Duel Personality
Duel Personality is a 1966 Tom and Jerry cartoon produced and directed by Chuck Jones. It is the first Tom and Jerry cartoon released in 1966, and the first Tom & Jerry cartoon (both regarding Tom and Jerry produced by Chuck Jones, and Tom and Jerry cartoons produced altogether) with Dean Elliott as the music composer.
| Duel Personality | |
|---|---|
 Title Card | |
| Directed by | Chuck Jones Co-director: Maurice Noble |
| Produced by | Chuck Jones |
| Story by | Chuck Jones Michael Maltese[1] |
| Starring | Vocal effects: June Foray Chuck Jones (uncredited) Additional vocal effects: Mel Blanc (uncredited) |
| Music by | Dean Elliott |
| Animation by | Don Towsley Tom Ray Dick Thompson Ben Washam Ken Harris |
| Color process | Metrocolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 6:09 |
| Language | 'not language specific' |
This is one of the very few shorts in which Tom emerges victorious over Jerry. The title of the cartoon is a play on a dual personality, scientifically known as dissociative identity disorder.
Plot
In a chateau, Tom is trying to squash Jerry with a heavy iron ball attached to a rope. The fourth time he swings, Tom hits a loose floorboard and sends Jerry into a clothes drawer. Tom is drawing back for another strike, but Jerry signals for Tom to stop. Tom brakes and catches his ball, but falls to the ground due to its weight. Jerry slaps Tom with a glove and Tom claps his hand to the slapped cheek in shock. Tom hands Jerry his card. After Jerry reads it, he throws it aside and hands Tom his card, thus challenging each other to a duel. After the opening credits, the two are seen walking towards each other, each wearing a top hat and cape, ready for the duel.
First challenge: Pistols Jerry and Tom march away from each other with pistols, but Jerry staggers with the weight of the pistol and it fires at Tom, hitting him in the backside, and Tom's pistol goes off. Jerry snickers, but Tom's pistol ball approaches behind him and hammers him into the dirt, leaving his ears intact.
Second challenge: Swords Tom and Jerry rattle their swords, but Jerry ends up twisting his into a hook. Jerry throws his boomerang-sword which spears Tom in the back on its return, making Tom throw his sword in pain up into the air. Jerry giggles again, but Tom's sword lands into the ground right next to him, hammering the mouse into the ground again.
Third challenge: Archery Tom and Jerry both draw arrows, but they end up shooting themselves instead of the arrows. They hit each other head-to-head and the screen explodes.
Fourth challenge: Cannons Both rivals set up cannons and fire, but instead, the cannonballs hit, causing the two cannons to crash back into their firers, and fall to the ground.
Final challenge: Slingshots Both Tom and Jerry march away from each other with a slingshot and a rock. Jerry sets his weapon up in the ground, draws it back and shoots his rock into Tom's stomach as he is turning around. Tom is pushed into a tree but fires his rock. It latches onto Jerry's slingshot and pushes him back into another tree. Tom's rock then returns and latches onto his slingshot. Tom ducks his head, but peers back at it and watches it hits his face. "BLAP!" Tom is then fired into Jerry's slingshot and hits Jerry in the face. "BLAP!" Tom is then launched back the other way and gets stuck inside a tree branch with his feet sticking out.
Tom frees himself and returns to the chase. The chase through the mansion is repeated, but this time when Jerry issues the challenge, Tom declines by tearing up the card. Tom then pursues Jerry with the glove, slapping Jerry repeatedly with it as he chases Jerry down the hall as the cartoon closes.
Crew[2]
- Co-Director & Layouts: Maurice Noble
- Story: Chuck Jones & Michael Maltese
- Animation: Don Towsley, Tom Ray, Dick Thompson, Ben Washam & Ken Harris
- Backgrounds: Philip DeGuard
- Vocal Effects: June Foray, Chuck Jones & Mel Blanc
- Production Manager: Earl Jonas
- Music: Dean Elliott
- Production Supervised by Les Goldman
- Produced & Directed by Chuck Jones