422. Meatless Flyday (1944)

Warner cartoon no. 421.
Release date: January 29, 1944.
Series: Merrie Melodies.
Supervision: Friz Freleng.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Cy Kendall (Spider), Mel Blanc (Air Raid Warden).
Story: Michael Maltese.
Animation: Jack Bradbury.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: A fat, jolly spider attempts to catch a fly for prey; but his traps are consistently foiled.

THE COBWEB HOTEL
(Fleischer, 1936).

The premise of a malicious spider preying on helpless flies was already a cliche in cartoons, by the time Meatless Flyday was in production. The source material can be traced back to John Heywood's pseudo-epic poem, The Spider and the Flie in 1556. Mary Howitt's opening line in her poem of the same name: "Will you come into my parlour? said the spider to the fly", remains one of the most recognisable quotes in English poetry.

Courtesy of Devon Baxter.

By the early 1940s, the Schlesinger studio began inserting twists to old cartoon formulas, ranging from cat-and-canary shorts like Puss 'N Booty. The "victims" were being portrayed as hecklers to the antagonist, which called for stronger gag dynamics and hilarious characterisation.


Michael Maltese's take on the spider vs. fly formula is enriched by some aesthetic characterisation for the short's antagonist. The spider is portrayed as a jolly, loveable rogue - whose sinister motive marks as a deliberate contradiction to his personality.

His persona echoes Tex Avery's laughter and mannerisms, that he previously portrayed in shorts like The Bear's Tale and Ghost Wanted. Tex had already settled at MGM in 1941; so the character's voice is performed by Cy Kendall. Kendall is best remembered as a prolific character performer for over a hundred features, and his Tex "impersonation" works fine. A part of myself suspects that the characterisation has traces of Thockmorton P. Gildersleeve, despite the lack of his signature laugh.

The opening scenes establish conventional traps plotted by the spider, but his bubbly personality almost overlooks them. His first plot is to entice the fly with a sugar cube, attached to a string. He jovially laughs: "Come and get it". It's already indicated that the mute fly is a heckler to the spider, as he advances towards the sugar cube to pick it up. The spider, holding onto the piece of string, is caught by the force of the fly, who holds the cube on top of the ceiling.


In an impressive 3/4 down shot, the spider is hanging perilously from the thread. But, the spider cuts the rope with scissors - leading to the spider's fall as his head is clobbered by several sugar cubes. The spider's jovial personality increases his likability by laughing off his foiled plan and addressing to the audience: "Caught me off my guard."


The following sequence sets up another scenario, only to be foiled again by the heckling fly. The spider is seemingly watching the fly perform a trapeze act with the kitchen hooks - and awaiting his fate. The spider still finds some humour in the scenario as he mocks the fly, "Look at him, tryin' to heckle me! A poor man's Bugs Bunny". So, he laughs some more!

In the spider's first attempt to eat him, the fly narrowly escapes a close call. He stretches his tongue like a rubber band and releases it, causing him to stagger. In the second attempt; the spider is hanging onto one of the hooks; and momentarily traps him. A la Bugs Bunny, the fly kisses the spider and gives him the hot-foot.


Michael Maltese's lighthearted approach to the spider enhances the comedy to more the standard scenarios, seen in the earlier sequences. The spider finds himself in greater peril compared to the previous scene, once he's falling from the hook with his burning feet.

Even when facing calamity, he continues to find amusement from it. He laughs and speaks to the audience: "Look folks, I'm a Zero!". It serves as a funny metaphor that implies the spider is portrayed as a kamikaze pilot, plummeting to disaster. Instead of destruction, he's clobbered again by sugar cubes.

For the following sequence; Friz Freleng's use of direction and dynamics turn to a more menacing approach. The first few shots puts emphasis on the spider's hand preparing another plot for the fly: which involves painting a buckshot, to disguise it as candy. It's nicely executed in staging to emphasise peril.


For a moment, the plan succeeds as the fly gulps a handful of buckshots down his mouth. The weight of the buckshots make it incredibly difficult for the fly to leap out of sight - resulting in a small chase scene.

