Professor Tom
| Professor Tom | |
|---|---|
| Tom and Jerry series | |
Title card
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|
| Directed by |
William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Produced by | Fred Quimby |
| Story by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Music by | Scott Bradley |
| Animation by |
Ray Patterson Irven Spence Kenneth Muse Ed Barge |
| Layouts by | Richard Bickenbach |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7:33 |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Old Rockin' Chair Tom |
| Followed by | Mouse Cleaning |
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.
Tom is a professor, teaching a small brown 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.
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