''The Major Lied 'Til Dawn'' is a 1938

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

'' cartoon directed by

Frank Tashlin Frank Tashlin (born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, February 19, 1913 – May 5, 1972), also known as Tish Tash and Frank Tash, was an American animator and filmmaker. He was best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' ...

. The short was released on August 13, 1938. The short was written by Rich Hogan and animated by Phil Monroe.The Major Lied 'Til Dawn
. ''Big Cartoon DataBase'', August 30, 2014

Synopsis

A big game hunter, called "the Major", tells a little boy (a caricature of child actor

Freddie Bartholomew Frederick Cecil Bartholomew (March 28, 1924 – January 23, 1992), known for his acting work as Freddie Bartholomew, was an English-American child actor who was very popular in 1930s Hollywood films. His most famous starring roles are in '' Cap ...

) stories about hunting in Africa. On one hunt, the Major gets help from the African natives to catch animals, with funny results. The cartoon is notable for its ending, in which an elephant says, "That's all, folks!", prompting a quick rendition of " Merrily We Roll Along" as the credits appear. The elephant was voiced by

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908 – July 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 come ...

, who coincidentally also voiced

Porky Pig Porky Pig is a cartoon 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 man ...

, who also said "That's All Folks" at the end of each

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

cartoon at the time.

Voice cast

as the Elephant *

Tedd Pierce Edward Stacey "Tedd" Pierce III (August 12, 1906 – February 19, 1972) was an American screenwriter and voice actor of animated cartoons, principally from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s. Biography Pierce was the son of a stockbroker, Samuel ...

as the Major *

Tommy Bond Thomas Ross Bond (September 16, 1926 – September 24, 2005) was an American actor, director, producer and writer. He was best known for his work as a child actor for two nonconsecutive periods in ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') comedies (fir ...

as the Young Boy

References

External links

* 1938 films 1938 animated short films Merrie Melodies short films Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Short films directed by Frank Tashlin 1930s American animated films Films scored by Carl Stalling Films about hunting Films set in Africa 1930s English-language films {{MerrieMelodies-stub