The Early Worm Gets the Bird

[MJEToons81]

Has anyone ever seen this rare 1940 Merrie Melodie "The Early Worm Gets the Bird"???

What I want to know is: Because of it being reissued as a Blue Ribbon, I would like to know the color of the rings of the title card is.

If anyone can drop me an answer as to this, all help is appreciated.

--Benjamin Edge (MJEToons81)

[RetroMan]

For the 1939-1940 season, rings were red, white and blue, and for the 1940-1941 season, they were yellow and orange. More details here:

http://www.davemackey.com/animation/wb/fieldguide.html

[Tom Stathes]

The cartoon happens to be one of my favorite childhood WBs. Thanks to the gift of PD VHS tapes, I was able to see it since I can remember on Parents Approved Video's "Daffy Duck" video (Volume 2? I don't remember...brown sleeve)
On the video was also Daffy and the Dinosaur, It's a Greek Life (I have a funny memory of that one) and a really splicey copy of Balloon Land (it's so bad some of the dialogue makes no sense with the skips!)
That, and Hamatuer Night were probably my favorites.
Does an original title card exist for this one?
-Tom

[Larry T]

Does an original title card exist for this one?Sogturtle won a 35mm frame clip (among others) of the original title card, you can see it (if you really squint) on Jerry beck's website (third row, top image).

What I want to know is: Because of it being reissued as a Blue Ribbon, I would like to know the color of the rings of the title card is.The two bookend cartoons for that year/release period are "Screwball Football" and "Mighty Hunters", both of which I have prints of retaining original titles and credits, so it's quite likely that the title card rings are the rainbow-coloured ones with the clouds behind them as these two I just mentioned.

[rkish]

It's also featured on the third volume of "The Golden Age of Looney Tunes" laserdisc (Side 10 - POLITICALLY INCORRECT). :bosko:

[Treadwell]

a goodun'!

[Cartman]

The cartoon, while not among the top ten WB cartoons of all time, is quite good. To be honest, I don't find it all that racist. It's no different than showing a white hillbilly stereotype.

[MJEToons81]

I'd like to know what the ring color of the reissue title card to this cartoon is???

Sure, it was red/white/blue with clouds as to the original issue (1/13/40), but I want to know what the color of the rings are as to the Blue Ribbon title cards.

If you can find out what the ring color of the "Blue Ribbon" version is, please drop me a line here as always.

Blue Ribbon Ring Color Guide:

(LEON SCHLESINGER years -- 1943-45)
1943-44 / Vermilion on red b.g.
1944-45 / Blue on red b.g. (Schlesinger breaks reign during 1944 and is succeeded by Eddie Selzer.)

(EDDIE SELZER years -- 1945-57)
1945-46 / Vermilion on red b.g. (large shield)
1946-47 / (As above - smaller shield)
1947-48 / Blue/red on red b.g.
1948-49 / Vermilion on black b.g.
1949-50 / (As above, except legend "IN TECHNICOLOR" is changed to "COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR." Some issues also had green glow rings on red b.g.)
1950-51 / (As above, except with production #s added) (#1175-1186)
1951-52 / Sunburst rings on black b.g. (#1220-1237)
1952-53 / Blue/red rings on red b.g. (#1251-1263)
1953-54 / Green glow rings on red b.g. (#1307-1319)
1954-55 / Sunburst rings on blue b.g. (#1350-1363)
1955-56 / Vermilion rings on blue b.g. (#1364-1378)
1956-57 / Green glow rings on blue b.g. (#1401-1418)

Benjamin (MJEToons81)

[oldgreypole]

The reissue print of "The Early Worm Gets the Bird" has green concentric circles, and (I believe) a red background. During the closing of the reissue print, it says "THE END" instead of "That's all, Folks!" This cartoon was probably reissued about 1953.

[MJEToons81]

Please let Dave Mackey know about this discovery regarding "The Early Worm Gets the Bird" and he'll add to the description in the "1940" section of his WB cartoon filmography.

BTW, another consecutive 1940 cartoon "Mighty Hunters" (1/27/40, reissue #1314) (complete with original full credits) was also reissued during the 1953-54 season and also contained the words "THE END" on its closing title card. Original production # was 9363.

Thank you,
Benjamin Edge (MJEToons81):bugs2: :daffy:

[bjimba]

Did you know that this cartoon is available for downloading from the Internet Archive (www.archive.org)?

Go to the main page, and follow the link for "Film Chest Vintage Cartoons". It's available in various formats, including a decent quality MPEG2. It's the Blue Ribbon reissue, but a complete print as far as I can tell. They've got it mistitled as The Early Bird Gets the Worm on the webpage.

There are also other cartoons available, including Fresh Hare (which I didn't download, so I don't know if it includes the "Camptown Races" ending) and Falling Hare, as well as some other nice items.

[MJEToons81]

I have seen it, and from what I know, the Blue Ribbon reissue # is 1318, and the MPAA # is 5214.

The copyright date appears to look like 1938 (rather than 1939) which could mean this Tex Avery-directed short was a very late one to arrive, which might have been produced during season 8 (1938-39, the season that gave us "Daffy Duck in Hollywood" and "Believe It or Else" among others).

Thanks all for your extensive help on this short.

Benjamin (MJEToons81)

"Help, Mammy!
Help, Mammy!
The fox has gotten me!"
The Blackbird from "The Early Worm Gets the Bird" (1940)

[rkish]

Did you know that this cartoon is available for downloading from the Internet Archive (www.archive.org (http://www.archive.org/))?

Go to the main page, and follow the link for "Film Chest Vintage Cartoons". It's available in various formats, including a decent quality MPEG2. It's the Blue Ribbon reissue, but a complete print as far as I can tell. They've got it mistitled as The Early Bird Gets the Worm on the webpage.

There are also other cartoons available, including Fresh Hare (which I didn't download, so I don't know if it includes the "Camptown Races" ending) and Falling Hare, as well as some other nice items.Thanks a lot for the link! :) I've already downloaded (20) cartoons. And YES..."Fresh Hare" features the "Camptown Races" ending.