Release Date:

August 5, 1950

Main Character(s):

Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Rocky

Summary:

At Porky Pig’s farm, the “Egg and Eye Chicken Ranch”, a golden egg has been laid. The goose who laid it knows what happens in the story and gives the credit to Daffy Duck. At first, Daffy enjoys his fame, but Rocky the gangster and his crew of thugs catch wind of this and kidnap him, forcing him to lay another golden egg.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1124 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue.

This is the first appearance of Rocky (all of whose Golden Age appearances were directed by Freleng), the pint-sized criminal whose very large hat always covers his eyes (although they were shown in a few scenes in 1957’s “Bugsy and Mugsy”). In this one, he has a whole crew with him who only appear in this one. Rocky would appear again in 1953’s “Catty Cornered”, with a tough and competent partner named Nick (not the same Nick that appears in this cartoon, however). When he became a foil for Bugs in three superb cartoons, 1954’s “Bugs and Thugs”, the aforementioned “Bugsy and Mugsy”, and 1963’s “The Unmentionables”, Rocky would be partnered with a large and very dopey gangster named Mugsy. Since then, Rocky and Mugsy would be an inseparable pair and would appear together in most modern Looney Tunes incarnations such as a September 2017 Looney Tunes comic where Charlie Dog tries to get Rocky and Mugsy to adopt them but in typical Charlie fashion, proves to be a nuisance, doing things such as “laundering money” by means of washing it like laundry, removing the ink in the process. They would also appear in two episodes of Looney Tunes Cartoons: “Chain Gangsters” (2021) and “Hideout Hare” (2022).

Characters in other media similar to Rocky in that they are both antagonists and both wear hats that cover their eyes include Mama Meany from “The Garfield Show” (2009-2016) and Mr. Lunt from “Veggie Tales” (1993-present).

The cartoon is a parody of “The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs”. The goose who actually laid the egg even acknowledges the story.

The title is a pun for (what else?) “golden eggs”.

As Porky disappears halfway through the cartoon (after it’s revealed the gangsters tortured him into talking him into selling Daffy to them), only Daffy’s name is above the title.

The cartoon was included in the 1981 compilation movie, “The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie”. Its inclusion also included an alternate ending. The actual cartoon ends with Daffy fainting in exhaustion after Rocky orders him to fill up dozens of empty egg cartons. In the movie, after Rocky orders, “Fill ‘em up!”, Bugs and the police arrive to arrest Rocky and his gang while Daffy, who is exhausted from carrying out with Rocky’s orders to fill up the egg cartons, is taken to the hospital to recover.

The cartoon’s original 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 HD re-restoration in 2021.

The cartoon’s plot would be reworked for the second Dogfather cartoon at DePatie-Freleng, “The Goose That Laid a Golden Egg” (1974).

Daffy’s line, “You never know what you’ll do until you’ve got a gun against your head” would be slightly tweaked as “Boy! You never know what you’ll do until you’ve got a gun pointed at your head” in McKimson’s “Daffy’s Diner” (1967; which was also the last Warner cartoon produced by DePatie-Freleng).

The first crate that Rocky and his gang give Daffy to “make with the golden egg” is labeled “Hadley Scotch”, with the former word being another variant on Hawley Pratt.

What I Like About This One:

The jaunty rendition of “Chicken Reel” during the opening credits.

As Porky is feeding his chickens, one chicken comes out of the henhouse squawking about something extraordinary. Confused, Porky wonders, “Eh, J-J-Jumpin’ Juniper! Eh, eh, what’s all the rumpus?” When he and the other chickens run into the henhouse, they see that a golden egg (24K Solid Gold) has been laid. Excited, Porky’s eyes form into numbers going higher with each cash register-like ring: 5, 10, 15, 25, and 50. “J-J-Jumpin’ Juniper! A-a golden egg! T-t-twenty-four karat solid gold! I-I’m rich! I-I’m rich! Uh, uh, who’s responsib-b-b- who-who’s responsib-b-who did this?” (animated by Virgil Ross)

None of the chickens know before the camera pans to the golden goose. The golden goose informs us, “Uh, I know who it was. It was ME. But I’m no fool. I know what happened to the goose that laid the golden egg! (makes throat-cutting noise)”. Porky asks, “Well c-c-come on now. D-D-Don’t be bashful. Uh, uh, who did it?” The golden goose walks up to Porky and tells him, “Oh, uh, I know who did it. He did it”, pointing to Daffy. Daffy looks around in confusion, before the chickens carry him off as a hero. Pleasantly bewildered, Daffy says, “Okay. So I laid an egg” (animated by Ross).

Soon, a newspaper is shown: “Duck Lays Gold Egg. Farmer Hits It Rich With 24 Karat Egg” before Porky and Daffy are seen posing proudly outside of the henhouse with the golden egg as several reporters and press take some photos (animated by Ken Champin).

