Release Date:

May 12, 1951

Main Character(s):

Cat and Bulldog

Summary:

A dapper beetle called the Gambling Bug, whose bite causes “gambling fever”, stumbles across the bulldog offering the cat a game of cards with the loser subjected to penalties every time they lose. Refusing to be suckered in on penalties again, the cat rejects the offer, but ends up playing and getting subjected to the penalties anyway, thanks to the Gambling Bug’s bite.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1159 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue.

The cartoon is a followup to “It’s Hummer Time” with the same cat and bulldog and with the same “No, not that! Not the-!” shtick, only the bulldog is a lot less meaner and actually quits when he decides the cat is too unlucky, the punishments are used as penalties for losing, and the third character (the Gambling Bug, in this case) actually gets punished in the end.

Stan Freberg voices the Gambling Bug (in one of his most memorable roles where he doesn’t voice a dim-witted character).

The Gambling Bug sort of looks like a character from “Animaniacs” (1993-1998) complete with a mostly black body, white face, and a red nose.

The title is a pun for “early to bed”.

You can find out who animated what scene here.

The cartoon’s restoration on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 DVD set in 2003 inexplicably has a low audio pitch. This is also the case with its HBO Max re-restoration in 2020.

“Powerhouse” plays during the scenes where the Gambling Bugs runs out of the way of the bulldog up to the point where the latter walks up to the shed the cat is under, during the “Gesundheit” scene up to the point where the bulldog makes the cat blow a bubble from the gum he was force-fed, and during the “Roll Out the Barrel” sequence.

“The Merry Go Round Broke Down” also plays during the sequence where the man gets three literal oranges from the slot machine.

What I Like About This One:

The lively rendition of “Camptown Races” over the opening credits.

The Gambling Bug is seen at home reading the paper, with his furniture consisting of stuff used in gambling, such as playing cards for a chair and a die as a footrest as the narrator introduces us to him: “This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Gambling Bug in his native habitat” before calling out to the Gambling Bug himself, “Hey! Stand up! Let’s get a look at ya!” After the Gambling Bug gives a turn around with his arms out like a model, the narrator explains that his bite causes “gambling fever” (animated by Charles McKimson).

A few examples of people the Gambling Bug has bit include a man at a restaurant who asks the Italian waiter, “What do you say, Luigi? Double or nothing?” Luigi replies, “Oh, please-a, Signore. No more-a toss-a the coin. JUST-A PAY THE CHECK-A!” (animated by Rod Scribner) One guy at a bar tells the guy next to him, “I’ll bet ya five bucks that fly lands on my glass first” and the other guy agrees, “It’s a bet” (animated by Charles). A man at a slot machine gets three literal oranges from the machine and then silently pounds on it in rage (animated by John Carey).

After these examples, the narrator warns, “So remember, folks, the Gambling Bug will get you if you don’t watch out”. The Gambling Bug hilariously mocks the narrator with an equally hilarious facial expression, “So remember, folks, the Gambling Bug will get ya if ya don’t watch out! (laughs mockingly)” He then adds, “And I WILL too!” (animated by Charles)

Walking out into the countryside (animated by Phil DeLara), the Gambling Bug sighs in content, “Ah! I’ll leave my victims alone today. Even a Gambling Bug needs a vacation once in a while!” He then sees the bulldog approaching (animated by Charles) and hides behind a rock in order to avoid getting accidentally squished by him (animated by DeLara). He watches the bulldog walking up to a shed (animated by Carey) and pulling the cat out from under it (animated by DeLara).

Annoyed, the cat asks the bulldog, “Hey, what’s the big idea!?” The bulldog answers, “I thought maybe you’sed like to play a little cards. A game of penalties, maybe?” The cat immediately rejects the offer, “Oh, no ya don’t! Ya don’t sucker me in on penalties again! I’m through playin’ cards with YOU! That penalty game is OUT!” and walks away (animated by Emery Hawkins) before sitting on a log (animated by Charles).

Realizing, “Hmm. Looks like a job for the Gambling Bug”, the Gambling Bug changes his mind about leaving victims alone and walks up to the cat, biting him on the ear (animated by Charles). The cat reacts to the bite with a crazy, deranged run and excitedly pushes the bulldog towards the makeshift card table on a stump, and talking very fast for him to deal out the cards. “What’ll we play?”, the bulldog asks. Still under the influence, the cat answers rapidly, “Who cares? Gimme the cards. Deal ‘em out. Deal ‘em out. Let’s go. Come on.” The bulldog decides, “Okay. Gin rummy for penalties”. Once the cat gets his cards, he plays down an ace, but the bulldog immediately calls, “Gin”. After his cards fall out of his hands in bewilderment, the cat morphs into a literal “Sucker” (animated by Hawkins).

