Release Date:

June 22, 1957

Main Character(s):

Daffy Duck, Porky Pig

Summary:

Daffy Duck, as agent Boston Quackie, is on vacation in Paris with his girlfriend, Mary, when Porky Pig, as his glasses-wearing boss Inspector Faraway, arrives and assigns him to deliver a briefcase to the consulate in West Slobovia. The briefcase is immediately stolen by a spy known as “the Man in the Green Hat”, who Daffy chases aboard the “Cloak and Dagger Express”, a murder-themed train.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1434 and was released as a Looney Tune.

Despite being released as a Looney Tune, the cartoon inexplicably uses the Merrie Melodies end card.

The cartoon is a parody of “Boston Blackie” (1951-1953).

This is one of the few Warner cartoons where the title is read aloud as an offscreen voice is heard over the title card, “Boston Quackie. Friend to those who need no friends. Enemy to those who have no enemies”.

“Pierce Packing Co.” is a reference to Tedd Pierce.

This is the last cartoon to have backgrounds by Bob Majors.

This is also the last cartoon where Russ Dyson is credited.

The cartoon was originally going to be on the Looney Tunes Super Stars Daffy Duck Frustrated Fowl DVD set in 2010 but was reconsidered. It was later restored for HBO Max in 2020 and later put on the Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault Volume 2 Blu-ray set this past March.

This is one of two cartoons where Daffy is seen without his neck collar. The other is in 1962’s “Quackodile Tears”.

This is the 800th Warner cartoon overall, meaning we are now officially 80% of the way finished.

The engine’s tender has the number 1434, referring to the cartoon’s production number.

Part of the animator draft for the cartoon can be viewed here.

Nearly all circulating prints of this cartoon (including the 2020 restoration) inexplicably use the incorrect opening theme. A print with the correct opening theme does exist however (but unfortunately with unnecessary, annoying foreign audio over it and the closing titles).

Favorite Scene:

A shade in one of the train’s compartments opens to reveal one man about to stab another, much to Daffy’s shock. Both men give Daffy disgusted looks as if they’re in the midst of doing something private, with the victim closing the shade and then letting out a scream, causing Daffy to turn to the camera and shrug.

What Happens in This One:

In Paris, Daffy is sitting at a table outside of “Cafe Beaucoup” with Mary and her dog. Mary begins to explain, “Quackie, I’ve got a swell idea. While we’ve having a scrumptious time in Gay Paree, why don’t you get romantic and marry me?” Daffy responds, “Not a bad idea, Mary. Except that I’d promised Inspector Faraway I’d ENJOY my vacation!” Mary is not amused, “Oh, pooh, Quackie, I hate you. And as for Inspector Faraway, he can’t stay TOO far away to suit me” (animated by Ted Bonnicksen).

Porky is then heard saying, “Oh, eh, th-th-there you are, Quackie!”, before walking in while holding a briefcase, “B-b-b-been looking all over Paris for ya!” He briefly tips his hat to greet, “Hello, Mary” to which she answers back with, “Hello, Killjoy”. Porky then tells Daffy, “Eh, f-f-flew in this morning. Got a little job for ya, Quackie”. Daffy remarks, “Well, thanks for the busman’s holiday, Inspector!” Porky: “Eh, th-th-this briefcase has got to be delivered to the consulate in West Slobovia!” Daffy: “Huh. Is that all?” Porky: “Eh, n-n-no, that’s NOT all! Every spy in the country will try to steal it from ya!” Understanding the assignment, Daffy instructs, “Well, just hand it over, Inspector, and don’t give it another thought. It couldn’t be in safer hands”. When Porky gives it to Daffy, Green Hat, who was posing as a hat and coat stand takes it instead and walks off. Porky warns, “Now d-d-don’t let go of it for an instant”, before noticing, “Eh, Q-Q-Quackie! The briefcase! It’s gone!”, which Daffy is bewildered at, “Gone!?” Noticing Mary’s dog running after Green Hat while barking angrily, Porky points over, “Eh, l-l-look! The man in the green hat!” (animated by Bonnicksen)

