| Conrad the Sailor | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Directed by | Supervision: Charles M. Jones |
| Story by | Dave Monahan |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Ben Washam |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7:08 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Conrad the Sailor is a 1942Warner Bros.Merrie Melodies cartoon supervised byChuck Jones.[1] The title character,Conrad the Cat, is voiced byPinto Colvig and animated by the quintet (Jones’ regular animators, includingBen Washam).[2] The other featured player isDaffy Duck, voiced as usual byMel Blanc.
The story takes place aboard abattleship staffed byanthropomorphic cats (which strangely look like dogs with their small ears), most of whom are singing "The Song of the Marines (Shovin' Right Off Again)" as a chorale group. The scene cuts to Conrad, who talks and sings exactly like Colvig's characterization of theWalt Disney character "Goofy".
As Conrad swabs the deck, he is interrupted by Daffy when he spots the duck's muddy footprints on the deck and Daffy on themast, and he angrily mutters the song to himself. On the mast, Daffy paces back and forth, mocking Conrad's singing, thenremarks to the audience, "Phew, is that guy awful? Gee, it makes me sick." Conrad tries to ignore Daffy and his pranks, growing more suspicious and annoyed at Daffy, who deliberately swaps Conrad's water bucket with a paint bucket, causing Conrad to paint the deck, to which Daffy comments "Very sloppy, Roscoe. You're a slovenly housekeeper." Conrad angrily throws the mop at Daffy, who then catches it, uses it in a shortvaudeville routine before tossing the mop into the air, and shouts to Conrad "Catch! Catch!", only the mop lands on Conrad's head. The camera angle shows Daffy on top of the mop, again taunting to Conrad "Very petite, Betsy. Very, very petite," before sliding down the mop and an infuriated Conrad, twisting him and the mop. Conrad finally gets fed up with Daffy, and proceeds to chase him, but Daffy outsmarts him at every turn from hiding in a lifeboat and after Conrad mistakes him for a telescope, keeping watch for Daffy. A running gag in the picture is that all action screeches to a halt whenever the ship's diminutiveAdmiral walks by, as both sailor and duck snap to attention and salute. The final gag involves Conrad and Daffy being chased by a shell from one of the ship's big guns. All three, including the shell, snap to attention as the Admiral walks by, before the chase continues as the cartoon ends with an iris out.
AnimatorJohn McGrew first usedmatch cuts in this short where different objects in separate scenes have the same basic shape, with McGrew giving the example of a gun and a cloud.[3]
Conrad the Sailor is available on theLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 Disc 4.
| Preceded by | Daffy Duck Cartoons 1942 | Succeeded by |