Daffy Dilly
Encyclopedia
Daffy Dilly is a 1948 Merrie Melodies
cartoon starring Daffy Duck
. It is another early example of a greedy, self-centered Daffy (with some "screwball" elements), as perfected by this cartoon's director, Chuck Jones
.
This was one of only five post-1948 WB cartoons to get a Blue Ribbon reissue prior to 1956 - with the original credits cut. The others were The Foghorn Leghorn
, Kit for Cat
, Scaredy Cat
, and You Were Never Duckier
. Daffy Dilly is still the only one remaining to have its original titles restored for DVD release (and also the only one of these to have been originally released in Cinecolor
; the others were released in Technicolor
), however, a print of the original version is in possession of the Old Greenbelt Theatre in Greenbelt, Maryland
. Recently, a print of Daffy Dilly with a.a.p.
titles was discovered, although, again, this was a post-1948 cartoon (and thus the print might have been given to a.a.p. by mistake).
Despite the existence of an original print, the restored version as seen on Looney Tunes Super Stars' Daffy Duck: Frustrated Fowl
is the Blue Ribbon version (it is not known if WB was aware of the original print's existence or not). It is the only creditless Blue Ribbon retained by WB to be presented as such on DVD.
Forty years later, this cartoon was edited into Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
.
Upon arriving at Cubish's mansion, Daffy finds that the butler (whom Daffy refers to as "Jeeves," "Ruggles," "Meadows," and other commonly used servant names) is not willing to let him in. Daffy tries several ways to get inside (scaling the wall with a grappling hook, swinging in through the window on a rope, etc.), all of which end in failure (in one case, removing the butler's dentures in the process!). Daffy finally sneaks into the house by hiding in a package designed to look like a bottle of champagne (which the butler tries to keep for himself). Daffy runs for his life as the butler tries to kill him using an axe and cannon. Daffy climbs to the top of the building, only to confront the butler ("Whoops. How are things in Glocca Morra?
").
As the butler corners Daffy ("Once and for all, I'm going to..."), the wily duck starts interrogating the butler ala Humphrey Bogart
("Not so fast, my man, Goddfrey! It becomes increasingly apparent that I'm not wanted around here!"), accusing him of not wanting Cubish to return to his good health ("Are we to assume that there is anything significant in this attitude of yours? That A: A butler might not want his master to recover his good health? That B: Said butler should endeavor to remove from the premises the only person capable of restoring said health, to said master?!"). He proceeds to accuse the astounded butler of attempted murder ("Where were you, the night of April the 16th? A likely story! I see it all now. You and the upstairs maid! 'Do the old boy in', you said! 'Elderberry wine and old lace', you said! 'Then, the quick getaway', you said! Rio de Janerio, tropical nights, romance and a heavy bank account! But you weren't smart enough John, alias Johnny, alias Jack, alias Jackie! Phew! What's Humphrey Bogart got that I ain't got?"). Having frightened the butler into incoherence, Daffy tricks him into fleeing the house in disguise, so as not to be arrested. ("But just to show you I'm not all copper, I'm gonna give you a ten-minute head start!", "Don't try to thank me now, get going! Hurry! They're on your trail! Run! Out this way! AAAAHHHH! And stay on the straight and narrow!")
At last, Daffy makes it to Cubish's bedroom, but before he can even unpack his novelty items, he slips and falls on a tray of food, covering himself in cake. To Daffy's bemused resentment ("What's the matter? You see anything green? Any flies on me?!"), Cubish finds this sight hilarious and laughs uproariously. In the end, Cubish keeps Daffy on hand as his personal jester, merrily throwing pies at the duck's face while he stands against a target. "It's a living," Daffy asides to the audience.
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
cartoon starring Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
. It is another early example of a greedy, self-centered Daffy (with some "screwball" elements), as perfected by this cartoon's director, Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
.
This was one of only five post-1948 WB cartoons to get a Blue Ribbon reissue prior to 1956 - with the original credits cut. The others were The Foghorn Leghorn
The Foghorn Leghorn
The Foghorn Leghorn is a Henery Hawk/Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1948 and directed by Robert McKimson. Foghorn has to convince an unbelieving Henery Hawk that he really is a "chicken. Rooster, that is."...
, Kit for Cat
Kit for Cat
Kit for Cat is a 1948 Looney Tunes cartoon starring the cat that would eventually be known as Sylvester, an unknown cat, and Elmer Fudd. This cartoon features Elmer Fudd without his hat or hunting clothes just like he does with others....
, Scaredy Cat
Scaredy Cat
Scaredy Cat is a 1948 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and produced and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was the first of three Jones cartoons which placed Porky Pig and Sylvester the cat in a spooky setting where only Sylvester was aware of the danger - the other two films...
, and You Were Never Duckier
You Were Never Duckier
You Were Never Duckier is an animated cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series from 1948. Starring Daffy Duck and Henery Hawk, this cartoon was significant for several reasons. It ushered in a new "era" as the first ever Warner Bros. cartoon in the post-1948 package to be released...
