"An Ill Wind" is the fifth episode of The Tom and Jerry Show (1975).
Synopsis[]
An old traveler in the desert gives Tom and Jerry a map to a gold mine, to thank them for saving his life; the two of them fight over it, and also have to deal with outlaw Black Barney who wants it.
Plot[]
Tom and Jerry are relaxing at the Palm Desert Springs Inn, when an old traveler comes along begging for water. After a sip of Tom's refreshing Grape beverage (which he chooses over Jerry's Cherry-Lime!), the traveler gives Tom and Jerry a map to The Lucky Dutchman Gold Mine, but warns them to beware of Black Barney, whom they inevitably run into. Black Barney, it seems, is only the least of Tom and Jerry's foibles; aside of the cat and mouse pitting themselves against each other for the map (cats and mice will be cats and mice!), various gusts of wind constantly blow the map from their hands, bringing new meaning to Shakespeare's phrase, "the ill wind which blows no man to good" (hence the title of this very cartoon!). A final gust of wind blows the map onto the street, where it is immediately swept up by a street cleaner, and dumped by truck onto a garbage dump, where T&J spend the rest of the night sifting through it in search of the map.
Characters[]
Trivia & Notes[]
- Animation of Tom running as he and Jerry chase the map as it's blown away in the wind is based on that in Quiet Please! (1945). Similar animation can be seen in the opening titles and in Episode #80-27, "The Kitten Sitters ."
- We learn that Black Barney is a dropout (typical!).
- The late Hal Smith voices Black Barney. Among many screen roles, Smith is best remembered as town drunk Otis Campbell on The Andy Griffith Show (CBS, 1960-68).
- This is one of 3 New Tom & Jerry cartoons (aside from the penultimate "sports" installments) to exhibit adversarial interaction between Tom & Jerry and the thrill of the chase, 2 major functions embodied by Hanna-Barbera's classic MGM T&J shorts; others are #80-03, "No Way, Stowaway," and #80-02, "Bunny, "The Ski Bunny both seen in the series debut. The age-old rivalry also surfaces (albeit briefly) in #80-26, "The Sorcerer's Apprentices."
- Jerry sure has shoe shining down to a science. He polishes off Black Barney's boots here, just like he polished Weirdbeard The Pirate's in #80-03, "No Way, Stowaway."
Gallery[]
.png "An Ill Wind - Old Traveler walking slow (close up).png (511 KB)")
