This short film returns to a plot device we haven't seen in a little while. This is when Tom and Jerry must team up against a greater evil.
In this film Tom again fails to catch Jerry. This causes him to be replaced by a new cat, Lightning. Lightning is a very fast cat and easily kicks Jerry out of the house. Tom and Jerry team up to get rid of this new cat.
This is very fun cartoon. From the very start this whole film moves at a very fast pace. The opening scene is so energetic and fun that it immediately draws you into the action (once again Scott Bradley's wonderful music plays a major role in this). There are some very good slapstick gags here. Many of the best gags come not from the slapstick violence but from little character moments. One of my favorites involves Lightning about to kick Jerry out, only for Jerry to stop him and kick himself out. The character animation on that gag is wonderful and makes it a highlight of the film. This is not to say that the scenes of slapstick violence aren't also delightful. An extended gag involving an iron and a magnet is slapstick violence at its best. The punch line of this gag is wonderful and puts a nice twist on the ending we are expecting. This whole extended gag sequence is also enhanced by Scott Bradley's energetic renditions of The Trolly Song (from the feature length MGM movie, Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)) and The William Tell Overture. Not only is this music a lot of fun to listen to but it also makes the onscreen action even funnier. The character of Lightning is also a lot of fun. The sheer speed that he runs is a great gag and helps this film's sense of energy. He also works incredibly well as a threat to our heroes and there is a joy at seeing them get the better of him. What also makes this film work better is that he is a thief who steals the food from the house when Tom and Jerry are outside. This helps make Tom and Jerry very sympathetic and easy to root for as they try to dispose of him.
The design for Lightning is an orange cat, about the same size and build as Tom. This design would be reused in later Tom and Jerry films whenever there was a group of cats needed. This orange cat design would also appear in the Spike and Tyke spin-off film, Scat Cats (1957) as well as the later Tom and Jerry TV series, The Tom and Jerry Show (2014) and Tom and Jerry in New York (2021). This design also appeared in the direct to video movies, Tom and Jerry: Cowboy Up! (2022) and Tom and Jerry: Snowman's Land (2022). However, in the subsequent uses of this cat design, the character doesn't show any signs of the incredible speed here, which means cartoon fans can debate whether this is the same character.
One scene from this film has been censored on TV airings. This is when Lightning dresses Tom up to look old and Tom's owner says, "take good care of poor old Uncle Tom". TV airings would take the word Uncle out.
This short film would be reissued to theaters in 1955 and again in 1965.
Heard on the soundtrack of this film is the pop tune, I’m Sitting on Top of the World. This song was written in 1925 by the songwriting team of Ray Henderson (music), Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young (lyrics). Al Jolson recorded in 1925 and it became a major hit for him. Jolson would later perform the song in the feature film, The Singing Fool (1928). Other artists who have recorded this song include the Melody Shieks, the Radio Franks, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Jerry Lewis, Doris Day, Aretha Franklin, Brenda Lee, Dean Martin (this was the title track of a 1973 album for him) and Dizzy Gillespie. Below listen to Al Jolson and Dizzy Gillespie's versions of this song.
Below is a movie poster for this cartoon. Once again, the MGM cartoon continue to have some of the ugliest movie posters. Just look at the foot kicking Tom and Jerry out.
-Michael J. Ruhland
Resources Used
https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/a-musical-up-roar-1947-49/
https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Old_Rockin%27_Chair_Tom
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