Top Cat (1962)

 

Just as the premise for Top Cat was unoriginal--being based on the popular Phil Silvers 1950s sit-com You'll Never Get Rich--the Top Cat series itself failed to display any originality or evolution in the episodes that aired in 1962 versus those from 1961. Top Cat continues trying to scheme his way to riches but always finds a way to miss out. In the 1961 episode "The Maharajah of Pookejee" he throws away a ruby, believing it to be fake before later learning that it was genuine; in the 1962 episode "The Grand Tour" (January 31, 1962) he and the gang discover a chest of ancient Dutch doubloons in a condemned building but are forced to turn them over to the police commissioner because the building belongs to the city, and when they return to the building hoping to find even more treasure, Benny sneezes, causing the building to collapse and thereby prevent any further treasure hunting. Officer Charlie Dibble continues to be outwitted by Top Cat, such as handcuffing himself to a trash can in "King for a Day" (March 14, 1962) after Top Cat asks him what he would do if he apprehended one criminal but then got a call to go after a second one. And despite their differences Top Cat and gang are really fond of Dibble and vice versa, as Dibble describes their relationship akin to a marriage in "Dibble Breaks the Record" (March 28, 1962) saying that he can't live with them and he can't live without them while inviting them to accompany him on his vacation. Dibble also goes soft again when he thinks Top Cat is dying in "The Late T.C." (February 21, 1962), just as in the 1961 episode "Top Cat Falls in Love." Speaking of romance, we have another 1962 infatuation episode involving Choo-Choo in "Choo-Choo Goes Gaga" (March 7, 1962) where he falls for gold-digging Hollywood actress Lola Glamour (obviously based on Zsa Zsa Gabor), just as he does for Parisian kitten Goldie in the 1961 episode "Choo-Choo's Romance." And then there is the return of Don Messick's hyena-laughing canine Griswald--the prototype for Dick Dasterdly's later sidekick Muttley-- in the 1962 episode "Griswald" (April 11, 1962), first seen in the 1961 episode "The Missing Heir." Added to this are the casual digs at The Untouchables in "The Case of the Absent Anteater" (January 10, 1962) and "Dibble Sings Again" (April 4, 1962), and it's clear that the series couldn't even make it through a single season without repeating itself.

There are a couple of episodes, however, that stand out above the usual rehashed plots and borrowed stories. "Space Monkey" (February 14, 1962) depicts the then-current inhumane practice of shooting animals into space to measure any harm they might incur in order to use this information for later sending humans into orbit. When Choo-Choo reads Top Cat a newspaper article about the luxurious accommodations afforded to space monkey Marvo, Top Cat sees it as an opportunity for he and his gang to lead the good life, so they travel to space agency headquarters and apply to take part in the space program themselves. They quickly learn that the newspaper article was all propaganda--the accommodations are spartan, not luxurious, and Marvo himself wants only to return to his family in Africa, not become a space pioneer. Top Cat has to use all his wits to avoid being shot into orbit himself, and the story has a happy ending in that Marvo survives and appears to have landed in Africa after orbiting the earth, eventually finding his way back to his family. But the cruelty of subjecting animals to testing to benefit humans is a topic that can't simply be swept under the carpet by a laugh track.

The other standout episode is "Dibble's Birthday" (February 28, 1962) because it is the one in which Top Cat's gang stands up to him and makes him do the right thing. When Top Cat overhears Dibble talking to the Sergeant about his requirement to go in for a physical since his birthday is coming up, Top Cat hatches a plan to get all the local merchants to chip in free merchandise for the policeman who protects their precinct. Only Top Cat has no intention of actually giving the donated gifts to Dibble; instead, he plans to hock them for his own financial gain. But all the other members of his gang refuse to go along, insisting that the gifts actually be given to Dibble, whom they genuinely appreciate. This is not the only time they overrule their leader: in "T.C. Minds the Baby" Benny finds a baby in a picnic basket left on the doorstep of an abandoned building. Top Cat at first decides to leave the baby on the doorstep of the nearby McGillicuddy home, but after hearing how overwhelmed the mother is with the many children she already has, he thinks they should turn the baby over to the local orphanage until Benny pulls on his heart strings by saying he was raised in an orphanage and though his physical needs were taken care of he never got enough love. While the comic trope of bachelors caring for a baby had been played for laughs decades before Hanna & Barbera borrowed it, it rarely in real life is the best environment for raising a baby, so in this case Top Cat has the right idea in giving the baby up to the authorities but is worn down by his gang's sentimentality. Eventually Dibble learns about the baby and confiscates it, after which it is reunited with its mother, who now regrets abandoning it. However, both episodes demonstrate that Top Cat's power relies solely on his gang's acquiescence. And given how unsuccessful he is in his many money-making schemes, no matter how clever they appear, one wonders why the gang continues to follow his orders.

