay North following the cancellation of Dennis the Menace. Made in Hollywood (and utilizing the old Griffith Park Zoo), this MGM release takes its concern for animal rights to the level of slapstick in the tale of a spirited youngster who frees a menagerie from activity, causing panic in a small American town. In addition to the studio veterans (Andy Devine, Doodles Weaver, Percy Helton) corralled for cameos, Tors cast two actors destined for small screen stardom: Jim Davis, later the patriarch of TV's Dallas, and Martin Milner, whose seems here to be warming up for his long-running gig as prowl car cop Pete Malloy on the Jack Webb series Adam-12. Daktari's Marshall Thompson also turns up in an uncredited bit as a townsman who has a close shave with a black bear (Gentle Ben star Bruno).
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
Zebra in the Kitchen -
Maverick producer-director Ivan Tors got his start in Hollywood as an MGM contract writer, contributing to the scripts for In the Good Old Summertime (1949) and That Forsyte Woman (1949) before breaking out on his own to make science fiction films (The Magnetic Monster, Riders to the Stars) based on science fact. Eventually, the Hungarian émigré turned away from overtly fantastic themes to focus on the wonders of the natural world, producing such features as Underwater Warrior (1958), Rhino! (1964), and Around the World Under the Sea (1966), and creating such family-friendly hit TV series as Flipper, Daktari, and Gentle Ben. One of only three features directed by Tors himself, Zebra in the Kitchen (1965) marked the comeback of child star Jay North following the cancellation of Dennis the Menace. Made in Hollywood (and utilizing the old Griffith Park Zoo), this MGM release takes its concern for animal rights to the level of slapstick in the tale of a spirited youngster who frees a menagerie from activity, causing panic in a small American town. In addition to the studio veterans (Andy Devine, Doodles Weaver, Percy Helton) corralled for cameos, Tors cast two actors destined for small screen stardom: Jim Davis, later the patriarch of TV's Dallas, and Martin Milner, whose seems here to be warming up for his long-running gig as prowl car cop Pete Malloy on the Jack Webb series Adam-12. Daktari's Marshall Thompson also turns up in an uncredited bit as a townsman who has a close shave with a black bear (Gentle Ben star Bruno).
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Filmed at Los Angeles' Griffin Park Zoo.
