Cue Ball Cat (1950)

 

The first year of the 1950's showed Tom and Jerry films still at the consistant high quality that they had maintianed in the 1940's. The duo's last cartoon of 1950, surely continued this trend. 

This short film, like all the best Tom and Jerry cartoons, has a very simple storyline. Jerry is sleeping under a pool table. When Tom unknowingly hits him with a pool ball, a big fight begins between the two. 

This is an excellent cartoon. Out of this very simple premise, the filmmakers were able to get a true wealth of gags. Not only are the gags here very funny, but they are also very clever. In fact, this film might have some of the cleverest Tom and Jerry gags ever. A lot of these clever gags revolve around the use of objects around the pool hall. These is especially true for how the cue balls take on a life of their own. Tom's impossible tricks with the cue balls are just the beginning of these great gags. I love how the group of cue balls follow Jerry like a train, a gag that becomes even funnier with the use of train sound effects. I also love that these cue balls after wards form almost into a body sticking out of one of the holes, and that the number in the center of the top one turns into to eyes to give Jerry a mean look. As well as these gags this cartoon is also loaded with the violent slapstick one associates with Tom and Jerry. Once again, these violent gags work so well not because of the gags themselves but because of the delivery. William Hanna's timing and the character animation are both pitch perfect here and can make even the weakest gags work. I also love how this is a pure Tom and Jerry cartoon. There are no side characters and not dialogue. Instead all we have is Tom and Jerry and a wealth of slapstick gags. Often that is simply all you need. 

The credited animators on this film are Irven Spence, Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse and Ray Patterson. The cartoon was reissued to movie theaters in 1956. 

A clip from this cartoon is seen in the horror movie, Night of the Lepus (1972), where it can be seen on the screen at a dive in movie theater. Clips were also used in a 

Below is the movie poster for this film. I love the goofy look on Tom's face. 

Still the movie poster looks better than the cover for this Walton Super 8 release. Walton Super 8s were a series of films released for home viewing before home video. Besides Tom and Jerry, this London based company released many films starring Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy.