Titles

Original Titles

This animated title card was used on the earliest Tom and Jerry shorts (1931 to mid-1932).

In mid-1932 our heroes’ character models were streamlined.
At first a still title card (left) pictured the new models, but it was later decided to animate the card once again (right).
This final animated card was used on all the remaining Tom and Jerry cartoons (mid-1932 to 1933).

Here’s a rare treat…

1931 workprint title card for the cartoon that became “Plane Dumb” (1932)
Courtesy of Jerry Beck

Reissues

When RKO Radio Pictures announced that it would be distributing cartoons produced by Walt Disney circa 1937, shortly after Amadee J. Van Beuren’s death, the Van Beuren studio shut its doors for good. The Van Beuren shorts still remained in the hands of RKO who had them distributed to the home movie market by the New York-based distributor, Walter O. Gutlohn Inc. The cartoons also made way to Library Films Incorporated, another New York home movie distributor, headed up by Paul Robins in the same building as Famous Studios (25 W. 45th Street). Finally, most of the black and white Van Beuren shorts were sold to Official Films. This distributor renamed Tom and Jerry Dick and Larry, to clear up any confusion between them and Hanna-Barbera’s famous cat-and mouse duo.

Walter O. Gutlohn opening title card for 1931’s “Trouble” (right), Library Films ending title card (left)

Offical Films opening titles and closing title for the reissue print of
1933’s “Hook and Ladder Hokum” (renamed “Fire! Fire!” here)

To the Filmography!

1931 | 1932 | 1933 | Precursors | Titles