Perfectly Beautiful Little: Lady (Lady and the Tramp)

Perfectly Beautiful Little: Lady (Lady and the Tramp)

Name meaning: English, "A woman of high culture."

Lady, the pretty cocker spaniel of Jim Dear and Darling’s, is a naïve yet classy canine. Living in turn-of-the-century America, Lady was adopted by Jim Dear and given to Darling for a Christmas present, in a beribboned hatbox. Lady is befriended by the neighborhood dogs: Jock, whose real name in Heather Lad O’Glen Cairn, a blue-ribbon Scottish terrier and speaks with a brogue, Trusty, a bloodhound who is blissfully unaware of the fact that, tragically, he has lost his sense of smell: “'Tis time you knew the truth, lassie. It shouldn't have happened to a dog, but... well, Trusty has lost his sense of smell…Aye, but we must never let on that we know, lassie. It would break his poor heart.”
Lady receives her first collar with license for her first birthday, a canine rite of passage. Soon after, she is puzzled by the strange behavior of her humans. The reason: Darling is pregnant. As Darling goes through quirky cravings (chop suey and watermelon), picking out baby names, and knitting a layette, Lady is puzzled by all these changes. To make matters worse, Jim Dear’s Aunt Sarah moves in to help keep house, and brings along her mischevious Siamese cats, Si and Am, who proceed to shred the curtains, break a vase, scoop the goldfish out of its bowl, and blame it all on Lady. Outraged, Aunt Sarah outfits Lady with a muzzle. Terrified by this treatment, Lady flees and is met by Tramp, who takes her to the zoo and cons a beaver into removing the muzzle by telling him it is a log-puller, and it’s free. Tramp takes Lady out for a night on the town, explaining his method of procuring free meals, at a different house every night like Henry Miller; culminating in a spaghetti dinner for two at Tony’s, where they are serenaded by chef and sous-chef. The next scene is unquestionably the most romantic scene in all of animated filmdom: To the strains of “Bella Note”, as sung by Tony on the mandolin and Joe with an accordion, Tramp offers Lady the last meatball, and the pasta comes out in a single long strand. They meet in the middle and kiss. They go for a moonlit stroll where Tramp tries to convince Lady to leave her owners and live ‘footloose and fancy free’ as he does. But Lady’s loyalty is too strong. Like Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, she knows that duty is more important than love. Lady is caught by the dogcatcher. At the pound, she meets a band of strays who, despite their matted fur and collarless condition, they are kind-hearted and try to make her feel at home. However, she overhears their gossip: they fill her in on Tramp who, unbeknownst to her, has a reputation as a hound, pun intended:
Boris: Ah, but remember, my friends. Even Tramp has his Achilles heel.
Pedro: Pardon me, amigo. What is this chili deal?
Boris: Achilles heel, Pedro. This is meaning his, uh, weaknesses.
Toughy: Oh! Oh, the dames. Yeah.
Bulldog: He has an eye for a well-turned paw, he has. Let's see, there's been Lulu...
Toughy: Yeah, and Trixie...
Dachsie: Und Fifi...
Pedro: And my sister, Rosita Chiquita Juanita Chihuahua. I think.
When Lady is released from the pound, she is chained to her doghouse, depressed. When Tramp comes by to see how she’s doing, she tells him off. He betrayed her. Jock and Trusty back her up, berating him for hurting Lady. Tramp leaves, dejected, tail literally between his legs. As he walks away, a sinister black rat sneaks into the yard and dashes in the house. Lady strains her lead and barks wildly for help. Tramp comes to her aid, goes in after the rat, and fights with it, the battle reflected in shadow on the nursery wall. Aunt Sarah hears the scuffle and rushes in. The dead rat is hidden. She assumes Tramp was attacking the baby, and furiously shuts him into the basement while she calls the pound. When Jock and Trusty find out what really happened, they attempt to head off the carriage from the pound, coming to take Tramp away. In the confusion, Jock scares the horses, causing the driver to lose control of the reins, and the carriage crashes, collapsing on Trusty. All seems lost, then we hear a soft whimper—Trusty’s still alive. Jim Dear and Darling arrive home in the confusion. Lady leads them into the house. Despite Aunt Sarah’s warnings, they know Lady and Tramp would never hurt the baby. The rat is discovered, and Tramp is forbidden. Sometime later, Jock and Trusty arrive at Lady’s house, skidding on the ice, Jock in a new plaid sweater, Trusty with his broken leg bandaged, for the family Christmas party. Tramp is there, bedecked in a new collar and license, a member of the family. This year, instead of a hatbox, a carton of puppies sits under the tree—three miniature Ladys and a Tramp lookalike who, true to form, is busy unraveling Jock’s new sweater.
Lady Language
Lady: What's a baby?
Jock: Well, they...they resemble humans.
Trusty: But I'd say a mite smaller.
Jock: Aye, and they walk on all fours.
Trusty: And if I remember correctly...they beller a lot.
Jock: And they're very expensive. You'll not be permitted to play with it.
Trusty: But they're mighty sweet.
Jock: And very, very soft.
Tramp: Just a cute little bundle...of trouble!

