Composer Scott Bradley (sitting) with producer Fred Quimby (standing)
Droopy Leprechaun (7/4/58) – The scene begins at Dublin Airport, where Droopy has just gotten off a plane, for a several-hour layover for sightseeing in Ireland. He buys a cheap leprechaun hat from an old lady, and is spotted by Butch, who immediately thinks Droopy is a leprechaun – and of what would happen if he were to catch such a magical creature. Visions of a crock of gold dance in his head, leading into a chase. Butch hides in a suit of armor in Castle Shillelagh, causing Droopy to also confuse identities, thinking Butch is the ghost of the legendary Mad Duke. After causing Spike several painful incidents (including a cannonball in the belly, portcullis dropped on his head, iron maiden, etc.), Droopy makes it back to his plane, and takes off, leaving Butch on the runway – who is picked up by the men with white coats and nets in a “Paddy Wagon”. Butch complains to himself that he almost had the leprechaun in the palm of his hand – when seemingly, a real live leprechaun appears beside him. Butch happily shouts that he’s rich – but no one will listen to him, as the wagon rolls away to clap Butch into the funny farm. Songs: “St Patrick’s Day”, a song recorded in the early 1920’s by Gerald Griffin for Emerson, and “Garry Owen”, an Irish jig, which tended to show up in recorded medleys, including “Reminiscences of Ireland” by Arthur Pryor on Victor, “Fantasia ‘Pir Homeland” by The Band of H.M. Coldstream Guards on HMV and Canadian Victor, and “Medley of Irish Jigs” by the H.M. Scots Guards on Regal (which also includes “St. Patrick’s Day”. A more modern medley featuring both songs was recorded on an unknown label by the 129th Army Band.
• A good medley featuring both tunes from “Droopy Leprechaun” is at:
https://www.facebook.com/129AB/videos/garry-owen-march/2648938052013444/
Carmen Get It! (12/21/62) – “Musician” Tom invades an opera pit orchestra in quest of Jerry, carrying a bass fiddle case that proves to be like a set of Russian nesting dolls, containing the smallest of fiddles, which is really a concealed reel-to-reel tape machine so he can play a recording of Carmen and pass himself off as part of the orchestra. Jerry is one step ahead of him, and changes the playback speed, resulting in the fastest, shrillest violin solo ever heard. After enduring the retaliations of the orchestra conductor, Tom finds himself alone at the podium as the conductor takes a break, and is mistakenly placed in the spotlight. Jerry lures a squad of ants away from the lunch box of one of the musicians, and onto blank sheet music on the podium, taking the positions of music notes. They must be American ants, as they configure into a medley of patriotic tunes, which Tom is forced to drop into the opera score, as the ants keep changing position from one tune to another. The furious real conductor returns, mad as a bull, and Carmen is chased away by Jerry dancing a Flamenco, leaving only Tom and the conductor on the stage to perform a furious bullfight, while Jerry conducts the finale, as the ants spell out “The End.” Songs: “Overture/Prelude to Act 1 of Carmen”, which set the template for many Broadway overtures, being something of a medley of airs from the opera. Recorded in 1904 by Walter Damrosch on Columbia, and before 1910 by the Beka Meister Orchestra on Beka records out of Germany. The American Symphony Orchestra performed on an Edison Diamond Disc. Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra recorded an acoustic Victrola red seal, later remade electrically for Victor. “The Toreador Song” was recorded by Philip Alexander on very early Climax/Columbia labels, the Damrosche Orchestra on Columbia from 1903, Emilio De Gorgoza (under the pseudonym Carlo Francesco) on Zonophone, and under the same pseudonym in 1905 for Victor, Alan Turner on HMV and later on Victor and on a Columbia indestructible cylinder, Giovanni Campaneri on Columbia in 1903 and Victor in 1904, Taurino Parvis on Columbia circa 1905, John Noté on Pathe, George Alexander on Columbia from 1907, Thomas Chalmers on Edison, Reinald Werrenwrath on blue label Victor, Clarence Whitehill on HMV, Titta Ruffo on HMV, Peter Dawson (with English text) on HMV in 1928, Heinrich Shlusnus on Polydor, Lawrence Tibbett electrically on Victrola, Riccardo Stracciari on electrical European Columbia, Leonard Warren on Victor, John Brownlee on Silvertone Record Club from 1946, and a swing version by Ralph Flanagan on RCA Victor. A snatch from the “Habanera” also appears. Emma Calve performed on Victor red seal (possible from a G&T master), Guido Gialdini (a whistler) on Victor, Florence Easton in an excellent version issued on gold label Brunswick in 1922, and Conchita Supervia on Parlophone Odeon Series. “American Patrol”, a march from 1885, also appears, allowing for the quotation of snatches of several patriotic songs. Recorded in the oughts by Sousa’s Band for Monarch, and Prince’s Band for Columbia. Charles P. Lowe would record a xylophone solo for Columbia. The Saxo Sextette also waxed one for Columbia circa 1916. Glenn Miller would have a massive-selling revival for Victor in swing tempo. It was covered by Joe Loss in England for HMV. The Starlighters had a vocal version in the later 40’s for Capitol. Jerry Gray had a version for Decca in the 1950’s. Phil Harris set a new lyric to it for “Walk With a Wiggle” on RCA Victor.
