Professor Tom
4 /10 1 Votes
Film series Tom and Jerry Producer Fred Quimby | Music director Scott Bradley Duration | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Language Not language specific Director William Hanna
Joseph Barbera Release date October 30, 1948 Directors William Hanna, Joseph Barbera Genres Animation, Short Film, Family film Similar movies Tom and Jerry movies |
Professor Tom is a 1948 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 37th Tom and Jerry cartoon released on October 30, 1948, directed by the duo's creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, produced by Fred Quimby, and animated by Ray Patterson, Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse and Ed Barge. It was reissued on February 3, 1956 for re-release.
Contents

Plot

Tom is a professor, teaching a small gray kitten named Topsy about catching mice. After a bored Topsy falls asleep, Jerry interferes and attempts to convince Topsy that mice are friendly. Tom tries to grab Jerry, but the mouse rubs his chalk to hurt his ears. Tom then catches Jerry, but is forced to let him go as Topsy then makes a screech on the chalkboard. As punishment, Tom forces Topsy to immediately chase Jerry. When Topsy reaches the mouse, Jerry shakes his hand to illustrate that mice are kind-hearted, but this causes Tom to scream in aggravation, so the chase continues.

Topsy proves to be clumsy, running into a chair and getting his head stuck between a couch and a table, but on both occasions Jerry helps him to his feet. Topsy then slips on the rug and crashes through the shower door as Tom runs off to search for him. Topsy then shields Jerry from Tom and goes off to teach Topsy that cat and mice like them should be friends, but Tom interrupts. Jerry holds Tom off with his pointer, but Tom resists Topsy's advances and sends him off to catch Jerry.

Topsy runs straight past Jerry, but Tom then starts to chase Jerry in a circle, handing Topsy a vase to ensure he hits Jerry. After a few laps around, Topsy does nothing, so Tom points at the vase and then points to Jerry to signal him. Topsy instead thinks he means to give Jerry the vase, so he does, and Jerry whacks Tom. As Jerry flees to his hole, Tom grabs a cigar to blow smoke into it, but he quickly turns sick and passes out. As Jerry emerges with a peg on his nose, Tom quickly recovers, but Jerry stuffs the cigar into his face to make Tom pass out again.

Jerry then runs back to Topsy, who picks him up. Tom, thinking Topsy has finally learned, shakes his hand, kisses him, and pats him on the head. Tom then asks Topsy to hand Jerry to him, but Topsy defies him and lets Jerry go. After Topsy trips Tom, an angry Tom grabs him and spanks him, causing Jerry to come to Topsy's aid by snapping Tom's tail. As Jerry runs down a carpet, Tom rolls the carpet up to trap him. Tom then goes to throw the carpet outside, but Jerry escapes and throws Tom and the carpet into the garden's pool. After Jerry runs back into the house, he slams the house doors in Tom's face and closes the windows.

Locked out, Tom decides to charge through the door at full force to break it down. Jerry quickly flees as an unaware Topsy opens the door. After Tom flattens Topsy, Jerry stretches an innertube across two posts on the backyard deck, stopping Tom in his tracks as he is sent flying back through the house and crashing through the mailbox. With Tom completely helpless, Jerry decides to punish Tom for what he has done. As he grabs a 2 X 4 board and goes to paddle Tom, Topsy stops him. He decides to spank Tom himself as revenge for Tom spanking him. Topsy takes the paddle and gives Tom a moment to think about what is coming. He then spanks him good, afterwards, he gives Tom's teacher hat to Jerry and the two walk off holding hands as friends, proving Jerry's theory correct.
Production
Availability
DVD