With the dog still going after Green Hat, Daffy decides to give chase as well, “Come on, Inspector!” Green Hat gets into a pink limousine which drives away with the dog following. Daffy calls for a “Taxi!” (animated by Russ Dyson), which he instructs to “Follow that car!” The driver answers, “Oui, monsieur” and leaves without him. Daffy calls back, “Hey! Come back here!”, but then hears a horn honk. He is delighted to see who it’s from, “Mary! Inspector!” With Porky at the wheel of a car and Mary as his passenger, the latter asks, “Going my way?” Daffy joins them in the car (animated by George Grandpre) which chases after the limo. Green Hat gets off at “Depot de Choo-Choo” with Daffy also getting off there to continue after him (animated by Dyson).

Green Hat presumably passes through a doorway for “Le Cloak and Dagger Express”, but when Daffy attempts to go through it, the “doorway” is actually a guillotine, whose executioner brings the blade down once Daffy passes through it. Having seemingly missed him, Daffy is relieved, “Phew! THAT was a close call!”, oblivious that his entire backside has been shaved completely. After Green Hat gets onboard, several ominous pairs of eyeballs in the darkness of the “Electrique-Chair Car” stare at Daffy while the trains’ bells chime in tune to Chopin’s “Funeral March”. The bell on the engine then rings, with the engine’s whistle sounding like the scream of a murder victim. As the train gets going, Daffy notices Green Hat in one of the passenger cars and while running alongside the train, yells to him, “Hey, you! Come back with that briefcase!” Due to only paying attention to Green Hat, Daffy ends up running right into a pole on the depot. He still manages to get on the train by catching onto the back of the caboose (animated by Keith Darling).

Daffy enters the train through the caboose and hears the train’s pale-skinned salesman calling out for, “Chocolate-covered arsenic, candy curare, get your dum-dum bullets here”. Seeing Daffy sitting in one of the chairs looking at the paper to obscure his face, the salesman asks, “Daily noose, monsieur?”, while holding said noose. Upon getting no answer, the salesman shrugs and walks away as he continues calling out, “Delicious strychnine bon-bons, blackjacks, brass knuckles-”. With the salesman gone, Daffy gets up and continues searching for Green Hat. One of the compartments he passes by opens its shade to reveal one man about to stab another. They both angrily glare at Daffy as if they’re in the middle of a private act, with the victim closing the shade. After the victim lets out a scream, Daffy turns to the audience and shrugs. Walking up to the “Club Car”, Daffy opens it and is repeatedly walloped by a club, held by an unseen character in there. After shutting the club car’s door, Daffy remarks, “Sure got a lively bunch of fellas on this train. Eh heh” (animated by Darling).

Still looking for Green Hat, Daffy figures, “Green Hat’s just got to be in one of these compartments”. He then spots Green Hat peeking out of one of them before shutting the door and closing the shade. Daffy drills into the wood near this compartment’s door with a corkscrew and points a gun into the hole, “Alright, Mr. Green Hat! Come on out before I let daylight through ya!” Green Hat instead grabs the gun from his end and shoots Daffy’s beak and hat off with it. After putting his beak back on and picking up his hat, Daffy sees the door open and Green Hat in the doorway wearing a top hat. Believing he was mistakenly threatening someone else, he apologizes, “Oh, eh, sorry sir, (chuckles nervously). Uh, case of mistaken identity. I-I’m looking for a despicable character in a green hat”. Green Hat walks past, tipping his top hat and briefly showing his green one, as he walks into another compartment nearby. Daffy realizes, “Gracious. How stupid of me. He wasn’t wearing a green-”, before becoming suspicious, “Or was he?” (animated by Grandpre)

