''Back Alley Oproar'' is a

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...

'' animated short directed by

Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

The short was released on March 27, 1948, and features

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

and

Elmer Fudd Elmer J.''Hare Brush'' (1956) Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes''/'' Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheo ...

. The title is a play on "uproar" and "opera". This is a rare exception for Sylvester as he wins in this cartoon. It is a remake of Freleng's ''

Notes to You ''Notes to You'' is a 1941 Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on September 20, 1941, and stars Porky Pig. This cartoon was remade in 1948, as '' Back Alley Oproar'', with Elmer Fudd in Porky' ...

'' (1941).

Plot

Elmer is ready for bed, but Sylvester has other plans as he starts

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

in Elmer's back yard - an exaggeration of common cat-howling disturbances. A series of gags play out, as Elmer tries everything up his sleeve to get rid of the pest. He eventually confronts Sylvester, but before Elmer can blast him with his shotgun, Sylvester sings a sweet, gentle lullaby to ease him into a deep sleep, even managing to tuck Elmer back into bed. However, the one-man band performance Sylvester subsequently puts on ensures this doesn't last. Elmer eventually dies in an explosion as a result of an attempt to get rid of Sylvester. His spirit ends up in Heaven, on a cloud ascending into space. Momentarily, he thinks he will finally get some peace and quiet. However, the spirits of Sylvester's nine lives (plus 9 more) ascend and soar around him, each with a numeral on its back, singing the sextet from ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel ''The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

''. One of the cat spirits steals his halo. Elmer's spirit, unable to cope, dives off his cloud and a crash is heard off-screen.

Production

''Back Alley Oproar'' is a remake of ''

'' (1941), a ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

'' short that was also directed by Freleng. It has a similar plot, although the ending of the original does not have the characters die from an explosion (instead, the cat gets shot, and returns as nine singing angels), and the roles of Elmer and Sylvester were taken by

Porky Pig Porky Pig is an animated character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created ma ...

and an unnamed alley cat. ''Back Alley Oproar'' is one of the few entries in which Sylvester "wins out" over another character, albeit at the presumed cost of his life. ''Back Alley Oproar'' was remade by Freleng in 1967 for ''

The Inspector ''The Inspector'' is a series of 34 theatrical cartoon shorts produced between 1965 and 1969 by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and released through United Artists. The cartoons are dedicated to an animated version of Inspector Clouseau comical ...

'' series as ''Le Quiet Squad''.

Reception

Greg Ford Greg Ford is an animator, director, historian and consultant to Warner Bros. Animation. He is perhaps best known for directing the films ''Daffy Duck's Quackbusters'', ''Weezer Slander: The Movie'', and '' (Blooper) Bunny''. Biography During ...

calls this cartoon "Sylvester's finest hour", writing, "''Back Alley Oproar's'' Sylvester exudes enormous appeal as he tunefully harasses Fudd, his merry medley aided and abetted by Carl Stalling's score, Mel Blanc's virtuosic vocalizations, and Freling's A-list animation team, here led by song-and-dance impresario Gerry Chiniquy."

Release

''Back Alley Oproar'' was reissued with new Blue Ribbon opening titles and aired on television like this as well. The original title card was restored for the '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 2'' DVD and '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2'', uncut and uncensored.

Home media

DVD - '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2''Looney Tunes Golden Collection - Vol. 2- Barnes & Noble
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References

External links

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''Back Alley Oproar'' on Park Circus
{{Friz Freleng 1948 films 1948 animated films 1948 short films 1948 musical comedy films Merrie Melodies short films Elmer Fudd films Sylvester the Cat films Short films directed by Friz Freleng Films scored by Carl Stalling Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese Animated film remakes Remakes of American films