''Bowery Bugs'' is a 1949

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'' cartoon directed by Arthur Davis, and written by Lloyd Turner and Bill Scott. It was released on June 4, 1949, and features

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring role ...

. The cartoon tells the story of Steve Brodie, who reportedly jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886 and survived.

Plot

is standing at the base of the famous Brooklyn Bridge, (about half a mile from the southern end of the actual street called the

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. ...

), telling an old man a story, in carnival-barker style, about how and why Steve Brody jumped off the bridge in July 1886 in the form of pictures: Brody had a terrific run of luck...all bad. He decided he needed a good luck charm...ideally, a rabbit's foot. But he could not find one in the city, so he tried looking in the country forest. At this point, the story is animated. Brody cycles to Flatbush and finds Bugs' house. Brody, holding a knife, pulls Bugs (singing " All that glitters is not gold") out of his home and tells him that he needs a good luck charm and that "he is it". However, Bugs explains why rabbits feet are NOT all that lucky and directs Brody to "Swami Rabbitima". Brody decides to chance it on the condition he will come back for Bugs if it does not work. The Swami (Bugs in

disguise A disguise can be anything which conceals or changes a person's physical appearance, including a wig, glasses, makeup, fake moustache, costume or other items. Camouflage is a type of disguise for people, animals and objects. Hats, glasses, ch ...

) asks Brody to enter. Just as Brody starts explaining his bad luck, he has his palm "read" (painted red) then Bugs starts reading the bumps on his head after hitting Brody over the head with a hammer several times. Brody angrily starts chasing Bugs who quickly deals out

playing card A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a f ...

s for

cartomancy Cartomancy is fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. Forms of cartomancy appeared soon after playing cards were first introduced into Europe in the 14th century. Huson, Paul (2004). ''Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancien ...

. He tells Brody that he has a meeting coming up with a man wearing a

carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

(also Bugs in

), who will be his lucky mascot at gambling; Brody's luck does not change, though. Bugs'

craps Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, "street ...

shot of 7 suddenly turns up snake-eyes, then Brody plays a

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

that comes up with three lemons that literally roll out of the machine and into his hat. Fed up, Brody tries to attack Bugs and is promptly kicked out of the gambling establishment by a gorilla

bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...

. Brody goes back to the Swami who realizes that the cartomancy failed. For his second attempt, Bugs spins a

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pat ...

wheel which lands on the sign of the

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

. He tells Brody that it means he is lucky with love, but his flirting with a "lady" (also Bugs in

) only results in a multiple bonking by a policeman for being a "masher". Brody returns to the Swami and is about to pulverize him when he is asked precisely WHY he wants his luck to change. Taking Brody's answer literally ("So I can get me hands on some ''

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavenin ...

''!"), Bugs sends him to 29 River Street, home of "

Grandma Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...

's Happy Home Bakery". When Brody arrives there and demands the "dough" at gunpoint, a baker (Bugs yet again) gladly obliges with "a mess of

" which Brody gets stuck in and is baked into a pie. Unmasking the baker as Bugs, Brody retraces his steps to unmask Bugs' previous

s, leading Brody to believe that "everybody's a rabbit!". When Brody looks into what he thinks is a

mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the im ...

(but is actually a

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent mat ...

) and sees Bugs looking back at him, he thinks HE has turned into a rabbit and snaps, hopping down the street and turning onto the Brooklyn Bridge, hysterically shouting "What's up, doc?!" Seeing a police officer staring contemplatively at the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

from the middle of the bridge, Brody comes up behind him and begs for help. Turning, the officer reveals himself to be Bugs, demanding (in a thick Irish accent) "''What's all this about rabbits, Doc?''". That being the last straw, Brody leaps off the bridge, apparently as suicide. The scene freezes with Brody in mid-air to a poster seen behind Bugs who apparently rushed out to save him off-screen. Bugs ends the story there, and the impressed old man says: "That's enough, son! I'll buy it!" and hands Bugs some money (though it is unknown if he bought the Bridge or the rights to the story).

Historical background

Steve Brodie (note actual spelling) was a native of the Lower East Side. He first came to the attention of the local press as a teenager in 1879, when he was reportedly an influential figure among fellow newsboys and bootblackers. By 1886, he was a professional gambler who had fallen unto debt. In 1885, daredevil

Robert Emmet Odlum Robert Emmet Odlum (August 31, 1851 – May 19, 1885) was an American swimming instructor. Odlum was the first person to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, and was killed doing so. Early life Robert Emmet Odlum was born in Ogdensburg, New York, on ...

jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, and was killed doing so. Brodie took a dare to successfully jump off the Bridge.Ferrara (2011), p. 72-75 On the morning of July 23, 1886, Brodie took position on the railings of the bridge. Meanwhile, his friends boarded a rowboat to test the waters below. The jump was originally set for 10:00 am, but was called off because of a strong tide. Brodie returned c. 2:00 pm and reportedly rode in the back of a wagon until jumping off. He reportedly first took off his hat and shoes, and then fell from a height of c. 100 yards. There were accounts by eyewitnesses and extensive news reports, but his jump is still in doubt. The prevailing theory among historians is that a life-size dummy fell in his place.Ferrara (2011), p. 72-75 Brodie capitalized on his reputation as a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performer. He died in 1901, possibly from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

. His reputation survived him and inspired the film ''

The Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "Bo ...

'' (1933). The subsequent cartoon short cast Bugs as the motivator behind the famous jump.Ferrara (2011), p. 72-75

Production notes

It stars

(voiced by Mel Blanc, who also voices the other men in the pool hall) and Steve Brody (voiced here by

Billy Bletcher William Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979) was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Disne ...

), who was based on the real-life Brooklyn

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...

Steve Brodie who claimed to have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge. This is the first-and-only

cartoon directed by Arthur Davis (not counting Bugs' cameo in ''

The Goofy Gophers ''The Goofy Gophers'' is a 1947 Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Bob Clampett and Arthur Davis. The short was released on January 25, 1947, and is the first appearance of the Goofy Gophers. Plot An anthropomorphic dog who is ba ...

''). Although Bill Scott (of Bullwinkle J. Moose fame) is credited as a co-writer, he told Keith Scott in the book ''The Moose That Roared'' that he had no recollection of working on this film. By all indications, Lloyd Turner alone was responsible for the film's story, with Scott having been moved to a brief, unsuccessful spell as Friz Freleng's story artist, though the reason why Scott was still credited on this short is not known.

Home media

''Bowery Bugs'' is available on '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3''Looney Tunes: Golden Collection 1-6-Barnes and Noble
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Sources

References

External links

* {{s-end 1949 short films 1949 animated films 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films Merrie Melodies short films Animated films set in New York City Films directed by Arthur Davis Films set in 1886 Films scored by Carl Stalling Animated films about rabbits and hares Bugs Bunny films 1940s English-language films American comedy short films American animated short films