"The Cat and the Fiddle" finds the Dynamic Duo avoiding a bat fry by turning the magnifying glasses just far enough to burn through their bonds, after which they're off to find Julie Newmar's Catwoman. Julie gets to do double duty, as the felonious feline impersonates elderly recluse Miss Minerva Matthews, unable to avoid flirting with the armored car driver, Ralph Staphylococcus (James Brolin, later seen in "The Catwoman Goeth" and "Ring Around the Riddler") by squeezing his arm. The top floor of Gotham State Building, 102 stories up, is the final destiny for Catwoman, where two priceless Stradivarius violins (eight pieces of cat gut), along with $500,000 proves to be her undoing. Jack Kelly plays unpopular columnist Jack O'Shea, like all her goons lamenting that he can't get closer to the curvaceous kitten (George N. Neise would be back in the final episode, "Minerva, Mayhem, and Millionaires"). Julie has a field day in her Minerva disguise, but as the episode concludes we're allowed to see Catwoman's vulnerability as her fondness for Batman becomes even more pronounced. The final scene takes place after her trial, cheek touching cheek before leaving, Commissioner Gordon remarking that Batman is blushing! He blames it on the heat, and viewers were not a bit surprised, as things would get even hotter between the Cat and the Bat (her next appearance would be a cameo in "Ma Parker," prior to her next caper in "The Cat's Meow").
Review of The Cat and the Fiddle
