diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/__init__.py b/lib/matplotlib/__init__.py
index 7de3f83b7f7d..4c4500aebeeb 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/__init__.py
@@ -179,8 +179,10 @@ def _is_writable_dir(p):
     except TypeError: return False
     try:
         t = tempfile.TemporaryFile(dir=p)
-        t.write('1')
-        t.close()
+        try:
+            t.write('1')
+        finally:
+            t.close()
     except OSError: return False
     else: return True
 
@@ -698,21 +700,25 @@ def rc_params(fail_on_error=False):
 
     cnt = 0
     rc_temp = {}
-    for line in file(fname):
-        cnt += 1
-        strippedline = line.split('#',1)[0].strip()
-        if not strippedline: continue
-        tup = strippedline.split(':',1)
-        if len(tup) !=2:
-            warnings.warn('Illegal line #%d\n\t%s\n\tin file "%s"'%\
-                          (cnt, line, fname))
-            continue
-        key, val = tup
-        key = key.strip()
-        val = val.strip()
-        if key in rc_temp:
-            warnings.warn('Duplicate key in file "%s", line #%d'%(fname,cnt))
-        rc_temp[key] = (val, line, cnt)
+    fd = open(fname)
+    try:
+        for line in fd:
+            cnt += 1
+            strippedline = line.split('#',1)[0].strip()
+            if not strippedline: continue
+            tup = strippedline.split(':',1)
+            if len(tup) !=2:
+                warnings.warn('Illegal line #%d\n\t%s\n\tin file "%s"'%\
+                              (cnt, line, fname))
+                continue
+            key, val = tup
+            key = key.strip()
+            val = val.strip()
+            if key in rc_temp:
+                warnings.warn('Duplicate key in file "%s", line #%d'%(fname,cnt))
+            rc_temp[key] = (val, line, cnt)
+    finally:
+        fd.close()
 
     ret = RcParams([ (key, default) for key, (default, converter) in \
                     defaultParams.iteritems() ])
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/afm.py b/lib/matplotlib/afm.py
index bb5163453170..ccf7e9c83aca 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/afm.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/afm.py
@@ -500,5 +500,8 @@ def get_vertical_stem_width(self):
 
     for fname in os.listdir(pathname):
         fh = file(os.path.join(pathname,fname))
-        afm = AFM(fh)
-        w,h =  afm.string_width_height('John Hunter is the Man!')
+        try:
+            afm = AFM(fh)
+            w,h =  afm.string_width_height('John Hunter is the Man!')
+        finally:
+            fh.close()
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py
index 03331f5ed22d..da74ac2d0bb2 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ def draw_markers(self, *kl, **kw):
 
     def draw_path_collection(self, *kl, **kw):
         return self._renderer.draw_path_collection(*kl, **kw)
-        
+
     def _update_methods(self):
         #self.draw_path = self._renderer.draw_path  # see below
         #self.draw_markers = self._renderer.draw_markers
@@ -437,7 +437,14 @@ def print_raw(self, filename_or_obj, *args, **kwargs):
         renderer.dpi = self.figure.dpi
         if is_string_like(filename_or_obj):
             filename_or_obj = file(filename_or_obj, 'wb')
-        renderer._renderer.write_rgba(filename_or_obj)
+            close = True
+        else:
+            close = False
+        try:
+            renderer._renderer.write_rgba(filename_or_obj)
+        finally:
+            if close:
+                filename_or_obj.close()
         renderer.dpi = original_dpi
     print_rgba = print_raw
 
@@ -448,9 +455,16 @@ def print_png(self, filename_or_obj, *args, **kwargs):
         renderer.dpi = self.figure.dpi
         if is_string_like(filename_or_obj):
             filename_or_obj = file(filename_or_obj, 'wb')
-        _png.write_png(renderer._renderer.buffer_rgba(0, 0),
-                       renderer.width, renderer.height,
-                       filename_or_obj, self.figure.dpi)
+            close = True
+        else:
+            close = False
+        try:
+            _png.write_png(renderer._renderer.buffer_rgba(0, 0),
+                           renderer.width, renderer.height,
+                           filename_or_obj, self.figure.dpi)
+        finally:
+            if close:
+                filename_or_obj.close()
         renderer.dpi = original_dpi
 
     def print_to_buffer(self):
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_cairo.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_cairo.py
index f8510edd6097..095eece524bd 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_cairo.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_cairo.py
@@ -461,7 +461,14 @@ def _save (self, fo, format, **kwargs):
                 filename = fo
                 if is_string_like(fo):
                     fo = open(fo, 'wb')
-                fo = gzip.GzipFile(None, 'wb', fileobj=fo)
+                    close = True
+                else:
+                    close = False
+                try:
+                    fo = gzip.GzipFile(None, 'wb', fileobj=fo)
+                finally:
+                    if close:
+                        fo.close()
             surface = cairo.SVGSurface (fo, width_in_points, height_in_points)
         else:
            warnings.warn ("unknown format: %s" % format)
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pdf.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pdf.py
index a3aa62a2a15e..8d101648f1ae 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pdf.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pdf.py
@@ -565,8 +565,10 @@ def writeFonts(self):
 
     def _write_afm_font(self, filename):
         fh = file(filename)
-        font = AFM(fh)
-        fh.close()
+        try:
+            font = AFM(fh)
+        finally:
+            fh.close()
         fontname = font.get_fontname()
         fontdict = { 'Type': Name('Font'),
                      'Subtype': Name('Type1'),
@@ -876,14 +878,13 @@ def embedTTFType42(font, characters, descriptor):
                 fontfileObject.id,
                 self.reserveObject('length of font stream'),
                 {'Length1': length1Object})
-            fontfile = open(filename, 'rb')
-            length1 = 0
-            while True:
-                data = fontfile.read(4096)
-                if not data: break
-                length1 += len(data)
-                self.currentstream.write(data)
-            fontfile.close()
+            with open(filename, 'rb') as fontfile:
+                length1 = 0
+                while True:
+                    data = fontfile.read(4096)
+                    if not data: break
+                    length1 += len(data)
+                    self.currentstream.write(data)
             self.endStream()
             self.writeObject(length1Object, length1)
 