Despite their success with The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera failed to repeat their success with Top Cat. According to Joe Barbera's 1994 autobiography, My Life in 'Toons, he and Hanna made a couple of mis-steps early on that almost sunk Top Cat before it ever got on the air. The first was in originally casting feature film star Michael O'Shea as Top Cat due to his suave on-screen persona. Even though O'Shea seemed perfect in rehearsals, when it came to actually taping the episodes, he could not handle the rapid pace of the dialogue and eventually had to be replaced by Arnold Stang. The second mistake was in focusing too much on the dialogue at the expense of visuals, which he did not realize until Screen Gems executive John Mitchell viewed some of the first seven episodes and asked Barbera where were the laughs, meaning there were none of the typical sight gags found in cartoons. Barbera realized that Mitchell was right and had to have those early episodes revised to include the brand of humor viewers were used to seeing in cartoons. Unfortunately, while Mitchell may have been correct about cartoon viewers' expectations, many of the sight-gag sequences in Top Cat do appear tacked on with no real relevance to the story. While Hanna and Barbera may have considered Top Cat their most sophisticated cartoon creation, all one has to do is compare it to The Bullwinkle Show to see what true cartoon sophistication looks like.

The Actors

For the biographies of Arnold Stang, Maurice Gosfield, Leo de Lyon, Marvin Kaplan, and Allen Jenkins, see the 1961 post for Top Cat. For the biography of John Stephenson, see the 1961 post for The Flintstones. For the biography of Paul Frees, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Rocky and His Friends.

Notable Guest Stars

Because it was an animated series, Top Cat did not have many guest stars known from other shows, except those listed below.

Season 1, Episode 16, "The Case of the Absent Anteater": Don Messick (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Flintstones) plays a costume shop clerk.

Season 1, Episode 17, "T.C. Minds the Baby": Jean Vander Pyl (shown on the near left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Flintstones) plays the found baby and overwhelmed mother Mrs. McGillicuddy.

Season 1, Episode 18, "Farewell, Mr. Dibble": Don Messick (shown on the right, see "The Case of the Absent Anteater" above) plays new policeman Officer Ernest Prowler.

Season 1, Episode 20, "The Golden Fleecing": Sallie Jones (shown on the left, played Mona McKenzie on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) plays nightclub singer Honeydew Mellon. Bea Benaderet (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Flintstones) plays Fancy-Fancy's girlfriend Julie.

Season 1, Episode 21, "Space Monkey": Herb Vigran (shown on the right, appeared in Susan Slept Here, Dragnet, The Candidate, and Benji, played Muley Evans on The Life of Riley, Ernest Hinshaw on The Ed Wynn Show, and Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke, and voiced Glum on The Adventures of Gulliver and Mr. Dinkle on Shirt Tales) plays the space agency Lab Director. Walker Edmiston (Enik on Land of the Lost and voiced Dr. Blinkey and Orson Vulture on H.R. Pufnstuf, Admiral Scuttlebutt, Bela, and Big Chief Sitting Duck on Lidsville, Sebastian on Dumbo's Circus, and Sir Thornberry on Adventures of the Gummi Bears) plays his assistant Bernie.

Season 1, Episode 22, "The Late T.C.": Bea Benaderet (see "The Golden Fleecing" above) plays Fancy-Fancy's party guest.

Season 1, Episode 23, "Dibble's Birthday": Bea Benaderet (see "The Golden Fleecing" above) plays Fancy-Fancy's girl friend.

