Lady and the Tramp

Lady and the Tramp is an adorable film! I remember loving this movie as a child but have not seen it in many years. As I was rewatching it, I totally remembered why I loved it so much. Lady and the Tramp has so much heart and has such a simple, carefree story. I also loved how much the setting looked like Main Street, USA in Disneyland! (see Trivia below)

Premiered on: June 16, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois

Directed by:

Hamilton Luske
Clyde Geronimi
Wilfred Jackson

Produced by: Walt Disney

Based on: Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog written by Ward Greene

Sequel: Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure (2001)

Cast:

Barbara Luddy – Lady
Larry Roberts – Tramp
Bill Thompson – Jock / Joe / Bulldog / Dachsie / Policeman
Bill Baucom – Trusty
Verna Felton – Aunt Sarah
George Givot – Tony
Lee Miller – Jim Dear / Dogcatcher
Peggy Lee – Darling / Peg / Si & Am
Stan Freberg – Beaver
Alan Reed – Boris
Thurl Ravenscroft – Al the Alligator

Featuring: The Mellomen

Directing Animators:

Milt Kahl
Frank Thomas
Ollie Johnston
John Lounsbery
Wolfgang Reitherman
Eric Larson
Les Clark
Hal King

Music by:

Oliver Wallace
Peggy Lee
Sonny Burke
Edward Plump
Sidney Fine

Songs:

“Peace on Earth”
“What is a Baby?”
“La La Lu”
“Siamese Cat Song”
“Bella Notte”
“He’s a Tramp”

Academy Awards: none

The Story:

The opening credits are set to “Bella Notte” sung by a chorus. There are sketched drawings of the different characters and scenes from the film. After the credits is a quote: “In the whole history of the world there is but one thing that money can not buy…to wit-the wag of a dog’s tail” by Josh Billings. This quote is followed by a dedication “so it is to all dogs – be they ladies or tramps that this picture is respectfully dedicated.”

The first scene is of a snow covered village and the chorus is singing “Peace on Earth.” The shot pans through the village past horse-drawn sleighs and Christmas carollers and finally settles on a home. Through the large front window is a beautiful Christmas tree.

Inside the house, there is a hat box under the tree with a big bow on top. Jim Dear hands the present to Darling, who thinks that it is the hat she was admiring, the one trimmed with ribbon. Jim Dear tells her that the gift is trimmed with ribbon and Darling opens the box to find a cocker spaniel puppy! Darling calls her a perfectly beautiful little lady.

Jim Dear makes Lady a little bed in a basket downstairs. Darling is worried that the puppy will not be warm enough but Jim Dear says that Lady will be fine and he lays down some newspaper by the bed. Jim Dear and Darling head out of the room and Lady bounds out of her bed to follow. Jim Dear immediately brings her back in and puts her back in the basket. After he leaves, Lady again jumps out of her bed and figures out how to push open the door. She whines at the bottom of the stairs at her humans as they are heading up. Jim Dear says that they must be firm from the very beginning and he once again puts Lady back in her bed. This time he puts a chair in front of the door so Lady cannot push it open after she bounds out of bed again. So Lady whines and whines and Jim Dear yells for her to be quiet, but this only makes Lady whine even louder. Jim Dear comes downstairs to yell at her again and this time Lady listens and hops into her bed.

At 2 o’clock in the morning, Lady has slowly been able to push open the door and slid out. She crawls and stumbles up the stairs but once she reaches the top, she goes into Jim Dear and Darling’s bedroom and whines right beside them. Jim Dear finally gives in and lifts her onto the bed and says that she can sleep there but for only that one night.

The scene changes so that the next morning has fast forwarded in time and Lady is grown. The clock chimes 6 o’clock am and Lady tries to wake up her humans. Jim Dear starts to get up but then realizes that it is Sunday and falls right back into bed. Lady races down the stairs, out her doggie door, and into the backyard. She chases birds out of the yard, and buries a bone, accidentally unplanting a tulip in the process. She carefully puts it back, though upside down, and trots away. Lady spies a rat and chases it out of the yard and then hears a bicycle bell. It is the newspaper boy and she runs to the front yard to catch the paper. Lady brings it into the house through her doggie door but accidentally shreds some of the paper to pieces in the process.

