Release Date:

July 28, 1951

Main Character(s):

Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk, Barnyard Dawg

Summary:

After Henery Hawk, dressed as a cowboy, lassos Foghorn Leghorn by the throat, Foghorn sends Henery away, telling him he’s too teeny to catch chickens. Barnyard Dawg offers to help Henery catch Foghorn if he’ll give him a bone, a cat will tell him where a bone is if he can get him a fish, and a mouse will tell him where a fish is if he can get him a piece of cheese from the mousetrap. All the while, Foghorn unknowingly helps Henery get all of the needed items.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1162 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. When it was restored for HBO Max in 2020, the original opening and closing rings were put back in. This same print would later be put on the Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Volume 4 Blu-ray set in 2024, albeit with a jump cut from the Merrie Melodies card to the title card instead of a dissolve, presumably because Warner Archive was unable to de-photoshop the original opening rings.

This is the last McKimson cartoon where Warren Foster was his regular storyman before Foster became Freleng’s storyman for the rest of the 1950’s. Foster would occasionally write a few cartoons for McKimson after this one, however, with those being “Of Rice and Hen” (1953), “Too Hop to Handle” (1956), “The Unexpected Pest” (1956), and “A Broken Leghorn” (1959).

The title is a pun for “hornswoggled”.

The cat in this cartoon shares the same design as the one from “It’s Hummer Time” and “Early to Bet” as well as the one from “A Fractured Leghorn”.

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

Foghorn uses green paint to prank Dawg in this cartoon in a different way rather than painting Dawg’s tongue that color.

“Huckleberry Duck” plays during the scenes where Henery says, “Everybody wants somethin’! I don’t know how to get a fish!”, where Foghorn says, “Go away, boy! Ya bother me! I got work to do!”, and where Henery starts to dig for the bone up until the point where he asks the audience, “How gabby can a chicken get!?” This is also the only cartoon where Eugene Poddany utilized a Raymond Scott tune (as well as the first time in a cartoon not scored by Carl Stalling).

Michael Samerdyke’s book, “Cartoon Carnival: A Critical Guide to the Best Cartoons from Warner Bros., MGM, Walter Lantz, and DePatie-Freleng”, while an excellent book overall, contains a factual error regarding this cartoon saying this was Henery’s last appearance when he actually appeared in three more after this one (similarly, he claims that “A Ham in a Role” is the only time McKimson used the Goofy Gophers when he actually used them two more times).

Favorite Scene:

This one contains two of Foghorn’s funniest one-liners, “Nice boy, but he’s got more nerve than a bum tooth!” and “Kid don’t stop talkin’ so much, he’ll get his tongue sunburned!”

(this is a new section I decided to add, and this will be with all remaining cartoons going forward until the end in 1969. “What I Like About This One” is also slightly changed to “What Happens in This One”)

What Happens in This One:

The action immediately begins as Dawg is seen peering over a fence and whistling to get Foghorn’s attention. Foghorn walks in to view demanding, “What’s goin’ o-, I say, what’s goin’ on here, Dawg? Let me in on it!” Dawg hangs a sign above a large hole in the fence, “See the Total Eclipse Free” (animated by Emery Hawkins). Foghorn reads it aloud, “‘Total Eclipse Free’?” before commenting, “That’s the way I like ‘em! Totally free!” He attempts to look into the hole but Dawg smashes a pumpkin on his head. Coming out of the hole with the pumpkin (which also has the face of a jack-o-lantern) on his head, Foghorn tells us, “Now you j-, I say, you just KNOW I’m gonna do something about this!” (animated by Phil DeLara)

To the tune of “I Like Mountain Music”, Foghorn sets up a tripod camera, and walks over with a pail of water to Dawg’s doghouse before lifting the doghouse up with a rope tied to a hook atop Dawg’s house, using a tree as support to pull it up. He then removes the blanket Dawg was using and pours the pail of water all over Dawg’s body, before lowering the doghouse back down. Foghorn gets Dawg to chase him around another tree, rendering Dawg’s rope getting stuck against the tree, rather than the usual rope limit. Foghorn silences Dawg’s angry barking by using the camera which has a boxing glove in it: “Ah, shut up!” (animated by Rod Scribner)

Later, Henery walks by on a fence, dressed as a cowboy: “I’m a rootin’-tootin’ lassoo-loopin’ popgun-shootin’ chicken hawk!” Spotting (animated by Charles McKimson) Foghorn twirling a yo-yo while singing “Some Sunday Morning”, he wraps his lasso around Foghorn’s throat as he walks away, straining his voice. Foghorn realizes, “I’ve lost my voice! I can’t sing! It’s like bein’ choked with a rope!” Henery confirms, “You’re so right, chicken! And I’m-a slappin’ my brand on you right now!” Back in his normal voice, Foghorn asks, “What’s the, I say, what’s the big idea, wrappin’ a lariat around my Adam’s apple?” Henery answers, “I’m a rootin’-tootin’ chicken hawk. Get along, little doggie!” Foghorn tells him off, “Now look i-, I say, look it here, son! You’re too teeny to catch chickens! You gotta grow up! And another thing, I don’t wan-” before Henery wraps his lasso around Foghorn’s beak to shut him up. Getting it off his beak, Foghorn shoos Henery away, “Now cut that out, boy, or I’ll spank ya where the feathers are thinnest!” Foghorn then confides to the audience with an annoyed expression that looks hilarious, “Nice boy, but he’s got more nerve than a bum tooth!” (animated by Hawkins)

With his feelings hurt, Henery walks along sadly, dragging his cowboy hat, “Shucks. Even a teeny chicken hawk wants to catch chickens”. Dawg asks him, “What’s the matter, buster?” When Henery explains, “I’m too teeny to catch chickens”, Dawg dismisses it, “Ah, teeny, schmeeny! Promise you’ll get me a bone and I’ll tell ya how to get a chicken!” Shaking Dawg’s hand, Henery accepts the offer and upon trying to find a bone, feels the tail of a cat brushing against him. Henery gets the attention of the cat, who’s rummaging through the trash cans for leftovers, and asks him if he knows where there’s a bone. The cat answers, “Yes. And I’ll ya if you get me a fish” (animated by Charles McKimson).