Freleng's crisp timing starts to takes its course, once the spider casually holds a magnet out for the fly. As he attempts to resist, the power of the magnet increases to the point when a door forcefully opens; leading to knives and other cutlery speeding towards the spider. Freleng's timing turns to a brutal effect as the knives supposedly finishes the spider off.


The camera pans to reveal that the spider narrowly evaded his end. Friz adds an additional piece of horrific value, when a meat cleaver supposedly slices off a part of his leg. In a close-up, the audience are reassured that his toes remain intact, as they pop up from his partly-cut shoe one-by-one.

Freleng's timing solution works to great effect in a detonation gag. The spider spots the fly posing as a figurine in the ambiguous feature of a wedding cake in a household. The spider poses next to the fly's disguise as a groom, and cackles with cruel irony: "Hello, Sweetie-Face". The scene is at first depicted in close-up of the spider, but the camera trucks back to reveal a firecracker the fly replaced off-screen. The spider menacingly says, "How about a little kiss?" to the "fly", unbeknownst to him. As the spider kisses in anticipation, the cracker detonates. A classic testament of how comedy is executed through clarity and staging.

Friz Freleng's masterful timing is highlighted in an elaborate chase sequence, of the spider and the fly's chase through an electrical conduit. The chase is comically interpreted through effects animation. The fly is visually represented as a yellow light; and the spider being red.

Some wonderful touches are added for comedic effect; such as the fly's take, which reads as "Yipe!". The pair chase run down the conduit separately, creating a figure eight until they crash into each other.

Soon, the effects animation depicting the chase becomes more absurd. At the center of a conduit, random pieces of imagery like flowers and other assorted things start to flash to Carl Stalling's score. The gag is reminiscent of a neon billboard gag, seen in Freleng's Light's Fantastic. It also serves as a forerunner for the mine sequence in Chuck Jones' Beep Beep, many years later. 

The multicoloured flashing lights catches the attention of an air raid warden, who yells: "Put out that light!". And so, the lights flickers out in succession - leading the pair back inside the house. It's probably an animated highlight of the entire cartoon. It's beautifully elaborate and funny, to the credit of Freleng and Stalling; and the effects animation.

For the closing sequence; the spider finally catches the fly. The scene fades in to reveal the spider scraping his knife, ready to feast on the fly. The audience are expecting a twist that intervenes with the fly's demise. But, the payoff is a tad disappointing and predictable. The fly points a calendar to the spider, which reveals the date to be "Meatless Tuesday": a WW2 government campaign to encourage the public by rationing their meat for the war effort.


The spider responds with great irritation and angst, that he takes the matter over to the U.S. Capitol. The final shot of the Capitol's window depicts the spider's off-screen complaints to government officials: "You can't do this to me! You just can't!".

It's a satisfying and humorous gag to close the cartoon, but a part of the problem of its predictability is that it links to the cartoon's parodying title: Meatless Flyday. The payoff would've been executed had a different title been suggested. Despite my nitpicking, it's plausible that WW2 audiences overlooked that detail.

To conclude: Meatless Flyday, despite being relatively short, serves as a nice potboiler; enriched by funny characterisation. Michael Maltese's forward-thinking approach to story makes a somewhat tired formula feel fresh and inventive. A portion of the gags are heavily themed with wartime references, but the premise itself has a timeless quality. As discussed, the electrical conduit sequence wonderfully showcases Friz Freleng and Carl Stalling's timing - which is a challenging feat from a lot of levels. Despite the jolly, Tex Avery-persona used several times in cartoons - it never fails to charm.

Rating: 3/5.

420. Little Red Riding Rabbit (1943)

featuring BUGS BUNNY

Warner cartoon no. 419.
Release date: December 25, 1943 (see below).
Series: Merrie Melodies.
Supervision: Friz Freleng.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny), Billy Bletcher (Wolf), Bea Benaderet (Red Riding Hood).
Story: Michael Maltese.
Animation: Manuel Perez.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Bugs Bunny and the Wolf battle each other inside Grandma's house; during her absence of contributing to the war effort.