Daffy comes up to Green Hat and asks him, “Uh, mind if I join you, friend?”, which Green Hat accepts, “Oh, please do! Join me in a little drink”. After Daffy thanks him, Green Hat rings for a waiter who looks a bit like Frankenstein’s monster. Green Hat orders, “Bring me Ruddy Mari. Extra ruddy”, while Daffy orders, “Make mine a cup of sassafras tea”. Once the waiter leaves, Daffy walks up to Green Hat, “I’m, uh, looking for a man in a green hat. And I think I know JUST where to find him”. He pulls the top hat off and points his gun at him with a “HA!”, only to find a blue cap with a red stripe and yellow stars underneath, and then lets out a confused “Huh?” upon taking that off and seeing a double-propeller red and white beanie underneath. Daffy takes that off too and Green Hat is wearing the top hat again, “Huh? (groans in disgust)” Daffy sits back down just as the waiter comes back with the cart containing the respective drinks (animated by Bonnicksen).

Daffy begins telling Green Hat while in a laughing fit, “Y-y-you know, friend, I-I’ll bet that you thought that-that-that I thought that, eh, eh, eh, that you were the man in-in the green hat!” In the midst of Daffy talking, someone from under the table poisons Daffy’s drink, “Might even try to poison me or something, eh, to keep me from-”, He then shoots the guy under the table who poisoned his drink, “Like I said, to keep me from getting the briefcase! Just shows to go ya!” While saying the latter, Daffy pours his poisoned drink into a vase on the floor to his left, which instantly melts. As Daffy pours himself a new cup of tea, Green Hat pretends to find what Daffy was talking about funny, “Ha ha! That’s good joke, huh? Eh, one or two lumps?” Thinking he’s referring to sugar lumps, Daffy answers, “Sweets to the suite, I always say. Better make it three lumps”. Green Hat rapidly hits him on the head with a mallet, giving him that many lumps, “Three lumps”. He then tips his top hat, revealing his green one, “Bonjour, monsieur” before leaving. Seeing this, Daffy realizes he was correct about his earlier assumption, “THAT was the man in the green hat!” (animated by Bonnicksen)

Daffy chases Green Hat around the train before Green Hat goes into “Le Mail Car”. Once Daffy goes in there, Green Hat catches him in a mail sack and hangs Daffy- still inside the sack- out on the next mail hook. On the top of the train, Green Hat mockingly bids farewell, “Goodbye, friend! (laughs evilly)” but doesn’t pay attention to what’s behind him and ends up slamming into an overhang back-first causing him and the briefcase to fall off the train. Porky and Mary then arrive, with Porky scolding the captive Daffy, “Eh, Q- eh, Q-Q-Quackie! What’re you hanging around here for!?” Once Green Hat comes to, he attempts to pick up the briefcase but is immediately knocked unconscious by Mary hitting him with her purse. Daffy, who’s literally gotten off the hook and hopping up in the sack, reclaims the briefcase and congratulates her, “Good work, Mary!” Mary replies, “Twern’t nothing!”, and pulls out an anvil that was hidden in her purse (animated by Dyson).

Finally making it to the consulate’s palace, Daffy enters with the consulate’s voice revealed to be one similar to Peter Lorre’s, “Oh, I thought you’d never get here!” Daffy walks up to him, “Well, here’s the briefcase, your excellency!” The consulate takes out what was in the briefcase- a jar, “Oh, thank you! I’m so excited!” Daffy only sees the back of the jar, “Directions Add Water and Pour”, and is shocked at all he went through to deliver a seemingly trivial package, “You mean all that hassle just so YOU could have a coffee break?” As the consulate pours water into the jar, shakes it, and out pops a gorgeous blonde woman, he reveals, “Oh, no! You see, I had to have an escort for the embassy ball!” After they leave, Daffy takes a look at the jar and finds out from the label that it’s “ACME House: Instant Girl” from “Pierce Packing Co.” He confides, “You know, there just MIGHT be a market for this!” (animated by Grandpre)

Where Can I Watch It?

At toontales.net!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