High Steaks is an animated Tom and Jerry short released on March 23rd, 1962 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Gene Deitch, and produced by William L. Snyder.
Tom's short-tempered owner is preparing a barbecue, and as soon as Jerry finds out he's determined to get some food from it. He and Tom begin their usual kerfuffle,... but every time Tom accidentally hits his owner with something, he gets violently punished.
This animated feature provides examples of:
- Abuse Discretion Shot: Done towards the end of the short, when Tom's owner beats up the cat offscreen, and Jerry is shown covering his face with his chef hat.
- Attack the Mouth: Done unintentionally by Tom, when he hits a shuttlecock containing a hiding Jerry away, it bounces off the net and into his owner's mouth.
- Dinner Deformation: After being force-fed an entire bottle of soda, Tom manages to swallow it, becoming the shape of the bottle.
- "I Can't Look!" Gesture: Jerry is uncomfortable over watching directly the violent punishment Tom gets from his owner at the end of the short, so he covers his face with his chef hat.
- "Oh, Crap!" Smile: After Tom accidentally stabs his owner in the butt with a fork, he nervously gives his owner one of these upon receiving a Death Glare.
- Pain-Powered Leap: Tom, after being stabbed in the butt by Jerry's fork. Moments later, Tom accidentally stabs his owner in the butt, causing him to do the same.
- Rapid-Fire Nail Biting: Tom does this when he realizes he's about to be punished by his owner.
- Rump Roast: Towards the end of the short, Jerry gets Tom's tail stuck in the grill, and Tom panics trying to get it out, running through the lawn while towing the barbecue behind him, knocking over his master's lunch (and the owner himself) before diving into the pool to cool off.
- Scary Teeth: In this short, Tom's owner has sharp teeth whenever he gets angry.
- Soda Can Shakeup: At one point, Jerry shakes up a bottle of soda, intending to spray it in Tom's face, but the cat ducks out of the way just in time, and the soda sprays onto the owner's steak instead, ruining it. The owner, thinking it was Tom's fault, retaliates by shaking up another bottle of soda and shoving it in Tom's mouth, making him drink it all.
- Stock Audio Clip: Tom's owner's angry grumbling after a shuttlecock gets launched in his mouth is recycled from his stressed grumbling in Down and Outing.
- Writing Around Trademarks: The "Kooky Kola" is a parody of Coca-Cola.