Typically, I'd place Little Red Riding Hood as a 1944 release; as it shows up with a release date of January 4th on that year, in many filmography lists. With special thanks to Yowp's research - a newspaper ad from Hamilton, Ohio on December 23, 1943 reveals that this cartoon was already in theatres by that point.

Although an official release chart indicates its January release date - it appears that posted release dates of classic era shorts aren't entirely accurate. Perhaps the short opened first at smaller towns, before entering general release in January?

What I find a little perplexing in the advertisement, that it supposedly represents a Paramount theatre in Ohio; but it's also advertising an MGM musical, Best Foot Forward, and a Warner Bros. cartoon. Perhaps block booking wasn't practiced at smaller theatres in smaller towns?

This cartoon also marks the first time Mel Blanc gets billing credit in a Warner Bros cartoon. Such practice of granting voice artists screen credit was unheard of in Hollywood films. Even Walt Disney's earliest features omitted credit for vocal talents - likely to maintain the illusion of fantasy for audiences entranced by the magic of animation. For more information on Blanc's screen credit steal; see Keith Scott's article on Cartoon Research. The short also includes performances by Bea Benaderet and Billy Bletcher, who are both uncredited yet very talented.

The cartoon itself is another showcase of how the Schlesinger studio took liberties on parodying fairy tales. That same year, MGM released a very risque parody of the Riding Hood tale; Red Hot Riding Hood, by Schlesinger's former director, Tex Avery. The majority of the cartoon challenged film censorship since it was built around lust. Friz Freleng's parody of the same fairy tale might not be edgy; but it excels for its funny characterisations and smart writing by Michael Maltese.


Michael Maltese's take on Red Riding Hood opens up to a lot of gag opportunities. Many versions of the fairy tale typically depict Red Riding Hood as a sweet young girl with endearing qualities. Maltese portrayal, however, lacks such traits. Many cartoons previously parodied Red with a Katherine Hepburn persona. Instead, Red is stereotyped as a loud, obnoxious bobby-soxer teenager - vocalised irritatingly by Bea Benaderet with great comedy values.

The character was the inspiration of radio comedian Cass Daley - and Michael Maltese's young daughter! Daley was known for her energy and loudness; but some of Red's childlike dialogue ("ta-have!") was adapted from Maltese's daughter.

The opening sequence showcases Red's personality very vividly that realistically portrays the awkwardness of adolescents. Like the story, Red journeys through the woods with a basket -- but sings ear-splittingly in her rendition of Five O'Clock Whistle. An obnoxious piece of delivery makes Maltese's portrayal of Red, all the more hilarious!


Bugs Bunny arises from his basket, asking casually: "Watcha got in the basket, gorgeous?" Red responds loudly: "Ahh've got a little bunny rabbit which I'm taking to my grandma's. Ta-have, see?". Red's purpose of bringing Bugs as a gift is kept vague. A pet gift or a plate of rabbit stew? Depends how you see it.

Animated cartoons had come a long way from wholesome, cutesy interpretations of Red Riding Hood from the 1930s, popularised by Disney. MGM's Red Hot Riding Hood even claimed, "Every cartoon studio in Hollywood's done it this way!". Red is deliberately parodied as an unlikeable loudmouth that even a casual viewer would love to hate!

The traditional storytelling of the fairy tale slowly starts to change direction once the wolf appears. He diverts Red's route; whilst approaching Grandma's house. As discovered, it's revealed she's away from home contributing to the war effort, by working a "swing shift at Lockheed".

The wolf puts on the disguise; and even shoos away other wolves hiding under the covers on the bed, hoarding the spotlight, as he yells: "Come on, come on! Take a powder. This is my racket!". The disgruntled wolves leave the bed, muttering.

By the time Red Riding Hood enters Grandma's house for the traditional lines, Michael Maltese diverts the story from that standpoint - adding a comical twist to make way for Bugs' antics. The wolf overhears Red shouting, "I brought a little bunny rabbit for you, ta-have!".

