''Dumb Patrol'' is a 1964

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 short directed by

Gerry Chiniquy Germain Adolph Chiniquy (pronounced "chin-a-KEE"; June 23, 1912 – November 22, 1989) was an American animator known for his work with Friz Freleng, at both Warner Bros. and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. Chiniquy joined Freleng's animation ...

. It was released on January 18, 1964, and stars

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

and

Yosemite Sam Yosemite Sam ( /joʊˈsɛmɪti/ ''yoh-SEM-ih-tee'') is a cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park. He is an adversary of Bugs ...

. Director Gerry Chiniquy was a longtime animator in

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 '' ...

's unit. The cartoon is set during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

opening 'somewhere in France' in 1917, and it also commemorates the 50th anniversary of WWI.Flights of Fancy (Part 22): Here, There, In the Air
/ref> The title is an allusion to '' The Dawn Patrol'', a 1930 movie by

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A v ...

that also deals with World War I pilots. The same title was also used for an unrelated, early Looney Tunes short starring

Bosko Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko was the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series and was the star of 39 ''Looney Tunes'' shorts released by Warner Bros. He ...

, released in 1931. ''Dumb Patrol'' does not fall into the normal pattern found in most other

cartoon shorts. Bugs is not disturbed from a serene state as in most of his other shorts. Also, being a military pilot, he is the attacker, reversing his normal role of the victim. Yosemite Sam had previously been

killed off The killing off of a character is a device in fiction, whereby a character dies, but the story continues. The term, frequently applied to television, film, video game, anime, manga and chronological series, often denotes an untimely or unexpect ...

in his previous short, '' Devil's Feud Cake'' (though because this film is set in the past it can be argued that this does not create an explicit continuity error, although Sam dies at the end of this cartoon as well). This marks the final pairing of Bugs and Yosemite Sam, as well as the final appearance of the latter, one of the only three cartoons to feature both Bugs and Porky together, and the final time Porky appears without

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 ...

Plot

In 1917, somewhere in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during

, 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 Drawing straws is a selection method, or a form of sortition, that is used by a group to choose one member of the group to perform a task after none has volunteered for it. The same practice can be used also to choose one of several volunteers, shou ...

game begins resulting in

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 ...

(addressed as Captain Smedley in this cartoon) selected for the mission. Next day, at dawn, while Porky is suiting up for the flight (whistling

Mademoiselle from Armentières "Mademoiselle from Armentières" is an English song that was particularly popular during World War I. It is also known by its ersatz French hook line, 'Inky Pinky Parlez Vous,' or the American variant 'Hinky Dinky Parlez-vous' (variant: ''Parlay ...

knocks him out with a brick and takes his place, because Porky has a family (" . . . a

wife A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...

and six piglets!"). Meanwhile, somewhere in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Sam (

) is awarded an

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

for his service. Sam, however, is sick of receiving these and would prefer a well-deserved long

furlough A furlough (; from nl, verlof, "leave of absence") is a temporary leave of employees due to special needs of a company or employer, which may be due to economic conditions of a specific employer or in society as a whole. These furloughs may be s ...

. Flying over, Bugs drops him a small bouquet of flowers and a poem. Sam reads and is 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 Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

flies out and stings his nose. Sam has trouble getting his biplane started but, after confronting the plane and finally taking flight, Sam catches up to Bugs. Bugs pulls up into the clouds. Sam orders him out and that he is coming in after him on the count of three but he crashes into a mountain before counting three. Sam starts cursing in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

as his plane spirals toward the ground and crashes again. After hitting the ground, Sam runs back to the airfield and grabs another fighter plane. While he looks for Bugs, Bugs comes up behind and buzz-saws through Sam's plane. In his third attempt, Sam begins shooting at Bugs with a machine gun; Bugs not only dodges but also flies by in all directions and from different angles. Sam's shooting becomes indiscriminate and ends up shearing his own plane to bits, leaving only the undercarriage which becomes a

unicycle A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a bicycle frame, frame with a bicycle saddle, saddle, and has a human-powered vehicle, pedal-driven direct-drive mechanism, direct-drive. A two spee ...

when he lands. Sam then takes to the skies in a bomber. Having sighted and targeted Bugs, he releases the bombs, but he falls with them and gets caught in the resultant ground explosion. Sam turns to a small monoplane, which at the push of a lever transforms into a fierce fighting machine quad-plane loaded with engines and machine guns. Sam pulls the switch to full power, but this rips the plane into three parts, causing him to fall to his demise in the

ammunition dump An ammunition dump, ammunition supply point (ASP), ammunition handling area (AHA) or ammunition depot is a military storage facility for live ammunition and explosives. The storage of live ammunition and explosives is inherently hazardous. Th ...

. Bugs remarks that he has heard of

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

, but he never thought he would see one. The final scene shows Sam in a devil's suit, playing a harp and floating skyward.

References

External links

* {{Yosemite Sam in animation 1964 films 1964 animated films 1964 short films Looney Tunes shorts Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films American aviation films Films set in 1917 Films set in France Films set in Germany Military humor in film Western Front (World War I) films Films scored by William Lava Bugs Bunny films Porky Pig films Films directed by Gerry Chiniquy 1960s Warner Bros. animated short films Yosemite Sam films 1960s English-language films

Plot

See also

References

External links