Rookie Revue (1941)

Random gags around military life, set on an army base. A bugler uses a jukebox to play reveille. In formation, one private has a great deal of trouble remembering what comes after "3"; ... See full summary »

Director:

Friz Freleng

Writer:

Dave Monahan (story)

Stars:

Mel Blanc

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Mel Blanc	...	Drill Sergeant / Soldiers / Stupid Soldier / General (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

Random gags around military life, set on an army base. A bugler uses a jukebox to play reveille. In formation, one private has a great deal of trouble remembering what comes after "3"; after he gets it, he decides not to go for the $32 question. In the mess hall, the machine gunners machine gun their food while the bombers catch falling biscuits. The infantry marches for miles - past a "next time, take the train" billboard. The camouflage troops march by, invisibly. We see training substitutes: wooden guns, cars marked "tank" and, alas, a banner marked "parachute" deployed in mid-jump. More training: aerial games (of tic-tac-toe). The anti-aircraft division has target practice, on an aerial shooting gallery. Finally, in an elaborate process, a general provides firing instructions to a big gun; when it hits his own building, he says, "I'm a baaad general."

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Plot Keywords:

army | tic tac toe | shooting gallery | jukebox | camouflage | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1941 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Leon Schlesinger Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

7 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Reveille"
Traditional

User Reviews

Gen. Lou Costello

Friz Freleng's "Rookie Revue" is one of the many Warner Bros. one-shot cartoons based on spot gags (Tex Avery had become famous for this, but he moved to MGM after a falling out with Leon Schlesinger). In this case, the setting is a military base. It's probably worth noting a cultural reference: the general at the end parodies Abbott & Costello's radio show, on which Lou would say "I'm a ba-a-a-a-ad boy." Also, I believe that one of the groups in the mess hall features caricatures of Termite Terrace employees: the curly-haired one looks like Leon Schlesinger's assistant Henry Binder.

But of course that isn't really as important as the cartoon itself. I get the feeling that the cartoon may have been a preview of our impending entry into WWII. Whatever the main gist was, it's worth seeing.