"A Gruesome Twosome " is possibly the wildest and most violent cartoon ever made. Directed by the inimitable Bob Clampett, this Looney Tunes cartoon (the corrent print actually is a reissue, showing the Merrie Melodies opening and closing but intact original title card as well as credits: a strange kind of alteration that also happened to other shorts, like Bob Clampett's "Wagon Heels" and Frank Tashlin's "Nasty Quacks") hit the screens in 1945.
The main characters of this short are two alley cat: a dopey orange cat and a Jimmy Durante-like cat. My theory is that the title could be a reference to the short-lived improbale pairing of Buster Keaton (in fact the orange cat in this picture is essentially a stone-face character, even if he got the additional characteristic of being a dimwitted idiot) and Jimmy Durante, in the Thirties .
The two, competing for a cute li'l gal kitty (voiced By Sarah Berner), try to bring her a little bird, which is revealed to be none other than Tweety, in his third official appearence .
Still naked, Tweey in this cartoon, as well as in the other Bob Clampett cartoons in which he starred, is wild and violent and he is in no way paragonable to the passive character , of the latter Freleng's cartoons (when he was paired with Sylvester the cat as a blue eyed loveable and sweet creature object of the feline's attentions).
I tried to post some screenshots that, in my opinion, show the best examples of the ability of the animators working in Clampett's unit.
Look at the facial expression and the wild takes and enjoy the incontrollable energy that comes from every single drawing of this magnificent short .
Yours Truly ,
Duck Dodgers
Blog Founder and Administrator
