The $1,000,000 Derby

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The $1,000,000 Derby
Benny takes a picture of Arabelle.png
Premiere date September 27, 1961
Starring Arnold Stang
Maurice Gosfield
Marvin Kaplan
Leo De Lyon
John Stephenson
Allen Jenkins
Hal Smith
Music composed by Hoyt Curtin
Director(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Animation director(s) Charles A. Nichols
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"The $1,000,000 Derby" is the first episode of Top Cat season one. It aired on September 27, 1961 on ABC. It was produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the creators of the series and the founders of Hanna-Barbera Productions.

When Benny brings in a camera-loving horse as a new pet, his leader Top Cat tries everything he can to get rid of the animal. After it nets the gang a million-dollar debt, he later changes his mind to exploit the horse's shock-induced abilities in a horse race.

Detailed summary

Memorable quotes

Characters

Legend
Character debut Speaking debut Ep. debut No lines Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character Actor
Top Cat Arnold Stang
Choo Choo Marvin Kaplan
Brain Leo De Lyon
Fancy Fancy John Stephenson
Spook Leo De Lyon
Benny the Ball Maurice Gosfield
Arabelle Unavailable
Rin Tin Tin
Arabelle's father
Officer Dibble Allen Jenkins
Sergeant Flanagan
Dockmaster John Stephenson
Head zookeeper Unavailable
Gertrude Unavailable
Horse buyer Unavailable
Horse buyer's wife
Horse buyer's children
Reporter #1 Unavailable
Reporter #2 John Stephenson
Reporter #3 Unavailable
Senator Flubb Unavailable
Billy Blabbermouth
Mayor John Stephenson
J.J. Flitney Unavailable
Racetrack announcer Hal Smith
Tea Biscuit
Froufrou
Barmaid
Cucamonga
Lucky Lady
Miramar N/A


Organizations

Locations

Objects

  • Bugle newspaper

Vehicles

Production

Development

Filming

Music

The music was composed by William Hanna and Hoyt Curtin.

Release

Dates are in order of release:

Behind the scenes

  • Top Cat refers to Benny as Zorro when taking a photo of the horse.
  • Tea Biscuit is a parody of the famous racehorse Seabiscuit.
  • In the UK, this was aired as the fourth episode, and was the last time the series was aired under the Top Cat name before being renamed to The Boss Cat due to a cat food brand called Top Cat in the UK. The cartoon wasn't called Top Cat again until April 6, 1999.

Errors

  • The mayor has two different looks from sitting at his desk to giving Top Cat the key to the city.
  • The second reporter at the airport holds a paper called Bugle, but when he shows up at the hotel, he says he works for The Tribune.
  • The back sides of a couple of horses are seen which could've belonged to either Tea Biscuit, Froufrou, Barmaid, Cucamonga, or Lucky Lady, but those horses seen aren't explicitly identified by name.

Critical reception

In other languages

Language Name Meaning

Home availability

References

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