The orange monster is very similar (if not identical) to Gossamer, but named Rudolph in this cartoon. The mad scientist in this short is patterned after Boris Karloff right down to the heavy eyebrows and Dr. Frankenstein riffs that made Karloff a household name in the 40's and 50's.
The title refers to a quote from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge: "Water, water, every where, / Nor any drop to drink."
It is generally assumed that the sinuous voice of the Evil Scientist was patterned after Vincent Price, but this is unlikely given that Price was not strongly identified with the horror genre at the time this cartoon was made. It appears likelier that voice actor John T. Smith was trying to emulate the voice of then-famous radio horror host Maurice Tarplin (The Mysterious Traveler, The Strange Dr. Weird).
Rudolph wears Converse high top-like footwear, the same as his fellow cast mates Marvin Martian and Astro the dog.
Rudolph is promised a spider guylas, a traditional Hungarian dish (minus the spiders).