In his bold, poetic approach, Clu Gulager manages to pack a decade's worth of experimentation into a fast, economical 20 minutes. Images dissolve and bleed into one another, freeze-frame and turn into paintings. Gulager also utilizes different camera speeds and even (and this is something I haven't seen before) the grain of the film to achieve his effects. Laszlo Kovacs' sun bleached photography helps immeasurably in streamlining such techniques into a powerfully eccentric, disturbingly compelling narrative. Far from pretentious (the word I'd use to describe most "experimental" films from the late sixties), this film comes off both as a celebration of childhood innocence and an uncompromising examination of its darkest extremes. And furthermore, Gulager and Kovacs achieve what may be the most unsettling final freeze frame ever.
晴朗的一天,某座城市街头,汤姆和小老鼠杰瑞又展开了无休无止的追逐战。经过一个拐角后,杰瑞发现围墙上有一张马戏团的宣传海报,于是从海报的狮子嘴钻了过去。汤姆尾随而至进入马戏团的驻地,且一时没找到杰瑞。躲在暗处的小老鼠突然被巨大的哭声所吸引,原来一头大小脚上扎了钉子,无人帮它取下,痛苦万分。杰瑞见义勇为,帮大象拔出钉子。高兴的大家伙自然要报答这份恩情,将处心积虑的汤姆好好教训了一顿。夜幕降临,马戏团内精彩的节目上演,杰瑞穿着华丽的和他新认识的大象朋友一同登台。贼心不死的汤姆自然要想法躲过大象抓住他的猎物……本片英文题目来自旋转木马(Merry-Go-Round)。