@@ -1831,9 +1832,11 @@ def _get_font_afm(self, prop):
             font = self.afm_font_cache.get(filename)
             if font is None:
                 fh = file(filename)
-                font = AFM(fh)
-                self.afm_font_cache[filename] = font
-                fh.close()
+                try:
+                    font = AFM(fh)
+                    self.afm_font_cache[filename] = font
+                finally:
+                    fh.close()
             self.afm_font_cache[key] = font
         return font
 
@@ -2178,17 +2181,19 @@ def print_pdf(self, filename, **kwargs):
             file = filename._file
         else:
             file = PdfFile(filename)
-        file.newPage(width, height)
-        _bbox_inches_restore = kwargs.pop("bbox_inches_restore", None)
-        renderer = MixedModeRenderer(self.figure,
-            width, height, image_dpi, RendererPdf(file, image_dpi),
-            bbox_inches_restore=_bbox_inches_restore)
-        self.figure.draw(renderer)
-        renderer.finalize()
-        if isinstance(filename, PdfPages): # finish off this page
-            file.endStream()
-        else:            # we opened the file above; now finish it off
-            file.close()
+        try:
+            file.newPage(width, height)
+            _bbox_inches_restore = kwargs.pop("bbox_inches_restore", None)
+            renderer = MixedModeRenderer(self.figure,
+                                         width, height, image_dpi, RendererPdf(file, image_dpi),
+                                         bbox_inches_restore=_bbox_inches_restore)
+            self.figure.draw(renderer)
+            renderer.finalize()
+        finally:
+            if isinstance(filename, PdfPages): # finish off this page
+                file.endStream()
+            else:            # we opened the file above; now finish it off
+                file.close()
 
 class FigureManagerPdf(FigureManagerBase):
     pass
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_ps.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_ps.py
index dfadb52cfd03..4663374e91b5 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_ps.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_ps.py
@@ -371,7 +371,11 @@ def _get_font_afm(self, prop):
                     "Helvetica", fontext='afm', directory=self._afm_font_dir)
             font = self.afmfontd.get(fname)
             if font is None:
-                font = AFM(file(fname))
+                fh = file(fname)
+                try:
+                    font = AFM(fh)
+                finally:
+                    fh.close()
                 self.afmfontd[fname] = font
             self.afmfontd[key] = font
         return font
@@ -1012,9 +1016,6 @@ def _print_figure(self, outfile, format, dpi=72, facecolor='w', edgecolor='w',
         else:
             raise ValueError("outfile must be a path or a file-like object")
 
-        fd, tmpfile = mkstemp()
-        fh = os.fdopen(fd, 'w')
-
         # find the appropriate papertype
         width, height = self.figure.get_size_inches()
         if papertype == 'auto':
@@ -1085,73 +1086,78 @@ def write(self, *kl, **kwargs):
         self.figure.set_facecolor(origfacecolor)
         self.figure.set_edgecolor(origedgecolor)
 
-        # write the PostScript headers
-        if isEPSF: print >>fh, "%!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0"
-        else: print >>fh, "%!PS-Adobe-3.0"
-        if title: print >>fh, "%%Title: "+title
-        print >>fh, ("%%Creator: matplotlib version "
-                     +__version__+", http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/")
-        print >>fh, "%%CreationDate: "+time.ctime(time.time())
-        print >>fh, "%%Orientation: " + orientation
-        if not isEPSF: print >>fh, "%%DocumentPaperSizes: "+papertype
-        print >>fh, "%%%%BoundingBox: %d %d %d %d" % bbox
-        if not isEPSF: print >>fh, "%%Pages: 1"
-        print >>fh, "%%EndComments"
-
-        Ndict = len(psDefs)
-        print >>fh, "%%BeginProlog"
-        if not rcParams['ps.useafm']:
-            Ndict += len(ps_renderer.used_characters)
-        print >>fh, "/mpldict %d dict def"%Ndict
-        print >>fh, "mpldict begin"
-        for d in psDefs:
-            d=d.strip()
-            for l in d.split('\n'):
-                print >>fh, l.strip()
-        if not rcParams['ps.useafm']:
-            for font_filename, chars in ps_renderer.used_characters.values():
-                if len(chars):
-                    font = FT2Font(str(font_filename))
-                    cmap = font.get_charmap()
-                    glyph_ids = []
-                    for c in chars:
-                        gind = cmap.get(c) or 0
-                        glyph_ids.append(gind)
-
-                    fonttype = rcParams['ps.fonttype']
-
-                    # Can not use more than 255 characters from a
-                    # single font for Type 3
-                    if len(glyph_ids) > 255:
-                        fonttype = 42
-
-                    # The ttf to ps (subsetting) support doesn't work for
-                    # OpenType fonts that are Postscript inside (like the
-                    # STIX fonts).  This will simply turn that off to avoid
-                    # errors.
-                    if is_opentype_cff_font(font_filename):
-                        raise RuntimeError("OpenType CFF fonts can not be saved using the internal Postscript backend at this time.\nConsider using the Cairo backend.")
-                    else:
-                        convert_ttf_to_ps(font_filename, fh, fonttype, glyph_ids)
-        print >>fh, "end"
-        print >>fh, "%%EndProlog"
-
-        if not isEPSF: print >>fh, "%%Page: 1 1"
-        print >>fh, "mpldict begin"
-        #print >>fh, "gsave"
-        print >>fh, "%s translate"%_nums_to_str(xo, yo)
-        if rotation: print >>fh, "%d rotate"%rotation
-        print >>fh, "%s clipbox"%_nums_to_str(width*72, height*72, 0, 0)
-
-        # write the figure
-        print >>fh, self._pswriter.getvalue()
-
-        # write the trailer
-        #print >>fh, "grestore"
-        print >>fh, "end"
-        print >>fh, "showpage"
-        if not isEPSF: print >>fh, "%%EOF"
-        fh.close()
+        fd, tmpfile = mkstemp()
+        fh = open(fd, 'wb')
+
+        try:
+            # write the PostScript headers
+            if isEPSF: print >>fh, "%!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0"
+            else: print >>fh, "%!PS-Adobe-3.0"
+            if title: print >>fh, "%%Title: "+title
+            print >>fh, ("%%Creator: matplotlib version "
+                         +__version__+", http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/")
+            print >>fh, "%%CreationDate: "+time.ctime(time.time())
+            print >>fh, "%%Orientation: " + orientation
+            if not isEPSF: print >>fh, "%%DocumentPaperSizes: "+papertype
+            print >>fh, "%%%%BoundingBox: %d %d %d %d" % bbox
+            if not isEPSF: print >>fh, "%%Pages: 1"
+            print >>fh, "%%EndComments"
+
+            Ndict = len(psDefs)
+            print >>fh, "%%BeginProlog"
+            if not rcParams['ps.useafm']:
+                Ndict += len(ps_renderer.used_characters)
+            print >>fh, "/mpldict %d dict def"%Ndict
+            print >>fh, "mpldict begin"
+            for d in psDefs:
+                d=d.strip()
+                for l in d.split('\n'):
+                    print >>fh, l.strip()
+            if not rcParams['ps.useafm']:
+                for font_filename, chars in ps_renderer.used_characters.values():
+                    if len(chars):
+                        font = FT2Font(str(font_filename))
+                        cmap = font.get_charmap()
+                        glyph_ids = []
+                        for c in chars:
+                            gind = cmap.get(c) or 0
+                            glyph_ids.append(gind)
+
+                        fonttype = rcParams['ps.fonttype']
+
+                        # Can not use more than 255 characters from a
+                        # single font for Type 3
+                        if len(glyph_ids) > 255:
+                            fonttype = 42
+
+                        # The ttf to ps (subsetting) support doesn't work for
+                        # OpenType fonts that are Postscript inside (like the
+                        # STIX fonts).  This will simply turn that off to avoid
+                        # errors.
+                        if is_opentype_cff_font(font_filename):
+                            raise RuntimeError("OpenType CFF fonts can not be saved using the internal Postscript backend at this time.\nConsider using the Cairo backend.")
+                        else:
+                            convert_ttf_to_ps(font_filename, fh, fonttype, glyph_ids)
+            print >>fh, "end"
+            print >>fh, "%%EndProlog"
+
+            if not isEPSF: print >>fh, "%%Page: 1 1"
+            print >>fh, "mpldict begin"
+            #print >>fh, "gsave"
+            print >>fh, "%s translate"%_nums_to_str(xo, yo)
+            if rotation: print >>fh, "%d rotate"%rotation
+            print >>fh, "%s clipbox"%_nums_to_str(width*72, height*72, 0, 0)
+
+            # write the figure
+            print >>fh, self._pswriter.getvalue()
+
+            # write the trailer
+            #print >>fh, "grestore"
+            print >>fh, "end"
+            print >>fh, "showpage"
+            if not isEPSF: print >>fh, "%%EOF"
+        finally:
+            fh.close()
 