Jim Dear and Darling are having breakfast and Jim Dear is reading the newspaper which has a huge hole in the front page. He comments that since having Lady, they have seen less and less of those disturbing headlines! Darling comments that she doesn’t know how they got along without her. They both feed her a little bit of their breakfast and Jim Dear remembers that since Lady is six months old, she will need a license.

In the next scene, Darling opens up a present for Lady and it is a collar and license. Darling shows Lady her reflection in a mirror and comments on how nice it looks and that Jock and Trusty will be surprised. Lady races off to find her friends.

Jock the Scottish terrier is leaving his home with a bone in his mouth and he is singing a song to himself. His song is to the tune of “The Bonnie Banks o’Loch Lomond” but his own lyrics are directions to his hidden buried bone stash. Jock makes sure no one is following him and then he buries his new bone in the pile. He hears Lady calling his name and quickly sits on his bone pile to hide them. Lady comes up and asks Jock if he notices anything different. While they are talking, Jock tries to subtly finish burying his bone. Lady is very proud of her new collar and the two of them head over to Trusty’s to show him.

Trusty is snoozing and dreaming on his front porch when Jock and Lady arrive. Jock says that Trusty is dreaming of the days when Trusty and his Grandpapa use to track criminals through the swamps. A caterpillar drops down on the ground in front of Trusty and the hound starts to sniff it out. He starts to follow the caterpillar around the porch, while still sleeping. But Jock tells Lady that Trusty has actually lost his sense of smell and, as if to prove the fact, Trusty goes right past the caterpillar. He wakes up and starts to describe the criminal he thought he was chasing as 6’2’’ or 6’3’’. The caterpillar hears this and is very flattered that it was described as so tall! Trusty then notices Lady’s new collar and license. Jock and Trusty talk about what an honour it is to belong to a human. Lady then hears Jim Dear whistling for her and she races off to find him.

Lady catches up with Jim Dear on the sidewalk in front of their home. They race to the front door and once on the porch, Jim Dear balances a treat on Lady’s nose. He notices her new collar and license. He opens the door and says “Ladies first” and Lady is very pleased by being treated like a grownup.

Jim Dear, Darling, and Lady sit by the fire in the evening. Lady’s humans are sitting in rocking chairs and are talking about how complete their lives are with Lady around and how nothing will take her place in their hearts.

The next scene is in a train yard and Tramp is sleeping in a barrel. He wakes up to the train whistle and drinks out of a puddle. He is very pleased with his life and goes off to dig up some breakfast. Tramp stops to look at cute puppies in the window of a pet store on the way. He thinks about eating at Bernie’s Grill or at Francois Pastries but then decides on Tony’s because he hasn’t been there in a week. Tramp scratches at the back door as Joe is singing “Bella Notte” to himself. Joe comes out and calls Tramp “Butch” and says that the boss has been saving nice bones for him. Joe throws out a bone for Tramp, who goes off to munch on it.

While Tramp is eating breakfast, he hears a wagon pull up and someone whistling. It is the dog catcher and he is putting up notices that any dog without a license will be impounded by order of the city council. Tramp recognises the dogs that have been captured in the dogcatcher’s wagon, Peg and Bulldog, and frees them. As the dogs are escaping, Tramp attacks the dogcatcher’s leg to give the other dogs a chance to run. He leads the dogcatcher on a merry chase and ends up in Lady’s part of town, which he calls “Snob Hill.” He notices that there is a lid on every trash can and a fence around every tree. Tramp wonders “what does the leash and collar do for excitement?”