Season 1, Episode 24, "Choo-Choo Goes Gaga": Jean Vander Pyl (see "T.C. Minds the Baby" above) plays movie star Lola Glamour. Bea Benaderet (shown on the left, see "The Golden Fleecing" above) plays her maid Fifi.

Season 1, Episode 25, "King for a Day": Bea Benaderet (see "The Golden Fleecing" above) plays Fancy-Fancy's girl friend and the TV station receptionist.

Season 1, Episode 28, "Dibble Sings Again": Bea Benaderet (see "The Golden Fleecing" above) plays a TV studio receptionist.

Season 1, Episode 29, "Griswald": Don Messick (see "The Case of the Absent Anteater" above) plays police dog Griswald.

Season 1, Episode 30, "Dibble's Double": Don Messick (see "The Case of the Absent Anteater" above) plays master thief Al the Actor. Bea Benaderet (see "The Golden Fleecing" above) provides the old lady's voice and plays a Lady's Club member. Jean Vander Pyl (see "T.C. Minds the Baby" above) plays another Lady's Club member.

The Flintstones (1962)

 

By the year 1962, the once-fresh prime-time cartoon The Flintstones had settled into a comfortable routine of rehashed plots chronicling the misadventures of boorish Fred Flintstone that borrowed heavily from other TV programs, movies, and pop culture fads. The only new thing on the program that year was a different, now iconic opening sequence in which Fred drives the family to a drive-in restaurant and movie instead of showing him clocking out at work, picking up the dry cleaning, and parking in the garage before settling in front of the TV with a plate of food. The series also began using a few additional voice actors such as Herschel Bernardi and Howard Morris to voice a number of incidental characters.

When they weren't attempting to lampoon other TV shows and movies, such as poking fun at Gunsmoke and westerns in general in "A Star Is Almost Born" (January 12, 1962), homemaker programs in "The Happy Household" (February 23, 1962), game shows in "Divided We Sail" (April 6, 1962), swarthy Latin movie stars in "Latin Lover" (April 20, 1962), Lassie in "Dino Goes Hollyrock" (September 14, 1962), crime caper movies in "Here's Snow in Your Eyes" (October 19, 1962), TV crime dramas such as Hawaiian Eye in "Hawaiian Escapade" (November 16, 1962), and Hitchcock suspense films in "Dial S for Suspicion" (December 14, 1962), they were recycling their own already shopworn plots. For example, "The Gambler" (January 5, 1962) revolves around Fred's gambling addiction for which he once visited a psychiatrist and swore to Wilma that he would never engage in again. When skin-flint Fred tries to avoid settling his bill with newsboy Arnold, he falls off the wagon by offering to bet double or nothing on his bill over a game of marbles. Predictably, Fred loses but keeps doubling down and losing again until he has run up a tab of $88 that he can't possibly repay because Wilma has used the money he hid from her to pay off another debt he has been trying to avoid on their TV set. In the end, after Wilma has figured out what Fred has been up to and has to borrow money from Betty to replace the furniture that Fred gave Arnold to settle his debt, Fred swears off ever gambling again. But in "The Rock Vegas Story" (March 30, 1962) Fred decides to take Wilma and the Rubbles to Rock Vegas for their vacation after running into old friend Sherman Cobblehead who now owns a casino and invites Fred to come see him. Within minutes of their arrival at the casino, when the wives go to "freshen up," Fred loses all their money in a slot machine, and the two families have to spend the rest of their vacation working at the casino to afford their stay. Fred's failure to keep his promises is glossed over at the end of the episode when Cobblehead tells the husbands how lucky they are to have such devoted wives, whereas he is forced to live out his drab existence running a casino surrounded by beautiful show girls.

Fred's repeated attempts at deception are also recycled in two attempts to duck out of work to go see a day baseball game in "Operation Barney" (February 16, 1962) in which he calls in sick to skip work but when he forces Barney to do the same, Barney's boss requires him to submit to a medical examination that lands him in the hospital and almost has him undergo a serious operation. After Wilma and Betty discover the ruse, Fred promises never to play hooky from work again. Wilma is skeptical he will stick to it, and for good reason, because we see that Fred has his fingers crossed behind his back. And sure enough, he tries the same trick again in "Ladies' Day" (November 23, 1962), only this time he dresses in drag using clothes Wilma gave him to drop off at a rummage sale so that he can get into the ballgame for free on Ladies Day. Again predictably he doesn't get away with it and once exposed he again promises never to play hooky from work again. This time there are no crossed fingers, but who in their right mind would ever believe any promises made by Fred Flintstone? And who would want to watch him go through the same routine on episode after episode?

