The Unbearable Salesman

The Unbearable Salesman
Woody Woodpecker series
Directed by	Paul J. Smith
Produced by	Walter Lantz
Story by	Dick Kinney
Voices by	Grace Stafford Daws Butler June Foray
Music by	Clarence Wheeler
Animation by	Robert Bentley Les Kline Art Landy
Studio	Walter Lantz Productions
Distributed by	Universal International
Release date(s)	June 3, 1957
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	6' 17"
Country	United States
Language	English
Preceded by	Box Car Bandit
Followed by	International Woodpecker

The Unbearable Salesman is the 76th animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series, with Knothead and Splinter. Released theatrically on June 3, 1957, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal International.

Plot

Knothead and Splinter, sitting on Woody Woodpecker's knee, ask Woody to tell them how he acquired his bearskin rug. So Woody starts: "Once upon a time..." We flash back to Woody's days as a door-to-door salesman. We see a large bear, who's relaxing, on a warm day, in the shade of a large tree with a cooling drink in his hand. Suddenly, the bear feels a cool something drop on his nose. Upon closer inspection, it proves to be a flake of snow. The bear suddenly realizes that he should be back in his winter quarters hibernating. He gets up and, with all possible speed, rushes to his hibernating bed and immediately falls into a deep sleep. Later, he's awakened by a knock on his door. As he sleepily opens it, there stands Woody, wanting to demonstrate and sell various household items. The bear listens, gets mad and throws Woody out. Undaunted, Woody returns again and again to peddle his wares, only to be thrown out time after time by the bruin, who's trying desperately to sleep. Finally, exasperated beyond all endurance, the bear rigs up a four-cannon device to eliminate Woody, but it backfires, and the bear fades into space. "And that's how I got the bearskin rug," says Woody, as he bids "good night" to Knothead and Splinter.

References

• Cooke, Jon, Komorowski, Thad, Shakarian, Pietro, and Tatay, Jack. "1957". The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia.