Hook, Line and Stinker
Encyclopedia
Hook, Line and Stinker is a 1958 Warner Bros.
cartoon in the Looney Tunes
series featuring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
. Production number 1487.
The gags are as follows:
1. The Coyote, on a cliff, drops a washtub on the Road Runner on the road below, jumps on it and puts a stick of dynamite underneath it. The Road Runner zips up to him. The Coyote goes under the washtub to investigate why the bird isn't there and the dynamite blows up, encasing the Coyote in a tube made from the washtub.
2. The Coyote hides around a corner to bash the Road Runner with a sledgehammer. But the hammer falls off and the stick bashes the Coyote and chases him into the distance.
3. Birdseed is place on some railroad tracks but a train runs down the Coyote before he can get off the runway.
4. Attached to a green balloon, the Coyote carrying a harpoon jumps off a cliff, tied to a rope. He misses the Road Runner, but the force carries him into a storm cloud. The harpoon attracts lightning which zaps the Coyote (and in turn, dissolving the rope, causing him to fall).
5. A bundle of dynamite is rolled beneath a short underpass. But gravity carries the bundle back to the Coyote's hiding spot and one push of the plunger blows him up.
6. Using a rope and a pulley, the Coyote raises a baby grand piano high above the road. As the Road Runner passes, the Coyote lets go of the rope, which sticks in the pulley. The Coyote jumps on top of the piano, which loosens the rope and causes the piano - and the Coyote - to drop to the ground. Dazed, the Coyote opens his mouth to reveal that the piano keys are now his teeth; he plays "Taps" on them briefly before passing out.
7. An elaborate Rube Goldberg
-type gag ends the cartoon. The Coyote uses a tiny slingshot to knock loose a stick holding up a watering can suspended on a wooden yardarm. The can tips and water pours onto a plant which has a wooden match attached to it. The plant grows and the match strikes against a rock and lights a stick of dynamite. On top of the dynamite is a boot with a brick in it. The blast sends the boot ontop of a teeter board, which rises and releases a mouse in a cage at the other end. The mouse runs to grab a piece of cheese on a scale. A weight on the other end of the scale falls, pulling the trigger on a rifle attached to a cliff. A bullet from the rifle ricochets off two metal bullseyes and knocks down an upright cannon. The wick on the cannon is lit by a nearby candle, which fires a ball that goes through two funnels and plummets on top of the unsuspecting coyote. After the coyote is bashed into the ground, 'The End' appears on the cannon ball.
The title is a pun on the title Hook, Line and Sinker
.
using stock music from the Hi-Q
library because of a musicians' strike in 1958. The others are Pre-Hysterical Hare
, Weasel While You Work
, Hip Hip-Hurry!
(the other Coyote/Road Runner cartoon), Gopher Broke
, and A Bird in a Bonnet
.
The theme to the situation comedy
television show Dennis the Menace composed by William Loose and Seely, and originally in the Hi-Q library, is not in this cartoon. A variant also written by the two for Hi-Q is used instead.
Most of the background music was composed by Philip Green
for the EMI Photoplay library and were give GR designations by that library. Some of the cues heard:
GR-463 The Artful Dodger (Green) in the first gag.
L-78 Comedy Underscore (Spencer Moore) and GR-255 Puppetry Comedy (Green) in the second gag.
GR-459 Dawn in Birdland and GR-97 By Jiminy! It's Jumbo Bridge No. 1 (both by Green) in the third gag.
GR-256 Toyland Burglar (Green) at the start and end of the fourth gag.
TC-303 Zany Comedy (Loose and Seely) in the sixth gag. This piece of music was also heard in many early Yogi Bear
cartoons.
L-82 Comedy Underscore (Moore) at the start of the seventh gag.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
cartoon in the Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
series featuring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Bros., while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese...
. Production number 1487.
Plot
The Road Runner (Burnius-Roadibus) races right to left along a stretch of desert highway, with the Coyote (Famishus-Famishus) behind him. The Road Runner stops and steps aside. The Coyote passes him and stops in a cloud of dust. The Road Runner then zips into the distance with the force lifting the ribbon of pavement off the ground in his wake. Wile E. lowers his expectations (and his mouth) and thinks of a new scheme.The gags are as follows:
1. The Coyote, on a cliff, drops a washtub on the Road Runner on the road below, jumps on it and puts a stick of dynamite underneath it. The Road Runner zips up to him. The Coyote goes under the washtub to investigate why the bird isn't there and the dynamite blows up, encasing the Coyote in a tube made from the washtub.
2. The Coyote hides around a corner to bash the Road Runner with a sledgehammer. But the hammer falls off and the stick bashes the Coyote and chases him into the distance.
3. Birdseed is place on some railroad tracks but a train runs down the Coyote before he can get off the runway.
4. Attached to a green balloon, the Coyote carrying a harpoon jumps off a cliff, tied to a rope. He misses the Road Runner, but the force carries him into a storm cloud. The harpoon attracts lightning which zaps the Coyote (and in turn, dissolving the rope, causing him to fall).
