Down Beat Bear
Encyclopedia
Down Beat Bear is the 102nd one reel
animated
Tom and Jerry
short
, created in 1956
, directed and produced by William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
with music by Scott Bradley. The cartoon was animated by Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, Irven Spence and Lewis Marshall, with backgrounds by Robert Gentle and layouts by Richard Bickenbach. It was released on October 21, 1956 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
.
Tom enters, sits down and reads a newspaper, but the music makes Tom turn off the radio. Jerry is inside, irritated that this action removes all the light from the tubes inside the radio, and he turns the radio back on. Tom's head throbs from the loudness. Before Tom can quell the radio again, a news bulletin announces that a dancing bear is on loose. Jerry and Tom then proceed to toggle the radio on and off until Tom hides behind the radio when Jerry turns it on, and then Tom pulls the plug. Jerry peeps out and attempts to turn the radio on, but fails.
The bear dances down the street, and stumbles by Tom and Jerry's house. He then spots fruit on a nearby table and munches on them. Tom spots the bear and extends his arm stealthily across the room and grabs the phone to call the cops.
Jerry, meanwhile, plugs back in the radio. The bear then jumps into the house, grabs Tom before he can begin to call, and starts up a dance. Jerry looks astounded and sees this is a great opportunity to play with the cat. As the bear dances past the radio, Tom turns it off. The bear stares blankly at the cat, then drops him and resumes eating the fruit. Tom again attempts to use the phone, but Jerry is ready to turn the radio back on. Tom grabs the mouse, but the station button is still within reach and soon the cat is dragged across the floor by the bear. Tom then stuffs the bear into a closet, cuts the plug, and chases the mouse.
Jerry escapes the cat and hides in a full automatic record player. Tom cannot see him. Jerry plays a classical-music record. The bear breaks out of the closet when he hears the music, takes the door with him and runs right into the cat. Both cat and bear have their hands poked through a hole in the door and thus the bear can begin a tango dance (La Cumparsita
). Tom recovers and knocks on his side of the door. The bear closes the door on him and pushes Tom into a grandfather clock. He wonders where the cat may have gone and then he grabs the door. However, Tom takes the place of the pendulum inside while the bear continues the tango alone.
Tom spots the mouse waltzing by himself on top of the record player and breaks the record over Jerry's head. The chase resumes briefly until Jerry jumps on a piano and starts playing The Blue Danube
. Tom then flees, but is soon met by the bear. Tom grabs a scraper and hits the mouse off the piano with it as he is passing by. Jerry lands on top of an ukulele
and plays a jazz rhythm. Tom then tricks the bear into dancing right through the floor grate, and he breaks the ukulele while Jerry is playing. Jerry turns on a small portable radio and a second bulletin plays announcing a larger reward for the dancing bear.
Tom tries yet again to use the phone, but is interrupted by the music from the small radio. Tom dives through the various floor grates and then traps the bear in a folding couch. Tom chases Jerry outside, catches him, and takes the radio. He throws it into the air, but it slides across a branch and clicks on against an offshoot. Tom is shocked in bitterness and the bear asks him for a dance. To finish his reasons, he accepts it and lets Jerry escape. Tom dances with the bear in the moon.
Reel
A reel is an object around which lengths of another material are wound for storage. Generally a reel has a cylindrical core and walls on the sides to retain the material wound around the core...
animated
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
, created in 1956
1956 in film
The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
, directed and produced by William Hanna
William Hanna
William Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
and Joseph Barbera
Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....
with music by Scott Bradley. The cartoon was animated by Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, Irven Spence and Lewis Marshall, with backgrounds by Robert Gentle and layouts by Richard Bickenbach. It was released on October 21, 1956 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
.
Plot
Jerry prances into his home inside the Cabinet radio and hangs up his hat. He pokes himself out of the flap and turns on a loud music tune.Tom enters, sits down and reads a newspaper, but the music makes Tom turn off the radio. Jerry is inside, irritated that this action removes all the light from the tubes inside the radio, and he turns the radio back on. Tom's head throbs from the loudness. Before Tom can quell the radio again, a news bulletin announces that a dancing bear is on loose. Jerry and Tom then proceed to toggle the radio on and off until Tom hides behind the radio when Jerry turns it on, and then Tom pulls the plug. Jerry peeps out and attempts to turn the radio on, but fails.
Jerry, meanwhile, plugs back in the radio. The bear then jumps into the house, grabs Tom before he can begin to call, and starts up a dance. Jerry looks astounded and sees this is a great opportunity to play with the cat. As the bear dances past the radio, Tom turns it off. The bear stares blankly at the cat, then drops him and resumes eating the fruit. Tom again attempts to use the phone, but Jerry is ready to turn the radio back on. Tom grabs the mouse, but the station button is still within reach and soon the cat is dragged across the floor by the bear. Tom then stuffs the bear into a closet, cuts the plug, and chases the mouse.
Jerry escapes the cat and hides in a full automatic record player. Tom cannot see him. Jerry plays a classical-music record. The bear breaks out of the closet when he hears the music, takes the door with him and runs right into the cat. Both cat and bear have their hands poked through a hole in the door and thus the bear can begin a tango dance (La Cumparsita
La Cumparsita
"La cumparsita" is a musical piece written by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, an Uruguayan musician, in 1916. It is among the most famous and recognizable tango songs of all time....
). Tom recovers and knocks on his side of the door. The bear closes the door on him and pushes Tom into a grandfather clock. He wonders where the cat may have gone and then he grabs the door. However, Tom takes the place of the pendulum inside while the bear continues the tango alone.
Tom spots the mouse waltzing by himself on top of the record player and breaks the record over Jerry's head. The chase resumes briefly until Jerry jumps on a piano and starts playing The Blue Danube
The Blue Danube
The Blue Danube is the common English title of An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 , a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866...
. Tom then flees, but is soon met by the bear. Tom grabs a scraper and hits the mouse off the piano with it as he is passing by. Jerry lands on top of an ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
and plays a jazz rhythm. Tom then tricks the bear into dancing right through the floor grate, and he breaks the ukulele while Jerry is playing. Jerry turns on a small portable radio and a second bulletin plays announcing a larger reward for the dancing bear.