And so, eating a rabbit appeals to the wolf more than Red. The wolf grows irritated by her presence as she attempts to speak the infamous lines from the tale: "That's an awfully big nose for you; ta-have!". Red is quickly shuffled out of the door by the wolf, who turns his attention towards Bugs Bunny, residing inside the basket. The twist is both spontaneous and build by characterisation - as the characters themselves take the cartoon in a different approach.

Michael Maltese would take advantage of Red's irritating personality; by using her as a recurring gag throughout the cartoon. Maltese is innovative enough by mocking traditional values of a fairy tale story. He understood parody well enough to not rely too much on the source material - if better gags are called for.

Sporadically, Red would re-appear in several scenes - still asking the wolf questions based on the fairy tale: "What sharp teeth ya got, Grandma!". The wolf would always respond by disposing Red out of the house.

At the height of his annoyance, the wolf expresses courtesy towards Red, by speaking French! I don't know what the rough translation is; unless Billy Bletcher improvised it. This is soon followed by an unwelcoming yell from the wolf: "Get out!". The comedy delivery works as an amusing juxtaposition of etiquette and rudeness!

Freleng's comic delivery comes to advantage in a short interruption of Red knocking on the door, and questioning loudly. Inventive smear animation by Gerry Chiniquy, the animator of that scene, comes into effect when the wolf slams the door in front of Red.

The most complicated and highlighted elements of Friz Freleng's comic timing are showcased authentically in this cartoon. Applying musical timing to animated action isn't an unheard trait of Freleng, but the short features some very fine examples.

A remarkably complex piece of timing occurs in a gag involving Bugs Bunny running up the stairs and closing the door, whilst in pursuit of the wolf. Bugs then reappears through different doors during an in-and-out routine. The layout work is relatively simple; but it's an unbelievably complicated piece of action.

Both Bugs and the wolf's stepping movements are arranged by different instruments respectively. To keep the musical timing consistent whilst Bugs is deceiving the Wolf is an incredible tour-de-force on Freleng's part. For a gag executed successfully, it would eventually have its encore in Buccaneer Bunny (1948).


A less difficult but engaging piece of musical timing applied to action is featured in a scene introducing the wolf. As seen, the wolf is hiding behind a tree while spying on Red's trail. The wolf would discreetly tiptoe his foot towards another tree nearby, and slide his body forward without exposing his presence.

Stalling's use of musical pantomime amplifies the wolf as a conniving and sneaky character. The scene, animated by Dick Bickenbach, indicates some strong poses of the wolf's tip-toeing action, whilst keeping on form with Friz Freleng's timing pattern.

Much of Bugs' escapades in this cartoon is matched with a certain kind of energy seldom practiced by Friz Freleng. In a scene of Bugs Bunny striking the wolf with a paddle, and deceiving him of his whereabouts - it shows a standard use of smear animation that enhances animated energy.

For more intriguing dynamics, Friz Freleng practices his own cutting style during a scene of Bugs whistling his whereabouts to the wolf, but zips out of shot when he arrives.

To begin with, the pacing is kept stable. Once a series of consecutive shots of Bugs whistling at various places of the house takes place, the cuts become more rapid.


Friz seldom practiced fast-cutting amongst his directorial abilities. His style of cutting might not be as dynamic as Frank Tashlin's, but it works well enough to assimilate the cartoon action.

The fast-cutting ends with a pay-off once Bugs Bunny points towards a cupboard. He exits upon the wolf's arrival, but he opens to find Bugs hiding inside. Freleng's timing is both subtle and zany in its execution. The action flows very quickly with such subtleties that otherwise could come across as contrived.


Mel Blanc and Billy Bletcher both play off each other with sublime fashion, in a sequence of Bugs mimicking the wolf's actions. Bugs finds himself cornered, but his quick wits enforces him to copy the wolf's speech and posture. They both yell, "Why you... / Hey, now! / Cut that out or... / Say, wise guy! / Oh, yeah?"), and are both perfectly synchronised at the further of delivery  of "Yeah!".


The mimicking works so well from many departments - from the duo's voice collaboration right down to its animated form. Intentionally, Bugs is out of sync for much of the mimicking, to create a realistic scenario. Only Friz Freleng's meticulousness could do a scene such justice.