5. A bundle of dynamite is rolled beneath a short underpass. But gravity carries the bundle back to the Coyote's hiding spot and one push of the plunger blows him up.
6. Using a rope and a pulley, the Coyote raises a baby grand piano high above the road. As the Road Runner passes, the Coyote lets go of the rope, which sticks in the pulley. The Coyote jumps on top of the piano, which loosens the rope and causes the piano - and the Coyote - to drop to the ground. Dazed, the Coyote opens his mouth to reveal that the piano keys are now his teeth; he plays "Taps" on them briefly before passing out.
7. An elaborate Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to...
-type gag ends the cartoon. The Coyote uses a tiny slingshot to knock loose a stick holding up a watering can suspended on a wooden yardarm. The can tips and water pours onto a plant which has a wooden match attached to it. The plant grows and the match strikes against a rock and lights a stick of dynamite. On top of the dynamite is a boot with a brick in it. The blast sends the boot ontop of a teeter board, which rises and releases a mouse in a cage at the other end. The mouse runs to grab a piece of cheese on a scale. A weight on the other end of the scale falls, pulling the trigger on a rifle attached to a cliff. A bullet from the rifle ricochets off two metal bullseyes and knocks down an upright cannon. The wick on the cannon is lit by a nearby candle, which fires a ball that goes through two funnels and plummets on top of the unsuspecting coyote. After the coyote is bashed into the ground, 'The End' appears on the cannon ball.
The title is a pun on the title Hook, Line and Sinker
Hook, Line and Sinker
Hook, Line and Sinker may refer to:* Hook, line and sinker, fishing equipment* Hook, Line and Sinker , a slapstick comedy starring Wheeler & Woolsey* Hook, Line & Sinker , a comedy starring Jerry Lewis...
.
Censorship
- On ABC, two dynamite gags were cut http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/ltcutsh2.html:
- The scene where Wile E. places a pot over the Road Runner and tosses a dynamite stick underneath it.
- Wile E. putting dynamite underneath a bridge.
Background Music
This is one of six cartoons (and the first of two Coyote/Road Runner cartoons) where the score is credited to John Seely of Capitol RecordsCapitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
using stock music from the Hi-Q
Hi-Q (production music)
Hi-Q was a brand and library of production music produced and distributed by Capitol Records in the late 1950s-early 1960s. It saw quite a bit of use in several movies and other productions, most notably in the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, in which producer Karl Hardman used tracks from the...
library because of a musicians' strike in 1958. The others are Pre-Hysterical Hare
Pre-Hysterical Hare
Pre-Hysterical Hare is a 1958 Looney Tunes cartoon by Warner Bros. featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd . These two are in their usual hunter-and-bunny antics, but with different items used in the Stone Age....
, Weasel While You Work
Weasel While You Work
Weasel While You Work is a 1958 Merrie Melodies animated short starring Foghorn Leghorn, Barnyard Dawg, and the weasel from earlier shorts like Plop Goes the Weasel and Weasel Stop...
, Hip Hip-Hurry!
Hip Hip-Hurry!
Hip- Hip- Hurry! is a 1958 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series featuring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner .-Plot:...
(the other Coyote/Road Runner cartoon), Gopher Broke
Gopher Broke
Gopher Broke is a "Looney Tunes" cartoon animated short starring the Goofy Gophers and the Barnyard Dawg . Released November 15, 1958, the cartoon is directed by Robert McKimson. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc and Stan Freberg...
, and A Bird in a Bonnet
A Bird in a Bonnet
A Bird in a Bonnet is a 1958 Merrie Melodies animated short starring Sylvester and Tweety. Released September 27, 1958, the cartoon is directed by Friz Freleng. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc and June Foray.-Plot:...
.
The theme to the situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
television show Dennis the Menace composed by William Loose and Seely, and originally in the Hi-Q library, is not in this cartoon. A variant also written by the two for Hi-Q is used instead.
Most of the background music was composed by Philip Green
Philip Green (composer)
Philip Green , sometimes credited as Harry Philip Green, was a film and television composer and conductor. His father was Philip Green, a boot clicker, and his mother was Elizabeth Vogel. Green's first credited work was on 1943's The Sky's the Limit...
for the EMI Photoplay library and were give GR designations by that library. Some of the cues heard:
GR-463 The Artful Dodger (Green) in the first gag.
L-78 Comedy Underscore (Spencer Moore) and GR-255 Puppetry Comedy (Green) in the second gag.
GR-459 Dawn in Birdland and GR-97 By Jiminy! It's Jumbo Bridge No. 1 (both by Green) in the third gag.
GR-256 Toyland Burglar (Green) at the start and end of the fourth gag.
TC-303 Zany Comedy (Loose and Seely) in the sixth gag. This piece of music was also heard in many early Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
cartoons.
L-82 Comedy Underscore (Moore) at the start of the seventh gag.