A Mutt in a Rut
About A Mutt in a Rut
On a snowy night Dogface's mistress carries in a freezing stray kitten, and the dog wants it gone. He chases the kitten until a vase breaks on his head. In the dream that follows he arrives in dog heaven without wings, a judge finds him guilty of felonious assault on a cat, and he is dropped into hell. He wakes, takes the warning, and tucks the kitten into a crib with cake and cream.
Cast & crew
More about A Mutt in a Rut
Isadore Sparber directed this Noveltoon. Dave Tendlar and Tom Golden animated it. Carl Meyer and Jack Mercer wrote the story, and Paramount released it on May 27, 1949.
Themes
Making
The short uses the dream-trial shape of A Christmas Carol: Dogface dies in his dream, fails the wing test, and is sentenced before he wakes up on the floor.
Music
Winston Sharples scored the knockout and the dream court that follows it.
Preservation
Prints circulate from the NTA television package. The copyright was not renewed.
Notes
- Dogface's second and last cartoon, after A Self-Made Mongrel (1945).
- Arnold Stang is the police bulldog. Jackson Beck is the Saint Bernard and a bulldog angel. Gwen Davies is the mistress. Jack Mercer is the jury of kittens.
- The mistress who carries the kitten in speaks with an Irish accent.
- National Telefilm Associates did not renew the 1949 copyright.
Scenes
- A vase breaks over Dogface's head mid-chase and he passes out.
- An officer in dog heaven notices he has no wings.
- Awake, he sets the kitten up with a crib, cake, and cream.
Also available
- Internet Archive (AMuttInARut)
- DVD: Cartoon Craze, Volume 18 (2004, Digiview)
- DVD: 200 Classic Cartoons (2008, Mill Creek Entertainment)
- DVD: 300 Cartoon Classics (2011, Image Entertainment)
