Blue Cat Blues (1956)

 

Note: This review contains spoilers. 

Even for those who don't watch Tom and Jerry on a regular basis (I don't know what is wrong with those people either) may be familiar with Blue Cat Blues. You may have seen online a picture of Tom and Jerry sitting on a railroad track with text saying something like, "The last episode of Tom and Jerry ends with Tom and Jerry killing themselves." The film being referenced here is Blue Cat Blues. However, the claim that this is "the last episode" is ludicrous, and someone just started stating that for shock value. There were a few more Hanna-Barbera directed Tom and Jerry films after this and of course the series would continue under other hands after that. That being said, this is truly a cartoon that ends with our two main characters killing themselves. However, this is handled more as a form of dark humor than a conclusion for these characters' adventures.   

In this short film, Tom is sitting on the railroad tracks waiting to die. Jerry recounts how he ended up like this. We see Tom fall in love with a female cat. However Butch also falls for the same cat. Butch however is rich while Tom is poor and therefore Tom is unable to compete with him. When his girlfriend decides to marry Butch, Tom decides to kill himself. Jerry laments that it is sad that Tom couldn't have a faithful girl like he does. However, when he sees that his girlfriend has just married another mouse he joins Tom on the railroad tracks. 

Though the storyline of Tom and Butch fighting over a girl cat, this is a very unusual film for the duo. Here, Tom and Jerry are best friends, rather than rivals. Also, this is a rare Tom and Jerry short with spoken words through nearly the whole film. The dialogue comes from Jerry's inner monologue. Also, unlike usual much of the humor revolves around this monologue instead of being told completely visually. For instance, at one moment Jerry states that Tom flipped his lid, and we see the top of Tom's head literally flip. 

This is not one of my favorite Tom and Jerry shorts. This is mostly because of both the depressing ending and the focus on dialogue rather than the usual slapstick. I don't however think this is a bad cartoon by any means. There is a lot that actually works here. There are a couple good gags here including the gag of Tom "drinking" and the including of a slavery clause when Tom signs for the car. Scott Bradley's musical score is also wonderful here and I love the sleazy jazzy version of Frankie and Johnny that becomes the girl cat's theme. I also feel that Tom and Jerry are very likable here and as always Butch works very well as a rival for Tom. Still, I feel the final gag is too depressing for a comedy short and that some of the puns here are much too obvious. 

Frankie and Johnny is not the only song that Scott Bradley uses on the soundtrack. He also uses the song I’ve Got a Feelin’ You’re Foolin. This song was introduced in the movie Broadway Melody of 1936 (1936), where it was performed by Frances Langford. The song was written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. This is the same team that wrote such songs as Broadway Rhythm, You Are My Lucky Star, All I Do Is Dream Of You, Singin' in the Rain, You Were Meant For Me and Temptation. Many of their best songs can be heard in the classic movie musical, Singin' in the Rain (1952). This song has also been recorded by such artists as Eddy Duchin, Anson Weeks and the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. 

The credited animators on this film are Ed Barge, Irven Spence, Lewis Marshall and Kenneth Muse. The credited background artist is Robert Gentle and the credited layout artist is Dick Bickenbach. Gentle worked on such Hanna-Barbera shows as The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, The Flintstones, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo Where Are You, Super Friends and many more. Richard Bickenbach not only worked on William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's Tom and Jerry shorts but also on their later TV work. He would work on such Hanna-Barbera TV series as Quick Draw McGraw, The Huckleberry Hound Show, Top Cat, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo Where Are You and many more. He would also work on the Hanna-Barbera feature films, The Man Called Flintstone (1966) and Charolette's Web (1973) as well as the Loopy the Loop theatrical shorts. This marked the 103rd Tom and Jerry short. 

This short film appears on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 4, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection, Vol. 1, Tom & Jerry's Greatest Chases Vol. 3 and Tom and Jerry: No Mice Allowed, the VHS sets, Tom and Jerry: Festival of Fun and Tom and Jerry: Blue Cat Blues, the Laser Disc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume II as well as the new Blu-ray set Tom and Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection. This cartoon is also a bonus feature on the Blu-ray for the western, The Fastest Gun Alive (1956). 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/a-musical-up-roar-1954-57/

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Blue_Cat_Blues