Draw Catch

While ordering a few run of the mill door catches, I came across this at McMaster Carr.
These remote actuation cable latches allow doors to be opened remotely. McMaster describes them as:

Operate these latches from a distance—a flexible cable connects the latch and the T-handle. Pull on the handle to retract the round, spring-loaded bolt. Because the cable is flexible, you can bend it around corners and other obstructions. Min. bend radius is 1.5". The recommended maximum amount of total bending is 720° . You have two mounting options: through-hole mount the handle and bolt housing(s) or surface mount them using the included mounting plates. The through-hole mounting size for the handle is 1/2". The through-hole mounting size for the bolt housings is 9/16".
Handles are plastic. Bolts are zinc-plated steel. Mounting plates are 12-ga. steel with a black-oxide finish and require #10 screws (not included). Strike plates are Type 304 stainless steel and require 1/4" screws (not included).
Please specify cable length: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 feet.

These seem like they would be a great low-tech way to do a variety of special effects. I could have used something like that when I did Blithe Spirit a few years back.