The Hardship of Miles Standish (1940)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Friz Freleng

Writer:

Jack Miller (story)

Genre:

Family | Animation | Short | Comedy

Plot:

In this version of "The Courtship of Miles Standish", Elmer Fudd is messanger John Alden, sent to give Miles' love letter to Pricilla...

Plot Keywords:

Elmer Fudd | Pilgrim | Broken Glass | Broken Window | Native American

Cast

Sara Berner	...	Grandson - Priscilla (voice) (uncredited)
Mel Blanc	...	Miles Standish - Indians (voice) (uncredited)
Robert C. Bruce	...	Radio Announcer / Grandpa (voice) (uncredited)
Arthur Q. Bryan	...	John Alden (voice) (uncredited)

Runtime:

9 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

It is obvious that the Indian mouths, "Goddamn son of a bitch".

Goofs:

Factual errors: The onscreen copyright date is MCMXXXX for 1940, instead of the correct MCMXL. It violates a specific Roman numerals rule: never use 4 or more similar letters in a row.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Courtship of Myles Standish (1923)

Soundtrack:

You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby

Some funny jokes, but Native American stereotypes hard to watch

Elmer Fudd is funny as singing telegram messenger John Alden, trying to defend Priscilla from an Indian attack. There are a few enjoyable gags, but the negative depiction of Native Americans as dopey savages makes this difficult to watch and inappropriate for the children who are probably its primary target audience. As someone else correctly points out in the trivia for this cartoon, one of the Native American characters can be seen mouthing obscenities at a comrade who has shot him with an arrow. More valuable today for academic purposes than as entertainment, THE HARDSHIP OF MILES STANDISH is undone by its offensive content.