Gerry Chiniquy's animation is met with many challenges. Imaging seeing an exposure sheet for that scene, which would've required complicated charting. It's one of the few times in animation, when twinning the characters' poses are called for.

Then, Bugs takes control through psychology by shouting out nonsense words, and distracting the wolf by muddling up his speech, and breaking into the song: Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet. A Tex Avery-esque gag quietly appears as Bugs holds a "Silly, isn't he?" card.

A part of myself is curious if Blanc and Bletcher might've recorded their lines together for that scene? Not only would the delivery work better, but it could've saved expenses of sound film stock - had they recorded their lines separately. Still, the sequence has strong comedy merit from those talented men, as well as Freleng's direction. Such a gag like that could've easily gone wrong without the importance of team effort and careful planning!

Suspense builds up as the wolf creeps towards a dark room. An elaborate scene of a fireplace reveals Bugs Bunny is hiding underneath the gown - as indicated in a reflection. Much of the suspenseful action contains lavish composition. This is evident when the wolf enters a dark room, with Bugs' hot coal as the only source of vivid light.


The darkness ends in the blink of an eye when the wolf shoots upwards from his gown - screaming in pain from Bugs' hot coal. Bugs places a large shove full of hot coals - causing the wolf to catch his feet on the edges of two benches. The vibrating action has some nice timing to it.

From this moment, Bugs Bunny has finally outwitted the wolf, and is ready to give him the coup de grace. Bugs punishes the wolf further by dumping heavy objects on the wolf's hands. The scene dissolves to a tall structure of house objects. The camera pans upwards as Bugs is ready to apply some finishing touches until...

..."GRANDMA!", Red cries off screen. Bugs has finally had enough of Red's earsplitting voice! Her presence prompts a new motive on Bugs, who remarks: "I'll do it, but I'll probably hate myself in the morning."

Animation by Virgil Ross.

Bugs climbs down the ladder, and the next shot reveals another twist: Bugs had switched the wolf with Red; whose now given the burden of carrying all that weight whilst avoiding her rear end from getting scorched. The camera pans towards Bugs and the wolf, now friends, as they both share a carrot and watch Red's torture with satisfaction.

And a satisfying ending it is! Red's recurring presence is paid off in a hilarious gag, that merits shock value. It probably represents a more sadistic nature for Bugs - but justice feels truly met. Michael Maltese's use of twists are excelled in this cartoon. The overall ending is hilarious by its entire execution - right from the storyboards onto the finished product.

For a director whose sometimes criticised for being "conservative", this cartoon is anything but that! It's arguably one of Freleng's most energetic and spontaneous cartoons he did for Warner Bros - and its entertainment values are sky high! The cartoon highlights Freleng's true talents as a director. Much of the short is built on constant activity and fast pace which creates excitement. Michael Maltese reconstructs the fairy tale for his own parody, with wonderful spontaneity and twists. His characterisations are very funny; especially when the characters themselves drive the story away from its traditional roots. Much of Maltese's structure has a natural, loose feel towards it which is anything but forced. Little Red Riding Rabbit is the least bit pretentious, and it still serves as one of the most entertaining and thrilling cartons produced by Warner Bros.

Rating: 5/5.

417. Daffy - the Commando (1943)

Warner cartoon no. 416.
Release date: November 20, 1943.
Series: Looney Tunes.
Supervision: Friz Freleng.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Daffy Duck / General Von Vulture / Hitler).
Story: Michael Maltese.
Animation: Ken Champin.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Commando Daffy Duck raids enemy lines - creating trouble along the way.

By the time of the cartoon's release; Germany were already starting to lose the Second World War. Western Allied countries were still a far cry from conquering the D-Day operation, but the short's premise suggests a speckle of optimism. The premise is centred on American commandos successfully breaking into German soil. Daffy Duck is portrayed as an American commando whose mission is to infiltrate a Nazi bunker, headed by colonel Von Vulture.

Daffy Duck is a fine candidate of an animated character challenging the Axis of WW2, comedically. Already he's dealt with a Nazi billy goat in Scrap Happy Daffy - and would go on to become a messenger in the showpiece, Plane Daffy.

