The Con Men
- Studio
- Hanna-Barbera Studios
- Distributor
- Columbia/Screen Gems
Synopsis
Top Cat meets his match in two con men who are trying to bilk hot dog vendor Tony out of his life savings by offering shares in a phony oil company. To save Tony, Top Cat sets up a fake news agency that reports the oil company has hit a gusher. The con men race off to buy back Tony's shares at three times his original investment.
Teaser Sequence: As he's bowling in the alley, Top Cat tells Benny and Choo-Choo that they're going to figure out a way to get Tony's money back for him. Top Cat throws the ball and he yells at Brain to get his attention that the bowling ball is heading his way where Brain is drinking from a milk bottle for it to be a pin. Brain stops drinking and yells "Hey, wait", but Brain is too late to move and gets bowled down. Lying on the ground, a dazed Brain comments "I sure will be glad when Top Cat gets one of those automatic pinsetters."
Teaser Sequence: As he's bowling in the alley, Top Cat tells Benny and Choo-Choo that they're going to figure out a way to get Tony's money back for him. Top Cat throws the ball and he yells at Brain to get his attention that the bowling ball is heading his way where Brain is drinking from a milk bottle for it to be a pin. Brain stops drinking and yells "Hey, wait", but Brain is too late to move and gets bowled down. Lying on the ground, a dazed Brain comments "I sure will be glad when Top Cat gets one of those automatic pinsetters."
Characters
Top Cat, Spook, Benny the Ball, Choo Choo, The Brain, Spook, Fancy-Fancy, Officer Charlie Dibble, Tony, Con Men
Credits
Directing
- Director
- William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Producing
- Producer
- William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
- Associate Producer
- Alan Dinehart
Writing
- Writer
- Kin Platt, Michael Maltese, Joanna Lee, Barry Blitzer, Tony Benedict, Harvey Bullock, Ray Allen, Larry Markes, Harvey Marshall
- Story Director
- Paul Sommer, Alex Lovy, Lewis Marshall
Voices
- Voice
- Arnold Stang (Top Cat), Allen Jenkins (Officer Dibble), Maurice Gosfield (Benny), Marvin Kaplan (Choo Choo), Leo De Lyon (Spook, Brain), John Stephenson (Fancy-Fancy, Con Man), Paul Frees
Music
- Music
- Hoyt S. Curtin
Animation
- Animation Director
- Charles Nichols
- Animator
- Ed Love, Tony Love
- Layouts
- Walter Clinton
Art Department
- Backgrounds
- Art Lozzi
Camera
- Camera
- Frank Paiker, Norman Stainback, Roy Wade, Charles Flekal
Editing
- Editor
- Warner Leighton, Greg Watson
Production Management
- Production Supervisor
- Howard Hanson
Crew
- Titles
- Lawrence Goble
Production notes
Top Cat has the distinction of being one of the few animated series to debut in prime time. After one season, it was moved to Saturday mornings, and was met with huge success.
Essentially, Hanna-Barbera took Phil Silvers' popular character from the hit prime-time sitcom Sgt. Bilko and turned him into a cat. T.C. and the gang (Benny, Choo Choo, Fancy-Fancy, Spook, and The Brain) lived on the streets of Manhattan and were always in search of a free lunch, figuratively and literally. Their main obstacle was Officer Dibble, who had an extreme dislike for the crafty cat and his schemes, especially when they involved using the police phone for personal calls. The Sgt. Bilko connection was strengthened by the fact that Maurice Gosfield, who played Doberman on the sitcom, voiced Benny, T.C's right hand cat.
Like The Flintstones, Top Cat was written for adults and children alike, since it was initially shown during the family hour on a weeknight. This particular programming effort made the scripts stronger than your average cartoon, relying less on overused cartoon cliches and more on character. Unfortunately, T.C. didn't do well in prime time, but when he and the gang moved to Saturday mornings, the show found a loyal audience, who still remember it fondly.
The name of this show became "Boss Cat" when it ran in the United Kindgom to avoid confusion with a British cat food called Top Cat.
Essentially, Hanna-Barbera took Phil Silvers' popular character from the hit prime-time sitcom Sgt. Bilko and turned him into a cat. T.C. and the gang (Benny, Choo Choo, Fancy-Fancy, Spook, and The Brain) lived on the streets of Manhattan and were always in search of a free lunch, figuratively and literally. Their main obstacle was Officer Dibble, who had an extreme dislike for the crafty cat and his schemes, especially when they involved using the police phone for personal calls. The Sgt. Bilko connection was strengthened by the fact that Maurice Gosfield, who played Doberman on the sitcom, voiced Benny, T.C's right hand cat.
Like The Flintstones, Top Cat was written for adults and children alike, since it was initially shown during the family hour on a weeknight. This particular programming effort made the scripts stronger than your average cartoon, relying less on overused cartoon cliches and more on character. Unfortunately, T.C. didn't do well in prime time, but when he and the gang moved to Saturday mornings, the show found a loyal audience, who still remember it fondly.
The name of this show became "Boss Cat" when it ran in the United Kindgom to avoid confusion with a British cat food called Top Cat.