Meanwhile, Rocky is reading a Life magazine about this with Daffy wearing an outfit saying “Golden Egg Champ” on the back and with him holding the golden egg. Rocky reads a blurb on the front aloud: “Worth a Fortune to Owner” and decides, “Hey, that’s better than the numbers racket” before informing his gang, “Hey, boys. We’re going into poultry business”. The gangsters ominously drive up to the farm before their shadows are seen confronting Porky who tells them sadly, “Eh, b-b-but-but-but I-I-I don’t WANT to sell him!” Rocky and three other gangsters exit the henhouse taking Daffy with them anyway. It’s then revealed that they tortured Porky to convince him, as he is seen having been hit with a shovel, several matches between his feet, laying in a nest basket, and with money in his hand: “Eh, th-th-they talked me into it”, Porky says in a reluctant tone (animated by Champin).

In Rocky’s apartment, Daffy is seen on sitting on a crate with a nest asking in an annoyed tone, “Say! What’s goin’ on around here? What’s the big idear?” Rocky orders, “Alright, duck. Make with the golden egg”. Daffy replies, “Egg, schmeg. I can’t lay no egg!” Three of the gangsters all point their guns at him, causing Daffy to give a frightened take. “I said lay a egg, duck”, Rocky flatly replies. Daffy stalls them by telling them, “Oh, heh-heh. Eh, well ya see, I-I can’t lay no egg just anywhere. Uh, um, I’m an artist. I-I’ve got to have atmosphere. Um, uh, beautiful surroundings”. Believing him, Rocky tells his gang, “Yeah? Okay, boys. Make with the atmosphere” (animated by Ross).

Later, Daffy is seen in a pool still in his crate, complete with sunglasses and drink. “Now this is more like it”. Realizing they’ve been duped, Rocky orders, “Cut it” and tells Daffy, “Alright, duck. About that egg”. Pretending he had forgotten, Daffy gives an excuse: “Oh yeah, the egg. Uh, a little later on possibly. Uh, I’m not in the mood right now”. Rocky turns to the large gangster next to him, saying his name: “Nick”. Nick eagerly replies, “Okay, boss” and points his gun at Daffy, shooting a miniature torpedo at him. After the explosion, Daffy comes out gasping and goes dramatic: “It was ghastly! The deck just seemed to lift up under my feet! Then I was in the water! Black oily water! I struggled…!” He is then grabbed by Nick (animated by Arthur Davis).

Back in the apartment, Nick puts Daffy down onto a new crate as Rocky warns, “Okay, duck. No more stallin’, see? Ya got just five minutes to lay that egg or-” and imitates shooting noises. Seemingly accepting it, Daffy says, “Well, I’ll see what I can do. But I gotta have privacy! I never lay eggs in p-p-public!” Rocky agrees to leave, “Okay, duck…” and walks out before stopping, “But remember….” He walks out some more before stopping one more time, “…five minutes” before finally exiting the room (animated by Gerry Chiniquy).

Daffy attempts to sneak out but finds Nick substituting for the door and holding the doorknob. After Daffy fails to open it, he absentmindedly takes the key from Nick, who has handed it to him. After Daffy opens Nick like a door and then shuts him like one, Daffy realizes this and attempts to run out but is met by Rocky behind a real door who warns, “Four minutes”. Daffy then dives into the laundry chute to escape. Reading the paper “Racing Form” in another room, Rocky hears a knock on the door. It’s the butler, who brings him, “Your laundry, sir”. Finding that Daffy has been folded as part of said laundry, Rocky warns, “Three minutes” before turning back to his paper (animated by Emery Hawkins).

Daffy is then seen back in the room, fretting nervously (animated by Champin). Realizing there are only “t-t-t-t-t-two minutes!”, Daffy takes the sheets from one of the beds and ties them together to escape out the window, only to find Rocky and the other gangsters hanging onto the sheets. Rocky produces a sign that reads, “One Minute”, forcing Daffy to go back into the room (animated by Davis).

Daffy sweats out the remaining time and paces back and forth. When the clock noisily rings (complete with an alarm blaring) at the time being up, Daffy attempts to shush it before smashing it with a mallet. Too late, however, as he sees, Rocky and the gangsters having entered, so he goes back to his nest, scared (animated by Champin).

After the gangsters ominously approach him, Rocky asks, “No egg?” Daffy gulps and lets out a small, frightened “Uh-uh”, to which Rocky prepares to shoot him, “So long, pal”. Daffy only ends up getting the feathers on the top of his head shot off as he ducks, but then feels something under him. It turns out this caused him to lay a real golden egg after all! (animated by Chiniquy)

Chuckling at this experience, Daffy realizes, “That just goes to show ya, you don’t know WHAT you can do till… till you got a gun against your head!” He then moves Rocky out of the way and begins to leave, “Well, toodle-loo. See ya ‘round”. Rocky then zips in front of him, “Just a minute, duck” and points to a room filled with dozens of empty egg cartons. He orders, “Fill ‘em up!” Horrified at this request, Daffy complains, “Oh, my achin’ back!” and faints (animated by Chiniquy).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