Release Date:

February 18, 1956

Main Character(s):

Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy Duck, Barnyard Dawg

Summary:

Daffy Duck, salesman for the Ace Novelty Company (“Practical Jokes for Every Occasion”), comes across Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dawg and plays both sides by selling them various jokes to pull on each other. Foghorn and Dawg eventually realize that Daffy is on no one’s side and team up to teach him a lesson.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1392 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. In late August 2022, a 16mm black and white print with the original opening rings was found.

This cartoon is unique in that it’s the only time Foghorn and Daffy appear in the same cartoon in the Golden Age. Notably, in “The Looney Tunes Show” (2011-2013), they would actually be great friends with Foghorn being one of the few characters not annoyed by Daffy’s shenanigans due to him always seeing the bright side in everything.

The title is a pun on the 1953 novel, “The High and the Mighty”. It was also adapted into a John Wayne film the following year that was released by Warner Bros.

This is the other time besides “Fool Coverage” where Daffy’s salesman persona is antagonistic.

This is the first McKimson cartoon to feature layouts by Robert Gribbroek, who would become his layout artist until the original 1964 closure.

This is one of two cartoons where Foghorn and Dawg team up in the end to dispose of a greater foe. They would do so again in 1957’s “Fox Terror”.

The animator draft for the cartoon can be viewed here.

Carl Stalling scored this one.

Foghorn considers corn to be his “favorite fruit” even though we all know corn is a vegetable.

The cartoon was originally considered for the Looney Tunes Super Stars Daffy Duck Frustrated Fowl DVD set in 2010 before being reconsidered. It would be restored two years later in 2012 for the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2 Blu-ray set.

In his otherwise excellent book, “Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons” (which I got for Valentine’s Day in 2017), Leonard Maltin refers to this cartoon as one of McKimson’s best. While I definitely agree with that, I DON’T agree with his general view on McKimson where he says he was an “uninspired director” who “missed the mark with alarming frequency”, even going so far as to saying, “He was capable of making good cartoons and sometimes did, but there is no question that his were the weakest entries in the Warner’s output”. The latter, I think, goes way too far since he, along with Jones and Freleng, undeniably turned out several bangers consistently (how is his content weaker than the likes of any pre-1935 director that is not Freleng?). Not to mention, he was a far more significant contributor to the Looney Tunes’ success than Clampett, Avery, and Tashlin were (Clampett in particular seems to get more general praise than him). While I respect the opinion, his view unfortunately has led to several other fans sleeping on McKimson (in a similar way, several also generally sleep on Season 6 of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends despite it being part of the classic era of the show- which consisted of the first seven seasons-and also featuring not only several of the show’s greatest episodes but also containing absolutely flawless narration in the show’s vastly superior UK dub from Michael Angelis that’s impossible to not love).

Favorite Scene:

The sole joke that backfires, which is the “Chattanooga Choo-Choo”.

What Happens in This One:

Running out of his shack with a beach ball, Foghorn takes a deep breath before doing a Tarzan yell and then coughing. He then walks along while bouncing the beach ball and singing to the tune of “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”: “This is the way we bounce the ball, bounce the ball, bounce the ball. This is the way we bounce the ball, so early in the morning!” Foghorn picks up a plank on the ground in front of the rope limit and walks with said plank over to Dawg’s house in time to a jaunty tune (animated by Ted Bonnicksen), before picking him up by the tail and whacking him on the behind with it several times. Dawg’s chasing of Foghorn is watched by Daffy, who peeks his head over the fence (animated by George Grandpre).

Once Dawg reaches the rope limit, he barks angrily in place before Foghorn shoves the beach ball from earlier into his mouth and yells, “Ah, shut up!” He pricks the beach ball with a pin causing Dawg to fly backwards from it deflating. Foghorn walks along scatting to “Camptown Races” before he stops in front of a sign that seemingly comes in out of nowhere, “Don’t Look Up”. He does so anyway (animated by Keith Darling) and looks up to see Dawg sitting on the water tower and dropping a watermelon on his head. With his beak sticking out of said watermelon, Foghorn declares in a slightly muffled voice, “This, I say, this calls for massive retaliation!”, before starting to take it off (animated by Grandpre).

Daffy has witnessed the whole thing and is delighted, “Brother! What a golden opportunity for a go-gettin’ salesman in MY line of merchandise!”, before showing his briefcase, “Ace Novelty Co. Practical Jokes for Every Occasion”. He then climbs down into the yard from the fence as Foghorn brushes himself off and fumes, “That smart-aleck dog! I wish, I say, I wish I could think of some way to fix his little red wagon!” Daffy comes up to him from behind and whispers, “Psst!” Foghorn turns around to find Daffy removing his hat and introducing himself, “Pardon me, sir. Let me introduce myself. I represent the Ace Novelty Company of Walla Walla, Washington. Dispensers of rib-tickling jokes for all occasions-s-s”. He then opens his suitcase to show Foghorn a trick bone with a spring in the middle and hidden when both ends of the bone are connected to each other. “For instance, here’s a little goody to pull on your canine friend over there. Joke Kit Number 607 B. Just compress the spring (strains). A gentle twist, and the trick bone is all set for old Rover boy! (laughs)” Daffy gives the trick bone to Foghorn and tells him, “That’ll be 2.98, cash on the barrel head”. Foghorn gives him the money before leaving with the bone, “It’s a, I say, it’s a deal!” (animated by Bonnicksen with Grandpre animating the shot of Foghorn listening to Daffy talk when introducing himself)

Foghorn comes up to Dawg and says, “Do-, I say, hey, Dawg!” Dawg immediately snarls at him, to which Foghorn explains, “Now, hold on, boy! I come in peace. I wanna bury the hatchet!” Thinking Foghorn is being literal about the hatchet, Dawg covers his head in fear only for Foghorn to laugh, “Not in your pointed head, boy! I brought ya a peace offering! Here”. He gives Dawg the trick bone, who immediately bites down on it in delight. Foghorn twists it before backing away, causing the bone to become undone and for Dawg’s body to become twisted and move around like a spring (animated by Russ Dyson).

