''Of Rice and Hen'' is a 1953

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.

'' animated short directed by

Robert McKimson Robert Porter McKimson Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator and illustrator, best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons and later DePa ...

. The cartoon was released on November 14, 1953, and features

Foghorn Leghorn Foghorn Leghorn is a cartoon rooster who appears in ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons and films from Warner Bros. Animation. He was created by Robert McKimson, and starred in 29 cartoons from 1946 to 1964 in the golden age of A ...

Miss Prissy Miss Prissy is a fictional character in Warner Bros. cartoons. She is typically described as an old spinster hen, thinner than the other hens in the chicken coop, wearing a blue bonnet and wire-rimmed glasses. She is often mocked by the other ...

and the

Barnyard Dawg Barnyard Dawg is a '' Looney Tunes'' character. A feisty anthropomorphic basset hound, he is the archenemy of Foghorn Leghorn. He was created by Robert McKimson, who also created Foghorn, and was voiced by Mel Blanc. Dawg also feuds with othe ...

. The title is a play on

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

's 1937 novel ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...

''. Foghorn Leghorn as usual is voiced by

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 ...

, while an uncredited

Bea Benaderet Beatrice Benaderet ( ; April 4, 1906 – October 13, 1968) was an American actress and comedienne. Born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, she began performing in Bay Area theatre and radio before embarking on a Hollywood career that ...

voicing all of the female hens.

Plot

The story opens with several hens mothering their chicks in an ideal suburban fashion: taking them on walks and bragging to fellow hens about their exploits. One of the hens jokingly tells Miss Prissy that she is lucky not to have chicks to look after, then Prissy overhears a group of hens saying that she will "never land a man" because she is "too much of a D-R-I-P." This depresses Prissy, who then climbs up on to the roof of the barn to commit suicide. Meanwhile, Foghorn is seen preparing to attack the dog with a board from a picket fence when he sees Prissy jump from the top of the barn. Foghorn dives to catch her, and Prissy sees Foghorn as not only a savior but a potential husband, a notion which Foghorn rejects. Foghorn then goes about his regular routine, picking up the board and going to the doghouse, where he lifts the dog up by the tail and repeatedly slaps his rear end with the board which causes the dog to chase him. Foghorn then closes the gate to the fence just in time for the dog to crash into it head first. Foghorn is then seen trying to slip a lit dynamite stick into the dog house, but the dog is wise to it and the trick backfires. Foghorn is then seen having a picnic with a large amount of food prepared by Prissy, but Foghorn rejects her again. The dog sees Prissy's attempts to court Foghorn, and the dog tells her that she is going about it the wrong way and offers to help out, seeing it as a way to rid himself of Foghorn for good. The dog then disguises himself as a rival rooster who wants to marry Prissy, in order to make Foghorn jealous. Although the ruse works, Foghorn attacks the dog and knocks him out cold, which wasn't he didn't seem to expect it. Foghorn ends up in church exclaiming, "I won, I won!", as he and Prissy are married. When Foghorn remembers that he had rejected Prissy before, he says to the audience, "Hey, there must have been some way I could have lost." He slaps himself to end the cartoon.

References

Succession

{{Robert McKimson 1953 animated films 1953 short films 1953 films Looney Tunes shorts Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Films directed by Robert McKimson 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Films scored by Carl Stalling Of Mice and Men 1950s English-language films Foghorn Leghorn films Barnyard Dawg films Films with screenplays by Warren Foster Films produced by Edward Selzer Miss Prissy films