. Daffy Dilly is still the only one remaining to have its original titles restored for DVD release (and also the only one of these to have been originally released in Cinecolor
Cinecolor
Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two color film process, based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and Alan M...
; the others were released in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
), however, a print of the original version is in possession of the Old Greenbelt Theatre in Greenbelt, Maryland
Greenbelt, Maryland
Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Contained within today's City of Greenbelt is the historic planned community now known locally as "Old Greenbelt" and designated as the Greenbelt Historic District...
. Recently, a print of Daffy Dilly with a.a.p.
Associated Artists Productions
Associated Artists Productions was a distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television. It existed from 1953 to 1958. It was later folded into United Artists. The former a.a.p. library was later owned by MGM/UA Entertainment and then Turner Entertainment. Turner continues...
titles was discovered, although, again, this was a post-1948 cartoon (and thus the print might have been given to a.a.p. by mistake).
Despite the existence of an original print, the restored version as seen on Looney Tunes Super Stars' Daffy Duck: Frustrated Fowl
Looney Tunes Super Stars' Daffy Duck: Frustrated Fowl
"Looney Tunes Super Stars' Daffy Duck: Frustrated Fowl is a DVD of 15 new-to-DVD Daffy Duck cartoons that were released on August 10, 2010.-Contents:All shorts are presented uncensored and uncut, however 10 of the 15 shorts are cropped to widescreen...
is the Blue Ribbon version (it is not known if WB was aware of the original print's existence or not). It is the only creditless Blue Ribbon retained by WB to be presented as such on DVD.
Forty years later, this cartoon was edited into Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters is a 1988 Looney Tunes film with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. Cartoons shorts and animated bridging sequences, starring Daffy Duck. It is the final Looney Tunes project in which Mel Blanc provided the voices of the characters. The film was released to theaters by...
.
Plot
Daffy Duck is a novelty gag salesman operating on the sidewalk of a large city, selling things like flower squirters, a Joe Miller joke book, a rib-tickler, a cheap chicken inspector badge ("It's ... it's ... only 13 cents ...") and a 200 volt electric hand buzzer, even shocking himself with it in the process ("it's ... shocking ..."). However, he fails to sell anything to anyone. But after hearing a radio report declaring that the mirthless buzzsaw tycoon J.P. Cubish is offering a one million dollar reward to anyone who can make him laugh (which he hasn't done, apparently, for 50 years) before he passes on, Daffy promptly sets off for the millionaire's home with dollar signs in his eyes.Upon arriving at Cubish's mansion, Daffy finds that the butler (whom Daffy refers to as "Jeeves," "Ruggles," "Meadows," and other commonly used servant names) is not willing to let him in. Daffy tries several ways to get inside (scaling the wall with a grappling hook, swinging in through the window on a rope, etc.), all of which end in failure (in one case, removing the butler's dentures in the process!). Daffy finally sneaks into the house by hiding in a package designed to look like a bottle of champagne (which the butler tries to keep for himself). Daffy runs for his life as the butler tries to kill him using an axe and cannon. Daffy climbs to the top of the building, only to confront the butler ("Whoops. How are things in Glocca Morra?
How Are Things in Glocca Morra?
"How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" is a popular song about a fictional village in Ireland.The music was composed by Burton Lane and the lyrics written by E. Y. Harburg. The song was published in 1946 and introduced in the 1947 musical Finian's Rainbow. There is no actual Glocca Morra in Ireland...
").
As the butler corners Daffy ("Once and for all, I'm going to..."), the wily duck starts interrogating the butler ala Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
("Not so fast, my man, Goddfrey! It becomes increasingly apparent that I'm not wanted around here!"), accusing him of not wanting Cubish to return to his good health ("Are we to assume that there is anything significant in this attitude of yours? That A: A butler might not want his master to recover his good health? That B: Said butler should endeavor to remove from the premises the only person capable of restoring said health, to said master?!"). He proceeds to accuse the astounded butler of attempted murder ("Where were you, the night of April the 16th? A likely story! I see it all now. You and the upstairs maid! 'Do the old boy in', you said! 'Elderberry wine and old lace', you said! 'Then, the quick getaway', you said! Rio de Janerio, tropical nights, romance and a heavy bank account! But you weren't smart enough John, alias Johnny, alias Jack, alias Jackie! Phew! What's Humphrey Bogart got that I ain't got?"). Having frightened the butler into incoherence, Daffy tricks him into fleeing the house in disguise, so as not to be arrested. ("But just to show you I'm not all copper, I'm gonna give you a ten-minute head start!", "Don't try to thank me now, get going! Hurry! They're on your trail! Run! Out this way! AAAAHHHH! And stay on the straight and narrow!")
At last, Daffy makes it to Cubish's bedroom, but before he can even unpack his novelty items, he slips and falls on a tray of food, covering himself in cake. To Daffy's bemused resentment ("What's the matter? You see anything green? Any flies on me?!"), Cubish finds this sight hilarious and laughs uproariously. In the end, Cubish keeps Daffy on hand as his personal jester, merrily throwing pies at the duck's face while he stands against a target. "It's a living," Daffy asides to the audience.
See also
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1940–1949)
- List of Daffy Duck cartoons