Dumb Patrol
| Dumb Patrol | |
|---|---|
| Looney Tunes (Bugs Bunny) series | |
_title_card.jpg) Title card | |
| Directed by | Gerry Chiniquy |
| Produced by | David H. DePatie (uncredited) |
| Story by | John Dunn |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Bill Lava |
| Animation by |
Virgil Ross Bob Matz Lee Halpern Art Leonardi |
| Layouts by | Bob Givens |
| Backgrounds by | Tom O'Loughlin |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | January 18, 1964 (USA) |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 6 minutes |
| Language | English |
"Dumb Patrol" is a Looney Tunes cartoon short released January 18, 1964, starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam with a cameo appearance by Porky Pig. This cartoon short was directed by Gerry Chiniquy, a longtime animator in Friz Freleng's unit. It is set during World War I opening 'somewhere in France' in 1917.
The title is an allusion to The Dawn Patrol a 1930 movie by Howard Hawks that also deals with World War I pilots. The same title was also used for an unrelated, early Looney Tunes short starring Bosko, released in 1931.
Dumb Patrol does not fall into the normal pattern found in most other Bugs Bunny cartoon shorts. Bugs Bunny is not disturbed from a serene state as in most of his other shorts. Also, he is the attacker, reversing his normal role of the victim.
It also marked the final pairing of Bugs and Yosemite Sam, as well as the final appearance of the latter, and one of only three to feature both Bugs and Porky Pig together.
Plot
In 1917, somewhere in France during World War One, the men of the French Air Force assemble to determine who must rid the skies of the enemy pilot, Baron Sam Von Schpamm. A drawing straws game begins resulting in Porky Pig (addressed as Captain Smedley in this cartoon) selected for the mission. Next day, at dawn, while Porky is suiting up for the flight, Bugs Bunny knocks him out with a brick and takes his place, because Porky has a family (a wife and 6 piglets).
Meanwhile, somewhere in Germany, Sam is awarded an Iron Cross for his service. Sam, however, is sick of getting those things and wants a well-deserved long furlough. Bugs drops him a bunch of flowers and a poem. Sam reads the note and feels insulted-Bugs has written "Baron" with a small "B" and claims the Big "B" is in the flowers. When Sam looks at the flowers, a bee flies out and stings his nose. Sam has trouble getting a plane started, but having solved that and taken flight, Sam catches up to Bugs. Bugs pulls up into the clouds and Sam crashes into a mountain.
Sam runs back to the airfield and grabs another plane. While he looks for Bugs, Bugs comes up behind him and buzz-saws right through Sam's plane. In another plane, Sam starts shooting at Bugs with a machine gun, but Bugs dodges every time. Sam's shooting only ends up shearing his own plane to bits, leaving only the undercarriage which becomes a unicycle when he lands. Sam then takes to the skies in a bomber. Having sighted and targeted Bugs, he releases the bombs, but he falls out of his plane and gets caught in the explosion of his bombs on the ground.
Sam takes to the skies in a dinky little plane, which at the push of a lever transforms into a fierce fighting machine quad-plane loaded with machine guns. Sam pulls the switch to full power, but this rips the plane into three parts, making Sam fall and get killed in the ammunition dump. Bugs then comments he's heard of Hell's Angels, but he never thought he'd actually see one. The final scene then shows Sam in a devil's suit, playing a harp floating skyward.
See also
- List of American films of 1964
- List of Bugs Bunny cartoons
- List of Yosemite Sam cartoons
- List of Porky Pig cartoons
References
| Preceded by Transylvania 6-5000 |
Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1964 |
Succeeded by Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare |