The Truce Hurts

The Truce Hurts  is a 1947 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 35th Tom and Jerry cartoon released. It was produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on July 17, 1948 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. The title is a pun on the phrase "the truth hurts".

Plot
This film show opens with Jerry being thrown from the house along with Tom as well as Spike. Jerry stops by the garage and grabs a pipe, Tom also grabs a frying pan and Spike picks up a baseball bat. Suddenly Spike stops the fight questioning the two of them and he exclaims, "What's all this fighting getting us on? Cats can love dogs, can't they?" He looks at Tom, who nods. "And mice can get along with cats, can't they?!" Jerry shakes his head, but nods as Spike glares at him. They then make a truce, sign a peace treaty, with the song "Auld Lang Syne" being played in the background, and soon they become allies.

The next scene shows all three of them asleep. Tom wakes up to cover up Jerry, and Jerry closes Spike’s mouth to stop him from snoring. Then the alarm clock goes off but Spike quickly wakes up and turns it off. He then props up Tom’s head with a pipe and goes into the kitchen to make breakfast for his new friends. He pours three glasses of milk and Tom helps Jerry brush his teeth. Then Tom helps Jerry sit at the dinner table built for three. Soon Jerry goes outside where Butch (the cat) is making a meal for himself out of the garbage cans. He notices Jerry and decides to place Jerry on the plate. Tom walks outside, screams, and makes the save just in time by slamming the garbage can lid in Butch's face, as if to say, "Leave him alone!" and revealing his eyes as two orange peels. Then Tom kisses Jerry and sends him on his way. At once, Butch suddenly realizes that Tom and Jerry are now the best of friends, so he screams like a young woman and knocks himself silly with a brick.

Tom is soon walking along the sidewalk where an unnamed dog is eating a bone. He decides to make a meal out of Tom when he sees him, but Spike screams and makes the save just in time by punching the dog and knocking out all the canine's teeth. Then, Spike says "Are you okay Tom? Speak to me pal. Speak to me." Tom points out the giant apple in his mouth and Spike punches it down. Tom tries to swallow it, but it's much too big, so Spike uses a mallet to punch Tom on the head, knocking him out by accident.

The three friends then walk along the sidewalk next to a muddy puddle. But no sooner has Spike taken off his fur to help his friends walk across than a truck drives by, splashing mud onto the three which leaves them entirely in blackface. Much to their delight, they look to see that a T-bone steak has fallen out of the truck. They take it home and cook it, but each of the three greedily proposes and possesses an unfair division that would let them have the largest share for himself. Unfortunately, a three-way struggle for the steak immediately ensues, which accidentally causes the steak to be sent flying out of the window and dropping into the water. Anguished by what happened, Tom, Jerry, and Spike have realized that they can no longer be pals anymore again. Then Spike destroys the treaty, and they continue their fight as usual.

Production

 * Directed by: William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
 * Animation: Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, Ray Patterson, Irven Spence, Tom Johnson, Frank Endres
 * Story by: Larz Bourne, Tom Golden
 * Backgrounds: Robert Little
 * Sequence Director: Seymour Kneitel
 * Music: Scott Bradley
 * Produced by: Fred Quimby

Voice cast

 * Billy Bletcher as Spike the bulldog (uncredited)

Censorship
The scene where the meat truck splatters mud all over Tom, Jerry and Spike, leaving them in blackface, is edited out of broadcasts on Cartoon Network, Boomerang and iTunes Store.

Availibilty
It can be found uncut on disc one of Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 1 and disc two of Tom and Jerry Golden Collection.