Release Date:

October 18, 1952

Main Character(s):

Sylvester, Spike and Chester

Summary:

A little dog named Chester is a huge fan of a tough bulldog named Spike, who wears a derby and a red sweater, despite Spike not paying him any attention. When Chester suggests beating up a cat, Spike agrees to this, and they go after Sylvester. All three are unaware that a ferocious black panther is on the loose, so every time Spike ends up getting attacked by the panther, he and Chester think it’s Sylvester’s doing, and also makes Chester think that Spike just doesn’t have it.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1220 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

This is the first of two appearances of the dog duo, Spike and Chester (voiced by Mel Blanc and Stan Freberg, respectively). They would also appear in 1954’s “Dr. Jerkyl’s Hide” (also directed by Freleng), which uses the same plot but with a few differences such as Spike being named Alfie, both now speak in Cockney accents instead of American ones (but still being voiced by Blanc and Freberg), and Sylvester actually becomes a menace due to drinking the Hyde formula after mistaking it for soda pop.

The title is a pun for “tea for two”. This is also a rare example where the title has nothing to do with the cartoon.

The date of the newspaper in this cartoon is “Monday Feb. 2, 1951”, which is wrong because February 2, 1951 was on a Friday (the reason it says 1951 is because back then, cartoons were in production for over a year before their release dates).

The cartoon’s plot would be reused twice by DePatie-Freleng, and interestingly, both times it was for debut cartoons of certain characters. It was used once for “Tijuana Toads” (1969) and then used again for “The Dogfather” (1974).

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

The cartoon was used in the 1983 compilation movie, “Daffy Duck’s Movie Fantastic Island”.

Despite featuring a black panther, the panther in this cartoon has absolutely nothing to do with T’Challa.

Favorite Scene:

Spike eventually encounters the real Sylvester, who weakly tries to defend himself by clawing at him. Spike laughs at this and dares Sylvester to scratch him, only for the panther to intervene and do it instead, slicing Spike up like slices of bologna. This causes Spike to believe that Sylvester actually DID scratch him like that and become afraid of him.

What Happens in This One:

“Black Panther Escapes Zoo” is the headline in the newspaper. The panther is then seen sneaking through the alleys at night and after growling ferociously, he enters someone’s apartment, only for the offscreen women inside to scream, so the panther retreats back outside in fear (animated by Virgil Ross).

Next day, the newspaper reads “Panther Still at Large”. Meanwhile, Chester is following Spike around and is wanting to do something with him, “Hey, you want I should dig up some bones for ya? Anything you say, Spike, ‘cause you and me is pals. That’s right, ain’t it, Spike?” As Spike is seen picking his teeth with a toothpick, Chester enthusiastically asks him, “Hey, Spike, you wanna play ball? Huh? You wanna play ball?” He comes back with a blue ball in his mouth and continues, “Huh, Spike? You wanna? Huh? Huh? Huh, Spike? You wanna? Huh?” Spike slaps him and responds with, “Nah!” Undeterred, Chester decides, “Nah, ha!, you wouldn’t like that, would ya, Spike?”, so he requests something else, “Hey, Spike. How about we chase cars, huh? Does that sound like fun, huh?” Spike again slaps him and responds with, “Nah!” Chester laughs, “Yeah, that wouldn’t be no fun” and then asks, “How about beatin’ up a cat? Would ya like that, Spike? Huh? Would ya like that? Huh? Spike?”, before bracing himself for another slap from Spike (animated by Ken Champin).

This piques Spike’s interest however, as he asks, “Cat? You know where is it a cat?” Chester answers, “Yeah, sure, Spike, sure, sure. I know where is it a cat!” As they enter an alley, Chester is excited, “Oh boy! We’re gonna have fun beatin’ up a cat, ain’t we, Spike?” They then hear Sylvester strolling along while singing a lively chorus of “Charleston”: “Charleston, Charleston, made in Carolina. Some dance, some prance, I’ll say. There’s nothin’ finer than the Charleston, Charleston. Lord, how you can shuffle. Every step you do leads to something new. Man, I’m telling you, it’s a lop-a-zoo. Bop dance, swing dance, will be back-” Sylvester stops upon seeing Spike and Chester in front of him and begins sputtering in incoherent fear. Spike and Chester then chase him (animated by Champin up to here) all the way into an abandoned alley, shutting the gate on Spike, who bashes headfirst into the gate, compressing his face down into his sweater (animated by Manuel Perez).

Chester pulls Spike’s derby off of his head, which frees his head out of his sweater. As he gives Spike his derby back, Chester declares, “That’s a dirty, underhanded trick to do to ya, Spike. I’ll show that cat he can’t do that to MY pal!” and begins to go in after Sylvester, only for Spike to shove him aside. “Nah! I’ll take care of that cat myself!” Chester encourages, “Go get ‘em, Spike! Go get ‘em!” before he confides, “Spike is my hero!” (animated by Perez)

Spike kicks the gate open and dares, “Okay, come out, cat! No use hidin’!” before spotting a long black tail sticking out of some crates and assumes it’s him, unaware it’s actually the panther’s. “Ah ha! There ya are! Gotcha, ya dirty cat! Come out and take your medicine, or I’ll pull your tail off by the roots!” Sylvester pops up from a nearby trash can as he watches Spike attempt to pull “him” out. After seeing his tail doesn’t look anything like what Spike is pulling (as the panther lacks the white tip on Sylvester’s tail), he shrugs and goes back down to continue hiding. “Come on! Come on!”, Spike demands before he ends up being thumped on the ground several times while still holding onto the panther’s tail. He angrily tosses the tail down and snarls, “Why, you-!”, before his next attempt to pull him out only causes him to pull off most of the panther’s tail fur. Spike then sees a pair of angry yellow eyes narrowing from inside the pile of crates as if the panther is thinking, “You wouldn’t dare try and mess with me!” Spike tells him, “I see your cowardly yellow eyes and I’m a-comin’ in after ya!” After Spike goes in to confront him, the panther is heard roaring before he attacks Spike offscreen (animated by Arthur Davis).