Trusty and Jock go to visit Lady. She is gloomily lying down in the backyard and they ask he what is wrong. Lady thinks that there is something terribly wrong with Jim Dear and Darling. She first noticed it the other day when Jim Dear came home. The scene changes to show the incident. Lady is waiting for him on the window seat and runs out to meet Jim Dear on the sidewalk when he comes home like she always does. Jim Dear seems annoyed with her and heads straight into the house. He even closed the front door before Lady could get inside and starts to frantically ask Darling if she is alright. Lady races around to the back to get through her doggie door and she overhears Jim Dear call her “that dog!” Jock and Trusty don’t like that she was called “that dog” but they tell Lady not to worry since Jim Dear and Darling are only humans. Then Lady tells them about yesterday. The scene again changes. Lady and Darling always enjoy their afternoon walks together but when Lady brings her the leash, Darling just says “not today” and puts the leash aside. She continues knitting and humming “La La Lu.” Lady then brings a ball to play with and Darling puts that aside as well. The yarn ball from her lap falls onto the ground and Lady chases it, catches it, and runs away. Darling is to upset that she yells and smacks Lady. Lady is very offended and tells Jock and Trusty that she has never been struck before. Jock and Trusty know what is going on; that Jim Dear and Darling are going to have a baby. They try to explain what a baby is to Lady and Tramp overhears and walks into the backyard. He describes babies as homewreckers and paints them in a negative light. He says that when Jr. gets there, every time a dog wants to scratch or bark, the dog will be told to stop because of the baby. No more juicy cuts of meat but leftover baby food and no more warm bed by the fire but a leaky doghouse. Jock tells Lady that no human is that cruel and Trusty says that everyone knows that a dog’s best friend is his human. Tramp cannot believe that they have fallen for that. Jock growls at him to leave and as Tramp is leaving, he calls Lady by the nickname Pigeon and tells her to remember that when a baby moves in, a dog moves out. Poor Lady is very distraught.

In the next scene, Jim Dear is flipping through a calendar and stops at the month of April. He circles the entire month because he is not exactly sure when the baby will be born. The calendar flips back to November and then changes to December. Lady finds Jim Dear putting up decorations in the baby’s room, which are all sports related, and Darling is making a list of potential names, which are all girl names.

The scene changes to January and the clock strikes 3 o’clock in the morning. Jim Dear is putting on his coat over top of his pajamas and opens up the front door to a snow storm. He closes it and asks Darling if she is sure she wants watermelon. Darling says yes and she would also like some chop suey. Jim Dear opens the door again and snow flies into the house and into Lady’s face, who is now sleeping downstairs.

In February, there is a baby shower for Jim Dear and Darling. All of the ladies are excitedly talking about the baby and about how radiant Darling looks. Lady leaves the ladies and goes into the other room where all the men are teasing Jim Dear about how terrible he looks.

April arrives and on a stormy night, Jim Dear is calling Aunt Sarah to tell her that the baby has been born and it is a boy!

The next scene is of a beautiful spring day and the baby is crying upstairs. Lady is in the kitchen and she is thinking about what a baby is. She starts to sing “What is a Baby?” in her head. She curiously heads up the stairs as Jim Dear is happily heading down with the baby dishes. Lady goes into the nursery where Darling is rocking the baby and singing “La La Lu.” She puts the baby down into his cradle and allows Lady to look in to see. Jim Dear appears and lifts her up for a better look and Lady finally feels like she is part of the family again.

In the next scene, Jim Dear and Darling are packing to go on a trip. Darling is having a hard time leaving the baby and Lady thinks that they are leaving the baby all by himself; she is very upset with them. But Jim Dear and Darling explain that Aunt Sarah is coming and Lady will be there to help out. Suddenly Aunt Sarah barges in and shoos Jim Dear and Darling out of the house. She excitedly goes upstairs to see the sleeping baby. Lady comes into the nursery and Aunt Sarah yells at Lady to leave the room! She closes the door on the dog and all this commotion she has caused has woken the baby. Aunt Sarah tries to sing “Rock-a-Bye baby” to shush the baby but she has a terrible voice and Lady is not impressed. She heads downstairs.

