The Bodyguard (Tom and Jerry)
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| The Bodyguard | |
| Tom and Jerry series | |
 The title card of The Bodyguard |
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| Directed by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
|---|---|
| Animation by | Kenneth Muse Ray Patterson Irven Spence Pete Burness |
| Voices by | Billy Bletcher (as Spike, uncredited) |
| Music by | Scott Bradley |
| Produced by | Fred Quimby |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date | July 22, 1944 |
| Format | Technicolor, 7 min. |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | The Million Dollar Cat |
| Followed by | Puttin' on the Dog |
| IMDb page | |
The Bodyguard is an animated cartoon short subject, starring Tom & Jerry. It was produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on July 22, 1944 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. The cartoon was animated by Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson, Irven Spence and Pete Burness, and features Spike the bulldog in his second role, though this is the first time that we hear him speak, in his distinctive Jimmy Durante-like tones.
[edit] Plot
The cartoon opens with Tom chasing Jerry. Jerry hides behind a potato mound in a garden when he hears Spike the bulldog call to him. Spike has been caught by a dog catcher and locked in the back of his truck. Spike asks Jerry to help him escape which Jerry does by removing a piece of wood that latches the cage shut. Spike falls out of the truck just as it pulls away. Spike then thanks Jerry and says, "Thanks, chum! You're my pal for life. Anytime you ever needs me, just whistle." Spike runs off to enjoy his freedom.
As Jerry is walking down the sidewalk, Tom jumps out from around the corner with a plate, a fork, and a knife, and a napkin around his neck. This scares Jerry and he runs away. Tom then runs back around the corner and he catches Jerry in between to pieces of bread to make a Jerry sandwich. Just as Tom starts to cut the bread in half with Jerry in it, Jerry whistles and Spike makes the save by grabbing Tom by the neck. He checks on Jerry to make sure he is o.k. and then tells Tom, "If you do anything to me pal, I'll pound you into pieces." Spike then proceeds to squash Tom. Jerry then starts to pick a fight with Tom. Just as Tom begins to retaliate and punch Jerry, the mouse whistles. Spike makes the save with a punch to Tom's face. Tom then tries to hit Jerry with a lead pipe. While the chase is on Tom runs into Spike with Jerry. Jerry then pushes on Spike's nose to reveal and sharp set of teeth. This forces Tom to kiss Jerry, put him in a stroller and walk away. After running near a set of garbage cans, Tom has Jerry in his grasp and laughs menacingly then says "In me power." and continues laughing. But he sees a cute female cat which he loudly wolf-whistles at. This brings out Spike who uses two garbage can lids as cymbals on Tom's head.
Jerry is walking down the sidewalk again and Tom sees him coming. Tom is near a bubble gum machine and he shakes the machine to obtain two pieces of gum. He takes one piece and covers it in paste and starts chewing on the other piece. Jerry sees how much Tom is enjoying his gum and this makes Jerry hungry for a piece. Tom then offers Jerry the paste covered piece of gum. At first Jerry is a little hesistant to accept this from Tom but he takes it anyway. Jerry then shakes Tom's hand as a thank you and Tom winks at the camera. Jerry then realizes that something is wrong and he tries to whistle. But he can't because his mouth is glued shut. Jerry tries to escape the situation by pointing to his lips then rubbing his tummy as if to say that the gum is good. Jerry begins to walk away and say good bye but Tom starts to go after him. Jerry quickly shakes his hand again and runs away with Tom behind him.
Jerry briefly stops the chase, tries to whistle, shrugs it off, and runs away again. Jerry then holds up an anvil that he finds to temporarily stop Tom. The impact causes Tom to resemble a table. Jerry tries to escape through a hole in a fence but he gets stuck. Tom then grabs a two by four and he is just about to hit Jerry with it until he sees Spike walk by. Jerry tries to gesture to Spike that he needs help and that he can't whistle. Spike doesn't understand what Jerry is sayiing and continues on his way. Tom finally hits Jerry which releases him from the hole and Jerry lands in front of Spike. Jerry then tries to tell Spike what had happened and he begs Spike to help him. Spike mistakes Jerry's pleas for help as baby talk and goes inside a yard. Jerry then pounds on the door for help but he runs away. As Spike opens the door, Tom's head gets stuck in Spike mouth, causing Tom to smile and run away. Jerry ends crawling through a hole in a face and he tries to whistle until he turns red in the face. While trying to whistle, Jerry ends up blowing a bubble and it keeps getting bigger and bigger as Jerry exhales. Tom climbs over the fence and gets scared as to how big the bubble had gotten. The bubble bursts and all the air is pushed out causing a loud whistle. Tom tries to get Jerry to stop whistling but he keeps going. Tom then digs his own grave but for some reason, Spike doesn't show up. As Tom finishes writing his will, they both look up to see the dog catcher's truck with Spike locked up in the back again, unable to protect Jerry. Jerry then tries to chase after the truck, whistling frantically, with Tom in pursuit.
