Claws for Alarm

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Claws for Alarm

Merrie Melodies (Sylvester the Cat and Porky Pig) series
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Produced by Eddie Seltzer
Story by Michael Maltese
Voices by Mel Blanc
Music by Carl Stalling
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Running time 7 minutes
IMDb profile

Claws for Alarm is a 1954 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and produced and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was the second of three cartoons teaming Porky Pig and Sylvester the cat (continuing his non-speaking role as Porky's cat) in a spooky setting where only Sylvester is aware of the danger the pair are in. The other two films in the series are Scaredy Cat (1948) and Jumpin' Jupiter (1955).

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Porky and Sylvester are driving to Albuquerque, New Mexico (home of Bugs Bunny's famous "left turn" and also their destination in Jumpin' Jupiter (1955)) when Porky decides to stop for the night at the hotel in Dry Gulch; actually a ghost town, a fact which sends Sylvester to trembling, but which Porky seems oblivious to. As in "Scaredy Cat," Sylvester alone is alert to the danger from murderous mice that have taken up residence in the hotel. Unlike the previous cartoon, however, the mice are (mostly) unseen, except for tiny, malevolent pairs of eyes in dark corners (and the moose heads over the main desk and Porky's bed). No matter; Porky declares it to be "a perfectly splendid place to spend the night" and checks in.

The mice, meanwhile, do everything they can to kill and/or scare Porky and Sylvester. (In one scene, the mice are seen in silhouette beneath a sheet, standing on each others' shoulders as they appear to the frightened cat to be a ghost.) As always, Porky does not see the danger until Sylvester has chased the mice away, leaving him holding the bag -- or, in one case, the noose the mice have dropped around Porky's neck, which the cat has just pushed Porky out of the way of. Porky demands to know why Sylvester shoved him, leading to one of the film's funnier sequences as Sylvester pantomimes the moose head and the noose dropping from it. Porky then declares the cat to be a "c-cow-eh-c-cow-eh- you great yellow cat, you!" (later asking, "is th-there any, uh, in-eh-insanity in your family?") and Sylvester soldiers on all night, guarding his master with a shotgun he earlier wrestled away from the mice.

Dawn finally breaks, ending the bleary-eyed cat's vigil as Porky awakes: "Eh, this r-really is a r-restful place. I think we should stay here a w-week to t-ten days and get really rested up!" This is the last straw for Sylvester, who (off-screen) clubs Porky over the head with the shotgun butt while he is freshening up and singing "Home on the Range," leaving him stuck on the first verse like a needle skipping on a record ("Oh, g-give me a home, where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope (WHAM!!) pl-pl-pl-pl, and the deer and the antelope pl-pl-pl-pl, and the deer and the antelope pl-pl-pl-pl..."). Sylvester, meanwhile loads the car with the luggage and Porky and speeds away from the hotel. After a last look back, Sylvester breathes a sigh of relief -- not seeing the pairs of eyes blinking from the speedometer as the film closes.

[edit] Commentary

Some cartoon buffs view Claws for Alarm as the creepier of the series, noting the simpler drawings and the almost never-seen mice. Emru Townsend, writing for the online animation magazine Frames Per Second, lists Claws as one of his favorites for Halloween, and comments: "Claws for Alarm makes the cut for Halloween because, unlike in the other two cartoons, the sense of fear and dread comes in from the very first frame." Townsend also cites the "true horror-movie fashion" of the ending, where the "monsters" are not completely vanquished. [1]

[edit] Censorship

Much like Scaredy Cat and (to a lesser extent) Jumpin' Jupiter, Claws for Alarm has been shown edited on television (http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/ltcutsc.html):

  • On CBS: the part where a gun protrudes out of a hole in the wall and Sylvester plugs it with his finger (only to get shot through his finger and out his tail) was cut.
  • On "The Merrie Melodies Show" (syndicated version), Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network: The following parts were cut:
    • The part where Sylvester pushes Porky out of the way as a noose lowers on Porky's neck was cut on Nickelodeon (it was left uncut on Cartoon Network and "The Merrie Melodies Show").
    • The part where Sylvester uses a noose to show Porky what could have happened to him had Sylvester not save him was edited (on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and "The Merrie Melodies Show") to remove Sylvester hanging himself and Porky commenting on how histrionic his performance is.
    • The part where the moosehead tries to shoot Porky and Sylvester beats up the moosehead was cut when aired on Nickelodeon.
    • The part where the mice lower a noose around Porky's neck as Porky sleeps and Sylvester uses a razor to cut it off, only to have Porky accuse Sylvester of attempted murder was cut on "The Merrie Melodies Show" and Cartoon Network (it should be noted that Cartoon Network aired this cartoon edited until 2002, where it was shown uncut on "The Looney Tunes Show").

[edit] Availability

This short was edited into Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988). It is featured in its entirety in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3.

[edit] External Links

[edit] References

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)
  1. ^ Frames Per Second, Oct. 27, 2007