Curtain Razor
| Curtain Razor | |
|---|---|
| Production company | Warner Bros. Cartoons |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date | May 21, 1949 |
| Run time | 7:17 |
| Starring | Mel Blanc Dave Barry Cliff Nazarro[1] |
| Music composed by | Carl Stalling |
| Story by | Tedd Pierce |
| Animation | Manuel Perez Ken Champin Virgil Ross Pete Burness |
| Director(s) | I. Freleng |
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Curtain Razor is the two hundred and fifty-fourth Looney Tunes theatrical short. It was distributed Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on May 21, 1949. It was written by Tedd Pierce and directed by Friz Freleng.
Porky is agent producer holding auditions for performers to show their talents. One such person, an eager fox, attempts to impress Porky but has to wait his turn.
Detailed summary
Memorable quotes
Grasshopper: I killed it in Cu...camonga!
Porky: Eh-th-th-th-thank you very much. I may have a spot for you. N-n-next please!
Fox: Hey, mac! Look, mac! Why dontcha give yourself a break? I got the act you've been looking for all your life! I'm tellin' ya it's...
Porky: Eh-w-w-well alright, but y-y-you just have to wait for your turn! N-n-now wait outside, please... I eh-w-w-wonder what happens next?
Turtle: I am known as the "Man with a Thousand Voices." Shall I do my stuff?
Porky: Y-yes. G-g-go right ahead.
(The turtle proceeds to do multiple voices at once, before exhausting himself)
Porky: Eh-b-but that was only n-n-nine hundred and ninety-n-n-nine voices.
Turtle: Shucks, I know I've got another one... Well, I'll think of it.
Porky: Th-th-that's not high class enough. St-strictly for those silly s-s-swo-swoo-swooning bobby soxers.
Porky: Boy, t-t-two-headed! Th-this ought to be a sensational act!
Two-headed janitor: Act-schmact. I'm the janitor.
Porky: Say, th-th-that really is terrific!
Fox: Yeah, but there's just one tiny, little thing about it. I can only do it once.
Characters
In order of appearance: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Organizations
Locations
- Earth
- United States
- Talent agent office
- California (indirectly mentioned)
- Rancho Cucamonga (mentioned)
- United States
Objects
Production
Development
Filming
Music
The music was composed by Carl W. Stalling.
Crew credits
- Layouts: Hawley Pratt
- Backgrounds: Paul Julian
Release
Dates are in order of release:
- United States: April 30, 1949 in theatres
Behind the scenes
- The title is a play on "curtain raiser," a smaller stage performance taking place before the main attraction.
- The MPAA certificate number is 12543.
- In concept, the short contains a similar premise to Tex Avery's 1939 short Hamateur Night, as it centers on a series of comical stage acts that keep getting rejected via a trap door.
- It is one of three non-Bugs Bunny cartoons from 1949 not to get a Blue Ribbon rerelease. The others were Holiday for Drumsticks and Porky Chops.
- The turtle is a reference to his actor Mel Blanc, who was referred to as "The Man of a Thousand Voices." Some of his voices are also make allusions to the following:
- The Southern-type character who goes "That's a joke, boy!" refers to Senetor Claghorn, a character played by Kenny Delmar on The Fred Allen Show.
- In a more obvious reference to Blanc, the turtle does Bugs Bunny saying "What's up, Doc?"
- The gravelly-voiced man saying "Call the phone, boss!" is Rochester, also from The Jack Benny Show and originally played by Eddie Anderson.
- In-between and after doing Rochester's voice, the turtle uses a voice akin to Jimmy Durante.
- The short has received differing edited versions on television:
- When it aired as part of The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show, the short was renamed to Show Stopper.[2]
- On Cartoon Network, the scene of the fox drinking gasoline as part of his act was removed.[3]
- The version used on the Merrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny & Friends TV series received a similar edit that removed the gasoline ingesting scene, but also removes the part where he swallows a lit match.[3] Despite this, the removed portion was left intact when this short appeared as one of the show's "Hip Clip" segments.[4]
- Nickelodeon's version also has the aforementioned edits from the Merrie Melodies TV show, but additionally removes a scene where Al talks about his "Mammy."[3]
Errors
Legacy
- In Show Biz Bugs, Daffy performs a deadly, explosive act reminiscent to the fox in Curtain Razor, as a last-ditch effort to outdo Bugs on stage.
- Daffy also uses the pidgeon act from this short as well.
- The short was featured in the film Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island, as part of Porky's wish. In it, the scenes involving the turtle and the fox were omitted.
Critical reception
In other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
Home availability
- In the United States:
- October 7, 1985: Warner Home Video releases Porky Pig's Screwball Comedies on VHS.
- 1992: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Curtain Calls on LasrDisc.
- November 6, 2012: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Super Stars' Porky & Friends: Hilarious Ham on DVD.
- March 14, 2023: Warner Archive Collection releases Flamingo Road on Blu-ray Disc.
- September 26, 2023: Warner Archive Collection releases Cats Don't Dance on Blu-ray Disc.
References
- ↑ Scott, Kieth (October 3, 2022) Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2, p. 142. BearManor Media.
- ↑ McCorry, Kevin. "THE BUGS BUNNY/ROAD RUNNER HOUR". Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The Censored Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Guide: C". The Internet Animation Database. Archived from original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- ↑ "November 15 and 27, 1990 Merrie Melodies Episodes 44 and 52 (Partials)". Internet Archive. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
