The Last Hungry Cat

Infobox Hollywood cartoon
cartoon_name = The Last Hungry Cat
series = Merrie Melodies
director = Friz Freleng
Hawley Pratt | animator = Gerry Chiniquy
Virgil Ross
Bob Matz
Art Leonardi
Lee Halpern| voice_actors = Mel Blanc and June Foray
| musician = Milt Franklyn
producer = David H. DePatie
distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures
release_date = December 2, 1961
color_process = Technicolor
runtime = 7 mins
movie_language = English
imdb_id = 0055072

The Last Hungry Cat is a "Merrie Melodies" cartoon animated short starring Tweety and Sylvester. Released December 2, 1961, the cartoon is directed by Friz Freleng. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc and an un-credit June Foray.

The cartoon is a parody of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".

tory

A caricature of Alfred Hitchcock — the shadow of a bear walking up to a silhouette of himself — appears in the opening segment. In a Hitchcock-like accent, the bear announces tonight's story "about a murder."

As Sylvester waits in an alley trash can, Granny bids Tweety good night. After Granny leaves to visit a neighbor, Sylvester sneaks into the apartment and stacks a bunch of furniture to reach the caged bird. However, Sylvester loses his balance, knocking down the cage and knocking himself unconscious. Tweety escapes unscathed but decides to hide in another room.

When Sylvester comes to, he notices a bird feather on his lip, shortly before he overhears Granny about to return home. Sylvester flees the apartment and down the alley, when "Hitchcock" begins talking to Sylvester — "Well, you did it, didn't you? You got rid of that helpless little bird, (and) menace to society once and for all" — suggesting to the cat that, while unconscious, he swallowed Tweety and that the canary is now dead. Sylvester laughs off the suggestion that he committed murder and that he will probably get away with his actions, until he hears sirens and sees the newspaper headline "Police hunt 'The Cat'" (referring to a criminal who has menaced the city, although Sylvester worries he may be the suspect the authorities are after).

Sylvester flees to his home to attempt to forget Hitchcock's taunts that he wishes "you could get away from your conscience." However, turning on the radio for music — the announcer flubs his lines to say, "Your local company will present gas chamber music ... I mean, your local gas company will present chamber music for your enjoyment" — and trying to read a story about a family of birds (the baby bird fits Tweety's description) turns the cat into a nervous wreck. The cat eventually wears a groove through the floor.

Eventually, a jittery Sylvester downs several cups of coffee and smokes a half-dozen cigarettes before trying to get some sleep (see "Censorship"). However, he spends five agonizing hours in bed before snapping. The cat downs a handful of sedatives (again, see "Censorship"), then collapses into tears, crying that he is a normal pussy cat and that other cats have eaten birds. Hitchcock suggests to Sylvester that he give himself up and accept the consequences. The cat takes the recommendation to heart and flees to Granny's house to admit his "crime" ... until he sees the bird safe and sound, sleeping in his cage. Sylvester is overjoyed, grabs the bird and begins to kiss him. However, the taste of the bird leaves the cat wanting to eat his prey. Granny comes in just in time and shoos Sylvester away. Tweety observes, "That puddy tat gonna have an awful headache in da morning!"

Hitchcock attempts to relate the moral: "In the words of The Bard, 'Conscience makes cowards of us all!'" Sylvester throws a brick at the bear and tells him to shut up. The bear walks off with a lump on his head, the lump also having grown on his outline.

Censorship

*On CBS, the part after Sylvester falls through the groove in the floor, where Sylvester is shown nervously chain-smoking and downing two cups of coffee was cut.
*On ABC, the part after Sylvester leaps out of bed screaming, where he runs in the bathroom and ingests a bottle of sleeping pills (while rubbing some under his arms and on his head), was cut. Also on ABC, the part where Granny beats Sylvester with a broom had the beatings shortened.
*On Cartoon Network, the cigarettes/coffee scene was edited when the cartoon first aired, leaving the sleeping pill part untouched. In subsequent airings, both the cigarette/coffee scene and the sleeping pill part in the bathroom were cut.

Availability

"The Last Hungry Cat" can be found on the DVD collection "".

uccession

References

* Friedwald, Will and Jerry Beck. "The Warner Brothers Cartoons." Scarecrow Press Inc., Metuchen, N.J., 1981. ISBN 0-8108-1396-3.

External links

*imdb title|0055072
* [http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/articles/tasarticle2.html Nuance and Suggestion in the Tweety and Sylvester Series] - Written by Kevin McCorry