         if rcParams['ps.usedistiller'] == 'ghostscript':
             gs_distill(tmpfile, isEPSF, ptype=papertype, bbox=bbox)
@@ -1160,9 +1166,13 @@ def write(self, *kl, **kwargs):
 
         if passed_in_file_object:
             fh = open(tmpfile)
-            print >>outfile, fh.read()
+            try:
+                print >>outfile, fh.read()
+            finally:
+                fh.close()
         else:
-            open(outfile, 'w')
+            with open(outfile, 'w') as fh:
+                pass
             mode = os.stat(outfile).st_mode
             shutil.move(tmpfile, outfile)
             os.chmod(outfile, mode)
@@ -1178,10 +1188,6 @@ def _print_figure_tex(self, outfile, format, dpi, facecolor, edgecolor,
         isEPSF = format == 'eps'
         title = outfile
 
-        # write to a temp file, we'll move it to outfile when done
-        fd, tmpfile = mkstemp()
-        fh = os.fdopen(fd, 'w')
-
         self.figure.dpi = 72 # ignore the dpi kwarg
         width, height = self.figure.get_size_inches()
         xo = 0
@@ -1227,39 +1233,44 @@ def write(self, *kl, **kwargs):
         self.figure.set_facecolor(origfacecolor)
         self.figure.set_edgecolor(origedgecolor)
 
-        # write the Encapsulated PostScript headers
-        print >>fh, "%!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0"
-        if title: print >>fh, "%%Title: "+title
-        print >>fh, ("%%Creator: matplotlib version "
-                     +__version__+", http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/")
-        print >>fh, "%%CreationDate: "+time.ctime(time.time())
-        print >>fh, "%%%%BoundingBox: %d %d %d %d" % bbox
-        print >>fh, "%%EndComments"
-
-        Ndict = len(psDefs)
-        print >>fh, "%%BeginProlog"
-        print >>fh, "/mpldict %d dict def"%Ndict
-        print >>fh, "mpldict begin"
-        for d in psDefs:
-            d=d.strip()
-            for l in d.split('\n'):
-                print >>fh, l.strip()
-        print >>fh, "end"
-        print >>fh, "%%EndProlog"
-
-        print >>fh, "mpldict begin"
-        #print >>fh, "gsave"
-        print >>fh, "%s translate"%_nums_to_str(xo, yo)
-        print >>fh, "%s clipbox"%_nums_to_str(width*72, height*72, 0, 0)
-
-        # write the figure
-        print >>fh, self._pswriter.getvalue()
-
-        # write the trailer
-        #print >>fh, "grestore"
-        print >>fh, "end"
-        print >>fh, "showpage"
-        fh.close()
+        fd, tmpfile = mkstemp()
+        fh = os.fdopen(fd, 'w')
+
+        try:
+            # write the Encapsulated PostScript headers
+            print >>fh, "%!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0"
+            if title: print >>fh, "%%Title: "+title
+            print >>fh, ("%%Creator: matplotlib version "
+                         +__version__+", http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/")
+            print >>fh, "%%CreationDate: "+time.ctime(time.time())
+            print >>fh, "%%%%BoundingBox: %d %d %d %d" % bbox
+            print >>fh, "%%EndComments"
+
+            Ndict = len(psDefs)
+            print >>fh, "%%BeginProlog"
+            print >>fh, "/mpldict %d dict def"%Ndict
+            print >>fh, "mpldict begin"
+            for d in psDefs:
+                d=d.strip()
+                for l in d.split('\n'):
+                    print >>fh, l.strip()
+            print >>fh, "end"
+            print >>fh, "%%EndProlog"
+
+            print >>fh, "mpldict begin"
+            #print >>fh, "gsave"
+            print >>fh, "%s translate"%_nums_to_str(xo, yo)
+            print >>fh, "%s clipbox"%_nums_to_str(width*72, height*72, 0, 0)
+
+            # write the figure
+            print >>fh, self._pswriter.getvalue()
+
+            # write the trailer
+            #print >>fh, "grestore"
+            print >>fh, "end"
+            print >>fh, "showpage"
+        finally:
+            fh.close()
 