After walking away from the cat, Henery realizes, “Everybody wants somethin’! I don’t know how to get a fish!” A voice asks, “Did you say a fish?” Seeing this came from a mouse peeking out of a small hole at the bottom of the fence, Henery confirms, “Yes. I said a fish”. The mouse tells him, “I’ll show ya how to get a fish for, uh, a little piece of cheese maybe. There’s a nice piece in the mousetrap in the barn”. Now realizing he has to give out three gifts, Henery becomes mixed up as he walks to the barn, “Gosh, if I give the dog a bone, I’ll get a fish. Uh, if I get a mouse, uh no, if I get the fish a dog, the cat wants cheese. No, no, the MOUSE wants the cheese. Gosh! I wonder what the cheese will want!” (animated by Charles)

Dressed as a railroad conductor and carrying model tracks, Foghorn passes the barn while singing, “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”. Spotting Henery attempting to remove the piece of cheese from the mousetrap, before rushing in, “Don’t touch it, boy! Get away! This is dangerous, son! Ya gotta know how to handle it! One wrong move and you’re done for!” He then leans in towards Henery, “Pay attention, son. This is for your own good” before continuing, “Ya gotta understand the scientific principle behind it! There’s a right way and a wrong way!” The mousetrap then snaps shut on his finger, causing him to run around the barn, screaming in pain before running into the wall and falling front-first. Putting the cheese into a miniature wagon he’s pulling (animated by Scribner up to here), Henery figures, “That must be the wrong way!” (animated by Charles)

Foghorn gets up and sends Henery off, “Go away, boy! Ya bother me! I got work to do!” Putting his conductor hat back on, Foghorn remarks in a hypocritical manner, “Kid don’t stop talkin’ so much, he’ll get his tongue sunburned!” He then sets up the model tracks he was carrying to lead into the interior of Dawg’s house. He then winds up a model train to go on to the tracks, and puts a cream pie onto a holder atop the model train. Foghorn calls, “All aboard!” and makes train-like noises as the model train goes full speed ahead with the pie, hitting Dawg directly in the face, much to his annoyance (animated by DeLara).

Henery is then seen attempting to fish in the pond, “The mouse said I could catch a fish here!” Carrying a plank with him, Foghorn walks in and tells him, “Now, look it here, son! You’re not doin’ that right!” He then takes the fishing pole from him, “Gimme that, boy! I’ll show ya how. Ya gotta, I say, ya gotta how to play with ‘em. Tease ‘em a little (animated by DeLara). Then hook ‘em when they strike”. Henery looks at the audience annoyed before Foghorn leans down to him, “Any of this sinkin’ in, boy?” (animated by Charles)

Having caught one, Foghorn attempts to pull the fish up, but he gets pulled into the pond instead, before coming back up to the surface and pulling a fish out of his mouth, annoyed. After Henery puts the fish in his wagon and leaves, Foghorn says, “That gabby kid’s business is always interferin’ with my pleasure!” He walks to Dawg’s house with the plank and whacks him on the behind to provoke him into chasing him. Foghorn goes up a ladder, allowing him to jump over a pull-up bar it’s placed in front of but before Dawg can jump over it, Foghorn pushes the ladder away, leaving Dawg swinging helplessly back and forth on the bar by his rope. For good measure, Foghorn puts a paintbrush covered in green paint underneath Dawg, so that his underside gets painted green with every swing (animated by DeLara).

With a miniature shovel, Henery says to himself, “The cat said I’d find a bone if I dig right here!” Just as he starts digging, Foghorn enters: “What you up, I say what you up to now, son? (animated by Charles) You’ll never get a hole dug that way, boy!” and takes the mini-shovel away, “Gimme that! It’s no good, son. No use tryin’ to dig- Pay attention, son! Look at me when I’m talkin’ to ya!- unless you have the right tools! Now wait right there, boy! Don’t go away!” After Foghorn leaves, Henery turns to the audience and asks what anybody who’d meet Foghorn would wonder, “How gabby can a chicken get!?” Foghorn soon returns with a regular-sized shovel and decides to dig Henery “the nicest hole this side of the Grand Canyon”. Upon hitting a bone, Foghorn mutters in annoyance, “Always hit a bone when you’re diggin’ a hole”. Now having all three items, Henery leaves. It’s not until Foghorn’s finished with the hole that he realizes Henery’s no longer there. “Now, where’d that boy go? Ya gotta be a magician to keep a kid’s attention more than two minutes nowadays!” (animated by Scribner)

Foghorn then watches Henery delivering the mouse and the cat their respective items. Dawg is revealed to have reset the model railroad to go around his doghouse before Henery delivers him his bone, “Here’s your bone, Mr. Dog. Now where’s my chicken?” (animated by Scribner) Dawg whispers unintelligibly to Henery while pointing to his bone. Foghorn butts in and laments, “Where’s my present, son? You left me out. Everybody else got theirs” before his tone changes to demanding, “I got something coming to me and I want it right now!” On cue, Dawg hits Foghorn with the bone, knocking him silly and flat on his back onto the model train. “THERE’S your chicken, buster!” (animated by Hawkins) The model train then leaves with Henery driving it while dressed as a railroad conductor himself and doing an imitation of Foghorn, “I may be little, I say, I may be little but I sure caught me a BIG chicken!” (animated by Charles)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