Dumb-Hounded
| Dumb-Hounded | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Tex Avery |
| Written by | Rich Hogan |
| Produced by | Fred Quimby |
| Starring | Bill Thompson Frank Graham (both uncredited) |
| Music by | Scott Bradley |
| Animation by |
|
| Layouts by | Irvin Levine Bernard Wolf (both uncredited) |
| Backgrounds by | John Didrik Johnsen (uncredited) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 8:00 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Dumb-Hounded is a 1943 American animated short film directed by Tex Avery and written by Rich Hogan. It was the first cartoon to feature Droopy.[1] The film was released on March 20, 1943 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[2]
Plot
[edit]A wolf escapes from Swing Swing Prison (a parody of Sing Sing Prison). Many bloodhounds are freed to search for him, but one of them, Droopy, remains behind, greets and informs the audience that he is the hero of the story. He initially moves very slowly, but he still quickly finds the wolf who tries to escape from Droopy throughout the picture. At one point, he even flees away from Droopy by boarding a taxi, a train, a ship, and an aircraft.[3] However, everywhere he flees, Droopy pops up and sarcastically greets the wolf. When the wolf asks Droopy how he is able to keep up, Droopy laconically responds “Let’s not get nosy, bub.”
Ultimately, Droopy ends the pointless chase by dropping a huge boulder on the wolf's head and crushing him. He also informs the audience that he knows it's gruesome. When Droopy receives his reward, he jumps about in complete enthusiasm, only to pause and inform the audience, "I'm happy".
Voice cast
[edit]- Bill Thompson as Droopy
- Frank Graham as Killer, Mayor (uncredited)
Crew
[edit]- Directed by: Tex Avery[4]
- Written by: Rich Hogan[4]
- Animation: Ray Abrams, Preston Blair, Ed Love, Irven Spence[4]
- Character Design: Irvin Levine
- Layout: Irvin Levine, Bernard Wolf
- Backgrounds: John Didrik Johnsen
- Film and Sound Editor: Fred McAlpin
- Music: Scott Bradley
- Co-Producer: William Hanna
- Produced by: Fred Quimby
Legacy
[edit]- Northwest Hounded Police (1946) features Droopy and the Wolf character in a similar set-up. Again, the Wolf flees from Droopy, who keeps popping up in unexpected places.
- In the early 2000s a Cartoon Network short Thanks a Latté features Droopy and the Wolf character in a nearly-similar set-up; where he works at a coffee shop and forces a stingy wolf into giving him a tip when the wolf leaves the shop without paying for his latte.
- In 2020, Dumb Hounded was released and digitally restored on the Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1 Blu-Ray by Warner Archive.
References
[edit]- ^ "Dumb-Hounded". IMDB. March 20, 1943. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 76–77. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ "Dumb-Hounded". Doing Their Bit: Wartime American Animated Short Films, 1939–1945. McFarland. 2004. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
- ^ a b c Place-Verghnes, Floriane (2006). Tex Avery : a unique legacy, 1942-1955. Internet Archive. Eastleigh, UK : John Libbey Pub. ISBN 978-0-86196-919-7.
External links
[edit]- Dumb-Hounded at IMDb
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- 1943 films
- 1940s American animated films
- Droopy
- American self-reflexive films
- Films directed by Tex Avery
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short films
- Films scored by Scott Bradley
- Tex Avery's Big Bad Wolf films
- Films produced by Fred Quimby
- Films about prison escapes
- Films set in New York (state)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio short films
- 1940s English-language films
- English-language short films
- 1943 animated short films
- Short animated film stubs