Spike comes out completely white with fear and stammering, “Ca-Cat-B-B-Big-C-C-C-!” Chester’s barks of excitement soon turn to confusion when the still-white Spike comes out, still stammering, “Ca-Cat-B-B-B-Big-C-C-C-C-Cat-T-T-T-T-Giant Cat-Hoo-Hoo-C-C-Big-Big-C-C-C!” In the middle of Spike’s stammering, Chester opens the gate at the exact moment Sylvester pops up out of the can again, causing him to believe that Spike has become cowardly. “You’re kiddin’, Spike!” Chester then asks a no longer white Spike, “You want I should take care of the cat for ya, Spike? I’ll give him a one, two! Then a right! Then a left!”, while swinging his fists. Spike again denies his help as he slaps him once more, causing Chester to hit the wall of the building behind them. “Nah, ya don’t! I’ll show that cat a thing or two!” He goes back to where the crates are to confront the panther. Another offscreen fight occurs as Chester encourages, “Attaboy, Spike! Let ‘em have it! Let ‘em have it! That’s it, boy! Let ‘em have it!” This time, Spike is tossed outside of the alley back to where Chester is (animated by Davis).

Upon seeing Spike beaten up, Chester again opens the gate, this time at the exact moment where Sylvester is sneaking out of the can, thinking the coast is clear (animated by Davis). Chester runs up to Spike, pleading while shaking him, “Spike! Spike! Say somethin’! Look, it’s your pal, Chester! Please, Spike!” Spike comes to and frantically begs while clinging to Chester, “Don’t let him get me! Please don’t! He’s a killer! Don’t let him near me!” Chester snaps him out of it by slapping him, “Spike! Spike! Get a hold of yourself!” He then remarks, “Gosh, that cat’s not so tough. I can take care of him myself”. Thinking that Chester is also going to get a thrashing, Spike rudely tells him, “Yeah? Well, go ahead and get yourself killed!”, and chuckles evilly when Chester goes in swinging his fists (animated by Ross).

Sylvester’s sneaking off is interrupted by Chester coming up to him and threatening as he grabs hold of him, “Just a minute, cat!” Dragging Sylvester out, Chester shows Spike that he managed to catch him easily, “Look, Spike, here he is. Let me take care of him for ya, Spike!” Chester then tells Sylvester, “This is for beatin’ up my pal, Spike!” as he slams him to the ground three times before spinning himself and Sylvester around several times and then tossing him back into the alley as Spike watches in amazement. “Hey, look, Spike, if I can lick him, you can, because you’re big and strong and I’m puny!” Inspired, Spike goes back in, “I got a job to do!” (animated by Perez)

Spike kicks Sylvester, who is still dazed from the beating Chester gave him, and orders, “Okay, cat! On your feet!” Sylvester rolls up against the crate and helplessly claws his hands out at Spike, who laughs at this, “The pussycat’s gonna scratch me!” Spike then boldly shuts his eyes as he folds his arms and dares, “Ah, go on! Scratch me! Go ahead! Scratch me! I dare ya to scratch me!” The panther comes out and believing it’s him Spike is daring to scratch him, does so effortlessly with a single swipe, that slices Spike up like several pieces of bologna that fall from the left side one by one. Upon coming back together, Spike sees Sylvester still timidly clawing at him, causing Spike to believe that the scratch was indeed Sylvester’s doing, so he runs off in fear. Seeing that Spike ran away and unaware that the panther unintentionally saved his life, Sylvester believes he actually IS a threat and goes after Spike with the claws on his left hand out (animated by Ross).

Meanwhile, Spike is trying to run away with Chester holding him back, “Spike! Spike! You just GOTTA go back in there! It’s for your own good!” Spike frantically screams, “No! No! He’s mad! He’s a killer! No! No!”, just as Sylvester kicks the gate open, coming towards him, still with the claws on his left hand sticking out. Upon seeing him approach, Spike quickly runs off behind the corner of a nearby building, but peeks out to see what he’ll do to Chester. Chester turns around to find Sylvester attempting to claw at him, only for Chester to grab his hand, whack him on the ground two times, and spin him around and toss him away the same way he did earlier (animated by Perez).

In the end, the roles are reversed with Chester now being the new tough dog on the block, and wearing Spike’s derby, while Spike (who’s still wearing his sweater) is now the huge fan wanting to accompany him: “You and me is pals, ain’t we, Chester? Huh, Chester? Yeah, Chester. Eh, eh, you want I should dig up some bones for ya? Huh, Chester? Huh, Ches? Huh? Huh?” Chester, who’s picking his teeth with a toothpick, slaps him while saying, “Nah!” Spike confides, “Chester’s my hero ‘cause he’s so strong! Yeah!” (animated by Champin)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