Swooner Crooner (1944)

Porky Pig's egg faces production problems when a crooning rooster distracts the hens from their jobs.

Director:

Frank Tashlin

Writer:

Warren Foster (story)

Stars:

Mel Blanc, Sara Berner, Richard Bickenbach

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview:
Mel Blanc	...	Porky Pig (voice)

Storyline

Hens are working in the "Flockheed Eggcraft Factory", laying eggs for the war effort until they get distracted by a rooster singing like Frank Sinatra. Porky, the supervisor, rushes to investigate. Soon, he's auditioning for a new crooner; among those showing up are caricatures of Al Jolson, 'Jimmy Durante' and Cab Calloway. He evetually gets to a Bing Crosby clone, who introduces himself as "The Old Groaner". Between the two of them, egg production is soon more than he can handle.

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Plot Keywords:

egg | egg production | fainting | reference to al jolson | reference to porky pig | 

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Short | Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 May 1944 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Leon Schlesinger Studios, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

7 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only Porky Pig cartoon to be nominated for an Academy Award.

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Goofs

When Porky goes to stop the assembly line, the boxes on the conveyor belt disappear at the point where Porky was picking them up before.

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Crazy Credits

The closing scene, just before closing credits begin, Porky Pig asked 'Frank Sinatra (I)' & Bing Crosby, how they got his hens, to lay their large quantities of eggs, then Frank and Bing teamed together, their musical voices caused Porky Pig, as if he became a hen, to lay a big quantity of eggs, then the closing credits begin.

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Connections

Featured in Toonheads: The Lost Cartoons (2000)

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Soundtracks

"I'll Pray for You"
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Altman
Lyrics by Kim Gannon
Sung by cartoon parody of Frank Sinatra

User Reviews

Porky's sole Oscar nod and it took a battle of crooning fowl to get it for him!

This cartoon, nominated for Oscar, was Porky's only shot at the gold. It's a marvelous cartoon and parodies Sinatra and Crosby, among others. Watch particularly the audition, when Porky is trying out singers to get his hens laying eggs again. The guys at Termite Terrace loved parodies, not only actors, but singers as well. The auditionees are all parodies. It's a scream and great fun figuring out who's who. Reportedly, Bing Crosby hated it when he was parodied in cartoons. How Frank Sinatra felt about it, I have no idea. Recommended.