History Film / TheThreeLivesOfThomasina

Inveranoch, Scotland, 1912: A young girl named Mary [=MacDhui=] (Karen Dotrice) is devastated when her beloved cat, Thomasina, apparently dies at the hands of her widowed veterinarian father Andrew (Creator/PatrickMcGoohan). The strained relationship between the girl and her father is eventually repaired with the return of Thomasina and the aid of Lori [=MacGregor=] (Susan Hampshire), a beautiful and mysterious "witch" who seems to have powers to revive and heal animals.

* MotherNatureFatherScience:Lori and Andrew's approaches to animal healing, respectively. Andrew is a professionally trained veterinarian, relies on the latest medical knowledge and know-how to treat most animals, and when a solution isn't found he'll euthanize the affected. Meanwhile, Lori isn't trained at all, but she's treated all of the wild animals near her home and all of them made strong recoveries just by her nurturing and letting nature do the healing for her.

* CatsHaveNineLives: The title evokes this old wives' tale. Although Thomasina only "dies" once. Her "first" life is her life with Mary before her NearDeathExperience, her "second" life is her amnesiac period after she revives, and her "third" life is her life after returning to the [=MacDhuis=] [[spoiler: and after Andrew and Lori's marriage]] in the end.

* PetTheDog: Despite his reputation, Andrew is not quite a heartless vet. He ensures old Mrs. [=MacKenzie=] that her beloved dog will be euthanized painlessly and doesn't even charge her for it, spends a whole day treating Ben's seeing eye dog successfully, and does take the time to properly treat the badger left at Lori's house despite his concerns with it being rabid.

* MotherNatureFatherScience: Andrew and Lori's approaches to animal healing, respectively. Andrew is a professionally trained veterinarian, relies on the latest medical knowledge and know-how to treat most animals, and when a solution isn't found he'll euthanize the affected. Meanwhile, Lori isn't trained at all, but she's treated all of the wild animals near her home and all of them made strong recoveries just by her nurturing and letting nature do the healing for her.

* RoguishRomani: In the latter half of the film, a Romani circus comes near the village. Contrast to Andrew's cold pragmatism in animal treatment and Lori's nurturing nature, ringleader Targus and his employees [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals all treat their animals cruelly]]--their bear has a bad foot, their horses are overworked, and by the time Lori comes to see the animals all their dogs are whining and pleading to be let out. They don't treat the locals any better, with some young performers wrestling Georgie and his friends while they and the women all whip and taunt Lori for being a "witch" and trying to free their animals.

* EmotionsVersusStoicism: Andrew is very much at odds with the village not only because he comes from the city, but because his approach to animal welfare and human interactions contrasts with theirs. He looks at everything from a realist stance, which makes him efficient at his job at the cost of him refusing to see the emotional value of the beings he treats [[spoiler:and unfortunately, his daughter]]. Meanwhile, the village is very close knit and treat both farm and house animals as treasured beings; so when Andrew takes a pragmatic approach to healthcare (euthanizing Mrs. MacKenzie's dog of fifteen years, taking a diseased cow and putting it down along with the other cows it was in contact with), they all see him as nothing but an impersonal murderer.

* PetTheDog: Despite his reputation, Andrew is not quite a heartless vet. He ensures old Mrs. MacKenzie that her beloved dog will be euthanized painlessly and doesn't even charge her for it, spends a whole day treating Ben's seeing eye dog successfully, and does take the time to properly treat the badger left at Lori's house despite his concerns with it being rabid.

* EmotionsVersusStoicism: Andrew is very much at odds with the village not only because he comes from the city, but because his approach to animal welfare and human interactions contrasts with theirs. He looks at everything from a realist stance, which makes him efficient at his job at the cost of him refusing to see the emotional value of the beings he treats [[spoiler:and unfortunately, his daughter]]. Meanwhile, the village is very close knit and treat both farm and house animals as treasured beings; so when Andrew takes a pragmatic approach to healthcare (euthanizing Anne's dog of fifteen years, taking a diseased cow and putting it down along with the other cows it was in contact with), they all see him as nothing but an impersonal murderer.