Stage Door Cartoon

Stage Door Cartoon
Lobby card.
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	December 30, 1944
Run time	8:00
Starring	Arthur Q. Bryan Mel Blanc
Music composed by	Carl W. Stalling
Story by	Michael Maltese
Animation	Jack Bradbury
Director(s)	I. Freleng
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Title card
Second title card

Stage Door Cartoon, is the two hundred and forty-third Merrie Melodies theatrical short. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on December 30, 1944. It was written by Michael Maltese, produced by Edward Selzer, and directed by Friz Freleng.

While fishing for wabbits, Elmer Fudd chases Bugs to a vaudeville theater, where the rabbit uses it to his advantage to heckle the hunter.

Memorable quotes

Sheriff: You're under arrest for indecent Southern exposure! It's agin' the law. Git a-goin'! It's the hoosegow for you, bub.

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Elmer Fudd	Arthur Q. Bryan
Bugs Bunny	Mel Blanc
Southern sheriff	Mel Blanc

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Forest
    • Vaudeville theater

Production

Second lobby card.

Music

The music was composed by Carl W. Stalling.

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: December 30, 1944 in theatres

Behind the scenes

• The title is a spoof of the 1943 musical film, Stage Door Canteen.
• Bugs saying, "I'll do it, but I'll probably hate myself in the morning," is derived from Little Red Riding Rabbit.
• It was the first cartoon to feature "What's Up Doc?" in the title card.
• The Southern sheriff who appears in this short is prototype of Yosemite Sam, albeit different than the "official" version that would appear in 1945's Hare Trigger. It was confirmed in the ToonHeads episode "Before They Were Stars."

Legacy

• The plot of this cartoon would be repurposed in the 1949 cartoon, Hare Do.
• The high diving act gag would also be used for a plot in the Looney Tunes short High Diving Hare.

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2