Tall in the Trap
Tall in the Trap is a Tom and Jerry animated short film released on September 14, 1962.[1] It was the tenth of the thirteen cartoons in the series to be directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder in Czechoslovakia. The short's plot parodies the popular CBS-TV western series that was airing at the time - Have Gun – Will Travel.
| Tall in the Trap | |
|---|---|
 The title card of Tall in the Trap. | |
| Directed by | Gene Deitch Directing animator: Václav Bedrich (uncredited) |
| Produced by | William L. Snyder |
| Story by | Bill Danch Tedd Pierce Gene Deitch |
| Starring | Allen Swift |
| Music by | Steven Konichek Played by: George Jirmal |
| Animation by | Jindra Barta Antonín Bures Mirek Kacena Milan Klikar Vera Kudrnová Vera Maresová Olga Sisková Zdenka Skrípková Zdenek Smetana (all uncredited) Checking: Ludmila Kopecná (uncredited) |
| Backgrounds by | Background paint: Bohumil Siska (uncredited) Assistant: Miluse Hluchanicová (uncredited) |
| Color process | Metrocolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date | September 14, 1962 |
Running time | 7:39 |
| Country | United States Czechoslovakia |
| Language | English |
Plot
In the Old West town of Dry Gulp, Jerry - wanted for "cheese rustlin'" - steals a piece of cheese at the general store. When the shopkeeper angrily demands action, the sheriff hires the "fastest trap in the West" to Jerry's horror, a dramatic scene shown before the start. This turns out to be Tom, who comes to town riding spurs like skates. He crashes into the sheriff's office and gives him a card saying "Have Trap, Will Travel". He then gives a poor demonstration of how he is quick on the draw with mousetraps.
Tom and Jerry gather for a confrontation of drawing their weapons, but when Tom draws his weapons, he accidentally breaks his belt and the bottom half of his fur falls down, revealing his boxers. Tom jumps away in shame as Jerry throws himself to the ground in a fit of laughter. Once Tom has recovered, he gives chase until they reach Jerry's hideout. Jerry rushes inside, but Tom puts his hand through the door, trying to grab him. Jerry then puts a large bag of flour in Tom's hand to fool him into thinking it's him. As Tom tries to yank it out, Jerry opens another door above Tom's head and hits him with a large mallet. An angry Tom then chases Jerry to Rocky's Saloon, where he gets his head caught in the clapping doors before finding him in the basement.
Tom is now armed with a rifle and as he prepares to take aim, Jerry tricks Tom into a game of turning the light on and off while going down to take aim at Jerry then go back up to turn the lights back on, until Jerry finally uses reverse psychology to fool Tom into going back up to turn the lights on when they already were on and ends up turning the lights off and falling down to the bottom of the stairs when he tries going down after Jerry. After the lights comes back on, Tom's rifle is aimed at him by Jerry, who then shoots him.
The chase continues with Jerry running into another hole. Tom draws one of his traps and lines it with cheese, hoping to catch Jerry, but the mouse opens a door behind Tom, pulling his tail into the trap. When the trap snaps, Tom realizes too late that his own tail is in it and leaps into the air with a very high pitched scream.
Finally, Tom brings a powder keg from the general store, hoping to get rid of Jerry once and for all. Jerry uses a brace and drills a hole in the bottom of the keg and the gunpowder trickles out before Tom lights the fuse at the top. Seeing this, Tom pushes the barrel into a water hole near the sheriff's office. But the fuse at the top is still burning and the keg explodes, destroying the Sheriff's office. The Sheriff angrily aims his six shooter at Tom and chases him out of town, while Jerry steals the last piece of cheese from the general store.
References
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 150–151. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.