Lady walks past a picnic basket just as the Siamese cats, Si and Am, poke their heads out. They start to sing “The Siamese Cat Song” and look around the home. The pair cause trouble by spill a vase of flowers all over the piano and plotting to catch the fish out of the fish bowl. Si and Am start to pull one end of the table runner that the fish bowl is on and Lady pulls on the other side. The cats lets go and the bowl crashes onto Lady and the fish bounces around with all the animals trying to grab it. Si and Am then hear the baby crying so they head upstairs to get the baby’s milk. Lady stops them by barking and chasing them back down the stairs. The cats pull down a curtain which Lady gets tangled up in. Aunt Sarah comes downstairs to see what the noise is and the cats act like they have been badly hurt and it is all Lady’s fault. Aunt Sarah carries her poor babies upstairs and the cats shake tails behind her back because they got what they wanted.

Aunt Sarah brings Lady to a pet store to get a muzzle put on her. While the pet store employee is trying to get the muzzle on Lady, she resists and escapes out of Aunt Sarah’s hands. Lady ends up running away out of the pet store and onto the street. She is very frightened and big, mean looking dogs start to chase her. Tramp sees this and goes to help Lady. Lady gets cornered but Tramp appears just in time and fights off the other dogs. He wins the fight against the three bigger dogs and then asks Lady what she is doing on this side of the tracks. Before she can answer, he notices the muzzle and says he knows just the place to get it off.

Tramp brings Lady to the city zoo. At the entrance, Lady starts to head right in but Tramp stops her and tells her to follow him because there is a policeman guarding the entrance. They sneak around and hide in a nearby bush. Lady notices a sign that reads “No Dogs Allowed” and tells Tramp that they cannot go in. But Tramp tells her that is the angle! He waits until a random man is walking by and then pretends that the man is his owner by acting very affectionate. The policeman starts to yell at the man that no dogs are allowed and the random man tries to explain that he doesn’t own a dog, but Tramp just continues to act like this man is his owner. The man and the police get into a fight and Tramp uses it as a distraction to waltz right into the zoo with Lady.

Tramp says that they should go through the place from A to Z to find someone to get the muzzle off. First they go to the ape house but Tramp says that it is no use asking them since apes are too closely related to humans. Next they go to the alligators and Al the alligator is happy to snap the contraption off! But Tramp pulls Lady’s head out just in time from being snapped off as well. The nearby hyenas start laughing at them. Then they hear a “TIMBER” and find a beaver. Tramp tries to ask the Beaver for help but the Beaver is too busy making his dam to stop. Tramp gets an idea to try and sell off the muzzle as a log puller. He says that the log puller modeled by Lady would cut the Beaver’s log pulling time by 66%! The Beaver is very excited by this and tries to get the log puller off of Lady. Tramp tells him that he simply needs to bite down on the top strap to get it off. After the Beaver gets the muzzle off, he puts it on and slips the end loop on a knob on the log. Tramp and Lady try to leave but the Beaver says that he wants to test it before they settle on a price. Tramp and Lady tell him that it is a free sample and he can keep it. The log suddenly slips and starts to roll down the hill, dragging the Beaver behind, and lands perfectly on the dam. The Beaver thinks that the log puller works swell!

The next scene is that evening and Lady is telling her story about Aunt Sarah. Tramp says that he doesn’t have only one family, but a different family for every day of the week. And none of them have him. He tries to explain to Lady by pointing out the different family homes. He is Little Fritzy for the Schulz’s on Mondays for when they have Wiener schnitzel. He is Little Mike for the O’Briens every other Tuesday. Since Tramp is collar free, he takes nothing but the best! Then they come to Tony’s and Tramp shows Lady his own entrance in the back.

Tramp scratches at the back door of the kitchen. Tony appears and is happy to see “Butch.” He tells Joe to get some bones for the dog. Tramp then shows off Lady to Tony and Joe and Tony tells Tramp to settle down with this one. Tony brings out a fancy table for the dogs and Joe brings out bones. Tony is upset about the bones and wants only the best in the house for the two dogs. He gives them a menu and Tramp barks what he wants. Tony tells Joe that they want two spaghetti specials, heavy on the meatballs. Joe points out that dogs don’t talk but Tony insists that Tramp talks to him. Tony brings out the spaghetti to the dogs and he then he starts to play his accordion while Joe plays the mandolin. They play “Bella Notte” and this scene includes Disney’s most iconic kiss.

