''Hare-um Scare-um'' is a 1939

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 ...

'' cartoon directed by

Ben Hardaway Joseph Benson Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation studios during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He was someti ...

and

Cal Dalton Cal Dalton (December 2, 1908 – June 1974) was an American animator and director at Warner Bros. Cartoons. Work Dalton's first commercial animation work was in 1930 at the ill-fated Romer Grey Studios. He later worked on an animated short vers ...

. The short was released on August 12, 1939, and is the third short to feature the rabbit that would evolve into

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 '' ...

. The title is a

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones (equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition, ...

with an old nonsense expression — "harum-scarum", meaning reckless or irresponsible. This was the first use of a hare-based pun title in the Warner Bros. cartoons; it would be a device used to name many Bugs Bunny cartoons in the years to come.

Plot

A man (named as John Sourpuss in the copyright synopsis) reading a newspaper comes across an article stating that meat prices have soared and the consumers are sore. Angry, he declares that he'll hunt his own meat to get back at the government for the price inflation. He takes his dog with him, revealing he is going hunting for rabbits. In the woods, a rabbit leads the dog into a hollow log and pushes the log down a hill, where it smashes into a tree. Meanwhile, John sees several rabbits hopping over a hill. He fires his gun several times and runs to where the rabbits were. When he gets there, he finds two

spinning wheel A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning f ...

s with pictures of rabbits on them, giving the perception of moving rabbits. He then sees the rabbit sleeping. The hunter starts pouring salt on the rabbit's tail. The rabbit quickly gets up and holds a stick of

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'') is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, lea ...

under the stream of salt. The rabbit then runs into a cave, and the hunter runs after him. Before he reaches the cave, a pair of elevator doors closes, which the hunter runs into. The bunny then dresses as a female dog, successfully seducing the hunter's dog. When the dog finally realizes he's with the rabbit rather than another dog, he resumes his chase. The rabbit then pretends he's a policeman, citing the dog for numerous crimes (speeding, running on the wrong side of the street, intoxicated "driving", etc.). After confusing the dog and running away, the rabbit begins singing a song about how crazy he is. When he finishes his song, he turns to find the hunter with his gun aimed at him. The rabbit, trying to gain sympathy, begs for his life, explaining how poor and sick he is. John begins crying, feeling sorry for the rabbit. Despite this, the rabbit shocks John with a joy buzzer. The hunter then shouts that he can whip the rabbit and his whole family. Suddenly, a large group of rabbits surround John, looking for a fight (see "Notes" below for the true ending).

Home media

*LaserDisc – ''

The Golden Age of Looney Tunes ''The Golden Age of Looney Tunes'' is a collection of LaserDiscs released by MGM/UA Home Video in the 1990s. There were five sets made, featuring a number of discs, and each disc side represented a different theme, being made up of seven cartoon ...

'', Volume 2, Side 2 (unrestored, without lost ending) *DVD – ''

Invisible Stripes ''Invisible Stripes'' is a 1939 Warner Bros. crime film starring George Raft as a gangster unable to go straight after returning home from prison. The movie was directed by Lloyd Bacon and also features William Holden, Jane Bryan and Humphrey ...

'' (USA 1995 dubbed print added as a bonus, without lost ending) *Blu-ray and DVD – '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2'', Disc 2 (lost ending restored) *Streaming -

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

Notes

*This cartoon marks the third appearance of Bugs Bunny's predecessor and the first time he, thanks to a redesign by

Charlie Thorson Charles "Charlie" Gustav Thorson (29 August 1890 – 7 August 1966) was a Canadian political cartoonist, character designer, children's book author and illustrator. Thorson is best known as the man who designed an early version of the then yet ...

, appears as a grey rabbit instead of a white one. *The rabbit's voice and laugh were identical to those of

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by Lan ...

in his very first appearance (the

Andy Panda Andy Panda is a cartoon character who starred in his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz. These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1947, and United Artists from 1948 to 1949. The title ...

cartoon "

Knock Knock Knock Knock may refer to: * Knock-knock joke, a type of joke Film and television * Knock Knock (1940 film), ''Knock Knock'' (1940 film), an animated short film noted for the first appearance of Woody Woodpecker * ''Knock Knock'' (2007 film), a ...

", released the following year). In fact,

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 ...

voiced Woody Woodpecker for the first year before entering a contract with

*There had been speculation about the real ending of this cartoon, as the version shown on television ends abruptly after the rabbits appear following the hunter threatening to beat up the wacky rabbit and his entire family. On April 27, 2009, animation historian

David Gerstein David Gerstein (born February 6, 1974) is an American comics author and editor as well as an animation historian. Gerstein has five books and countless comic book credits to his name. He has written many Disney comics stories, usually featuring ...

posted a report on his blog that he finally revealed the true ending to this cartoon: the rabbits attack the hunter in a cartoon smoke cloud and then run away.Ramapith: David Gerstein's Prehistoric Pop Culture Blog – Legendbreakers: Hare-um Scare-um
/ref> The smoke clears up to show the hunter disheveled. The rabbit returns to give the hunter his busted rifle saying "You oughtta get that fixed. Somebody's liable to get hurt." He then returns to his looney self, bouncing on his head like a pogo stick down the road. The hunter becomes enraged, but then does the same thing the rabbit does. This scene might have been removed because, as Gerstein theorizes, the ending scene was similar to the ending of Tex Avery's "

Daffy Duck & Egghead ''Daffy Duck & Egghead'' is a 1938 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon produced in 1937 and directed by Tex Avery. The cartoon was released on January 1, 1938, and stars Daffy Duck and Egghead. Plot Egghead (in a voice imitating radio com ...

", which was released a year earlier prior to the release of "Hare-um Scare-um". The lost ending was restored on '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hare-Um Scare-Um 1939 films 1939 short films 1939 animated films Merrie Melodies short films Bugs Bunny films Films about hunters Films directed by Ben Hardaway Films directed by Cal Dalton Films produced by Leon Schlesinger 1930s Warner Bros. animated short films