Dibble's Double
- Studio
- Hanna-Barbera Studios
- Distributor
- Columbia/Screen Gems
Synopsis
Disguised as Officer Dibble, the notorious thief Al the Actor steals a fortune in paintings from an art gallery. Meanwhile, Top Cat hooks a buyer for his own modern paintings, an elderly dowager who offers him $20,000 for his latest original. When all of Top Cat's paintings are stolen, the cat helps Dibble capture the thief, only to learn that his rich dowager patron had also been Al the Actor.
Teaser Sequence: Top Cat and Dibble are standing outside a museum and Professor Zimba is inside talking about lines, curves and forms. Top Cat goes in the museum thinking he's talking about a woman, but Professor Zimba was talking about a painting. He shows Top Cat one painting and that it speaks and has a message. He tells Top Cat, "Don't you see what it says?" Top Cat says "Don't drink when you're painting." Professor Zimba talks about Vincent Van Gogh and that he cut off his ear to send it to his girlfriend. Top Cat remarks "To ask her why he hasn't heard from her." The next painting Professor Zimba shows Top Cat is called "Lady in a bathtub" by Trampolina worth ten thousand dollars for a beginner. Top Cat is surprised by the amount of money it costs and says wait until the gang hears about this.
Teaser Sequence: Top Cat and Dibble are standing outside a museum and Professor Zimba is inside talking about lines, curves and forms. Top Cat goes in the museum thinking he's talking about a woman, but Professor Zimba was talking about a painting. He shows Top Cat one painting and that it speaks and has a message. He tells Top Cat, "Don't you see what it says?" Top Cat says "Don't drink when you're painting." Professor Zimba talks about Vincent Van Gogh and that he cut off his ear to send it to his girlfriend. Top Cat remarks "To ask her why he hasn't heard from her." The next painting Professor Zimba shows Top Cat is called "Lady in a bathtub" by Trampolina worth ten thousand dollars for a beginner. Top Cat is surprised by the amount of money it costs and says wait until the gang hears about this.
Characters
Top Cat, Spook, Benny the Ball, Choo Choo, Fancy-Fancy, Officer Charlie Dibble, Sarge, Al The Actor, Professor, Professer Zimba, Al's Partner
Credits
Directing
- Director
- William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Producing
- Producer
- William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
- Associate Producer
- Alan Dinehart
Writing
- Writer
- Barry E. Blitzer (as Barry Blitzer)
- Story Director
- Paul Sommer
Animation
- Animator
- Dick Lundy, George Goepper, Harry Holt, Carlo Vinci
- Animation Director
- Charles Nichols
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, Professor Zimba, Sarge), Leo DeLyon (Al's Partner), Don Messick, Jean Vander Pyl
Music
- Music
- Hoyt S. Curtin
Editing
- Editor
- Warner Leighton, Greg Watson
Crew
- Layout
- Jack Huber
- Backgrounds
- Robert Gentle
- Camera
- Frank Paiker, Norman Stainback, Roy Wade, Charles Flekal
- Titles
- Lawrence Goble
- Production Supervisor
- Howard Hanson
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.