         if isLandscape: # now we are ready to rotate
             isLandscape = True
@@ -1308,9 +1319,13 @@ def write(self, *kl, **kwargs):
 
         if  isinstance(outfile, file):
             fh = file(tmpfile)
-            print >>outfile, fh.read()
+            try:
+                print >>outfile, fh.read()
+            finally:
+                fh.close()
         else:
-            open(outfile, 'w')
+            fh = open(outfile, 'w')
+            fh.close()
             mode = os.stat(outfile).st_mode
             shutil.move(tmpfile, outfile)
             os.chmod(outfile, mode)
@@ -1329,7 +1344,6 @@ def convert_psfrags(tmpfile, psfrags, font_preamble, custom_preamble,
     shutil.move(tmpfile, epsfile)
     latexfile = tmpfile+'.tex'
     outfile = tmpfile+'.output'
-    latexh = file(latexfile, 'w')
     dvifile = tmpfile+'.dvi'
     psfile = tmpfile+'.ps'
 
@@ -1363,18 +1377,20 @@ def convert_psfrags(tmpfile, psfrags, font_preamble, custom_preamble,
       paperWidth, paperHeight,
       '\n'.join(psfrags), angle, os.path.split(epsfile)[-1])
 
-    if rcParams['text.latex.unicode']:
-        latexh.write(s.encode('utf8'))
-    else:
-        try:
-            latexh.write(s)
-        except UnicodeEncodeError, err:
-            verbose.report("You are using unicode and latex, but have "
-                           "not enabled the matplotlib 'text.latex.unicode' "
-                           "rcParam.", 'helpful')
-            raise
-
-    latexh.close()
+    latexh = file(latexfile, 'w')
+    try:
+        if rcParams['text.latex.unicode']:
+            latexh.write(s.encode('utf8'))
+        else:
+            try:
+                latexh.write(s)
+            except UnicodeEncodeError, err:
+                verbose.report("You are using unicode and latex, but have "
+                               "not enabled the matplotlib 'text.latex.unicode' "
+                               "rcParam.", 'helpful')
+                raise
+    finally:
+        latexh.close()
 
     # the split drive part of the command is necessary for windows users with
     # multiple
@@ -1385,23 +1401,28 @@ def convert_psfrags(tmpfile, psfrags, font_preamble, custom_preamble,
     verbose.report(command, 'debug')
     exit_status = os.system(command)
     fh = file(outfile)
-    if exit_status:
-        raise RuntimeError('LaTeX was not able to process your file:\
+    try:
+        if exit_status:
+            raise RuntimeError('LaTeX was not able to process your file:\
 \nHere is the full report generated by LaTeX: \n\n%s'% fh.read())
-    else: verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
-    fh.close()
+        else: verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
+    finally:
+        fh.close()
     os.remove(outfile)
 
     command = '%s cd "%s" && dvips -q -R0 -o "%s" "%s" > "%s"'%(precmd, tmpdir,
                 os.path.split(psfile)[-1], os.path.split(dvifile)[-1], outfile)
     verbose.report(command, 'debug')
     exit_status = os.system(command)
+
     fh = file(outfile)
-    if exit_status: raise RuntimeError('dvips was not able to \
-process the following file:\n%s\nHere is the full report generated by dvips: \
-\n\n'% dvifile + fh.read())
-    else: verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
-    fh.close()
+    try:
+        if exit_status: raise RuntimeError('dvips was not able to \
+        process the following file:\n%s\nHere is the full report generated by dvips: \
+        \n\n'% dvifile + fh.read())
+        else: verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
+    finally:
+        fh.close()
     os.remove(outfile)
     os.remove(epsfile)
     shutil.move(psfile, tmpfile)
@@ -1413,10 +1434,11 @@ def convert_psfrags(tmpfile, psfrags, font_preamble, custom_preamble,
     # the generated ps file is in landscape and return this
     # information. The return value is used in pstoeps step to recover
     # the correct bounding box. 2010-06-05 JJL
-    if "Landscape" in open(tmpfile).read(1000):
-        psfrag_rotated = True
-    else:
-        psfrag_rotated = False
+    with open(tmpfile) as fh:
+        if "Landscape" in fh.read(1000):
+            psfrag_rotated = True
+        else:
+            psfrag_rotated = False
 
     if not debugPS:
         for fname in glob.glob(tmpfile+'.*'):
@@ -1452,10 +1474,12 @@ def gs_distill(tmpfile, eps=False, ptype='letter', bbox=None, rotated=False):
     verbose.report(command, 'debug')
     exit_status = os.system(command)
     fh = file(outfile)
-    if exit_status: raise RuntimeError('ghostscript was not able to process \
-your image.\nHere is the full report generated by ghostscript:\n\n' + fh.read())
-    else: verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
-    fh.close()
+    try:
+        if exit_status: raise RuntimeError('ghostscript was not able to process \
+        your image.\nHere is the full report generated by ghostscript:\n\n' + fh.read())
+        else: verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
+    finally:
+        fh.close()
     os.remove(outfile)
     os.remove(tmpfile)
     shutil.move(psfile, tmpfile)
@@ -1497,20 +1521,26 @@ def xpdf_distill(tmpfile, eps=False, ptype='letter', bbox=None, rotated=False):
     verbose.report(command, 'debug')
     exit_status = os.system(command)
     fh = file(outfile)
-    if exit_status: raise RuntimeError('ps2pdf was not able to process your \
+    try:
+        if exit_status: raise RuntimeError('ps2pdf was not able to process your \
 image.\n\Here is the report generated by ghostscript:\n\n' + fh.read())
-    else: verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
-    fh.close()
+        else:
+            verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
+    finally:
+        fh.close()
     os.remove(outfile)
     command = 'pdftops -paper match -level2 "%s" "%s" > "%s"'% \
                 (pdffile, psfile, outfile)
     verbose.report(command, 'debug')
     exit_status = os.system(command)
     fh = file(outfile)
-    if exit_status: raise RuntimeError('pdftops was not able to process your \
+    try:
+        if exit_status: raise RuntimeError('pdftops was not able to process your \
 image.\nHere is the full report generated by pdftops: \n\n' + fh.read())
-    else: verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
-    fh.close()
+        else:
+            verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
+    finally:
+        fh.close()
     os.remove(outfile)
     os.remove(tmpfile)
     shutil.move(psfile, tmpfile)
@@ -1598,59 +1628,55 @@ def pstoeps(tmpfile, bbox=None, rotated=False):
 
