''Deduce, You Say'' is a 1956

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 ...

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.

'' cartoon, directed by

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...

and written by

Michael Maltese Michael Maltese (February 6, 1908 – February 22, 1981) was an American story man for classic animated cartoon shorts. He is best known for working in the 1950s on a series of ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons with director Chuck Jones, notably "Wha ...

. The short was released on September 29, 1956, and stars

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon fictional character, character created for Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American black duck, black ...

and

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 ...

. The title is a play on the exclamation, "The deuce, you say!" The cartoon features Daffy Duck as the dim-witted detective Dorlock Homes (a parody of

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

) and Porky Pig as his sidekick Watkins (

Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle f ...

), as they attempt to locate and apprehend the dangerous "Shropshire Slasher."

Plot

Dr. Watkins narrates throughout the cartoon. Dorlock Homes lives on Beeker Street in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Inside their apartment, Homes is busily engaged in " deduction" —

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

deduction, that is, hoping to write off such costs as "magnifying glasses and gumshoes" and "cab fares, to and from murders." Following a knock on the door, a telegram deliveryman falls into their flat. While Homes attributes it to

curare Curare ( /kʊˈrɑːri/ or /kjʊˈrɑːri/; ''koo-rah-ree'' or ''kyoo-rah-ree'') is a common name for various alkaloid arrow poisons originating from plant extracts. Used as a paralyzing agent by indigenous peoples in Central and South ...

, a type of poison, the deliveryman chides him for not fixing the step. Homes, angry, quickly snatches the letter from his hands and sternly informs him in no uncertain terms, "Just for that, you receive no gratuity." The telegram is from an infamous criminal known as the

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

Slasher, informing Homes that he has escaped from prison, and plans to resume "slashing" innocent citizens. Homes and Watkins enter a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

the Slasher is known to haunt. Homes' attempts to gather clues land darts in his bill. When the Shropshire Slasher is finally revealed, Homes repeatedly attempts to arrest him, but the Slasher proves much stronger, and effortlessly defeats Homes. Watkins, on the other hand, speaks much more politely and reasonably to the suspect and he not only willingly divulges his identity, but is peacefully persuaded to turn himself back over to the police. Just then, a kind, old woman arrives selling flowers. Homes accuses her of selling them without a license and threatens to arrest her. The Shropshire Slasher moans "Mother!" Before Homes has time to consider what has happened, the Shropshire Slasher grabs him by the neck and starts shaking him violently, causing an assortment of objects to fall from Homes' person. The Shropshire Slasher and his mother then leave, with him explaining to her that he promised "the nice gentleman" that he would give himself up, and her praising him for willingly doing so. Watkins asks a beat-up looking Homes in what school he learned to be a detective. Homes answers: "

Elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, an ...

, my dear Watkins. Elementary."

Reception

Animation historian

Jerry Beck Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer. Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including ''The 50 Greatest C ...

writes, "''Deduce, You Say'' is an outrageously witty film that parodies both the original Sherlock Holmes books by Conan Doyle and the Hollywood movie versions ... The premise allowed huckJones to combine Daffy's frantic animated action with Porky's subtle attitudes, facial expressions, and posing, which get just as many laughs. A class act, and a first-rate cartoon."

Cast

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

(as Dorlock Homes),

(as Dr. Watkins), The Shropshire Slasher, the Telegram Deliveryman, Alfie, and the Bartender *

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...

as The Shropshire Slasher's Mother and Lady Ashtabula (uncredited)

Home media

This short can be found on Disc Two of the '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1'' DVD set, Disc One of the '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2'' Blu-ray set, and Disc One of ''

The Essential Daffy Duck ''The Essential Daffy Duck'' is a DVD set featuring cartoons focusing on Daffy Duck. It was released on November 1, 2011. Contents The contents are split over two discs. The first disc features 15 classic Daffy Duck shorts (14 of which were previ ...

'' DVD set.

References

External links

* {{Chuck Jones 1956 films 1956 animated films 1956 short films Looney Tunes shorts Short films directed by Chuck Jones Daffy Duck films Porky Pig films Sherlock Holmes pastiches 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films 1950s mystery films American mystery films Films scored by Milt Franklyn Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese American detective films Animated films set in London Films produced by Edward Selzer 1950s English-language films