Release Date:

April 5, 1952

Main Character(s):

Dodsworth

Summary:

A fat, lazy cat named Dodsworth lets the mice roam free in the house, not wanting to do the work of catching them. His mistress threatens to throw him out if he doesn’t do his job of catching the mice. Since Dodsworth hates the idea of being busy as much as he hates the idea of being thrown out, he sets up a phony mouse-catching school, pretending to teach a small white kitten to catch the mice, when he’s actually having him to do the work for him.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1201 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue.

This is the first of two appearances of the work-hating Dodsworth. He would also appear a year later in “A Peck o’ Trouble”, (also directed by McKimson), where he again gets the kitten to do the work for him, this time, catching a tricky woodpecker from a tree.

Dodsworth’s voice is provided by radio actor Sheldon Leonard. Leonard also appears in McKimson’s next cartoon, “Sock a Doodle Do” (which will be Thursday’s post, also Christmas Day).

“Dodsworth” is a name that makes me think of Chatsworth, Georgia, in that they both have “worth” in them and an “s” before “worth” (and they are also rare names for people in real life).

The cartoon was originally titled “Little Kiddin’ Kat”.

Part of the animator draft for the cartoon can be viewed here.

This is the first cartoon where someone says, “J-humpin’ Jehoshaphat!”

Favorite Scene:

After the kitten successfully captures all of the mice, Dodsworth hears his mistress call him, so he hastily gives the kitten his diploma and dismisses him out the door, with his talking getting faster as he does so.

What Happens in This One:

In the house, the mistress is heard screaming and is then shown standing on the table, terrified of the mice (animated by Charles McKimson), as they carry off with the produce. One of them even has the nerve to mimic her being scared before sticking out his tongue and scoffing, “Bah!” (animated by Rod Scribner)

Not getting any response from Dodsworth when she calls him, the mistress becomes annoyed: “Oh, where is that cat!? He’s never around when I need him!” Dodsworth is shown lounging in his bed lazily while eating sardines and only watches the mice pass by his bed. Upon seeing one of them take a single sardine, and then snap his finger in a snooty way at him, Dodsworth decides, “You know, one of these days, I am gonna have to buy me a mousetrap!” (animated by Charles)

Dodsworth then hears his mistress call his name, and briefly does a take, before realizing, “Well, here comes trouble for Dodsworth” (animated by Charles). When she comes in saying his name, he responds with a rude meow-like “Yeah?” She scolds, “Don’t ‘yeah’ me! You good-for-nothing loafer! I’m warning you if you don’t get busy and get rid of those mice, out you go! And just you remember that!” While she’s scolding him, Dodsworth secretly turns away and puts his hand in front of his left side so she doesn’t see him rudely sticking his tongue out, and once she turns her back to leave, he directly sticks his tongue out at her (animated by Herman Cohen).

Dodsworth shudders in annoyance at what he has to do, and makes a disgusted noise before sulking, “What a revolting development! Why, no Dodsworth for generations has stooped to mouse-catching for an easy living. Oh, I don’t mind an honest days’ work… as long as somebody else does it”. Upon getting an idea, he writes something on a board, “And this oughta be just the way to get somebody else to do it!” (animated by Scribner) Without the mistress knowing, he goes out with a hammer (animated by Phil DeLara) to quickly nail the board on the front door, where it reads, “ACME School of Mouse Catching. Approved by Good Mousekeeping Magazine” (animated by Scribner), which he looks at in satisfaction (animated by Charles).

Putting on a graduate’s cap, Dodsworth says to himself in the mirror, “Very becoming, Dodsworth. You’d have made a good college professor. Too bad you never got past third grade”, where it’s revealed he’s been standing on a book atop a footrest to reach the mirror. Dodsworth hears a knock on the door and runs over to find apparently no one there. He hears a small meow and looks down to see the knock came from the kitten, and comments, “Oh. There you are” (animated by Scribner).

After the kitten lets out another meow (animated by Charles), Dodsworth acts like a teacher, “Well, well. So you want to learn the fine art of mouse catching, eh?” (animated by Scribner), to which the kitten nods while meowing (animated by Charles). Dodsworth takes him in, “Come right in, my boy. You can’t start mouse-catching too soon” and asides to the audience, “For me” (animated by Scribner).