We could go over the multiple episodes about Fred's failed get-rich quick schemes or his cruelty to Barney, but perhaps more salient is the program's blatant chauvinism in its depiction of the roles of husbands and wives. This topic has been discussed on various web sites and in various forums with opinion generally falling into two camps--those who are shocked that a show they loved as children could be so misogynistic, and those who brush such criticism aside by saying the program only reflected the prevalent attitudes of the era, was set in the Stone Age so of course the male characters behave like "cave men," or was only a cartoon and therefore should not be taken so seriously. The episode most often cited for the program's chauvinism is the aforementioned "The Happy Household" in which Wilma is recruited to host a TV homemaker program but Fred eventually intervenes to get her show canceled so that she can be home to cook his dinners, not to tell other housewives how to please their husbands. Fred not only says that a woman's place is in the home, but ends the episode by admonishing any housewife viewers to take note of this week's lesson. While it is certainly true that The Flintstones was not the only TV program of its time to reinforce the stereotype of women being ideally and only suited to being homemakers--even the supposedly proto-feminist Donna Reed Show had her proving she could handle other jobs outside the home but always choosing to return to domestic contentment--what makes The Flintstones stand out is that its chauvinism can be disingenuously defended as being only a cartoon set in Stone Age times while also appealing to children who are less able to resist its reactionary message. Sure, it was a prime-time "adult" cartoon, but children are naturally drawn to cartoons due to their simplicity, bright colors, fantastical events, and general mood of fun and humor. Children even enjoy clearly adult-oriented cartoons such as The Bullwinkle Show, whose political and social satire is beyond their understanding, because the show depicts talking animals involved in outlandish adventures. In the TV age, cartoons are also a key component in the socialization of children and can have profound effects on their development, depending what kind of cartoons they are exposed to. The number of adults who are shocked when they revisit childhood favorites such as The Flintstones only reinforces the fact that children cannot discriminate like adults and recognize when a theme is being depicted only for humorous effect. That's why the messages disseminated by The Flintstones--that women can and should be satisfied only as housewives or that you can be cruel to your friends and suffer no real consequences--are not good, clean fun, even for adults.

The Actors

For the biographies of Alan Reed, Mel Blanc, Jean Vander Pyl, and Bea Benaderet, see the 1960 post for The Flintstones. For the biography of Hal Smith, see the 1961 post for The Andy Griffith Show. For the biographies of John Stephenson and Don Messick, see the 1961 post for The Flintstones.

Notable Guest Stars

Because it was an animated series, The Flintstones did not have many guest stars known from other shows, except those listed below.

Season 1, Episode 17, "A Star Is Almost Born": Frank Nelson (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Jack Benny Program) plays TV producer Norman Rockbind.

Season 1, Episode 18, "The Entertainer": Paula Winslowe (Martha Conklin on Our Miss Brooks) plays Mr. Slate's client Greta Gravel.

Season 1, Episode 19, "Wilma's Vanishing Money": Frank Nelson (see "A Star Is Almost Born" above) plays a sporting goods store clerk. Herschel Bernardi (see the biography section of the 1960 post on Peter Gunn) plays stick-up man Silky.

Season 1, Episode 22, "Operation Barney": Herschel Bernardi (see "Wilma's Vanishing Money" above) plays an operating room doctor. Paula Winslowe (see "The Entertainer" above) plays the operating room nurse.

Season 1, Episode 23, "The Happy Household": Paul Frees (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Rocky and His Friends) plays TV producer Mr. Rockenschpeel and TV station owner Sam Bedrock. B.J. Baker (Miss Alabama at age 17, background singer and member of the Anita Kerr Singers, wife of Mickey Rooney and later jazz guitarist Barney Kessel) provides Wilma's singing voice.