Much Ado About Mousing (4/14/64) – A sort of Warner-style retread of 1944’s The Bodyguard. Tom is engaged in fishing off a pier – in an unusual way. Baiting a hook with cheese, he casts his line over the water and onto the deck of a ship docked at a wharf. The hook bounces into a mousehole in a cabin wall, and Jerry takes the bait (nibblng at the bottom of the cheese instead of taking the hook). Tom reels in, netting Jerry and leaving him floundering on the pier boards. Tom aims a mallet for a lethal blow, but Jerry pulls Tom’s other paw into range instead, for a bone-crunching “Yeowwch”. Midway through the cartoon, a bulldog is introduced, and a running gag in which the dog rolls Tom up like a bowling ball, bowls a strike with him through a line of ash cans and off the end of the pier, and deposits Tom in the water, where his tail is nipped by a crab. The dog gives Jerry a whistle to summon him, and Tom takes repeated dips in the bay. Tom finally pulls the old Sam Sheepdog gag of placing earmuffs on the sleeping dog so he won’t hear the whistle. He then confronts Jerry, but, to his surprise, Jerry displays a set of earmuffs, seemingly retrieved from the dog. Tom doesn’t wait to be bowled over, but jumps onto the bay himself, adding the crab as an ornament to his tail below the waterline. Jerry carries the earmuffs to the dog’s doghouse, where we discover the unexplained surprise that they are not the dog’s pair at all, but merely a duplicate set of muffs, with the dog still sound asleep under the original pair. Jerry pits on the second pair of muffs himself, and curls up with the dog for a quiet afternoon siesta. Song: Beethoven’s 5th Symphony (the famous four note Victory theme and some incidental passages following). The Grosses Odeon Streich Orchester issued what some claim is the first recording of the piece on acoustic Odeon, The Victor Concert Orchestra issued a short version on acoustic Victor. Sir Landon Ronald had an HMV version. Felix Weingartner had another set for Columbia Masterworks. The National Symphony Orchestra issued one for British Decca. Bruno Walter and the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York had a best-seller set on Columbia. Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra (below) launched a counter-volley on Victor. Wilhelm Furtwangler conducted a version for HMV.
Snowbody Loves Me (5/12/64) – Jerry is braving the cold weather of Switzerland, and blown by a breeze into a snowball, crashing into the wall of a Swiss Cheese shoppe, guarded by Tom, who much prefers to be bundled warm and cozy by the fire. The battle rages over the cheese, climaxing with Tom trapping Jerry inside a Swiss cheese with the holes plugged with corks, then inserting a fireplace bellows in the last remaining hole to explode the cheese. The plan backfires, as Tom is peppered with a barrage of the ejected corks, and Jerry emerges unscathed, wearing a small strip of cheese as a ballet tutu. Jerry is inspired to perform a sterling ballet dance, which draws Tom’s applause – and a smack between Tom’s hands that flattens Jerry. Tom ejects Jerry into the snow, but develops the same remorse as previously exhibited for his misdeeds in The Night Before Christmas. He rescues the popsicle Jerry, and revives him with a tablespoon of Schnapps. Jerry springs back to full power, lands among some miniature figurines of Swiss folk, and acquires an outfit of lederhosen, resuming vigorous dancing while Tom provides accompaniment for the winter. Songs: a medley of the greatest hits of Frederic Chopin, beginning with the Etude #12 or Revolutionary Etude. You would expect most of these pieces to have been performed by most all the prominent pianists, including Arthur Rubinstein and Vladimir Horowitz. Ignace Jan Paderewski had a notable Victor red seal version. One artist that recorded the Etude in a different style was Winifred Atwell on a London album cut. Several other Chopin pieces appear, including the Nocturne that became “My Twilight Dream” for Eddy Duchin on Columbia, the “Valse Brilliante” (which we’ve covered before), and the “Fantasie Impromptu”, of which there were recordings by Xaver Scharenka on Columbia Exclusive Artist, Alberto Salvi (harp) on Victor, Leopold Godowski on Brunswick green label, Magla Tagliaferro on Pathe in 1934 (an excellent interpretation), Jose Iturbi on Victor, Roberto Inglez Orchestra on Parlophone, Marguerite Long on British Columbia, Hazel Scott in swing on Signature, Jerry Murad’s Harmonicats on Vita-Coustic, and Alfred Cortot on RCA Victor.
