Release Date:

June 16, 1951

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A burly, unsympathetic, and perpetually hungry dog uses a cat to get meat from various residences by having him pose as their pet but is always displeased at the lack of gravy (“What!? No gravy!?”).

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1132 and was released as a Looney Tune.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue.

Although the cartoon was released concurrently with the cartoons Eugene Poddany scored, this one was scored by Carl Stalling. Evidenced by the production number, this one was likely delayed during production.

Like with “Fresh Airedale”, this is another instance where Jones’ disdain of dogs is clearly shown.

Disney animator Eric Goldberg (who animated the genie in “Aladdin”) stated that this is his very favorite Warner Bros. cartoon.

The cartoon is in the 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons book.

Peter Alvarado did the layouts for this one instead of Robert Gribbroek.

Oddly, when the dog buys the meat market near the end, he doesn’t seem to mind that none of the meats in there have gravy on them.

The cartoon rarely airs on television due to the dog being a very cruel character (despite his cruelty, the cartoon is still hilarious) and one scene of the mouse being unwillingly disguised as an African native. Fortunately, it is available restored on both the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 DVD set and the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 1 Blu-ray set.

The cat resembles Penelope only with red fur while the mouse somewhat resembles Hubie and Bertie.

The dog is the most memorable of all of John T. Smith’s voice work for Warner Bros. He also makes the simple line of dialogue, “What!? No gravy!?” sound hilarious every single time.

The cartoon is shown in the 1997 film, “Conspiracy Theory” and the 2001 film, “Cats and Dogs”.

A few staff members’ names appear in the want ads of the newspaper. The man who refers to the cat as “Butch” has his surname as Vaughan, which is a reference to Lloyd Vaughan. The same man’s address is also 12 Termite Terrace, which is of course a reference to the old Termite Terrace building on the studio lot. The old man who refers to the cat as “Timothy” is named “K. Harris” which is a reference to Ken Harris. The director of the zoo where the cat is the “saber-toothed alley cattus” is named “C.M. Jones”, which is a reference to Jones.

If you enjoy plots where an antagonist who is meant to be disliked gets a well-deserved comeuppance in the end (see also Pete in the Mickey Mouse cartoons, the Nazis in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, Lotso in “Toy Story 3”, Miles Axlerod, Professor Zundapp, and the Lemons in “Cars 2”, Thanos in “Avengers Endgame”, and the characters of Nathan and Mama Meany from “The Garfield Show” among others), then this is the cartoon for you.

What I Like About This One:

At an unnamed man’s house, 12 Termite Terrace, the cat, wearing a green turtlenecked sweater, has seemingly finished his dinner: “Why, Butch, finished that big steak already?” After putting him out for the night, he bids him, “Goodnight, Butch. See ya tomorrow” before heading back into his house (animated by Ben Washam).

The cat then begins to look frightened after the man shuts the door, and he has a good reason to as the dog is seen sitting by a tree in a relaxed pose, indicating they’ve had this thing going on for a while. “Well? Hand it over!”, the dog orders when he spots the cat timidly walking up to him. The cat pulls the steak he was given out of his sweater, revealing he was supposed to give it to the dog. The dog picks him up by the sweater and asks, “What!? No gravy!?” The cat shakes his head to confirm to which the dog slaps him. After putting him down, the dog reminds him irritably, “Next time, remember the gravy!” and scarfs down the steak anyway. The cat attempts to run away only for the dog to grab him by the tail. “Going someplace?”, he sneers. He then looks in his small address book and realizes the next stop is 1409 Maple Terrace (animated by Washam).

The dog is seen grooming the cat, who is now wearing a bow-like ribbon on his neck, in the front yard of this next house by combing his fur. In the midst of trying to comb, he says, “Hold still, stupid!” He then instructs the cat, “Now turn on your motor and make with the meows”. The cat reluctantly makes a purring sound before meowing two times. He then appears on the doorstep of the house where the mistress there refers to him as “Harold”. She scolds him, “Why, Harold, you naughty cat. Where have you been?” before taking him in. In a miniature bed, the cat is given a few turkey legs for dinner. The mistress orders that he eat and get right to sleep. He doesn’t get a chance to enjoy his meal as the dog pulls him out of the house through the window. The dog again complains, “What!? No gravy!?” (animated by Ken Harris)

At a brownstone apartment building, 587 Dripple Drive, the dog takes the cat to the building’s side where he has a mouse kept imprisoned in an empty tuna can. Not wanting to go through the routine again, the mouse begs, “No. Not again. Please. Not again”. After the dog takes him out of the can, the mouse pleads, “Oh, sir. I beg you to spare me the indignity”. The dog only replies, “Shut up. And get to work”. The cat then closes his mouth on the mouse, nearly swallowing him whole, only for the dog to spank him to force the mouse out: “Watch it, stupid!” He then prevents them both from running away and makes the mouse’s tail pointy to make it easy to put him in the cat’s mouth and for it to look like the cat has caught the mouse in his mouth. “Oh, how degrading”, the mouse laments. The dog reminds the cat, “And don’t forget the gravy. I’m starveed’!” before sending him in through the window (animated by Phil Monroe).

