Release Date:

November 20, 1948

Main Character(s):

Daffy Duck

Summary:

A notorious robber named Slug McSlug has escaped from prison and robbed the Last National Bank, hiding out in an abandoned country house. He is visited by salesman Daffy Duck, who is determined to sell him something and refuses to take no for an answer.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1058 and was released as a Looney Tune.

As Daffy’s previous cartoon, “Daffy Dilly” was his first appearance as a salesman, here he also has that occupation.

Like with “What Makes Daffy Duck”, this is another instance where Daffy mostly comes out on top. Incidentally, both are Davis cartoons.

A bit of audio from this cartoon (specifically the scene of Daffy introducing himself to McSlug) is reused in the 1988 compilation movie, “Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters”.

The cartoon reuses the “eyes in the dark are revealed to be a mirror” gag from “Scrap Happy Daffy”.

The cartoon is in the 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons book.

This is one of two Daffy cartoons to use the word “stupor” in the title, with the other being McKimson’s “Stupor Duck” (1956). Coincidentally, these two are right next to each other on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 DVD set.

What I Like About This One:

The cartoon begins with an ominous pan down to the city at night. McSlug’s car drives up as McSlug’s silhouette marches out into the bank before an explosion occurs inside. McSlug comes out and drives off (animated by Basil Davidovich).

McSlug escaping the dragnet is announced through newspapers and the radio while McSlug drives through the countryside and the sleeping police are notified to be on the lookout for a green sedan. To throw them off the trail, McSlug goes to the auto paint shop to have his sedan repainted yellow. Reaching his hideout, McSlug pulls down a curtain shade that has a landscape of a mountain road and also turns on a faucet sticking out of it so it creates a waterfall (animated by Davidovich).

Getting into his hideout, McSlug posts several signs which read: “No Trespassing”, “No Peddlers”, “No Sale”, “No Vacancy”, and “No Kidding” (animated by Davidovich). Inside, McSlug laughs to himself, “Safe at last. The cops will never find me here!”, only for a police car’s siren to immediately sound much to his shock. But it turns out they only gave Daffy a lift to McSlug’s hideout as Daffy thanks them for their kindness in giving him a ride. “Gosh, those state police are sure swell guys. That sure would have been a long walk with my flat feet. Ah, my dogs are killin’ me”, Daffy says to himself. McSlug fires a machine gun labeled “Silencer” as Daffy mistakes the bullets for mosquitoes. “Bless their little stingers!” (animated by Don Williams)

Hearing a knock at the door, McSlug opens it and finds Daffy introducing himself: “I represent the Excelsior Appliance and Appurtenance Company Incorporated with a complete line of household appliances and appur-appur-appur-”. Out of breath from talking very fast, Daffy instead asks, “Is the lady of the house in?” McSlug answers no to this and to Daffy’s question of “the gentleman?”, so Daffy decides, “Okay, I’ll talk to you then, my snarly-looking friend. And please accept this sample brush”, giving him a back scrubber. McSlug shuts the door on him, “Scram, punk!” but Daffy opens the door back up and takes back the back scrubber: “Give me back the brush I gave ya!” (animated by Williams)

Daffy sees that McSlug is going to be a tough nut to crack and looks through his sales book, “Aggressive Selling” for advice. He then seemingly steps his foot through the door as McSlug pounds it with a mallet in tune to the music. Daffy opens the door all the way to reveal that he was using a fake foot before asking McSlug for a handshake. McSlug is zapped due to the fact that Daffy was using a “Sure Shot Buzzer”. McSlug pins Daffy to the wall with his gun, but Daffy criticizes it for being very rusty and shines the gun with “Excelsior Sure-Shine Shootin’ Iron Polish” which makes the gun so shiny, it melts! As McSlug glares at him, Daffy says, “Ah, there’s good news tonight!”, before he is thrown out creating a Daffy-shaped hole in the door (animated by Bill Melendez).

Daffy re-enters via a helicopter: “Just a little device for gaining entrance into places where one is not exactly welcome” and gives a sheepish grin at an angry McSlug who throws him out again, creating a second Daffy-shaped hole in the door. Daffy saws out the bottom floor and pops out in an elevator. “Now, let’s face it, chum. I’m not leaving till I sell you something! Now what’ll it be? Just name it”. McSlug asks if he has brass knuckles. Laughing over this while searching through his suitcase of merchandise, Daffy briefly wonders, “Say, have I brass knuckles?”, before eventually finding them. Daffy comments, “Gee, I’d hate to get socked with THOSE babies!” before McSlug grabs him and is about to hit him with the brass knuckles: “Here it comes, gabby!” Daffy shields himself with an iron, causing the brass knuckles to break upon impact, and McSlug’s injured fingers to beep in Morse code (animated by Emery Hawkins).

Daffy runs off as McSlug shoots at him with a machine gun. McSlug runs out of bullets after Daffy hides in a closet and all of the bullets fail to get through the door. Daffy gives him another set of bullets: “Try these for size” (animated by Davidovich). McSlug grabs them (animated by Hawkins), before shooting at Daffy, only for all of the bullets to bounce off of him. Daffy reveals why this is the case as he is wearing a “double-breasted bulletproof vest- guaranteed to get your money back if it fails to work!” While looking for another item, McSlug attempts to punch him, but punches into the wall and flies through it. Seeing what he thinks is McSlug in the dark, Daffy walks in and attempts to confront “him” but upon turning on a lamp, realizes the eyes came from himself in a mirror (animated by Davidovich).

Fed up, McSlug is seen pounding his fist as he threatens, “Why, you little web-footed meddler! Mm, I’ll break your long neck!” Daffy’s reflection stretches his neck like it’s being jacked up, causing Daffy to slap his reflection in annoyance. Daffy runs into another room and hastily cements a brick wall, which McSlug runs right into (animated by Davidovich), and sends him flying backward into the kitchen wall (animated by Williams).

Daffy attempts to demonstrate his “Sure Shot Lighter” after turning on the stove’s gas, but it doesn’t work with a simple slip of the thumb. After wiping it with McSlug’s shirt, Daffy is grabbed by McSlug (animated by Williams) and thrown out a final time, creating a third Daffy-shaped hole in the door. Daffy declares, “I’m not gonna give up!” just as McSlug’s curiosity gets the better of him and attempts to work the lighter himself. By the time Daffy gets to the door, the house explodes, sending McSlug upward with the lighter, indicating he got it to work. Holding the only remaining piece of McSlug’s hideout, Daffy realizes he now has something to sell him: “I got him now! I got him now! Hey, bub! You need a house to go with this doorknob!” (animated by Melendez)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