Down Beat Bear

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Down Beat Bear Tom and Jerry series
The title card of Down Beat Bear.
Directed by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Produced by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Story by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Voices by	Paul Frees (as the first radio announcer, uncredited)
Music by	Scott Bradley
Animation by	Kenneth Muse Ed Barge Irven Spence Lewis Marshall
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	October 21, 1956
Color process	Technicolor, CinemaScope
Running time	6 minutes 22 seconds
Preceded by	Muscle Beach Tom
Followed by	Blue Cat Blues
IMDb profile

Down Beat Bear is a 1956 Tom and Jerry cartoon directed and produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The music was credited to Scott Bradley, with animation by Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, Irven Spence and Lewis Marshall.

[edit] Plot

Jerry prances into his residence inside the radio and puts away his hat. He then pokes himself out of the flap and turns on a station. Loud dance music emanates from the radio.

Tom proceeds to walk in, sit down and read a newspaper, but the music drives Tom to frustration and he turns off the radio. Jerry is inside, with an irked expression (as this action removes all the light from inside the radio), and then he turns on the radio again. Tom's head is made into musical instrument caricatures.

Jerry is reading a newspaper himself, and then Tom turns off the radio again. Jerry is in the dark...but not for long. But before Tom can quell the radio again, a news bulletin is played.

We interrupt this program to announce that a dancing bear has wandered away from the carnival. He is a trained bear and will dance if he hears music. DO NOT BE ALARMED - he is harmless. Contact your local police. A BIG REWARD will be paid for the return of the dancing bear.

The music then starts back up and Tom turns it off. Jerry and Tom them proceed to toggle the radio on and off until Tom hides behind the radio when Jerry turns it on, and then the cat pulls the plug. Jerry peeps out and attempts to turn the radio on, but repeatedly fails.

The bear is then shown dancing down the street, and by pure luck, happens by Tom and Jerry's house. He then spots an apple and a banana on a nearby table and starts to munch on them. Tom spots the bear and extends his arm stealthily across the room and grabs the phone to call the cops.

Jerry, meanwhile, happens to have figured out the problem with the radio and plugs it back in. The bear then jumps into the house, grabs Tom before he can finish the call, and starts up a dance. Jerry looks astounded and then realizes this is a great opportunity to play with the cat. As the bear dances past the radio, Tom turns it off. The bear stares blankly at the cat, then drops him and resumes eating the fruit. Tom again attempts to dial the police, but Jerry is ready to turn the radio back on. Tom grabs the mouse, but the station button is still within reach and soon the cat is dragged across the floor unwillingly by the bear. Tom then stuffs the bear into a closet, cuts the plug, and chases the mouse.

Jerry escapes the cat and hides in a record player. Tom cannot see him. Jerry plays a classical-music record and the cat goes berserk. The bear breaks out of the closet when he hears the music, takes the door with him and runs right into the cat. Both cat and bear have their hands poked through a hole in the door and thus the bear can begin a tango dance (La Cumparsita). Tom recovers and knocks on his side of the door. The bear closes the door on him and pushes Tom into a grandfather clock. He is puzzled as to where the cat may have gone and then he grabs the door. However, Tom takes the place of the pendulum inside while the bear continues the tango alone.

Tom spots the mouse waltzing by himself on top of the record player and breaks the record over Jerry's head. The chase resumes briefly until Jerry jumps on a piano and starts playing The Blue Danube. Tom then flees, but is soon met by the bear. Tom grabs a scraper and hits the mouse off the piano with it as he is passing by. Jerry happens to land on top of a guitar and plays a Hawaiian rhythm. Tom then tricks the bear into dancing right through the floor grate, and then he breaks the guitar while Jerry is playing.

Jerry then turns on a small portable radio and a second bulletin plays:

Your attention, please. We interrupt this program to announce that the reward for the missing bear has been doubled! If you see this missing bear, notify your police department at once!

Meanwhile, Tom does so, but is soon interrupted by the music from the small radio. Tom dives through the various floor grates and then traps the bear in a folding couch. Tom chases Jerry outside, catches him, and takes the radio. He throws it into the air, but it slides across a branch and clicks on against an offshoot.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is your host at Melody Time, bringing you 6 hours of continuous dance music.

This is not good news for the cat; the dancing bear turns up shortly afterwards and offers a dance through the night. Tom accedes, lets go of the mouse, and dances with the bear under the moon.