Friz Freleng, perhaps the funniest of the Warner Bros. directors and Michael Maltese; the wittiest of the studio's writers, produce their take on Daffy's infiltration of a Nazi zone.


Friz Freleng might not have been as visually innovative as the likes of Bob Clampett or Chuck Jones; dynamic staging and striking composition was never unheard of from Friz. Daffy - the Commando is certainly no exception. The opening establishing shot of a Nazi trench is a beautiful piece of mise en scene, with a Nazi flag waving.

The colour styling is kept intentionally dark to indicate a macabre atmosphere. It's interesting to see the locale looking more like a World War I trench - perhaps to make the identity of a trench more familiar with audiences.

A dissolve in reveals Colonel Von Vulture pacing restlessly across his bunker, muttering in German. The indistinct German language might be ambiguous a general American audience, but the character's uneasiness is well clarified. The introduction is a solid example of exposition done right.

Other beautiful uses of colour styling is evident during the blackout sequence. The layout work, likely done by Owen Fitzgerald, features objects drawn with basic outlines that has great graphic clarity. The shot of Schultz operating the searchlight is an example of that. The characters are shown entirely in silhouette - except momentarily when Schultz clumsily shines the beam across the vulture's face. An example of how the inking and painting department would have to follow timing to remove Von Vulture's silhouette form.

Animation by Gerry Chiniquy.

Friz Freleng's timing is put to entertaining uses in several elements of the cartoon. The introduction of Von Vulture's henchman, Schultz, displays some marvellous characterisation blended with Freleng's timing when he goose-steps inside the bunker. Gerry Chiniquy applies a hysterical characteristic walk of Schultz that indicates an inept personality.


Carl Stalling's cartoon touches are greatly applied through music. For Schultz's hasty walk; rapid drum beats enhances the characterisation. Schultz's stupidity is further showcased as he unintentionally kicks Von Vulture behind his rear during his uninterrupted goose-step inside the bunker.

The vulture calls him a "dumkompf", and strikes his helmet with a mallet. Despite Schultz's helmet compressed down to his feet; he still marches outside of the bunker, at one point momentarily crashing into a wall - as his busy legs does most of the action. Freleng's understanding of comic timing and personality blended together makes this little sequence a gem of its own. Not only is Schultz presented as a buffoon - but also the Nazi realm.

The blackout sequence showcases some gags that only work in animated form - with Freleng's unit pulling it off profoundly. In Daffy's opening shot, he is floating by a parachute whilst shun by a searchlight. He casually sings the British song She Was Poor but She Was Honest in a Cockney accent, before yelling "Put out that light!".


In the following shot; Schultz foolishly turns off the searchlight, until he is further abused by Von Vulture. Once again, the use of mise en scene can play a crucial role in achieving better comedy. Both characters don't appear in the shot; but Mel Blanc's delivery of "Schultz", the interpretation of sounds and imagery proves a very striking effect.

Once the searchlight reappears - Daffy Duck has some fun with the searchlight's lens to create shadow finger puppets. At first, the shadowy puppets looks like an amateurish effect - but it immediately morphs into an elaborate form of can-can dancers.

The transition from simple puppetry to the form of dancers is beautifully subtle in timing - and it reads well in animated form. After Daffy's fun; he pulls an asbestos curtain out of nowhere. Von Vulture unwinds the curtain - revealing Daffy pulling a stereotypical Japanese face and scaring the vulture off.

Animation by Gil Turner.

As far as Daffy's zany antics are concerned - it's surprisingly underwhelming in some parts. In one sequence, Daffy tricks Von Vulture in giving him a "going away present", of a clock - despite being an obvious time bomb in disguise. After Daffy's exit; Von Vulture double takes and passes the bomb over to Schultz - who flies upwards after the impact.


Although the delivery highlights the colonel's naivety; the gag itself is predictable and somewhat unambitious as a concept. The execution feels more in the style of Ted Pierce instead of Michael Maltese.