     epsfile = tmpfile + '.eps'
     epsh = file(epsfile, 'w')
-
     tmph = file(tmpfile)
-    line = tmph.readline()
-    # Modify the header:
-    while line:
-        if line.startswith('%!PS'):
-            print >>epsh, "%!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0"
-            if bbox:
-                print >>epsh, bbox_info
-        elif line.startswith('%%EndComments'):
-            epsh.write(line)
-            print >>epsh, '%%BeginProlog'
-            print >>epsh, 'save'
-            print >>epsh, 'countdictstack'
-            print >>epsh, 'mark'
-            print >>epsh, 'newpath'
-            print >>epsh, '/showpage {} def'
-            print >>epsh, '/setpagedevice {pop} def'
-            print >>epsh, '%%EndProlog'
-            print >>epsh, '%%Page 1 1'
-            if rotate:
-                print >>epsh, rotate
-            break
-        elif bbox and (line.startswith('%%Bound') \
-                       or line.startswith('%%HiResBound') \
-                       or line.startswith('%%DocumentMedia') \
-                       or line.startswith('%%Pages')):
-            pass
-        else:
-            epsh.write(line)
+    try:
         line = tmph.readline()
-    # Now rewrite the rest of the file, and modify the trailer.
-    # This is done in a second loop such that the header of the embedded
-    # eps file is not modified.
-    line = tmph.readline()
-    while line:
-        if line.startswith('%%Trailer'):
-            print >>epsh, '%%Trailer'
-            print >>epsh, 'cleartomark'
-            print >>epsh, 'countdictstack'
-            print >>epsh, 'exch sub { end } repeat'
-            print >>epsh, 'restore'
-            if rcParams['ps.usedistiller'] == 'xpdf':
-                # remove extraneous "end" operator:
-                line = tmph.readline()
-        elif line.startswith('%%PageBoundingBox'):
-            pass
-        else:
-            epsh.write(line)
+        # Modify the header:
+        while line:
+            if line.startswith('%!PS'):
+                print >>epsh, "%!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0"
+                if bbox:
+                    print >>epsh, bbox_info
+            elif line.startswith('%%EndComments'):
+                epsh.write(line)
+                print >>epsh, '%%BeginProlog'
+                print >>epsh, 'save'
+                print >>epsh, 'countdictstack'
+                print >>epsh, 'mark'
+                print >>epsh, 'newpath'
+                print >>epsh, '/showpage {} def'
+                print >>epsh, '/setpagedevice {pop} def'
+                print >>epsh, '%%EndProlog'
+                print >>epsh, '%%Page 1 1'
+                if rotate:
+                    print >>epsh, rotate
+                break
+            elif bbox and (line.startswith('%%Bound') \
+                           or line.startswith('%%HiResBound') \
+                           or line.startswith('%%DocumentMedia') \
+                           or line.startswith('%%Pages')):
+                pass
+            else:
+                epsh.write(line)
+            line = tmph.readline()
+        # Now rewrite the rest of the file, and modify the trailer.
+        # This is done in a second loop such that the header of the embedded
+        # eps file is not modified.
         line = tmph.readline()
+        while line:
+            if line.startswith('%%Trailer'):
+                print >>epsh, '%%Trailer'
+                print >>epsh, 'cleartomark'
+                print >>epsh, 'countdictstack'
+                print >>epsh, 'exch sub { end } repeat'
+                print >>epsh, 'restore'
+                if rcParams['ps.usedistiller'] == 'xpdf':
+                    # remove extraneous "end" operator:
+                    line = tmph.readline()
+    finally:
+        epsh.close()
+        tmph.close()
 
-    tmph.close()
-    epsh.close()
     os.remove(tmpfile)
     shutil.move(epsfile, tmpfile)
 
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_svg.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_svg.py
index 25b92390cb37..ebe5ebd3b227 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_svg.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_svg.py
@@ -1087,31 +1087,33 @@ def print_svgz(self, filename, *args, **kwargs):
         return self._print_svg(filename, svgwriter, fh_to_close)
 
     def _print_svg(self, filename, svgwriter, fh_to_close=None, **kwargs):
-        self.figure.set_dpi(72.0)
-        width, height = self.figure.get_size_inches()
-        w, h = width*72, height*72
+        try:
+            self.figure.set_dpi(72.0)
+            width, height = self.figure.get_size_inches()
+            w, h = width*72, height*72
 
