Cat Glove
Tom's million-dollar scheme backfires—and Jerry gets the girl.
Casanova Cat is a 1951 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 55th Tom and Jerry short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby. The short follows Tom as he attempts to woo Toodles, a female cat who has recently inherited $1,000,000, by using Jerry as a prop in a series of humiliating performances. However, Jerry's rebellion and the arrival of Butch, a rival alley cat, turn Tom's romantic scheme into a chaotic three-way brawl for Toodles' affection. The cartoon is notable for its controversial blackface sequence, which led to censorship and bans from television and DVD releases in the United States.
Lore & Background
In the Tom and Jerry universe, Casanova Cat stands out as a rare romantic comedy where the chase is not for food or survival, but for the affections of a wealthy female cat. The plot is driven by Tom's greed: upon learning that Toodles has inherited $1,000,000, he immediately dresses up and brings flowers, dragging Jerry along as a living gift. Tom forces Jerry into a series of degrading performances—winding him into a doll, blackening his face with cigar smoke, and making him tap-dance on a hot metal plate—all to impress Toodles. The short's climax shifts when Butch, an alley cat, enters the scene after Jerry drops a newspaper headline about Toodles' inheritance into the alley. Tom and Butch then engage in a violent slapstick duel for Toodles' heart, using boxing gloves, fishbowls, bowling balls, and mousetraps. Ultimately, Jerry outwits both cats by kissing Toodles on the cheek, winning her affection, and escaping with her in a car while Tom and Butch are left tangled and defeated.
Reader's Guide
Casanova Cat is a classic one-reel Tom and Jerry short from 1951, running approximately 7 minutes. It is the 55th short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby. The animation was handled by Irven Spence, Ray Patterson, Ed Barge, and Kenneth Muse, with story by Hanna and Barbera, layout by Richard Bickenbach, and music by Scott Bradley. The voice cast includes Jerry Mann (uncredited) as Butch singing "Over the Rainbow" and William Hanna (uncredited, archival audio) as Tom screaming. The short has a controversial history due to its blackface sequence, where Tom blackens Jerry's face with cigar smoke. This led to the cartoon being banned from DVD release in the United States by Warner Home Video, and it was not aired on Cartoon Network or Boomerang because of racial stereotyping of African Americans. However, it did air on May 1, 2021 on MeTV with the censored Turner print, cutting out the blackface. On September 9, 2025, it was announced that the Tom and Jerry: The Golden Era Anthology (1940–1958) Blu-ray/DVD set, released on December 2, 2025, would feature all 114 original Hanna-Barbera shorts uncut and uncensored, including Casanova Cat, marking its first official release on a physical format in North America. The short is available on VHS (Tom and Jerry's Cartoon Cavalcade, uncensored), Region 2 DVD (Tom and Jerry: The Classic Collection, uncensored), and Region 1 DVD and Region A/1 Blu-ray (Tom and Jerry: The Golden Era Anthology, uncensored). It was omitted from the Spotlight Collection, Volume 3 DVD release in 2007, and was also skipped on the planned Tom and Jerry Golden Collection – Volume 2, which was cancelled following negative reception.
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