Release Date:

August 3, 1946

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A Hollywood wolf goes to the movies and goes wild over Lauren Bacall in a movie spoofing “To Have or Have Not”.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1017, and was released as a Merrie Melodie. This was also the first released cartoon to have the new four-digit production code rather than number in release season. In production order, the first two cartoons to use this new system were McKimson’s “One Meat Brawl” (production number 1015) and Jones’ “Scent-imental Over You” (production number 1016), both released in 1947. Arthur Davis’ directorial debut, “Mouse Menace” (production number 1028) as well as Freleng’s “Rhapsody Rabbit” (production number 1040) would be the only other 1946 cartoons to use the four-digit production number system while starting in 1947 (with the exception of Freleng’s “The Gay Anties”), every cartoon up until the original studio’s closure in 1964 would use four-digit production numbers (while it wasn’t the last cartoon the original studio released the last one they produced was production number 1669, “False Hare”, which was also the last Bugs Bunny cartoon of the Golden Age).

The cartoon’s production number originally belonged to a cancelled cartoon called “For He’s a Jolly Good Fala”, which would have been about Roosevelt’s dog (who was previously parodied in “Fresh Airedale”). Due to Roosevelt’s death, however, plans for it were cancelled. Had it not been cancelled, it would have been the first Warner cartoon to feature the voice of Stan Freberg. Freberg’s first appearance would end up being in the last cartoon of 1946, Jones’ “Roughly Squeaking”.

The cartoon’s choppy, incomplete feel is due to Clampett leaving the studio before the cartoon could be finished and as such, he is uncredited. Regardless, this is still a fun cartoon.

The cartoon reuses footage from “She Was an Acrobat’s Daughter”, which was released nine years prior to this cartoon. This really shows how much the Warner cartoons have developed in almost ten years.

This is the shortest cartoon from this period, barely running over 6 minutes.

The wolf in this cartoon is very likely a parody of the wolf in Tex Avery’s MGM cartoons that goes wild over the sexy singer, Red.

This is the only Clampett cartoon to have animation by Don Williams, who is one of the easiest Golden Age animators to identify, since his technique is using excessive drybrush and having characters leave a trail of multiple eyes when they move from pose to pose.

This is also the only Clampett cartoon from 1946 to not have animation by Bill Melendez.

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are parodied as “Bogey Gocart” and “Laurie Bee Cool”.

Interestingly, despite this being Clampett’s penultimate cartoon, this was the FIRST cartoon presented on the third disc of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 DVD set, where that disc was a compilation of Clampett cartoons.

Speaking of DVD, according to Jerry Beck’s commentary for this cartoon on the same set, they actually intended to include audio from the actual “To Have or Have Not”. Due to copyright issues, however, they ended up not using it, and had Bogart and Bacall’s voices dubbed by Dave Barry and Sara Berner, respectively.

As Mel Blanc only voiced two minor characters in this cartoon (the man in the newsreel and the hippo whose weight irritates everyone), he is not credited.

The house in the newsreel is the same one seen in the Private Snafu cartoon “Pay Day” (1944).

What I Like About This One:

Patrons are first seen changing their seats around the theater (stock footage from “She Was an Acrobat’s Daughter”).

The lion parodying the MGM mascot only roars due to a baby lion biting his tail and giving him a hotfoot (animated by Manny Gould).

After being escorted by a sexy blonde usher to his seat, the wolf attempts to go after her, but he is slapped offscreen to which he goes back to his seat in embarrassment (animated by Don Williams).

A newsreel is shown where radars used in the war have new usage in the postwar world as a man hides his whole house after the radar warns that his battleax mother-in-law is coming to visit. The family dog also hides a tree. The man peeks out of the ground, and boasts to the cow next to him that she won’t find them, but the cow is the mother-in-law in disguise! (animated by Gould)

As the movie starts with a long cast list, a fat hippo gets up from his seat (footage from “She Was an Acrobat’s Daughter”) and moves the sleeping wolf’s feet like a gate to get out. Coming back, Bogart talks to the hippo from the screen and tells him, “Hey, Fat Boy! This is the beginning of the feature! If you want to see how it ends, SIT DOWN!” The hippo promptly does and crushes several patrons with his behind (animated by Izzy Ellis).

The wolf wakes up to see Bacall entering the scene and starts panting silently (animated by Williams).

When Bacall asks for a light for her cigarette, Bogart gives her a blowtorch (animated by Gould).

As the wolf is going nuts over her (animated by Williams), Bacall is so hot that she causes a fire wherever she walks, prompting miniature firemen to put it out (animated by Gould).

The wolf ends up kissing the back of the patron in front of him (animated by Ellis).

When Bacall asks Bogart if he knows how to whistle (animated by Rod Scribner), the wolf’s attempt at doing so only blows the toupee of the patron's head in front of him and onto another patron (animated by Williams). Bacall then demonstrates herself (animated by Scribner).

Finally, Bacall tosses her cigarette off the screen and into the theater. The wolf races to get it in front of the screen and starts puffing on it in ecstasy. Bogart shoots the wolf and takes the cigarette himself, where it explodes on him. In blackface, Bogart imitates Rochester, “My, oh my! I can work for Mr. Benny now!” (animated by Scribner)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