The middle section of the piece became the popular song, “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows”, including versions by Charles Harrison on Victor, the American Republic Band on Pathe, Sam Ash on Emerson, Garry Fox on Columbia, Judy Garland on Decca (and in the film Ziegfeld Girl (1941), below), Perry Como on RCA Victor, Harry James on Columbia, Guy Lombardo on Decca, The Organ, The Dance Band, and Me on Parlophone, The Skyrockets Dance Orchestra on HMV, and Peter Yorke and his Concert Orchestra on British Columbia.
On a closing note: a revisit to the world of Scott Bradley, via an uncanny recreation of the energy and fervor of his original soundtracks, performed live and in stereo by an orchestra even larger than Bradley was afforded at the studio. The John Wilson Orchestra performed a 2013 concert at Royal Albert Hall in London, in which an amazing medley of snips and segments from Bradley scores, titled “Tom and Jerry at MGM” was presented. It is enlightening and enriching to witness the artistry of violin sections, xylophonists, and other musicians too numerous to mention, handling with precision these lightning-quick and daunting compositions, aided and abetted by a team of sound-effects men (including one fellow who does a quite reasonable impression of the signature Tom scream). Several recognizable segments appear, including theme and variation of standard Tom theme and Jerry theme as heard throughout the series, and several of the popular tunes we’ve reviewed in this series, such as “You Were Meant For Me” and “The Trolley Song”. Ending cue is recognizable from “Cat Fishing”, from whence the “Trolley” cue is also excised. See how many of these excerpts you can identify as to their origin source cartoons.
NEXT TIME: On to Columbia when next we meet.
James Parten has overcome a congenital visual disability to be acknowledged as an expert on the early history of recorded sound. He has a Broadcasting Certificate (Radio Option) from Los Angeles Valley College, class of 1999. He has also been a fan of animated cartoons since childhood.
As always, I’ve loved these excursions through the scores to so many classic cartoons, and you know MGM is among my favorite of those classic theatrical Studios.
Despite the slim down animation style of the Gene Deitch studio in Prague, I like those cartoons. I liked his work at the Terrytoons studio. His cartoons were incredibly unusual; I only wish he allowed himself to do a one shot cartoons for MGM beyond his work on the Tom and Jerry series. I probably said this elsewhere, but I am so glad that the Tom and Jerry Cinemascope cartoons are coming out so we can hear those scores in beautiful quality.
Jones did do two one-shots for MGM: THE DOT AND THE LINE and THE BEAR THAT WASN’T. Both of those allowed Jones to stretch beyond the Cat and Mouse format.
Thanks for posting the complete performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. I could make out concertmaster Mischa Mischakoff, and Carlton Cooley and Milton Katims on the first desk of violas, but unfortunately my own viola teacher Nathan Gordon doesn’t appear to be in any shots. Toscanini’s tempos are on the brisk side (I rather like them that way), and he doesn’t take the repeats in the first and fourth movements; I assume NBC must have pressured him to finish the full symphony in under thirty minutes for broadcast scheduling purposes. No wonder he looks so unhappy.
You would indeed expect most of those pieces by Chopin to have been performed by most prominent pianists, but there are a few notable exceptions. Glenn Gould, for one, disliked Chopin’s music, claiming that it bored him. As a teenager he did perform and record a few short pieces by Chopin because his piano teacher forced him to; but apart from a single radio broadcast of one of his piano sonatas (in a typically eccentric interpretation), Gould avoided Chopin for his entire adult life.
The first recording I ever heard of “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” was sung by none other than Alice Cooper as the penultimate track on his “Alice Cooper Goes to Hell” album.
I was hoping for Lantz next, but Columbia…. This should be interesting!
I always liked Carmen Get It. I hope someday the Deitchs will be fully reevaluated.
The Deitch T&Js got better as they went along. Unfortunately by the time they found their groove, the series was cancelled and Chuck Jones took over.
I adore Gene Deitch’s Tom and Jerry. I think they were better than most of the Hanna Barbera shorts and all of the Chuck Jones’ films.
WOW! The TOM AND JERRY AT MGM piece made my day! Fantastic recreation! Thanks for sharing this!
The only halfway decent Deitch score was for The Tom & Jerry Cartoon Kit, where a Dixieland style band performs the entire score, foreshadowing Doug Goodwin’s similar use of that orchestration in some late-60’s DePatie-Freleng cartoons. It was a good cartoon too with Jay Ward writing vet Chris Jenkins credited for story.