In tune to “Blues in the Night”, the cat dejectedly walks up to a roulette wheel, labeled “Penalty Wheel”. After spinning it, it lands on the number 14 so the cat goes to a filing cabinet next to the wheel where the specific penalties apply to the number the wheel lands on. The penalty labeled 14 is the “Gesundheit” where the cat begs, “Oh no! Not that! Not the ‘Gesundheit’!” (animated by Hawkins) as the dog drags him off to his doghouse. “Please. Not the ‘Gesundheit’”, the cat begs before the bulldog pulls out a piece of bubblegum, throws it into the cat’s mouth, moves his head around for him to chew it, and then slaps him on the back and kicks him in the rear for a bubble to come out of his mouth. Once the bubble comes out, the bulldog pours sneeze powder on him, which results in the cat letting out a loud sneeze and getting engulfed in the gum. The bulldog then calmly says, “Gesundheit”. Enraged, the cat exclaims, “Oooooooooooooh, I HATE that!” (brilliantly animated by Scribner)

The Gambling Bug walks up to the cat again and encourages, “Okay. So ya lost. So ya didn’t win. We gotta play percentage. We’ll try again” and bites him a second time (animated by Charles). The cat runs back with the same deranged run back to the table (animated by Hawkins) and after getting his cards, the cat seemingly decides, “I’ll play this. And I don’t need this ten” but before the bulldog can claim it, the cat reveals he was playing a trick: “Oh, no ya don’t! I still got my finger on it! Wise guy! (snickers evilly) You wanted the ten, eh? (animated by Scribner) Okay, here’s a DOSE for ya!” Listening in on this, the Gambling Bug gives a grin and moves his arms in a victorious manner only for his expression to turn into bewilderment upon hearing the bulldog declare, “Gin again!” (animated by Charles)

The cat’s next spin on the Penalty Wheel lands on 75 with the penalty labeled 75 being “William Tell”. “No! Don’t do it! Not ‘William Tell’! No! Not that!”, the cat begs in despair before being dragged off (animated by Hawkins). The cat is seen standing in front of a fence and replaces the small apple on his head with a much larger apple, in order for the bulldog to not miss. Dressed as William Tell himself, the bulldog shoots a plunger in the cat’s face. The cat angrily pulls it off and repeatedly jumps up and down on it (animated by DeLara).

The Gambling Bug encourages the cat a third time, “You can’t quit now just when you’re due for a winning streak! Let’s try again!” and bites him once more (animated by Charles). After the cat does the same deranged run (animated by Hawkins), the Gambling Bug figures, “He can’t lose ALL the time!” only for the bulldog to immediately declare, “Gin again!”, to which the Gambling Bug asks, “Or CAN he?” (animated by Charles)

The Penalty Wheel is shown to have landed on 36, with the cat making several wacky poses and sputtering in incoherent fear at what this punishment is: “‘Roll Out the Barrel’. Oh, no. Not that! No, not ‘Roll Out the Barrel’! Please!” “Roll Out the Barrel” is the bulldog removing a piece of wood in a barrel of gunpowder on wheels to resemble a wheelbarrow, enabling the gunpowder to spill out. After the bulldog fires a starting pistol, the cat runs off with the gunpowder-wheelbarrow, leaving a trail of gunpowder. The bulldog lights the trail where it catches up to the cat, and with the explosion causing him to fly back and land near the bulldog (animated by DeLara).

Having been bit once more, the cat returns on a crutch and with a bandaged leg, excitedly demanding for the cards to be dealt out, only for the bulldog to refuse: “You’re too unlucky, cat! I’m quittin’ before ya kills yourself!” and leaves (animated by Scribner). The Gambling Bug himself offers to play where they cut for higher cards, with whoever draws the higher card wins (animated by Charles). The cat draws a three of hearts (animated by DeLara). The Gambling Bug boasts, “Not so good, cat. Watch!”, but he instead draws a two of diamonds. He lets out an “Oops!” upon realizing he got the lower card before seeing that he’s been subjected to a penalty of his own, as his begging becomes more and more frantic: “No! Not that! Not the ‘Post’! Oh, no! Not that! Not the ‘Post’!” (animated by Charles) The cartoon ends with the Gambling Bug frantically trying to run away from the cat swatting at him with a rolled copy of the “Saturday Evening Post” (animated by DeLara).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