Conrad the Sailor
| Conrad the Sailor | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies (Daffy Duck) series | |
 title card | |
| Directed by |
Supervision: Charles M. Jones |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Story by | Dave Monahan |
| Voices by |
Featuring the voice talents of: Mel Blanc as Daffy Duck Pinto Colvig as Conrad the Cat |
| Music by |
Musical direction: Carl W. Stalling Orchestrated by: Milt Franklyn (uncredited) |
| Animation by |
Character animation: Ben Washam (solo animation credit) Robert Cannon Ken Harris Phil DeLara Rudy Larriva (final four uncredited) Effects animation: A.C. Gamer (uncredited) |
| Layouts by |
Character and background layout: John McGrew (uncredited) |
| Backgrounds by |
Background paint: Gene Fleury |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 28, 1942 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7 min, 08 sec |
| Language | English |
Conrad the Sailor is a 1942 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series released on the last day of February 1942, supervised by Chuck Jones. The title character, a.k.a. Conrad the Cat, is voiced by Pinto Colvig and animated by the quintet. The other featured player is Daffy Duck, voiced as usual by Mel Blanc and animated by them.
Plot synopsis
The story takes place aboard a battleship staffed by anthropomorphic cats (which strangely look like dogs with their small ears), most of whom are singing "The Song of the Marines (Shovin' Right Off Again)" as a chorale group. Cut to Conrad, who talks and sings exactly like Colvig's characterization of the Walt Disney character "Goofy".
As Conrad swabs the deck, he is interrupted by Daffy when he spots his muddy footprints on the deck and Daffy on the mast, and he angrily mutters the song to himself. On the mast, Daffy paces back and forth, mocking Conrad's singing, then remarks to the audience "Phew, is that guy awful? Gee, it makes me sick". Conrad tries to ignore Daffy and his pranks, growing more suspicious and annoyed at Daffy, who deliberately swaps Conrad's water bucket with a paint bucket, causing Conrad to paint the deck, to which Daffy comments "Very sloppy, Roscoe. You're a slovenly housekeeper". Conrad angrily throws the mop at Daffy, who then catches it, uses it in a short vaudeville routine before tossing the mop into the air, and shouts to Conrad "Catch! Catch!", only the mop lands on Conrad's head. The camera angle shows Daffy on top of the mop, again taunting to Conrad "Very petite, Betsy. Very, very petite" before sliding down the mop and an infuriated Conrad, twisting him and the mop. Conrad finally gets fed up with Daffy, and proceeds to chase him, but Daffy outsmarts him at every turn from hiding in a lifeboat and after Conrad mistakes him for a telescope, keeping watch for Daffy. A running gag in the picture is that all action screeches to a halt whenever the ship's diminutive Admiral walks by, as both sailor and duck snap to attention and salute. The final gag involves Conrad and Daffy being chased by a shell from one of the ship's big guns. All three, including the shell, snap to attention as the Admiral walks by before the chase continues as the cartoon ends with an iris out.
Innovation
Animator John McGrew borrowed much of the staging for the cartoon from Sergei Eisenstein's film The Battleship Potemkin. It also saw his first use of match cuts where different objects in separate scenes would have the same basic shape, with McGrew giving the example of a gun and a cloud.[1]
Availability
Conrad the Sailor is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 Disc 4.
See also
References
- ↑ Amid Amidi, Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in Fifties Animation
External links
| Preceded by The Henpecked Duck |
Daffy Duck Cartoons 1942 |
Succeeded by Daffy's Southern Exposure |