-        if rcParams['svg.image_noscale']:
-            renderer = RendererSVG(w, h, svgwriter, filename)
-        else:
-            # setting mixed renderer dpi other than 72 results in
-            # incorrect size of the rasterized image. It seems that the
-            # svg internally uses fixed dpi of 72 and seems to cause
-            # the problem. I hope someone who knows the svg backends
-            # take a look at this problem. Meanwhile, the dpi
-            # parameter is ignored and image_dpi is fixed at 72. - JJL
-
-            #image_dpi = kwargs.pop("dpi", 72)
-            image_dpi = 72
-            _bbox_inches_restore = kwargs.pop("bbox_inches_restore", None)
-            renderer = MixedModeRenderer(self.figure,
-                width, height, image_dpi, RendererSVG(w, h, svgwriter, filename),
-                bbox_inches_restore=_bbox_inches_restore)
-
-        self.figure.draw(renderer)
-        renderer.finalize()
-        if fh_to_close is not None:
-            svgwriter.close()
+            if rcParams['svg.image_noscale']:
+                renderer = RendererSVG(w, h, svgwriter, filename)
+            else:
+                # setting mixed renderer dpi other than 72 results in
+                # incorrect size of the rasterized image. It seems that the
+                # svg internally uses fixed dpi of 72 and seems to cause
+                # the problem. I hope someone who knows the svg backends
+                # take a look at this problem. Meanwhile, the dpi
+                # parameter is ignored and image_dpi is fixed at 72. - JJL
+
+                #image_dpi = kwargs.pop("dpi", 72)
+                image_dpi = 72
+                _bbox_inches_restore = kwargs.pop("bbox_inches_restore", None)
+                renderer = MixedModeRenderer(self.figure,
+                    width, height, image_dpi, RendererSVG(w, h, svgwriter, filename),
+                    bbox_inches_restore=_bbox_inches_restore)
+
+            self.figure.draw(renderer)
+            renderer.finalize()
+        finally:
+            if fh_to_close is not None:
+                svgwriter.close()
 
     def get_default_filetype(self):
         return 'svg'
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/cbook.py b/lib/matplotlib/cbook.py
index 58f14e4322af..de95ace2dc48 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/cbook.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/cbook.py
@@ -481,8 +481,10 @@ def read_cache(self):
                 return
 
             f = open(fn, 'rb')
-            cache = cPickle.load(f)
-            f.close()
+            try:
+                cache = cPickle.load(f)
+            finally:
+                f.close()
 
             # Earlier versions did not have the full paths in cache.pck
             for url, (fn, x, y) in cache.items():
@@ -526,8 +528,10 @@ def write_cache(self):
             """
             fn = self.in_cache_dir('cache.pck')
             f = open(fn, 'wb')
-            cPickle.dump(self.cache, f, -1)
-            f.close()
+            try:
+                cPickle.dump(self.cache, f, -1)
+            finally:
+                f.close()
 
         def cache_file(self, url, data, headers):
             """
@@ -538,8 +542,10 @@ def cache_file(self, url, data, headers):
             fullpath = self.in_cache_dir(fn)
 
             f = open(fullpath, 'wb')
-            f.write(data)
-            f.close()
+            try:
+                f.write(data)
+            finally:
+                f.close()
 
             # Update the cache
             self.cache[url] = (fullpath, headers.get('ETag'),
@@ -577,7 +583,10 @@ def https_error_304(self, req, fp, code, msg, hdrs):
                 'ViewVCCachedServer: reading data file from cache file "%s"'
                 %fn, 'debug')
             file = open(fn, 'rb')
-            handle = urllib2.addinfourl(file, hdrs, url)
+            try:
+                handle = urllib2.addinfourl(file, hdrs, url)
+            except:
+                file.close()
             handle.code = 304
             return handle
 
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/dviread.py b/lib/matplotlib/dviread.py
index 8a6dbd264b1f..facfa846f1ac 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/dviread.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/dviread.py
@@ -391,22 +391,22 @@ class DviFont(object):
     The size is in Adobe points (converted from TeX points).
 
     .. attribute:: texname
-    
+
        Name of the font as used internally by TeX and friends. This
        is usually very different from any external font names, and
        :class:`dviread.PsfontsMap` can be used to find the external
        name of the font.
 
     .. attribute:: size
-    
+
        Size of the font in Adobe points, converted from the slightly
        smaller TeX points.
 
     .. attribute:: widths
-    
+
        Widths of glyphs in glyph-space units, typically 1/1000ths of
        the point size.
-    
+
     """
     __slots__ = ('texname', 'size', 'widths', '_scale', '_vf', '_tfm')
 
@@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ def _height_depth_of(self, char):
             else:
                 result.append(_mul2012(value, self._scale))
         return result
-    
+
 class Vf(Dvi):
     """
     A virtual font (\*.vf file) containing subroutines for dvi files.
@@ -473,11 +473,13 @@ class Vf(Dvi):
 
     def __init__(self, filename):
         Dvi.__init__(self, filename, 0)
-        self._first_font = None
-        self._chars = {}
-        self._packet_ends = None
-        self._read()
-        self.close()
+        try:
+            self._first_font = None
+            self._chars = {}
+            self._packet_ends = None
+            self._read()
+        finally:
+            self.close()
 
     def __getitem__(self, code):
         return self._chars[code]
@@ -586,18 +588,16 @@ class Tfm(object):
     .. attribute:: height
 
        Height of each character.
-    
+
     .. attribute:: depth
-        
+
        Depth of each character.
     """
     __slots__ = ('checksum', 'design_size', 'width', 'height', 'depth')
 
     def __init__(self, filename):
         matplotlib.verbose.report('opening tfm file ' + filename, 'debug')
-        file = open(filename, 'rb')
-
-        try:
+        with open(filename, 'rb') as file:
             header1 = file.read(24)
             lh, bc, ec, nw, nh, nd = \
                 struct.unpack('!6H', header1[2:14])
@@ -612,8 +612,6 @@ def __init__(self, filename):
             widths = file.read(4*nw)
             heights = file.read(4*nh)
             depths = file.read(4*nd)
-        finally:
-            file.close()
 
         self.width, self.height, self.depth = {}, {}, {}
         widths, heights, depths = \
@@ -663,11 +661,8 @@ class PsfontsMap(object):
 
     def __init__(self, filename):
         self._font = {}
-        file = open(filename, 'rt')
-        try:
+        with open(filename, 'rt') as file:
             self._parse(file)
-        finally:
-            file.close()
 
     def __getitem__(self, texname):
         result = self._font[texname]
@@ -832,7 +827,7 @@ def find_tex_file(filename, format=None):
     if format is not None:
         cmd += ['--format=' + format]
     cmd += [filename]
-    
+
     matplotlib.verbose.report('find_tex_file(%s): %s' \
                                   % (filename,cmd), 'debug')
     # stderr is unused, but reading it avoids a subprocess optimization
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/image.py b/lib/matplotlib/image.py
index 52f894bdf93c..21ad46c8afb9 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/image.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/image.py
@@ -1187,9 +1187,14 @@ def pilread():
     # reader extension, since Python handles them quite well, but it's
     # tricky in C.
     if cbook.is_string_like(fname):
-        fname = open(fname, 'rb')
-
-    return handler(fname)
+        fd = open(fname, 'rb')
+        try:
+            result = handler(fd)
+        finally:
+            fd.close()
+        return result
+    else:
+        return handler(fname)
 