The scene pans away from Tony’s and Tramp and Lady are in a park. A chorus continues to sing “Bella Notte” as many different animals are seen in pairs. There are also couples on benches watching the moonrise.

The next morning, the sun rises over the park. Lady is surprised that it is morning and thinks that she should have been home hours ago. Tramp doesn’t understand why she would want to go back and tries to convince Lady that life on a leash isn’t great. He shows her that there is a great big hunk of world out there with no fence around it. Lady thinks that it does sound wonderful but she also wants to watch over the baby. Tramp agrees to bring her back home.

On the way, they come across a chicken coop and Tramp thinks that it would be fun to chase the chickens. He convinces Lady to chase them as well, even though she doesn’t want to, and he tells her to build some memories. Tramp scares the chickens awake out of their hen house and chases them around the yard. Someone starts shooting at them and the two dogs race off! Tramp thinks that it is all fun but Lady does not. Lady gets caught by the dog catcher and Tramp doesn’t notice. When he realizes that she is not there, he anxiously looks around for her but does not see that she has been brought to the pound.

At the dog pound, the locked up dogs are woefully howling, whimpering, and crying in their own rhythm. Dachsie is digging a hole for them to escape through and says that he just needs one more chorus to cover up the digging sounds. But then the door opens and he quickly fills the hole back up. The dog catcher brings Lady in and locks her up while he checks out her license. The other dogs call her Miss Park Avenue and tease her about her fancy life. Peg tells them to stop teasing because Lady is so scared. Peg explains that her license is her passport to freedom. Then the door opens again and Nutsy is brought through and into the “one way” door. Dachsie immediately starts digging again. The others start talking about how Tramp never gets caught and how he can get out of any situation. Boris says that Tramp does have an Achilles heel though, the ladies. They start to talk about all of Tramp’s girls and Peg sings “He’s a Tramp.” After the song, the dogs tease Lady that a dog like her could get Tramp to settle down, but they have no idea how upset she is with Tramp for getting her into the mess. The dog catcher comes to get Lady to take her home. He comments that she is too nice to be in a place like that.

Back at home, Lady is all tied up in the doghouse in the backyard. Jock and Trusty are at the front gate and are trying to work up the courage to talk to her. They are both going to offer her a marriage proposal to help her get out of her sad situation. They agree that no matter who she accepts, they will still be the best of friends. When they reach the doghouse, Lady tells them that she really doesn’t want to see anyone.  Jock and Trusty explain that they both have comfortable homes where Lady would be welcome. The friends are interrupted when Tramp appears with a bone for Lady. Jock, Trusty, and Lady all turn their backs on Tramp and ignore him. Jock and Trusty threaten to throw the rascal out but Lady says that it won’t be necessary. Jock and Trusty leave and Tramp tries to explain his side and apologize. Lady tells him that she was so embarrassed and frightened. She then lists all of the names of the girls she heard about and storms inside her doghouse and cries. Tramp leaves.

A rat sneaks into the backyard and Lady tries to chase it out but cannot because of her leash. The rat sneaks up into the nursery. Aunt Sarah just yells at Lady to be quiet and does not notice the rat. Tramp hears Lady barking and comes back to see what is wrong. She tells him that there is a rat in the baby’s room and that he can get in through the door on the porch.

Tramp goes inside and upstairs to the nursery. He sees the rat and attacks it. The two fight back and forth and Tramp eventually kills the rat. Lady breaks free and comes up to help. The baby crib was knocked down in the fight and Lady checks to make sure he is safe. Aunt Sarah walks in and thinks that the dogs tried to attack the baby. She locks Tramp up in the closet and Lady up in the basement. She calls the dog pound and insists that they pick Tramp up immediately.

Jim Dear and Darling come home and see the dog catcher just leaving with Tramp. They ask what happened and the dog catcher says that the dog was attacking the baby. They race inside and Jock and Trusty overhear. Jim Dear lets Lady out of the basement and she barks and races upstairs to show them the rat. Aunt Sarah freaks out the Lady shouldn’t be anywhere near the baby but Jim Dear knows that she is trying to tell him something is wrong and sure enough, he finds the rat. Jock and Trusty then overhear that as well and realize that they misjudged Tramp. They decide to try and stop the wagon and Trusty believes that he can track it down and then they will hold them at bay!

