Reeling from the Bringing Up Baby debacle, Dewey sought work everywhere, but was shunned as "box office poison." The once-promising actor could not get a walk-on part in a B-movie, and found himself bussing tables to make ends meet.
But Dewey had made a friend of Cary Grant while on the set of Baby, and Grant did not forget his spunky pal. Having struggled a long time to convince friends in the Hollywood establishment to take a chance on Dewey, he finally persuaded Alfred Hitchcock to hire Dewey to be Grant's stunt double in Notorious.
Though not an onscreen role, Dewey's work impressed Hitchcock. The director came to appreciate the agility a cat can bring to a role, and Dewey became Hitchcock's go-to guy for action sequences from then on. It has been rumored, though never confirmed, that Hitchcock originally offered the role of John Robie, "The Cat", in To Catch a Thief to Dewey - but that Dewey refused, saying he could not betray the friend who had rescued his career.