You Ought to Be in Pictures
| You Ought to Be in Pictures | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Supervision: I. Freleng |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Animation by | Character animation: Herman Cohen Gil Turner Cal Dalton (final two uncredited) Uncredited effects animation: A.C. Gamer |
| Color process | Black and white (computer colorized in 1995) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Running time | 9 minutes |
You Ought to Be in Pictures is a 1940 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short film featuring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. The film combined live-action and animation, and features live-action appearances by Leon Schlesinger, writer Michael Maltese, animator Gerry Chiniquy and other Schlesinger Productions staff members. The title comes from the popular 1934 song "You Oughta Be in Pictures" by Dana Suesse and Edward Heyman, which plays in the beginning of the film.
The film is notable for its depiction of Daffy Duck, who, instead of being seen as a trouble inducing screwball, is seen as a much more self-centered individual who shows willingness to do anything to get what he wants, whether it was money or fame. This, in turn, is indirectly a foreshadowing of the character he would later become, particularly in Rabbit Fire, and onward. It was also Friz Freleng's first film back at the studio after being at MGM for two years. The film has become one of the better known shorts made by Warner Bros, and in 1994 was voted #34 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.[1]
In 2016, it was shortlisted for the 1941 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.[2]
Summary
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Daffy wants to be the top star in the studio. To this end, he persuades Porky to resign from the Schlesinger studios to pursue a career in feature films as Bette Davis' leading man {"Three grand a week!"}. Porky goes to Leon Schlesinger and asks to have his contract torn up. Schlesinger reluctantly agrees, and wishes Porky the best of luck. Once Porky is out of earshot, Schlesinger assures the audience that Porky will be back.
Porky spends the rest of the film trying to get into the lots and sets of an unnamed studio, with little success. After several failures from convincing the security guard (played by Michael Maltese, voiced by Mel Blanc) to let him in, dressing up as Oliver Hardy to gain access, (until the guard realizes the real Hardy already entered the studio) and inadvertently interrupting the shooting of a dance film, he decides to see if Schlesinger will take him back.
He returns to Schlesinger's office after frantically dodging his cartooned car in and out of live-action Los Angeles traffic, only to see Daffy doing a wild audition to become the new star of Warner Bros. cartoons, openly disparaging Porky. Porky then takes Daffy with him to another room, where he beats Daffy up. After this, he hurriedly runs into Schlesinger's office to beg for his job back. Schlesinger, laughing heartily and saying he knew he would return, reveals that he did not really rip up Porky's contract, and happily tells him to get back to work. Porky gladly thanks him and runs back into the animation paper that he was in when the short started. Daffy, still not quite having learned his lesson after being beaten by Porky, again attempts to persuade Porky to resign and work with Greta Garbo, only to get splattered with a tomato, which irritates him.
Uncredited cast
- Mel Blanc as Porky Pig and Daffy Duck
- Leon Schlesinger as Himself
- Fred Jones as Animator
- Chuck Jones as himself (cameo)
- Bob Clampett as himself (cameo)
- Michael Maltese as Security Guard
- Gerry Chiniquy as Director
- Henry Binder and Paul Marin as Stagehands
- Additional casts in cameos
Uncredited dubbed Cast
- Mel Blanc as Animator (Fred Jones), Security Guard (Michael Maltese), Director (Gerry Chiniquy) and Stagehands (Henry Binder and Paul Marin)
Production
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
- First Daffy Duck cartoon directed by Friz Freleng.
- In a real-life parallel of the storyline, the short was directed by Friz Freleng, who had just returned to Schlesinger after a stint as a director at MGM's cartoon division.
- As noted, many staff members have cameos in this short:
- Leon Schlesinger — appears as himself
- Chuck Jones — one of the crowd rushing out during the lunch break
- Bob Clampett — another one of the Termite Terrace employees rushing frantically off to lunch
- Michael Maltese — the studio security guard (also voiced by Blanc)
- Gerry Chiniquy — studio director calling for quiet
- Henry Binder, Paul Marin — stagehands also calling for quiet. Binder is also the stagehand throwing Porky off the set
- Because the animation unit did not have access to location sound recording equipment, all of the live-action footage was shot silent. The voices had to be dubbed in later (which is why most of them were dubbed by Mel Blanc, except Leon Schlesinger).
- To keep the short on-budget, relatively few special effects were used to marry the animation and live action. Where possible, the crew simply took still pictures of the office background and had them enlarged and placed directly on the animation stand.
- Despite being in black and white, this short was shown regularly on Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon, particularly during the Nick at Nite version.
- In 1995, the film was computer colorized and became a regular part of the Cartoon Network rotation. The film could also be seen in its original black and white form on the network's installment show Late Night Black and White.
Availability
You Ought to Be in Pictures is available on Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2, on Disc 4, on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2, on Disc 1 and also on Porky Pig 101, Disc 4. Prior to that, it had been included as part of the 1985 VHS Golden Jubilee release "Porky Pig's Screwball Comedies".
References
- ^ Beck, Jerry (ed.) (1994). The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals. Atlanta: Turner Publishing.
- ^ 1941 Retro-Hugos, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved August 28, 2017
Sources
- Beck, Jerry and Friedwald, Will (1989): Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Company.
External links
