After his first animated UPA short, Howdy Doody and His Magic Hat, got him his initial credit as director, Gene Deitch next made this one for that company and The American Heart Association which was looking for something that told what constitutes a heart attack. So Deitch and Bill Bernal storyboarded the tale of a man named Cordell Pump who thinks he's dying because of the many symptoms he's suffering from, not to mention the fact that his uncle had died from heart failure when he was a kid with the result of his mother telling him to be careful in his life meaning no sports, or other activities involving physical action. What the doctor tells surprises him. I'll stop there and just say with the help of Cliff Roberts on design, animators Grim Natwick and Duane Crowther, Carlos Surinach on the score, and Allen Swift on all the voices, this short effectively educated the way jumping to conclusions concerning such a serious condition could contribute to such a downer attitude. So on that note, Pump Trouble is worth a look for anyone curious about Mr. Deitch's early animation output. P.S. This was the first of many times Allen Swift would collaborate with Gene Deitch on his cartoons. When the Cartoon Brew site put this up in late April, they dedicated it to Swift since he had died just a few days before.