Spies (1943)

Private Snafu has a secret: his ship leaves for Africa at 4:30. He's determined to keep it, but bit by bit it slips out, and eventually, the details end up right on Hitler's desk and the ship is attacked.

Stars:

Mel Blanc

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Mel Blanc	...	Private Snafu / Adolf Hitler / Pigeon / Spies (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

The doltish but self-confident and self-congratulatory Private Snafu is in possession of a military secret during World War II. Over the course of the day, spouting rhymed couplets, he divulges the secret a little at a time to listening Axis spies. He tells his mom some of the secret when he calls her from a phone booth; the rest he spills to a dolly dolly spy who plies him with liquor. Snafu's loose lips put himself at risk.

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Plot Keywords:

secret | private snafu | spy | hitler | hell | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Private Snafu: Spies

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

4 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the 50 films in the 4-disk boxed DVD set called "Treasures from American Film Archives (2000)", compiled by the National Film Preservation Foundation from 18 American film archives. This film was preserved by the National Archives and Records Administration.

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Quotes

Snafu: I just learned a secret, it's a honey, it's a pip. But the enemy is listening, so I'll never let it slip. 'Cause when I learn a secret, boy, I zipper up my lip!

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Connections

Followed by Going Home (1944)

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Soundtracks

"You're in the Army Now"
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

Real-Life Justifiable WWII Paranoia In Cartoon Form

This was my first look at a "Private Snafu" cartoon. All I know is I first see some nerdy- looking private walking around the Army camp and saying in rhyme, "I just a learned a secret; it's a honey, it's a pip, but the enemy is listening so I won't let it slip."

After that I thought this was going to be very corny and stupid, but it was anything but. Afterward, when I saw Theodore Geisel, a.k.a. "Dr. Seuss" wrote it and Mel Blanc did the voicing, I wasn't surprised it was entertaining.

Spies are everywhere, following Pvt. Snafu, even to the telephone in the town drugstore where our hero goes to call him mom. The German and Japanese stereotypes were typical of the day, so anyone who is offended watching today should not be. The Allies were not exactly fond of Germans and Japanese in 1943!

It wasn't just verses that were clever. If you look close, you see some quick sight gags like two moose heads on the wall crossing antlers making the Nazi insignia. There's also a good message about how liquor loosens up our "zipped" lips. The main message was for everyone watching this in the theaters during a very tense time in the world's history: be careful what you say, that one careless word could leave to many people getting killed.

This was a "From The Vaults" feature on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Three.