| You Ought to Be in Pictures | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | I. Freleng |
| Story by | Jack Miller |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Starring | Mel Blanc Leon Schlesinger Fred Jones Chuck Jones Bob Clampett Michael Maltese Gerry Chiniquy Henry Binder Paul Marin |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Herman Cohen |
| Color process | Black and white (computer colorized in 1995) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 9:44 |
| Language | English |
You Ought to Be in Pictures is a 1940Warner Bros.Looney Tunesshort film directed byFriz Freleng.[1] The cartoon was released on May 18, 1940, and starsPorky Pig andDaffy Duck.[2]
The filmcombinedlive-action andanimation, and features live-action appearances byLeon Schlesinger, writerMichael Maltese, animatorGerry Chiniquy and other Schlesinger Productions staff members.[3] The title comes from the popular 1934 song "You Oughta Be in Pictures" byDana Suesse andEdward Heyman, which plays several times throughout the film.
In 2016, it was shortlisted for the 1941Retro-Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.[4]
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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 asBette Davis' leading man. Porky goes to Leon Schlesinger and asks to have his contract torn up. Schlesinger reluctantly agrees, and wishes Porky the best of luck. "He'll be back!" chuckles Schlesinger after Porky is out of earshot.
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 to let him in to dressing up asOliver Hardy to gain access, until the guard gives chase, and inadvertently interrupting the shooting of a ballet 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 "actual" 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, and proceeds to beat him senseless. After this, he hurriedly runs into Schlesinger's office to beg for his job back. Schlesinger, laughing heartily and saying "I knew you'd be back!", reveals that he didn't 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 withGreta Garbo, only to get splattered with a tomato, irritating him.
This film marksFriz Freleng's directorial debut with Daffy Duck upon his return to Warner Bros. Studios following a tenure at MGM's cartoon division.[5]
The short features cameos from various studio personnel, includingLeon Schlesinger,Chuck Jones,Bob Clampett,Michael Maltese,Gerry Chiniquy, Henry Binder, and Paul Marin. Additionally, the film's runtime, spanning nine minutes and 45 seconds, places it among the longestLooney Tunes cartoons of the Golden Age of Animation, with onlyHorton Hatches the Egg surpassing it in length.
To manage production costs, the animation team employed minimal special effects, opting instead to integrate live-action footage seamlessly with animation through innovative techniques. Stock footage from the 1936 WesternCalifornia Mail was repurposed to depict Porky's journey through the studio backlot.[6]
Animation historianJerry Beck writes, "PredatingWho Framed Roger Rabbit by several decades — in fact, it's credited with inspiring the 1988 film —You Ought to Be in Pictures is one of the most memorable of the black-and-white-era Porky Pig cartoons. It's also one of the funniest."[6]
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Data from Wikidata