Walking away from this, Foghorn asides, “Y’know, I almo-, I say, I almost hated to spring that one on that BONE head!”, before realizing, “Hey! I made a funny! Spring! Bone!”, and then laughs. After taking the trick bone out of his mouth, Dawg sarcastically retorts, “Very funny” and also laughs sarcastically. He then hears Daffy behind him, “Pardon me, sir”, before Daffy introduces himself to Dawg, revealing that he’s not on anybody’s side, “Let me introduce myself. I represent the Ace Novelty Company of Walla Walla, Washington-” before this scene fades into the next (animated by Darling).

Foghorn is shown walking along in an odd way and again scatting to “Camptown Races”. He then hears a knock on the gate as Dawg asks, “Mr. Leghorn?” in a raspy voice. When Foghorn asks, “Yes?”, Dawg, with only his hand visible, opens the gate and gives him a “package for ya” in the same raspy voice. Foghorn wonders, “Hmm. I wonder who it’s from” before he opens the package and is elated to see an ear of corn inside, “Well, what do you know? My favor-, I say, my favorite fruit! With holding grips yet!” (animated by Dyson) As he begins eating the corn, he fails to notice the electric wires attached to it. Dawg pulls the switch from an electric tower labeled “Danger High Voltage”. This causes Foghorn’s feathers to pop off of him like popcorn and then his comb to pop into a single piece of popcorn (animated by Grandpre).

Foghorn goes to a shack labeled “First Aid” to put on a new set of feathers that he puts on like a suit, “Fortunately, I always keep a spare in my locker”. Daffy suddenly appears and tells him, “Well, come on! Let’s get with it! We’re not gonna take that from that flea-bitten mutt are we?” He then opens his suitcase for another joke, “I’ve got just the thing here (animated by Darling) We’ll show him we’re not chicken”, before realizing what he just said and looking at Foghorn and then shrugging, “Uh,….eh”. Daffy finds what he was looking for, “Ace Novelty Kit Number 12: The Chattanooga Choo-Choo. And the price is very reasonable” (animated by Bonnicksen).

Foghorn sets a phonograph next to Dawg’s house, with it playing a record labeled, “Sound Effects Recording. Ace Novelty Co.” The record plays the appropriate train sound effects as Foghorn runs toward Dawg’s house with a fake cardboard cut-out of the front of a steam engine in front of him and smoking a corncob pipe for the steam. Dawg wakes up and upon seeing a train coming towards him, he lifts up his legs and doghouse very high, causing Foghorn to unknowingly pass right under him, go out of the yard, and onto the actual train tracks. Foghorn then realizes where he is and sees a real diesel train approaching him. He attempts to shield himself with the cardboard engine cut-out, but this of course proves to be very futile as he is run over by the train (animated by Grandpre).

While he’s bandaging Foghorn up from getting hit by the train, Daffy encourages, “Ah, don’t be such a spoilsport! Just because one little old cotton-picking joke backfired! I’ve been saving a real (animated by Bonnicksen) dilly for ya! The ‘Pipe Full o’ Fun Kit Number 7!” He takes a large box labeled as such and informs, “Complete with instructions, 26.50” (animated by Grandpre).

Foghorn is then setting up the Pipe Full o’ Fun Kit Number 7, where the purpose is to launch someone with an elastic band into a pipe that gets gradually smaller, ending with the victim getting trapped in a bottle at the other end. “Secure last section of pipe: G. Stretch elastic X laterally. Bait with bone: Z”. After putting said bone- a real one this time- under the band, Foghorn continues walking backwards while holding the elastic and looking at the instructions. Next to him, Dawg is setting up the exact same thing from the opposite direction. They both realize this as Foghorn asks, “Ace-, I say, Ace Novelty Company?” (animated by Dyson), to which Dawg confirms, “Ace Novelty Company”. Foghorn: “Pipe Full o’ Fun Kit Number 7?” Dawg: “Pipe Full o’ Fun Kit Number 7”. Foghorn: “WE have been flim-flammed!” Dawg: “Yeah! Hoodwinked!” After pondering for a bit, Foghorn informs, “Hey, I say, hey, Dawg! I got a little old idea! (chuckles)” (animated by Darling)

As Daffy is counting his money, he turns around in shock upon hearing and then seeing Dawg shouting, “The dirty double-crosser! We ought to tar and feather him!” Foghorn adds, “Hanging, I say, hanging’s too good for that duck!” Daffy exclaims in disgusted horror and begins to leave, “Something tells me this little black duck has worn out his welcome!” He opens the gate and waves, “Goodbye-yi!”, only to react in shock upon seeing Dawg launching an elastic band at him that sends Daffy (animated by Dyson up to here) through the Pipe Full o’ Fun Kit Number 7 and him being the one to get trapped in the bottle. Foghorn picks up the bottle and remarks, “Well, look what we got here! You know, there mi-, I say, there just MIGHT be a market for bottled duck!” (animated by Grandpre)

Where Can I Watch It?

At toontales.net!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