Woody's Nuke

[Thad]

A print of "Slingshot 6 7/8" I bought on eBay came in the mail today (retitled "The Hot Shot"). The quality is really crappy, riddled with splices. Normally a piece of crap print like this would go right back to the seller, but I found that a scene in this one was removed for television.

Towards the end, Woody uses his slingshot to launch a bomb at Buzz Buzzard. In most prints, we don't get to see the close-up of it, but here it's revealed to be the H-Bomb!

The real issue at hand, though, is that Woody probably got it from the Soviets and was a dirty Commie (after all he is a red...)

I took some crummy quality shots from the projected print with my cell. Enjoy.


TK

[Matt the Y]

A print of "Slingshot 6 7/8" I bought on eBay came in the mail today (retitled "The Hot Shot"). The quality is really crappy, riddled with splices. Normally a piece of crap print like this would go right back to the seller, but I found that a scene in this one was removed for television.

Towards the end, Woody uses his slingshot to launch a bomb at Buzz Buzzard. In most prints, we don't get to see the close-up of it, but here it's revealed to be the H-Bomb!

The real issue at hand, though, is that Woody probably got it from the Soviets and was a dirty Commie (after all he is a red...)

I took some crummy quality shots from the projected print with my cell. Enjoy.


TK

Thanks, Thad!!! That gag literally made no sense to me when I saw the edited version. OK, it kinda makes sense because I could tell it was a bomb or some kind of explosive device but the two things I found curious were 1) why is it shaped like a small letter H and 2) what does it have to do with the power of the explosion?

I really wish those Lantz cartoons were left untouched for television. Not because of the same reasons other cartoons are censored for television but because uncut Lantz cartoons in their original state are much harder to get hold of. I still remember how long it took to get unedited prints of "Mouse Trappers", "What's Sweepin'?", and others and for that matter, I STILL don't have an unedited copy of "The Reckless Driver" (but the DVD set this summer should change that!).

Speaking of edited Lantz shorts, I have a question to ask regarding "Shutter Bug" [1963]. I know this is a 1960's Paul J. Smith Lantz short but the version I have appears to be edited. There seems to be a splice between the scenes where Scoop Smith gets a cannonball wedged in his mouth and the next scene where Woody is painting a picture on a canvas and shows it to Smith. There HAS to be something edited here; the transition doesn't make sense at all. So if anyone has SEEN an unedited copy of this cartoon... what's missing?

[Duck Dodgers]

I still remember how long it took to get unedited prints of "Mouse Trappers"


Do you have an uncut copy without subtitles?
We gotta buy the Woody set when it comes out and soon! A Volume 2 could contain some classics like this cartoon, a real funny one!

[Matt the Y]

Do you have an uncut copy without subtitles?
We gotta buy the Woody set when it comes out and soon! A Volume 2 could contain some classics like this cartoon, a real funny one!

Sorry, Andrea. My copy contains subtitles. :(

[Duck Dodgers]

Sorry, Andrea. My copy contains subtitles. :(

So you share the fate of all us private collectors:p

It's a very funny cartoon, the first with Andrew Panda sounding like W.C. Field and the first scored by Darrell Calker and BOY you can really hear the difference with previous Lantz cartoons!;)

[Matt the Y]

So you share the fate of all us private collectors:p

It's a very funny cartoon, the first with Andrew Panda sounding like W.C. Field and the first scored by Darrell Calker and BOY you can really hear the difference with previous Lantz cartoons!;)

There's actually a dispute as to whether "Syncopated Sioux" was scored by Darrell Calker or not. The cartoon itself bears no music credit (VERY unusual for the Lantz studio at this time) so it's unclear whether Calker scored it or Frank Marsales did. If it was Calker, then "Syncopated Sioux" would've been the first; if not, well, then it's "Mouse Trappers". :D

And, FWIW, Marsales wasn't an entirely bad composer. I like his scores for "Recruiting Daze" and the first Woody cartoon, "Knock! Knock!". But Darrell Calker really blows him (and all of Lantz's other composers) away.

[Duck Dodgers]

And, FWIW, Marsales wasn't an entirely bad composer. I like his scores for "Recruiting Daze" and the first Woody cartoon, "Knock! Knock!". But Darrell Calker really blows him (and all of Lantz's other composers) away.