The cat shows off the mouse he “caught” to an old man who refers to him as “Timothy”, meowing to wake him up. “Oh? Oh, it’s you, Timothy. I see you’ve caught another mouse, I see. You caught. Well, come on. You’ve earned your keep. Earned it”, serving him a steak. Back outside, the dog is once again ungrateful, “What!? No gravy!?” and slaps the cat with the steak before eating it and putting the mouse back in the can. The mouse attempts to stand up to the dog, “Why don’t ya fight me fair and square, ya bully?”, only for the dog to hit him on the head with a teeny hammer. Dazed, the mouse slumps back down into the can, “I think a nap will do me a world of good” (animated by Monroe).

The next morning at the zoo, the cat is seen in a cage with fake fangs as the “saber-toothed alley cattus”. A zoo worker, who’s giving the animals their steaks, is confused by this “saber-toothed alley cattus” and turns to the camera, shrugging before giving him his steak. This time, the cat wraps a dynamite stick in the steak in an attempt to one-up the dog. The dog is too hungry to notice the booby trap, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! I’m starving!” and after he eats it, the explosion has no effect on him as it only causes him to assume he burped. After saying “Pardon” in minor embarrassment, the dog again berates the cat, “Anyway, you forgot the gravy again!” Seeing that 587 Dripple Dr (the old man’s building) is the next stop, the dog becomes fed up with the routine: “Oooh! Week in, week out! It’s the same thing! It’s too slow! I’ve gotta get more food!” He then notices a sign reading, “Reward Offered for Return of Lost Animals”, which gives him an idea. “I’ve got plans for YOU”, he sneers to the cat (animated by Lloyd Vaughan).

The next day, the cat fails to show up at any of the four places. Man: “Oh, Butch! Butch! Where is that cat?” Woman: “Oh, Harold! Where could he be since yesterday?” Old Man: “Oh, Timothy! Been days since that cat’s been gone. Mm, days”. Zookeeper: “Here, saber-toothed kitty, kitty, kitty. Here, saber-tooth!” After four separate lost cat ads for “Butch”, “Harold”, “Timothy”, and the “Saber-Toothed Alley Cattus” appear in the newspaper, it’s revealed that the dog has been holding the tied-up cat hostage until the respective owners had posted the lost cat ads. Taking the cat with him, the dog tells him, “Come on, stupid. THIS is the pay-off” (animated by Harris).

Later, the man goes to his door and is delighted to see the cat in a basket and with the dog having “returned” him. “Why, it’s Butch! And here’s your reward, my good dog”. Once the dog has his reward money, it’s revealed that the basket has a trapdoor that the dog pulls the tied-up cat out of with a string (like a coin-on-a-string trick) once the man’s back is turned as he walks in, with the dog dashing off before he notices. The same thing happens with the woman, “And here’s your reward, you wonderful creature, you!” and the old man, “Here’s your reward, mm, dog” (animated by Harris).

Finally, the dog disguises as a big game hunter, complete with a fake mustache, to make it appear like he caught the “saber-toothed alley cattus”. Dressed as a native while carrying the “captured” cat atop his head, the mouse is very embarrassed at having to do this, “How mortifying”. When the zookeeper sees them approaching, he is pleased, “Why, it’s the saber-toothed alley cattus! Here’s your reward” (animated by Harris).

The dog happily walks out of the zoo with all four rewards in hand, excited. “Now, I’m set for life! I’ll never be hungry again!” A “Sold” sign is then seen on a meat market. It turns out the dog bought the meat market with his ill-gotten gains as he happily jumps up and down, “Acres and acres of meat! And they’re mine! All mine!” before the scene fades out (animated by Harris).

We then fade in to the exterior of the Dog and Cat Hospital at night where inside, it’s revealed that the dog has eaten all of the meats in one sitting as he lays on his back on the operating table, severely obese and completely unable to move. One of the doctors diagnoses the dog’s extremely bloated appearance as “a distinct case of overeating, doctor” before the two doctors exit the room. The doorknob then turns ominously as the cat and mouse both peek in with smirking expressions. Getting in his only line of dialogue, the cat announces in a sinister tone, “THIS time we DIDN’T forget the gravy!” The dog begins sweating in fear and quietly saying, “No” repeatedly. After the mouse shoves a funnel into the dog’s mouth, the dog’s repeating of “No” becomes more and more frantic before the cat pours a large canister of gravy into the funnel, as the dog’s “No”’s get muffled by him gargling as he finally gets his gravy, albeit in a way he didn't want and the cat and mouse finally get their revenge against their former tormentor (animated by Washam).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