 
 def imsave(fname, arr, vmin=None, vmax=None, cmap=None, format=None,
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/mathtext.py b/lib/matplotlib/mathtext.py
index 0cb277da5838..61e4fcf653e9 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/mathtext.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/mathtext.py
@@ -1051,7 +1051,11 @@ def __init__(self, default_font_prop):
         if filename is None:
             filename = findfont('Helvetica', fontext='afm',
                                 directory=self.basepath)
-        default_font = AFM(file(filename, 'r'))
+        fd = file(filename, 'r')
+        try:
+            default_font = AFM(fd)
+        finally:
+            fd.close()
         default_font.fname = filename
 
         self.fonts['default'] = default_font
@@ -1067,7 +1071,11 @@ def _get_font(self, font):
         cached_font = self.fonts.get(basename)
         if cached_font is None:
             fname = os.path.join(self.basepath, basename + ".afm")
-            cached_font = AFM(file(fname, 'r'))
+            fd = file(fname, 'r')
+            try:
+                cached_font = AFM(fd)
+            finally:
+                fd.close()
             cached_font.fname = fname
             self.fonts[basename] = cached_font
             self.fonts[cached_font.get_fontname()] = cached_font
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/sphinxext/plot_directive.py b/lib/matplotlib/sphinxext/plot_directive.py
index 5d7b2c524b72..02b8836cb635 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/sphinxext/plot_directive.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/sphinxext/plot_directive.py
@@ -624,9 +624,8 @@ def run(arguments, content, options, state_machine, state, lineno):
         else:
             function_name = None
 
-        fd = open(source_file_name, 'r')
-        code = fd.read()
-        fd.close()
+        with open(source_file_name, 'r') as fd:
+            code = fd.read()
         output_base = os.path.basename(source_file_name)
     else:
         source_file_name = rst_file
@@ -765,12 +764,14 @@ def run(arguments, content, options, state_machine, state, lineno):
 
     # copy script (if necessary)
     target_name = os.path.join(dest_dir, output_base + source_ext)
-    f = open(target_name, 'w')
     if source_file_name == rst_file:
         code_escaped = unescape_doctest(code)
     else:
         code_escaped = code
-    f.write(code_escaped)
-    f.close()
+    f = open(target_name, 'w')
+    try:
+        f.write(code_escaped)
+    finally:
+        f.close()
 
     return errors
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/texmanager.py b/lib/matplotlib/texmanager.py
index 93f85f1640e6..8ac4df806e61 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/texmanager.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/texmanager.py
@@ -228,7 +228,6 @@ def make_tex(self, tex, fontsize):
         """
         basefile = self.get_basefile(tex, fontsize)
         texfile = '%s.tex'%basefile
-        fh = file(texfile, 'w')
         custom_preamble = self.get_custom_preamble()
         fontcmd = {'sans-serif' : r'{\sffamily %s}',
                    'monospace'  : r'{\ttfamily %s}'}.get(self.font_family,
@@ -252,18 +251,22 @@ def make_tex(self, tex, fontsize):
 \end{document}
 """ % (self._font_preamble, unicode_preamble, custom_preamble,
        fontsize, fontsize*1.25, tex)
-        if rcParams['text.latex.unicode']:
-            fh.write(s.encode('utf8'))
-        else:
-            try:
-                fh.write(s)
-            except UnicodeEncodeError, err:
-                mpl.verbose.report("You are using unicode and latex, but have "
-                            "not enabled the matplotlib 'text.latex.unicode' "
-                            "rcParam.", 'helpful')
-                raise
 
-        fh.close()
+        fh = file(texfile, 'w')
+
+        try:
+            if rcParams['text.latex.unicode']:
+                fh.write(s.encode('utf8'))
+            else:
+                try:
+                    fh.write(s)
+                except UnicodeEncodeError, err:
+                    mpl.verbose.report("You are using unicode and latex, but have "
+                                "not enabled the matplotlib 'text.latex.unicode' "
+                                "rcParam.", 'helpful')
+                    raise
+        finally:
+            fh.close()
 
         return texfile
 
@@ -280,7 +283,6 @@ def make_tex_preview(self, tex, fontsize):
         """
         basefile = self.get_basefile(tex, fontsize)
         texfile = '%s.tex'%basefile
-        fh = file(texfile, 'w')
         custom_preamble = self.get_custom_preamble()
         fontcmd = {'sans-serif' : r'{\sffamily %s}',
                    'monospace'  : r'{\ttfamily %s}'}.get(self.font_family,
@@ -317,18 +319,22 @@ def make_tex_preview(self, tex, fontsize):
 \end{document}
 """ % (self._font_preamble, unicode_preamble, custom_preamble,
        fontsize, fontsize*1.25, tex)
-        if rcParams['text.latex.unicode']:
-            fh.write(s.encode('utf8'))
-        else:
-            try:
-                fh.write(s)
-            except UnicodeEncodeError, err:
-                mpl.verbose.report("You are using unicode and latex, but have "
-                            "not enabled the matplotlib 'text.latex.unicode' "
-                            "rcParam.", 'helpful')
-                raise
 
