| Bowery Bugs | |
|---|---|
 A lobby card for the cartoon | |
| Directed by | Arthur Davis |
| Story by | Lloyd Turner William Scott (erroneous credit) |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer (uncredited) |
| Starring | Mel Blanc Billy Bletcher (uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by | Emery Hawkins J.C. Melendez Basil Davidovich Don Williams |
| Layouts by | Don Smith |
| Backgrounds by | Philip DeGuard |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 7:30 |
| Language | English |
Bowery Bugs is a 1949Warner Bros.Merrie Melodies cartoon directed byArthur Davis, and written by Lloyd Turner andBill Scott.[1] It was released on June 4, 1949, and featuresBugs Bunny.[2] The cartoon tells the story ofSteve Brodie, who reportedly jumped off theBrooklyn Bridge in 1886 and survived.[3]
Bugs Bunny is standing at the base of the famousBrooklyn Bridge, (about half a mile from the southern end of the actual street called theBowery), telling an old man a story, in carnival-barker style, about how and why Steve Brody jumped off the bridge in July 1886 in the form of pictures: Brody had a terrific run of luck...all bad. He decided he needed a good luck charm...ideally, a rabbit's foot. But he could not find one in the city, so he tried looking in the country forest.
At this point, the story is animated. Brody cycles to Flatbush and finds Bugs' house. Brody, holding a knife, pulls Bugs (singing "All that glitters is not gold") out of his home and tells him that he needs a good luck charm and that "he is it". However, Bugs explains why rabbits feet are NOT all that lucky and directs Brody to "Swami Rabbitima". Brody decides to chance it on the condition he will come back for Bugs if it does not work.
The Swami (Bugs indisguise) asks Brody to enter. Just as Brody starts explaining his bad luck, he has his palm "read" (painted red) then Bugs startsreading the bumps on his head after hitting Brody over the head with a hammer several times. Brody angrily starts chasing Bugs who quickly deals outplaying cards forcartomancy. He tells Brody that he has a meeting coming up with a man wearing acarnation (also Bugs indisguise), who will be his lucky mascot at gambling; Brody's luck does not change, though. Bugs'craps shot of 7 suddenly turns up snake-eyes, then Brody plays aslot machine that comes up with threelemons that literally roll out of the machine and into his hat. Furious, Brody tries to attack Bugs and is promptly kicked out of the gambling establishment by agorillabouncer.
Brody goes back to the Swami who realizes that the cartomancy failed. For his second attempt, Bugs spins azodiac wheel which lands on the sign of thewolf. He tells Brody that it means he is lucky with love, but his flirting with a "lady" (also Bugs indisguise) only results in a multiple bonking by apoliceman for being a "masher".
Brody returns to the Swami and is about to pulverize him when he is asked precisely WHY he wants his luck to change. Taking Brody's answer literally ("So I can get me hands on somedough!"), Bugs sends him to 29 River Street, home of "Grandma's Happy Home Bakery". When Brody arrives there and demands the "dough" at gunpoint, a baker (Bugs yet again) gladly obliges with "a mess ofdough" which Brody gets stuck in and is baked into apie.
Unmasking the baker as Bugs, Brody retraces his steps to unmask Bugs' previousdisguises, leading Brody to believe that "everybody's a rabbit!". When Brody looks into what he thinks is amirror (but is actually awindow) and sees Bugs looking back at him, he thinks HE has turned into a rabbit and snaps, hopping down the street and turning onto theBrooklyn Bridge, hysterically shouting "What's up, doc?!"
Seeing a police officer staring contemplatively at theEast River from the middle of the bridge, Brody comes up behind him and begs for help. Turning, the officer reveals himself to be Bugs, demanding (in a thick Irish accent) "What's all this about rabbits, Doc?". That beingthe last straw, Brody leaps off the bridge, apparently assuicide. The scene freezes with Brody in mid-air to a poster seen behind Bugs who apparently rushed out to save him off-screen.
Bugs ends the story there, and the impressed old man says: "That's enough, son! I'll buy it!" and hands Bugs somemoney. This was a reference toGeorge C. Parker, a con artist who would often "sell" the Brooklyn Bridge to people, thus originating the phrase "Have I got a bridge to sell ya!"[4]
Steve Brodie (note actual spelling) was a native of theLower East Side. He first came to the attention of the local press as a teenager in 1879, when he was reportedly an influential figure among fellow newsboys and bootblackers. By 1886, he was a professional gambler who had fallen unto debt. In 1885, daredevilRobert Emmet Odlum jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, and was killed doing so. Brodie took a dare to successfully jump off the Bridge.[5]
On the morning of July 23, 1886, Brodie took position on the railings of the bridge. Meanwhile, his friends boarded a rowboat to test the waters below. The jump was originally set for 10:00 am, but was called off because of a strong tide. Brodie returned c. 2:00 pm and reportedly rode in the back of a wagon until jumping off. He reportedly first took off his hat and shoes, and then fell from a height of c. 100 yards. There were accounts by eyewitnesses and extensive news reports, but his jump is still in doubt. The prevailing theory among historians is that a life-size dummy fell in his place.[5]
Brodie capitalized on his reputation as avaudeville performer. He died in 1901, possibly fromdiabetes. His reputation survived him and inspired the filmThe Bowery (1933). The subsequent cartoon short cast Bugs as the motivator behind the famous jump.[5]
It starsBugs Bunny (voiced byMel Blanc, who also voices the other men in the pool hall) and Steve Brody (voiced here byBilly Bletcher), who was based on the real-life BrooklynbookmakerSteve Brodie who claimed to have jumped off theBrooklyn Bridge.
This is the first-and-onlyBugs Bunny cartoon directed byArthur Davis (not counting Bugs' cameo inThe Goofy Gophers).
AlthoughBill Scott (ofBullwinkle J. Moose fame) is credited as a co-writer, he toldKeith Scott in the bookThe Moose That Roared that he had no recollection of working on this film. By all indications, Lloyd Turner alone was responsible for the film's story, with Scott having been moved to a brief, unsuccessful spell asFriz Freleng's story artist, though the reason why Scott was still credited on this short is not known.[6]
Bowery Bugs is available onLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3[7]
| Preceded by | Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1949 | Succeeded by |