The pair race off and Trusty tries to find the scent in the puddles. Jock says that Trusty has lost his sense of smell but Trusty is determined to find the scent and he does! Off they race into the night to find the wagon. Trusty is able to find the scent at every cross road and they continue on the trail. They catch up to the wagon and attack it. Jock and Trusty scare the horses and the wagon gets knocked over. Jim Dear and Lady catch up in their car but poor Trusty got hit by a wheel and appears dead. Jock cries and howls.

The next scene is Christmas time! Tramp is now part of the family with his own collar and license. Jim Dear is trying to get a family picture of the baby with Lady, Tramp, and their puppies. But the baby is bothering Tramp and Lady is having a hard time getting her puppies into a basket. Lady and Tramp have three girls and one boy. Now her boy is bothering the baby but Jim Dear takes a picture anyway. The camera lets out too much smoke and so Jim Dear opens up a window. He notices that they have visitors coming. Jock is wearing his Christmas sweater and Trusty appears with his leg all wrapped up in a bandage. The boy puppy bothers Jock while Trusty tells stories about his grandpapa. Jim Dear goes to get some dog biscuits that Aunt Sarah sent. All of the dogs gather around the Christmas tree and the shot pans out of the house and through the snow covered town.

Trivia:

• Early versions of the story had a bigger plotline for the rat. He was named Herman.
• This was the first animated movie to be filmed in CinemaScope Widescreen. The first Disney live action film to be shot in CinemaScope was 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea in 1954.
• Trusty’s Grandpapa is nicknamed Old Reliable.
• The names Darling lists as potential baby names are: Betty Ann, Betty Lou, Betty Ann Lou, Betty Lou Ann, Mary, and Mary Lou.
• The story beings Christmas 1909 and ends Christmas 1911.
• Some of Tramp’s rejected names were Homer, Bozo, and Rags. Allegedly, Walt came up with the name Tramp.
• The inspiration of Jim Dear giving Darling a puppy in a hat box came from real life events in the Disney home. Walt once gave Lillian a chow puppy in a hat box.
• Si and Am were originally going to be named Nip and Tuck.
• Verna Felton, who voices Aunt Sarah, was the mother of Lee Miller, voice of Jim Dear.
• There was a sequence in process where the dogs dreamt that they were the ones taking their owners for a walk.
• Jock the Scottish terrier’s real name is Heather Lad O’Glencairn.
• This was the first animated film to be distributed by the new Buena Vista Distributions, Disney’s own company, instead of RKO Pictures.
• A Disneyland episode called Story of Dogs premiered on December 1, 1954 to promote Lady and the Tramp. It included behind the scenes looks and Pluto cartoons.
• The lyrics to Jock’s song and directions to his bone stash are:

“Four steps a-straight, and then to my left
And right at the place where I marked it
With a bonnie, bonnie bone that I’ll bury for me own
In the bonnie, bonnie bank in the backyard”

• The storyline of Lady’s home being turned upside-down because of a baby was based off of Disney writer and artist Joe Grant’s personal life. His own dog named Lady, an English springer spaniel, had to get accustomed to a new baby in the house.
• Lady and the Tramp premiered one month before the opening of Disneyland. Both the town in the film and Main Street, USA were influenced by Walt Disney’s boyhood hometown of Marceline, Missouri.

Representation in the Disney Parks:

There are not too many representations of Lady and the Tramp around the Disney Parks. There is Tony’s Town Square Restaurant on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom as well as large Lady and Tramp icons in the 50’s section of Disney’s Pop Century Resort at Walt Disney World.

In Disneyland Paris, there is a quick service restaurant called Pizzeria Bella Notte in Fantasyland with a Lady and the Tramp theme.

Check out the other films of Disney’s Silver Age:

Cinderella (1950)
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Peter Pan (1953)
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
The Sword in the Stone (1963)
The Jungle Book (1967)