''Who Killed Who?'' is a 1943

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

film noir animated short directed by

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...

. The cartoon is a parody of

whodunit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the c ...

stories and employs many clichés of the genre for humor; for example, the score is performed not by the MGM orchestra but by a solo organ, imitating the style of many radio dramas of the era.

Plot

A live-action host (

Robert Emmett O'Connor Robert Emmett O'Connor (March 18, 1885 – September 4, 1962) was an Irish-American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1919 and 1950. He is probably best remembered as the warmhearted bootlegger Paddy Ryan in '' The Public En ...

) opens with a disclaimer about the nature of the cartoon, namely, that the short is meant to "prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that crime does not pay". The story begins on a dark and stormy night as the victim (voiced by

Kent Rogers Kent Byron Rogers (July 31, 1923 – July 9, 1944) was an American actor who appeared in several live-action features and shorts, and a voice actor for Warner Bros. Cartoons and Walter Lantz Productions. Career For Warner Bros. Cartoons, R ...

doing an impression of

Richard Haydn Richard Haydn (born George Richard Haydon, 10 March 1905 – 25 April 1985) was a British-American comedy actor. Some of his better known performances include his roles as Professor Oddley in '' Ball of Fire'' (1941), Roger in '' No Time for Lo ...

), presumably the master of the very large "Gruesome Gables" mansion, is reading a book based on the cartoon in which he appears. Frightened, he muses that, according to the book, he is about to be " bumped off". Someone throws a dagger with a letter attached, telling the master that he will die at 11:30. When he objects, another letter informs him that the time has been moved to midnight. True to form, on the final stroke of midnight a mysterious killer in a heavy black cloak and hood shoots him dead with a rather large pistol (''how'' dead he is, though, is a matter of question), and a police detective (voiced by

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 Disne ...

, modeled on characters portrayed in film by

Fred Kelsey Frederick Alvin Kelsey (August 20, 1884 – September 2, 1961) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. Kelsey directed one- and two-reel films for Universal Film Manufacturing Company. He appeared in more than 400 films betw ...

) and demanding to know "Who done it?!", immediately begins to investigate. After checking out the premises and the suspicious " red herring" servants, the officer gives a lengthy chase of the real killer. The mansion is filled with surreal pitfalls, strange characters—including a red skeleton (a parody of

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program '' The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

) and a ghost that is terrified of mice—and booby traps that slow and obstruct the detective. Behind a closed door marked "Do Not Open Until Xmas", he finds an angry Santa Claus. The detective eventually traps the killer and unmasks him, revealing him to be the opening-sequence host, who confesses "I dood it"—one of Skelton's catchphrases—before bursting out crying.

Cast

Voice cast

as Police Officer, Ghost (uncredited) *

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 ...

as Cuckoo Clock Bird, Maid (uncredited) *

as victim with an impression of

, Red Skeleton, Falling Body, and Santa Claus (uncredited)

Live-action cast

as Host (uncredited)

Availability

*'' Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1'' Blu-Ray (restored)

References

External links

* {{Tex Avery 1943 animated films 1943 crime films 1943 mystery films 1943 short films 1943 films 1940s parody films 1940s American animated films 1940s animated short films 1940s ghost films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short films Films directed by Tex Avery American films with live action and animation Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Self-reflexive films Films scored by Scott Bradley Films with screenplays by Henry Wilson Allen Films set in country houses Murder mystery films Santa Claus in film Films produced by Fred Quimby Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio short films Film noir cartoons