Claws for Alarm (1954)

Porky Pig doesn't realize that the old hotel where he and Sylvester are spending the night is really part of a ghost town. It's only Sylvester who sees the band of murderous mice trying to ... See full summary »

Director:

Chuck Jones

Writer:

Michael Maltese (story)

Stars:

Mel Blanc

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mel Blanc	...	Porky Pig / Sylvester (voice)

Storyline

Porky Pig doesn't realize that the old hotel where he and Sylvester are spending the night is really part of a ghost town. It's only Sylvester who sees the band of murderous mice trying to do them in, while Porky chalks his fears up to insanity.

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Plot Keywords:

pig | ghost | merrie melodies | reference to porky pig | noose | 

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Genres:

Family | Horror | Animation | Short | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 May 1954 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

7 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Porky Pig: What are you? a schizophree... schizophree... a manic-depresive or something?

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Connections

Edited into Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special (1978)

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Soundtracks

"In the Stirrups"
(uncredited)
Music by J.S. Zamecnik
Played when they drive off at the end

User Reviews

Good enough but the existence of 'Scaredy Cat' renders it redundant

Chuck Jones's 'Claws for Alarm' is an inferior remake of his own 'Scaredy Cat'. While 'Scaredy Cat' had provided a brilliant combination of laughs and genuinely creepy horror, 'Claws for Alarm' very much concentrates on the former. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing had 'Scaredy Cat' not done everything 'Claws for Alarm' attempts better already. 'Claws for Alarm' uses more limited animation than the lush 'Scaredy Cat' which, while it is lively and colourful, doesn't come close to creating as affective an atmosphere as the former cartoon's gorgeous, intricate look. The plot is almost entirely identical (Sylvester attempts to rescue Porky Pig from some psychotic mice) except that this time round Porky never realises the truth, eventually driving Sylvester to violence. This leads to an ominous ending which is perhaps the only thing about 'Claws for Alarm' that is actually better than 'Scaredy Cat' (which had a rather weird ending based on an outdated reference). While many people's personal preference may be down to which they saw first, 'Scaredy Cat' is, to my mind, clearly the superior picture and its very existence renders 'Claws for Alarm' entirely redundant.