Season 1, Episode 25, "This Is Your Life Saver": Walker Edmiston (shown on the left, played Enik on Land of the Lost and voiced Dr. Blinkey and Orson Vulture on H.R. Pufnstuf, Admiral Scuttlebutt, Bela, and Big Chief Sitting Duck on Lidsville, Sebastian on Dumbo's Circus, and Sir Thornberry on Adventures of the Gummi Bears) plays con man J. Montague Gypsum.

Season 1, Episode 26, "Trouble-in-Law": Verna Felton (shown on the right, played Mrs. Day on The Dennis Day Show and The Jack Benny Program and Hilda Crocker on December Bride and Pete and Gladys) plays Wilma's mother Pearl Slaghoople.

Season 1, Episode 27, "The Mailman Cometh": Herb Vigran (Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke) plays policeman Officer Riley.

Season 1, Episode 30, "Kleptomaniac Caper": Herb Vigran (see "The Mailman Cometh" above) plays policeman Officer O'Rockery. Herschel Bernardi (see "Wilma's Vanishing Money" above) plays a department store detective.

Season 1, Episode 31, "Latin Lover": Jerry Mann (shown on the far left, appeared in The Sky Divers, Shutter Bug, and The Maltese Bippy, also wrote several shorts and 3 episodes of Tom and Jerry as well as voicing Tom the cat) plays Italian movie star Roberto Rockelini. Paula Winslowe (see "The Entertainer" above) plays a cosmetics saleswoman.

Season 3, Episode 1, "Dino Goes Hollyrock": Herschel Bernardi (see "Wilma's Vanishing Money" above) plays talent agent Sam.

Season 3, Episode 3, "Barney the Invisible": Howard McNear (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Andy Griffith Show) plays physician Dr. Quartz.

Season 3, Episode 5, "The Twitch": Ginny Tyler (shown on the left, voiced characters in Son of Flubber, The Sword in the Stone, Mary Poppins, and Doctor Doolittle and voiced Sally Hansen and Elaine Hansen on Davey and Goliath, Wendy on The New Casper Cartoon Show, Jan and Black Widow on Space Ghost, Flirtacia on The Adventures of Gulliver, Aunt Martha and Polly on Devlin, and Sue Richards and The Invisible Girl on The Fantastic Four) plays a talentless singer for agent Sam Stone.

Season 3, Episode 6, "Here's Snow in Your Eyes": Doug Young (shown on the right, voiced Doggie Daddy on Quick Draw McGraw, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy, and The Huckleberry Hound Show, Ding a Ling on The Huckleberry Hound Show, Yippee on The Peter Potamus Show and Yippee, Yappee and Yahooey, and later the Grand Poobah on The Flintstones) plays stolen goods fence Chip Marble.

Season 3, Episode 8, "The Little Stranger": Verna Felton (see "Trouble-in-Law" above) returns as Wilma's mother Pearl Slaghoople.

Season 3, Episode 12, "Nuttin' But the Tooth": Howard Morris (shown on the left, appeared in Boys' Night Out, The Nutty Professor, and High Anxiety, played Ernest T. Bass on The Andy Griffith Show, and voiced Beetle Bailey, Gen. Halftrack, Otto, and Rocky on Beetle Bailey, Breezly Bruin on The Peter Potamus Show, Mr. Peebles on The Magilla Gorilla Show, Atom Ant on The Atom Ant Show, Jughead Jones, Big Moose, and Dilton Doiley on The Archie Show and Archie's Funhouse, Frankie, Wolfie, and Dr. Jekyll on Sabrina and the Groovie Goulies, Cousin Ambrose on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and The Hamburglar on McDonaldland) plays dentist Dr. Smiley Molar.

Season 3, Episode 13, "High School Fred": Howard Morris (see "Nuttin' But the Tooth" above) plays efficiency expert Mr. Rockhard.

Season 3, Episode 14, "Dial S for Suspicion": Howard Morris (see "Nuttin' But the Tooth" above) plays circus knife thrower Rodney Whetstone and physician Dr. Pilldown.

Season 3, Episode 15, "Flash Gun Freddie": Howard Morris (see "Nuttin' But the Tooth" above) plays the drug store clerk and comic-buying kid.