Life with Tom is the 79th one reel

Reel

A reel is an object around which lengths of another material are wound for storage. Generally a reel has a cylindrical core and walls on the sides to retain the material wound around the core...

 animated

Animated cartoon

An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...

 Tom and Jerry

Tom and Jerry

Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...

short

Short subject

A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...

, created in 1953

1953 in film

The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...

 directed by William Hanna

William Hanna

William Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...

 and Joseph Barbera

Joseph Barbera

Joseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....

 and produced by Fred Quimby

Fred Quimby

Frederick C. "Fred" Quimby was an American cartoon producer, best known as a producer of Tom and Jerry cartoons, for which he won seven Academy Awards...

 with music by Scott Bradley. The cartoon was animated by Kenneth Muse

Kenneth Muse

Kenneth Lee Muse was an American animator. He is best known for his work on the Tom and Jerry series at MGM.-Biography:...

, Irven Spence

Irven Spence

Irven Spence was an American animator. He is best known for his work on MGM's Tom and Jerry animated shorts. Spence has been credited variously as Irven Spence, Irvin Spence, and Irv Spence....

 and Ed Barge with backgrounds by Robert Gentle. It was released to theatres on November 21, 1953 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...

.

Plot

A mailman delivers two packages and whistles out loud. Tom approaches to see that nothing is in his mailbox. He spots a package in Jerry's mailbox though, which appears to be a book, and tears it to reveal the title "Life with Tom". He hides in the bush as Jerry walks towards his mailbox and retrieves a letter. Tom then hears a radio program which announces the publication of a new book by Jerry Mouse. Tom opens the book and flips the page to "Dedicated to Tom.... Without whom, I could do very well". Tom moves on to a page.

Flashback to 1946's Cat Fishin'

Cat Fishin'

Cat Fishin' is a 1947 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 27th Tom and Jerry short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, produced by Fred Quimby and animated by Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, Michael Lah, Pete Burness and Ray Patterson...

beginning where Tom uses Jerry as bait and ending where Spike gives chase. Back to the present day, where the book reads: "To this day, Tom still thinks he caught a new species of dog fish". This makes Tom furious and he overhears his alley cats friends laughing. He skims to another page. Flashback to 1948's The Little Orphan

The Little Orphan

The Little Orphan is a 1949 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 40th Tom and Jerry short, released in theatres on April 30, 1949 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. It was produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with music by Scott Bradley...

beginning where Jerry and Nibbles are walking along the dinner table dressed as pilgrims and ending where Tom surrenders, waving the white flag. Back to the present day, Tom hears Spike and Tyke laughing. He extends his neck out to see what page the dogs are reading and moves to the page where Jerry reveals that while Man's best friend is a dog, Jerry's best friend is a canary. Flashback to 1948's Kitty Foiled

Kitty Foiled

Kitty Foiled is a 1948 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 34th Tom and Jerry short. It was released in theaters on June 1, 1948. The cartoon was directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with animation by Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse, Irving Levine and Ed Barge...

beginning where the canary is shocked to witness Tom and Jerry's violent exploits and ending where Tom plunges down a hole aboard a train.

Back again to the present day. With everyone laughing at his expense, Tom is so furious to discover he is a laughing stock, his face becomes a bright shade of red. He marches over to Jerry's hole, tearing off the facade and smashing the book over Jerry. Jerry then shows Tom the letter that he had received that morning. The letter states "Dear Jerry, enclosed find royalty checks for $50,000. In accordance with your instructions, half of this is for your friend Tom". Tom finds a check for $25,000...addressed to him! A flattered Tom has a change of heart about the autobiography and now begins to see the funny side of it all.