The beginning showed some comedy potential - such as Von Vulture informing Daffy Duck the time, in the style of a talking clock device. The vulture calls for Schultz who marches over to strike his helmet, for the "tone". Once Daffy Duck turns away to adjust the clock bomb - the sequence loses some of its potential and spontaneity.

Mussolini crossed out of "The Apes
of Wrath" - reflecting his 1943 defeat.

Michael Maltese's witty use of languages is put to great use for gags requiring English translation. A close up shot of a telegram features some funny usage of puns written in German dialect, such as "it's your ka-rear!!" - which can mean two different things: his career or his ass.

A sequence that best utilises some of Maltese's creativity is seen during the German speaking/translation sequence between Daffy Duck and Von Vulture by a phone booth.

During a chase sequence, Daffy hides from the vulture colonel inside a phone booth. He reappears by confronting Von Vulture in German, and holding out a card of the English translation, reading: "Can't you see this telephone is busy? Wait your turn".

Soon, the gag gets amusingly absurd as Daffy uses American slang speaking in German lingo; as indicated from the title card: "Got a nickel, bud?". Von Vulture hands over the nickel to Daffy. After a few moments, Daffy exits the booth and responding in English: "It's all yours, von Limburger!" - holding out a German translation card. The real translation is, as follows: "I'm done with the telephone, Herr von Limburger". Michael Maltese demonstrates a fun parody of translations - that's both ridiculous and funny in its portrayal.

For the cartoon's climax - both suspense and comic timing pay a key part. Daffy attempts to escape by jumping on board an unoccupied aircraft. Once he skyrockets up in the air; he is immediately trapped by a circle of Messerschmitt planes - as exclaimed by Daffy: "Messerschmitts. A whole mess of Messerschmitts." Quite a tongue twister.

Animation by Phil Monroe.

Daffy manoeuvres his plane to dive downwards - causing the Messerschmitt planes to accidentally fire at each other. After a few seconds of effects animation adorns the entire screen - the pilots find their aircrafts completely tarnished to fragments, leading to their 'downfall' - (a bad pun intended).

Once Daffy travels at full speed on his aircraft - he discovers his craft is being shot to smithereens, by Von Vulture's machine gun. Daffy continues to resist by holding onto the engine, until it sputters and becomes fatigued.

Animator Phil Monroe appears to struggle in capturing the timing of an engine malfunctioning with friction - all timed to sound. The animation isn't as crisp as it could've been. And so, Daffy Duck hides himself inside a large cannon - until he realises he's entered a dark corner; and trapped by Von Vulture.


Much of the animated cartoon serves its purpose to ridicule the Nazis in whatever crude approach. The crudeness might be lacking in contrast to shorts like Russian Rhapsody, but the mockery is still there. Not surprisingly; the Fuhrer himself is ridiculed the harshest.

In a short scene during a chase with Daffy Duck; Von Vulture momentarily halts and shouts, "Heil Hitler!"; by saluting a skunk passing through the trenches. A visual metaphor of the man, who shared such contempt from the general public.

During the cartoon's resolution; Daffy Duck is fired out of a cannon, bearing a 'human cannonball' costume. He reaches his destination at a city rally conducted by Adolf Hitler. Hitler is crudely rotoscoped for the most part during his speech - likely lifted from stock footage in newsreels. The following scene is perhaps one of the most satisfying cartoon gags surrounding the dictator; Daffy Duck striking Hitler on the head with a mallet. For the ending pay-off, Hitler yells "Schultz!" as the cartoon closes.

The locale and theme is largely a product of its time; but it remains a relatively enjoyable cartoon. Fun, but it's a relatively standard Warner Bros. cartoon. The translation sequence features is wonderfully executed in its silliness and wit - done in the fine hands of Michael Maltese. Friz Freleng doesn't have too much opportunity to showcase his abilities; but when he does it's put to memorable use - such as the humorous characterisation of Schultz. More could've been explored creatively with Daffy's infiltration of a Nazi colonel - as the bomb clock sequence is arguably the weakest element of this short, gag-wise. The ending provides a hilarious payoff for an otherwise conventional short.

Ratings: 3/5.