Wot a Night
Encyclopedia
Wot a Night is a 1931
animated film
. This is the first film in Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry series, later re-issued as "Dick and Larry
".
drivers at the train station on a stormy day, waiting for a fare. A train comes up, and two identical-looking men come out. They both try to get them in the taxi. After the men are settled, Tom drives the men. It rained so much, a frog jumped in to taxi and went back again.
They reach a castle, and the men walk in. Tom and Jerry run to the men to be paid, but are locked inside. Then, a cloud turns into a human-like figure with arms. He then plays crenellations as piano keys, and near towers act as pipes, similar to a pipe organ
, and two trees play their own branches like piccolo
s. As they walk, Tom is mortified as Jerry is interested as a giant bat
-like creature appears in front of them.
They come to a room where a skeleton is cleaning itself. After this point, they were sure paranormal things are happening. Odd things that happen include: ghosts standing behind them, finding a skeleton playing a piano while another skeleton dances to the music, a glove dancing, and a blackface
quartet
te of skeleton
s singing a song, which includes a few lines from versions of "Golden Slippers
", such as a "long white robe" and a "starry crown", and to stop gambling.
After these things had happened the two men walk in, and point at Jerry. Jerry lifts his shirt, and he realises he's a skeleton, too. Tom laughs, and he realises he is a skeleton, too. Tom is scared, and both men run for their lives, and the cartoon ends.
1931 in film
-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
animated film
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
. This is the first film in Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry series, later re-issued as "Dick and Larry
Tom and Jerry (Van Beuren)
Tom and Jerry are fictional characters that starred in a series of early sound cartoons produced by the Van Beuren Studios, and distributed by RKO Pictures. The series lasted from 1931 to 1933...
".
Plot
In their first film, Tom and Jerry are taxiTaxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
drivers at the train station on a stormy day, waiting for a fare. A train comes up, and two identical-looking men come out. They both try to get them in the taxi. After the men are settled, Tom drives the men. It rained so much, a frog jumped in to taxi and went back again.
They reach a castle, and the men walk in. Tom and Jerry run to the men to be paid, but are locked inside. Then, a cloud turns into a human-like figure with arms. He then plays crenellations as piano keys, and near towers act as pipes, similar to a pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
, and two trees play their own branches like piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
s. As they walk, Tom is mortified as Jerry is interested as a giant bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
-like creature appears in front of them.
They come to a room where a skeleton is cleaning itself. After this point, they were sure paranormal things are happening. Odd things that happen include: ghosts standing behind them, finding a skeleton playing a piano while another skeleton dances to the music, a glove dancing, and a blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
te of skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
s singing a song, which includes a few lines from versions of "Golden Slippers
Golden Slippers
"Golden Slippers" is a spiritual popularized in the years following the American Civil War by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The song is also known by its opening line, "What Kind of Shoes You Gwine To Wear". The song became the basis for a minstrel show parody song, "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers", which...
", such as a "long white robe" and a "starry crown", and to stop gambling.
After these things had happened the two men walk in, and point at Jerry. Jerry lifts his shirt, and he realises he's a skeleton, too. Tom laughs, and he realises he is a skeleton, too. Tom is scared, and both men run for their lives, and the cartoon ends.