Show Biz Bugs (1957)

Bugs and Daffy are vaudevillians competing for praise from the audience. They love Bugs no matter what; just the opposite for Daffy.

Director:

Friz Freleng

Writer:

Warren Foster (story)

Star:

Mel Blanc

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mel Blanc	...	Bugs Bunny / Daffy Duck / Cab Driver / Theatre Manager (voice)

Storyline

Daffy Duck arrives at his vaudeville theatre to learn that Bugs Bunny has been given top billing over him. A competition ensues with Daffy out to get the top billing he deserves to prove that he is the star of the show. However, Bugs seems to be the crowd favorite as Daffy can't seem to best him in dancing, a magic act, juggling or playing musical instruments. This pushes Daffy to extreme measures as he performs a deadly stunt in his final attempt to impress the audience. He drinks some gasoline, some nitroglycerin, some gunpowder, some Uranium-238, lights up and swallows a match, causing him to explode. The audience gives him the acclaim he deserves for his performance, but Daffy (now an angel rising to heaven) "can only do it once".

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Plot Keywords:

bugs bunny | daffy duck character | nitroglycerin | competition | juggling | 

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Short | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die prominente Ente

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

7 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The music that plays over the title cards is an original composition by Milt Franklyn.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Daffy Duck: [a taxi pulls up to a theatre and Daffy steps out] How much, my good man?
Taxi Driver: Uh, one block, 25 cents.
Daffy Duck: 25 cents? It's robbery, but I'll pay it.

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Alternate Versions

On Nickelodeon, the climax involving Daffy's fatal stunt mixture was edited thus: Daffy swallows all of the explosives and then "shakes well", but blows up before he can light and swallow the match (which is what ultimately blows him up in the short's unedited form).

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Connections

Featured in One Hit Wonderland: Come On Eileen (2012)

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Soundtracks

Shave and a Haircut
(uncredited)
Traditional
[Tap-danced by Bugs.]

User Reviews

Relies on the characters rather than material and just about gets away with it

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are a dancing double act in a vaudeville theatre. However Daffy is not content for equal billing and wants to have all the glory for himself. He challenges Bugs that whatever he can do, Daffy can do better. Bugs does his stuff on stage to great acclaim from the audience, but everything Daffy tries is greeted with all the appreciate of a f*rt in a lift. As the stakes continue to rise, Daffy increasingly pulls out all the stops.

I love Daffy Duck a great deal but much prefer him when he is in full-on wacky mode rather than the more greedy duck of his later cartoons. In this short we see Daffy being his greedy self but him being pushed to crazy limits reminds me of whom he once was. The material is not that good when I think about it and some of the gags are a little under whelming but it still manages to be pretty amusing. The ending is OK but it has been done elsewhere to better effect with Porky Pig and a wolf.

What makes this short work past the average material is the characters. Bugs' delivery is pretty fun although he isn't really his usual tricky self - all he's doing is being a good dancer. Daffy is also good and it is his jealous rage that makes the material much better than it should be. His big finish is not as good as he deserved but up till that point he is funny even if he is not the Daffy that I prefer.

Overall this is enjoyable enough but that's it. The material is average enough and is pretty thin but thankfully the two famous characters both do good work to make it better than it really is.