Yep, exactly my thought. Marsales was not bad, but Calker was terrific!

[lonesome-lenny]

I think Calker has never been fully recognized for his skills as a composer and film scorer. His '40s Lantz scores teem with energy, color and atmosphere. His live-action scores are impressive, too--such as the original score for the theatrical version of SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN.

Some early episodes of LEAVE IT TO BEAVER use some of Calker's '40s Lantz music. I recall seeing a couple of first-season episodes, several years back, and recognizing snippets from some '40s Woody Woodpeckers.

Since Universal's MCA wing produced LITB, it's possible that they got ahold of the music tracks for the Lantz cartoons and turned it into library music, for use in their TV productions. Makes me wonder if any Calker score fragments appear in other MCA TV shows of the '50s...

[Bobby Bickert]

Towards the end, Woody uses his slingshot to launch a bomb at Buzz Buzzard. In most prints, we don't get to see the close-up of it, but here it's revealed to be the H-Bomb!

The real issue at hand, though, is that Woody probably got it from the Soviets and was a dirty Commie (after all he is a red...)

But the Russkies didn't test their first H-bomb until '55. And the US didn't test one until '52. Back then, nobody knew what was going to happen if and when the first H-bomb was detonated...

http://costa.lunarpages.com/ec/ws03.jpg

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Hmmm...Woody must obviously have been a rogue terrorist.

Notice also, that Woody's color scheme is red, white & blue...and yellow! It's obvously symbolism signifying the American flag and associating it with the color of cowardice! Woody is also a subversive! Who knew...?

[Thad]

But the Russkies didn't test their first H-bomb until '55. And the US didn't test one until '52. Back then, nobody knew what was going to happen if and when the first H-bomb was detonated...

Oh, pwned. :shame: Thanks for the info.

I'll go with J.J. on Woody being a rogue terrorist though.

TK

[wundermild]

Oh, pwned. :shame:

Nah, not really. President Truman ordered the construction of an H-bomb early in 1950, when the public was still under the impression of the Russian atom bomb (and its origin of "borrowing" U.S. technology). The H-bomb development was apparently a hot topic in the papers at that time, as was Russian espionage. (However , as it appears today, The Soviet Union largely developed their H-bomb independent from the U.S.)

WW

Edit: Very cool find, Thad.

[Larry T]

Thanks Thad!

Even after watching my previous prints of that cartoon, it's almost impossible to know where the excision occurred since the only sound effect heard is the ticking and then there's a quick camera positioning change.

I'm quite certain there's a lot more missing from those cartoons that we are unaware of, simply due to the jumpy cuts and inocuous edits. One such place I've always wondered about is in "Scalp Treatment", during the scene when the outboard motor is chasing Buzz around. There's a continuity break when it's chasing him and mowing his feathers off, then suddenly he is cornered against the rockwall (where he proceeds to 'choke' the thing). It's even possible to hear the music/sound jump cut there.... makes me think....

[Matt the Y]

I'm quite certain there's a lot more missing from those cartoons that we are unaware of, simply due to the jumpy cuts and inocuous edits. One such place I've always wondered about is in "Scalp Treatment", during the scene when the outboard motor is chasing Buzz around. There's a continuity break when it's chasing him and mowing his feathers off, then suddenly he is cornered against the rockwall (where he proceeds to 'choke' the thing). It's even possible to hear the music/sound jump cut there.... makes me think....

Moreover, there's another scene in "Scalp Treatment" where I suspect an edit. It's the scene where the outboard motor backfires soot into Buzz's face. The scene of the exhaust turning Buzz's face black followed by the close-up of Buzz makes me wonder if there was a PIC "blackface" gag removed from this cartoon (the jump cut is too quick and uneven. Maybe I'm just paranoid but I still suspect an edit).

[Do-Do]

Hmmm...Woody must obviously have been a rogue terrorist.

Notice also, that Woody's color scheme is red, white & blue...and yellow! It's obvously symbolism signifying the American flag and associating it with the color of cowardice! Woody is also a subversive! Who knew...?

Jerry - What is he, some sort of instigator?

Kramer - That's right. He's a troublemaker.