-        fh.close()
+        fh = file(texfile, 'w')
+
+        try:
+            if rcParams['text.latex.unicode']:
+                fh.write(s.encode('utf8'))
+            else:
+                try:
+                    fh.write(s)
+                except UnicodeEncodeError, err:
+                    mpl.verbose.report("You are using unicode and latex, but have "
+                                "not enabled the matplotlib 'text.latex.unicode' "
+                                "rcParam.", 'helpful')
+                    raise
+        finally:
+            fh.close()
 
         return texfile
 
@@ -357,8 +363,10 @@ def make_dvi(self, tex, fontsize):
             exit_status = os.system(command)
             try:
                 fh = file(outfile)
-                report = fh.read()
-                fh.close()
+                try:
+                    report = fh.read()
+                finally:
+                    fh.close()
             except IOError:
                 report = 'No latex error report available.'
             try:
@@ -403,8 +411,10 @@ def make_dvi_preview(self, tex, fontsize):
             exit_status = os.system(command)
             try:
                 fh = file(outfile)
-                report = fh.read()
-                fh.close()
+                try:
+                    report = fh.read()
+                finally:
+                    fh.close()
 
             except IOError:
                 report = 'No latex error report available.'
@@ -416,7 +426,8 @@ def make_dvi_preview(self, tex, fontsize):
             # find the box extent information in the latex output
             # file and store them in ".baseline" file
             m = TexManager._re_vbox.search(report)
-            open(basefile+'.baseline',"w").write(" ".join(m.groups()))
+            with open(basefile+'.baseline',"w") as fh:
+                fh.write(" ".join(m.groups()))
 
             for fname in glob.glob(basefile+'*'):
                 if fname.endswith('dvi'): pass
@@ -449,8 +460,10 @@ def make_png(self, tex, fontsize, dpi):
             exit_status = os.system(command)
             try:
                 fh = file(outfile)
-                report = fh.read()
-                fh.close()
+                try:
+                    report = fh.read()
+                finally:
+                    fh.close()
             except IOError:
                 report = 'No dvipng error report available.'
             if exit_status:
@@ -482,12 +495,14 @@ def make_ps(self, tex, fontsize):
             mpl.verbose.report(command, 'debug')
             exit_status = os.system(command)
             fh = file(outfile)
-            if exit_status:
-                raise RuntimeError('dvipng was not able to \
+            try:
+                if exit_status:
+                    raise RuntimeError('dvipng was not able to \
 process the flowing file:\n%s\nHere is the full report generated by dvipng: \
 \n\n'% dvifile + fh.read())
-            else: mpl.verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
-            fh.close()
+                else: mpl.verbose.report(fh.read(), 'debug')
+            finally:
+                fh.close()
             os.remove(outfile)
 
         return psfile
@@ -499,9 +514,12 @@ def get_ps_bbox(self, tex, fontsize):
         """
         psfile = self.make_ps(tex, fontsize)
         ps = file(psfile)
-        for line in ps:
-            if line.startswith('%%BoundingBox:'):
-                return [int(val) for val in line.split()[1:]]
+        try:
+            for line in ps:
+                if line.startswith('%%BoundingBox:'):
+                    return [int(val) for val in line.split()[1:]]
+        finally:
+            ps.close()
         raise RuntimeError('Could not parse %s'%psfile)
 
     def get_grey(self, tex, fontsize=None, dpi=None):
@@ -597,7 +615,8 @@ def get_text_width_height_descent(self, tex, fontsize, renderer=None):
             if DEBUG or not os.path.exists(baselinefile):
                 dvifile = self.make_dvi_preview(tex, fontsize)
 
-            l = open(baselinefile).read().split()
+            with open(baselinefile) as fh:
+                l = fh.read().split()
             height, depth, width = [float(l1)*dpi_fraction for l1 in l]
             return width, height+depth, depth
 
@@ -605,7 +624,9 @@ def get_text_width_height_descent(self, tex, fontsize, renderer=None):
             # use dviread. It sometimes returns a wrong descent.
             dvifile = self.make_dvi(tex, fontsize)
             dvi = dviread.Dvi(dvifile, 72*dpi_fraction)
-            page = iter(dvi).next()
-            dvi.close()
+            try:
+                page = iter(dvi).next()
+            finally:
+                dvi.close()
             # A total height (including the descent) needs to be returned.
             return page.width, page.height+page.descent, page.descent
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/textpath.py b/lib/matplotlib/textpath.py
index d27dff6a2b9a..ff1e82c19316 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/textpath.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/textpath.py
@@ -297,9 +297,10 @@ def get_glyphs_tex(self, prop, s, glyph_map=None,
         else:
             dvifile = texmanager.make_dvi(s, self.FONT_SCALE)
             dvi = dviread.Dvi(dvifile, self.DPI)
-        page = iter(dvi).next()
-        dvi.close()
-
+        try:
+            page = iter(dvi).next()
+        finally:
+            dvi.close()
 
         if glyph_map is None:
             glyph_map = dict()
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/type1font.py b/lib/matplotlib/type1font.py
index 6fad8461c78b..d21b89dba52c 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/type1font.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/type1font.py
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ def __init__(self, input):
             finally:
                 file.close()
             self.parts = self._split(data)
-            
+
         self._parse()
 
     def _read(self, file):
@@ -221,9 +221,9 @@ def _parse(self):
         if not prop.has_key('FamilyName'):
             extras = r'(?i)([ -](regular|plain|italic|oblique|(semi)?bold|(ultra)?light|extra|condensed))+$'
             prop['FamilyName'] = re.sub(extras, '', prop['FullName'])
-                
+
         self.prop = prop
-                        
+
     @classmethod
     def _transformer(cls, tokens, slant, extend):
         def fontname(name):
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ def suppress(tokens):
             for x in itertools.takewhile(lambda x: x[1] != 'def', tokens):
                 pass
             yield ''
-        
+
         table = { '/FontName': replace(fontname),
                   '/ItalicAngle': replace(italicangle),
                   '/FontMatrix': replace(fontmatrix),
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ def suppress(tokens):
                     yield value
             else:
                 yield value
-                        
+
     def transform(self, effects):
         """
         Transform the font by slanting or extending. *effects* should
@@ -297,13 +297,15 @@ def transform(self, effects):
         """
 
         buffer = cStringIO.StringIO()
-        tokenizer = self._tokens(self.parts[0])
-        for value in self._transformer(tokenizer,
-                                       slant=effects.get('slant', 0.0),
-                                       extend=effects.get('extend', 1.0)):
-            buffer.write(value)
-        result = buffer.getvalue()
-        buffer.close()
+        try:
+            tokenizer = self._tokens(self.parts[0])
+            for value in self._transformer(tokenizer,
+                                           slant=effects.get('slant', 0.0),
+                                           extend=effects.get('extend', 1.0)):
+                buffer.write(value)
+            result = buffer.getvalue()
+        finally:
+            buffer.close()
 
         return Type1Font((result, self.parts[1], self.parts[2]))
-    
+