''The Autograph Hound'' is a 1939

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

cartoon which features Donald Duck as an

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

hunter in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

. Many celebrities from the 1930s are featured. This is the first cartoon where Donald Duck is featured in his blue sailor hat.

Plot

Donald Duck tries to enter a Hollywood studio so he can search for celebrities willing to sign their autograph. A security guard with an Irish accent at the gate prevents him from entering the building. Donald manages to sneak inside by climbing on the

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pr ...

with

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...

so that it seems he's riding along with her. The security guard discovers he's been fooled and chases Donald, who enters a room with the name "Mickey Rooney" on it. Inside,

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

is dressing up in front of the mirror, when Donald asks him for his autograph. Rooney writes his name in Donald's book and makes it disappear and reappear with a magic trick. Donald, who is not amused, tries to impress Rooney by doing a similar trick with an egg. However, the egg is obviously hidden under Donald's hat and Rooney, who is aware of this, crushes it, laughing loudly. Donald gets extremely angry and starts waving his fists, while Rooney manages to put a violin in Donald's hands and starts dancing an Irish jig Donald is playing. When Donald discovers he has been tricked for the third time, he throws the violin at Rooney. Rooney ducks and the instrument lands in the face of the security guard. Alarmed, Donald runs away and hides under a bell-jar carried by actor Henry Armetta. When the security guard discovers Donald's hiding place, the duck runs to another film set full of ice. There, he meets

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic champion (1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champio ...

and asks her for an autograph. Henie signs her name by skating it in the ice, so that Donald has to carry it with him. While walking in a desert setting, Donald discovers the ice has melted. He notices a tent with the silhouettes of three belly dancing Arabic women, who turn out to be the Ritz Brothers. Excited, he asks them for their autographs, but behaving like screwballs, they jump on Donald and sign their group name on his buttocks. An enraged Donald throws a paint can at their heads, but it hits the face of the security guard instead. Again, Donald has to flee, and he runs to a castle with the sign The Road To Mandalay, which turns out to be just a model. After bumping his head into it and realizing his mistake, he runs into another direction. On a pair of stairs, he bumps into

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

. She, too, recognizes him and asks for an autograph. They both sit down to sign each other their autographs and Donald, excited he has his first real autograph, jumps in the air with joy. Then suddenly, the security guard finally grabs him and intends to beat him with his nightstick. Shirley tells him to leave Donald alone and he drops him on the floor in surprise. "Donald Duck? Did you say ''"Donald Duck"''?". Other Hollywood actors hear his comment and enthusiastically rush to Donald to ask him to sign his autograph for them. (In chronological order:

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

, Charlie McCarthy, Stepin Fetchit, Roland Young, the Lone Ranger riding his horse Silver, Joe E. Brown,

Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway. She was honored ...

Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...

Irvin S. Cobb Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb (June 23, 1876 – March 11, 1944) was an American author, humorist, editor and columnist from Paducah, Kentucky, who relocated to New York in 1904, living there for the remainder of his life. He wrote for the ''New York Worl ...

, Edward Arnold,

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences ...

, Slim Summerville,

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931 ...

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

Harpo Marx Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Grou ...

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky (Михаил Семёнович Унковский; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russian-born American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in film in 192 ...

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

, and

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

). When the police officer asks Donald to sign his autograph book and offers him his pen, Donald squirts ink in the policeman's face. While the ink drips from the security guard's face and Donald writes his name on the officer's chest, Donald laughs hysterically.

Voice cast

* Donald Duck:

Clarence Nash Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash (December 7, 1904 – February 20, 1985) was an American voice actor. He was best known as the original voice of the Disney cartoon character Donald Duck. He was born in the rural community of Watonga, Oklahoma, and ...

* Security Guard:

Billy Bletcher William Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979) was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Disn ...

* Charles Laughton, Charlie McCarthy, Clark Gable, Edward G. Robinson, Groucho Marx, Hugh Herbert, Joe E. Brown, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Ronald Colman:

Peter Lind Hayes Peter Lind Hayes (born Joseph Conrad Lind Jr.; June 25, 1915 – April 21, 1998) was an American vaudeville entertainer, songwriter, and film and television actor. Early life Hayes was born in San Francisco, the son of Joseph Conrad Lind Sr., a ...

* Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Martha Raye:

Sara Berner Sara Berner (born Lillian Ann Herdan; January 12, 1912 – December 19, 1969) was an American actress. Known for her expertise in dialect and characterization, she began her career as a performer in vaudeville before becoming a voice actress for r ...

* Shirley Temple:

Barbara Jean Wong Barbara Jean Wong (March 3, 1924 – November 13, 1999) was an American actress, primarily on the radio. Early life and career Wong was a fourth-generation Chinese-American born in Los Angeles, California, to produce market owners Thomas and Ma ...

* Henry Armetta:

Lou Merrill Louis Dilman Merrill (April 1, 1912 – April 7, 1963) was an American actor, who worked primarily in radio from the 1930s through the 1950s. Early life Lou Merill was born on April 1, 1912, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada., and moved to the ...

* Mickey Rooney: Donald Barry * Sonia Henie: herself

Home media

The short was released on May 18, 2004 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume One: 1934-1941''.

References

External links

* *
Explanation and visual comparison between the caricatures featured in the cartoon and the real celebrities
{{DEFAULTSORT:Autograph Hound 1939 films 1930s color films 1939 animated films Hollywood, Los Angeles in fiction Donald Duck short films 1930s Disney animated short films Films about actors Films directed by Jack King Films produced by Walt Disney Films set in Los Angeles Animation based on real people Cultural depictions of Greta Garbo Cultural depictions of Shirley Temple Cultural depictions of the Marx Brothers Cultural depictions of Clark Gable Cultural depictions of Katharine Hepburn Films scored by Oliver Wallace Films with screenplays by Carl Barks 1930s American films