A Mouse in the House



A Mouse in the House is a 1947 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 32nd Tom and Jerry short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby. It was animated by Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, Don Patterson and Richard Bickenbach, with additional animation by Michael Lah (uncredited), and was released to theatres on August 30, 1947. The title of this cartoon is an appropriate play on "a guest in the house."

Plot
Mammy Two Shoes stumbles upon entering the kitchen, which has been ransacked by Jerry, and berates the residents of the house, Tom and Butch. She warns them that the one who catches Jerry can stay, but the other will be kicked out. The two cats frantically search for Jerry, eventually realizing they were both unsuspectingly aided by him. They scramble to catch the mouse, but become tangled. They tiptoe across the floor until Jerry hits one of their feet (Butch) with a log.

Tom and Butch then grab Jerry together and decide to have a gun duel. Tom turns around early and shoots Butch, but finds out he has a novelty gun, allowing Butch to chase Tom into the wall. Tom sees the same brand name on it and assumes it is another novelty gun, but Butch shoots, with Tom barely dodging the bullet. Jerry then enters an oven. Tom and Butch slam the door and turn on the gas, but Jerry sneaks out, lights a match and drops it in the oven, which explodes when Tom and Butch open it.

Jerry is then caught by both cats simultaneously. Jerry squeezes out, but is grabbed by Butch. Tom grabs his tail as he flees and after Tom bops Butch on the head, Butch slips the mouse into a box before continuing the fight. Jerry escapes and rings a gong, ending the fight momentarily, and coaches Tom and Butch to hit each other. After Jerry rings the gong, both cats realise they have been tricked and glance towards Jerry. Realising he is trapped, the mouse chooses Butch via Eeny Meeny Mine Mo and sits down in his hand.

Tom slumps down and walks away, but hides behind a curtain, grabbing Jerry out of Butch's hand. Butch turns the corner to find only Tom, who is sitting on Jerry, but Jerry gives him away by lifting the cat up. Butch dumps Tom into a trash can and chases Jerry, but Tom runs into the kitchen and dresses himself up as Mammy to trick Butch. Butch offers Jerry to Tom, thinking he is Mammy, but Tom wallops Butch over the head with a frying pan. Butch then does the same thing in the living room, Tom falls for the same trick, getting walloped over the head with a coal shovel. Butch runs off with Jerry, but runs into an ironing board and knocks himself out, allowing Jerry to escape. Both cats pick up the weapons they were knocked out by and chase after the mouse.

Tom, seeing Mammy coming down the stairs, believes it to be a trap again and hides behind the stairs, with Butch doing the same on the other side. As Mammy peeks through, the two cats hit her repeatedly on the bum, thinking that she is the other cat in disguise. She wails in pain. Tom and Butch, bewildered, look at each other in bewilderment and under her dress. Knowing that Mammy might find out that they hit her, they attempt to flee, but Mammy angrily grabs their tails and noisily throws them out of the house when Jerry opened the door. Jerry then marches back joyfully but sees Mammy tapping her foot. She does it as if to say she wants him to get out as well. Resigned, the mouse starts to leave, walking back to the door while the cartoon irises out. The iris out stops on Jerry's sight and then Jerry waves at Mammy with a sheepish expression on his face and shuts the door as he dashes away.

Voice cast

 * Lillian Randolph as Mammy Two Shoes (original) (uncredited)
 * Thea Vidale as Mammy Two Shoes (dubbed version) (uncredited)
 * William Hanna as Tom's and Butch's Screams (uncredited)

Availability
DVD
 * Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 3, Disc One
 * Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume One, Disc Two