Inside, Dodsworth is seen “lecturing” the kitten, “Now, my boy, there is no greater teacher than experience and I am gonna start you right off getting experience. In mouse-catching. First time, we send a pupil into the kitchen after a mouse, we hook this safety line on him (animated by DeLara). Can’t afford to lose a sucker…”, before chuckling awkwardly and correcting himself, “… uh, pupil, you know” (animated by Charles). Said “safety line” is actually the hook from a fishing pole, which Dodsworth attaches to the pink ribbon the kitten wears around his neck, and instructs him to tug on the line two times once he catches a mouse, so Dodsworth can haul him in (animated by Cohen).

Dodsworth casts the kitten (animated by Cohen) into the kitchen where the mice are busy having olives go down a stalk of celery as a makeshift slide, while others are collecting scraps of cheese by catching them with forks they are holding, and the ones who have gotten their food dance into the hole like Egyptians carrying stuff over their heads. The kitten begins to chase one mouse who taunts him, and chases him onto a table where the mouse gets him to slip on a piece of butter and land on the lid of a step-on trash can. The mouse steps on the stepping part, which briefly flings the kitten into the living room, before the kitten soon returns to continue the chase, only succeeding in getting his fishing line wrapped around all the kitchen furniture (animated by DeLara).

The kitten puts his thumb and index finger in an about-to-flick position and puts a piece of cheese atop it. The mouse comes out, in a trance from the scent, and is promptly flicked unconscious by the kitten. Pulling on the line (animated by Cohen), the kitten goes around all of the furniture when reeled back into the living room. Wearing a fishing cap, Dodsworth wonders, “What took ya so long, boy? (animated by DeLara) Ya must have gone about it the hard way”. He then scoffs in bewilderment at what he sees, “Heh. Only one little mouse?” before putting it in a cage and telling the kitten, “Now, look, son, you’ll have to do better than that if you ever expect to graduate from good old ACME”. Casting him back into the kitchen, he says, “Now let’s go in there and catch a whole mess of mice this time” (animated by Charles).

Back in the kitchen, the kitten scares three mice into running into three respective holes in the wall. He then goes to the fridge and takes out a large, round wedge of cheese before pouring ball bearings into the holes. The kitten puts the wedge out in the open with signs that read, “For Free”, “On the House”, and “Come and Get It”. Several mice eat it at once before running back into the mouse holes. The kitten pulls on the line to be tugged back into the living room. Aconfused Dodsworth asks, “Well, where are they, boy? Where’s all the mice? What’s the idea of tugging on the line when ya ain’t got a solitary mouse?”, only to see the kitten pull out a magnet, which, thanks to the ball bearings, pulls in all the mice (animated by DeLara).

Dodsworth makes a take at this, “J-humpin’ Jehoshaphat! The kid has hit the jackpot!” and after giving the cage to the kitten for him to fill it up with the captured mice, confides, “Looks like ol’ Doddsy’s gonna keep his happy home!” He then hears the mistress call for him so he quickly folds a piece of paper and gives it to the kitten before pushing him towards the door, as Dodsworth’s talking gets more and more faster, “Congratulations, here’s your diploma. You are now a graduate of ACME School of Mouse-Catching. It is my hope and belief that you will make your mark in the feline world, the key to success you so richly deserve, never forget you a mount of good luck, and goodbye!” as he pushes him out the pet door before sighing in relief and running back to the living room to the captured mice in the cage (animated by Scribner).

Dodsworth makes it back in time to make it look like he caught all the mice himself, to which the mistress is delighted, “Mice! Dozens of them! Why, Doddsy! You must’ve caught every mouse in the house!” Unaware that the annoyed kitten is eavesdropping on this, Dodsworth answers with the same meow-like “Yeah” from earlier. The mistress pets him, “And to think I scolded you. Why, you come right into the kitchen with me and I’ll give you a nice can of sardines”. Mad at being used, the kitten revives the unconscious mice by pouring water on them and leading them into the kitchen (animated by Charles).

As the woman is heard screaming when the mice come back into the kitchen, the kitten looks into the house through the pet door (animated by Charles) to find that the mice have tied and bound Dodsworth so he can’t do anything. After one mouse knocks Dodsworth silly with a mallet, several other mice do an Indian-like war dance around the box the woman is standing on in fear. The kitten goes in and chases the mice out of the house (animated by DeLara).

In the end, the kitten has replaced Dodsworth, as evidenced by him lying in his bed and Dodsworth’s name on the bed being crossed out. The kitten has also picked up Dodsworth’s lazy habits as the mice come back in and he lets the mice pass by his bed, and one of them again takes a sardine and snaps his finger in a snooty manner. Getting in his only line of dialogue, the kitten repeats what Dodsworth said earlier, “You know, one of these days, I’m gonna have to buy me a mousetrap!” (animated by Charles)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½