Edgar Allan Pooh
. . . Warner Bros. animated short THE SCARLET PUMPERNICKEL is one of America's first flicks to draw a correlation between tobacco usage and suicide-by-gun. Powder proves to be Daffy Duck's downfall. First, his title character suffers uncontrollable spasms and fits from ingesting the Demon Snuff. Then, gun powder powers a bullet into Daffy's skull. Daffy's motivation toward self-destruction here seems to be his strong desire to be a chain-smoking movie star like Errol Flynn. Big Tobacco paid billions in bribes to put the Wicked Weed in the mouths of stars such as Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, John Wayne, and Flynn in a successful effort to get 1900s America smoking like a rusty muffler. (These tobacco shills also introduced the illogical concept of the post-coital cigarette, realizing that the American Race would peter out and die from the effects of their product--hurting sales growth and year-end bonuses--unless smokers started to reproduce at rabbit-like rates). So what if kissing a smoker is akin to licking an ashtray? With Humphrey, Errol, Bette, and Daffy pushing coffin nails, why NOT succumb and then shoot yourself in the head to avoid a lingering Death by Cancer?
utgard14
Chuck Jones' funny send-up of swashbuckling adventure stories. The title is a pun on The Scarlet Pimpernel and there's even repeated Errol Flynn references. The plot has Daffy once again upset with his career at Warner Bros. He's tired of doing comedy and wants a chance to do drama. So he shows an executive the script he's written about a hero (Daffy) trying to save a damsel in distress from a forced marriage. The cartoon cuts back and forth between the story Daffy's written and him in the exec's office making his pitch. It's very funny with lots of Daffy silliness and great gags. The cast includes not only Daffy but Porky, Sylvester, Elmer Fudd, Henery Hawk and a few other recognizable lesser characters. The animation is nice and colorful. The music is lively. The voice work is top notch. It's a great Daffy cartoon but the added appearances of the other characters (specifically Sylvester) bumps it up a notch. Beware some versions which cut the final scene and leave the cartoon with an abrupt ending. Thanks censorship!
ccthemovieman-1
Daffy the actor is in the boss' office, pleading for a new role and a new image. He's tired of being typecast as a comic. He brings a script for a film he wants to do: The Scarlet Pumpernickel by Daffy Dumas Duck. He starts reading it and we see the images as the story unfolds."Once upon a time," Daffy starts...and then stops to say, "Great opening, huh?" Anyway, "in merry old England......."We get the story with Daffy as the hero, and Porky Pig and Sylvester the Cat playing key roles. The colors and the art in depicting the castles, streets and costumes of the day are spectacular. The story is good; not a ton of laughs but smart enough with inside jokes (Errol Flynn references, Jewish jokes and lines) to be enjoyable for us adults. Daffy Duck cartoons, from what I've seen, are geared more for adults than kids, anyway.
movieman_kev
Daffy Duck goes to Jack Warner to pitch his take on "The Scarlet Pimpernickel" in another good looney Tunes short. This kinda broke away with the formulaic nature of the other Tunes shorts of the period. And as such it's able to stand out from the pack a bit more and it's better for it. This short is delightful.Furthermore, The ending is intact unlike what you'll see in the TV versions. So the cartoon goes out with more of a bang for your buck hehehe. This cartoon is on Disk 2 of the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1". It also has an optional commentary, as well as a music-only track.My Grade: B+
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