Beaver: Gotta get this log movin', sonny. Gotta get it moving. Think the cuttin' takes the time? It's the doggone haulin'.
Tramp: [sees the loop at the end of Lady's leash] The hauling! [Sees the large bit of branch on the log] Exactly! [To the Beaver] Now, what you need is...
Beaver: [regarding the log] I'd better bisect this section here. [Starts chewing]
Tramp: What you need is a log puller. I SAID A LOG PULLER!
Beaver: I ain't deef, sonny. There's no need to…Did you say log puller?
Tramp: And by a lucky coincidence, you see before you, modeled by the lovely little lady, the new, improved, patented, handy-dandy, never-fail little giant log puller. The busy beaver's friend.
Beaver: You don't say?
Tramp: Guaranteed not to tear, wear, rip or ravel. Turn around, sister, and show the customer the merchandise. And it cuts log-hauling time sixty-six percent!
Beaver: Sixty-six percent, eh? Think of that! Well, how's it work?
Tramp: Why, it's no work at all. You merely slip the ring over the limb like this, and haul it off.
Beaver: Say, you mind if I try it on for size?
Tramp: Help yourself, help yourself.
Beaver: Okay, don't mind if I do. [Pulls on the muzzle] How do you get the consarned thing off, sonny?
Tramp Glad you brought that up, friend. Glad you brought that up. To remove it, simply place the strap between your teeth...
Beaver: Like this?
Tramp: Kee-rect, friend. Now bite hard.
(The beaver bites the strap hard and removes the muzzle from Lady)
Tramp: You see?
Lady: It's off!
Beaver: [holding the muzzle] Say, that is simple.
Tramp: [preparing to leave] Well, friend, we'll be on our way now, so...
Beaver: Uh-uh-uh! Not so fast, sonny. [Puts on the muzzle] I'll have to make certain it's satisfactory before we settle on a price.
Tramp: Oh, no. It's all yours, friend. You can keep it.
Beaver: I can, eh? [Excitedly] I can?
Lady: Uh-huh. It's a free sample.
Beaver: [very pleased] Well, thanks a lot. Thanks ever so… [He slips and falls, dragging the log along; they land in the pond, where the log fits neatly over the dam spillway] Say! It works swell!

Lady: Haven't you a family?
Tramp: One for every day of the week. The point is, none of them have me. Now take the Schultzes here. Little Fritzy--that's me, Pige - makes this his Monday home.
Lady: Monday home?
Tramp: [German accent] Ach, ja! Mondays is Mama Schultz cooking der wiener schnitzel. Mmm-mmm. Delicious. [Irish accent] Now, O'Brien's here is where little Mike--sure, that's me again, Pige-Comes ev'ry Tuesday.
Lady: Ev'ry Tuesday?
Tramp: Begorra, and that's when they're having their darlin' corned beef. You see, Pige, when you're foot loose and collar-free, well, you take nothing but the best.

This movie is one of my all-time favorites. I have loved it since childhood—I even had a stuffed Lady and Tramp. Trusty’s accident gave me nightmares for years—the look on his face when he is laying in the street is heart-wrenchingly sad. Interestingly enough, it is also a favorite of the great Paul McCartney, particularly another of my favorite scenes—the beaver with the log-puller.