A Fractured Leghorn

Last updated
A Fractured Leghorn
A Fractured Leghorn.jpg
Title Card (unrestored)
Directed by Robert McKimson
Story by Warren Foster
Produced byEdward Selzer (unc.)
Starring Mel Blanc
Music by Carl Stalling
Animation by Rod Scribner
Phil DeLara
J.C. Melendez
Charles McKimson
Manuel Perez (unc.) [1]
Layouts by Cornett Wood
Backgrounds byPhil De Guard
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • September 16, 1950 (1950-09-16)
Running time
7 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language English

A Fractured Leghorn is a 1950 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. [2] The cartoon was released on September 16, 1950, and features Foghorn Leghorn. [3]

Contents

That is one of few Foghorn cartoons where Leghorn is not put at odds with Henery Hawk and/or the Barnyard Dawg. Mel Blanc voices both Foghorn and the cat in this cartoon.

Plot

A cat is shown in Foghorn's resident farm, fishing in the local pond. Instead, he receives a note from the fish reading "Dear Dope, You can't catch us Fish without a Worm on the hook." Frustrated, the cat begins to look for a worm around the farm. Meanwhile, Foghorn Leghorn encounters a small green worm and chases him into a corner, where he and the cat crash into each other. Recovering from his daze, Foghorn confronts the cat and questions why he's chasing after worms instead of mice. The cat, unable to talk back at the rambling rooster, is eventually pushed up a ladder before falling off, with Foghorn remarking "There's nothing worse than a blabbermouth cat." The cat, knowing that Foghorn would be a great interference for his quest for a worm, tricks him into getting his head stuck in a fence (via a wooden guillotine) and used a paintbrush attached to an automated wheel to repeatedly smack him in the face with green paint.

Later on, the cat continues to chase the worm around the farm until confronting him at a tractor. He attempts to get the worm out by blowing into its muffler. But Foghorn, having escaped the fence, initiates the engine, causing carbon smoke to blow into the cat's mouth. Enraged, the cat retrieved a nearby axe he can use against Foghorn, only for him to return and take it from the cat (believing that the cat thinks he's George Washington) before sticking it onto the fence. The cat tries to jam it out before the entire wooden board falls over, revealing the worm once again. He chases the worm into a small hole in the ground, in which he uses a hand pump in an attempt to blow the worm out from another hole nearby. Foghorn interjects once again with another long-winded confrontation, asking why the cat is pumping the ground, assuming he is pumping the ground for oil. After pushing the cat away, Foghorn returns to the scene in question and uses the pump, discovering its true purpose. As he tries to blow the worm out himself, the cat return and snatches it from him before he takes a bite at it.

Back at the pond, the cat forces the worm at gunpoint to act as bait for the fishes. As he is about to go fishing, Foghorn emerges from the pond, interjecting once again. In other rambled confrontation, Foghorn concludes that in an effort to not be "hoggish", he convinces the cat to divide the worm with an axe. He draws a line over a tree stump to signal the bisection, but the worm scrunches himself in both sides, confusing Foghorn over his and the cats "missing halves." The cat tries to point this out to him, but Foghorn instead questions whether the worm was there at all as due to "mathematics" and "figures", letting the worm escape once again. Finally having enough of Foghorn's tangents and being pushed around, the cat yells at the rooster to shut up and hits him in the head with a small trash can before storming off.

Forgetting about the worm, Foghorn says to the audience: "OK, I'll shut up" before explaining that he isn't one of those annoying people who "always just have to keep their mouths flapping" and that he was properly raised, including how every time his father told him to shut up, to which he followed. As the cartoon begin to iris-out, how one time he nearly starved to death. But right as the circle is the size of his own head, Foghorn pulls it apart and screams, "WOULDN'T TELL HIM I WAS HUNGRY!" before it closes.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henery Hawk</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Henery Hawk is an American cartoon character who appears in twelve comedy film shorts produced in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. His first appearance is in the 1942 theatrical release The Squawkin' Hawk, which was directed by Chuck Jones and produced by Leon Schlesinger. Henery's second screen appearance, one directed by Robert McKimson, is in Walky Talky Hawky (1946), which also features the characters Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dawg in their first cartoon roles. The last Warner Brothers theatrical short to showcase the little chickenhawk is the 1961 release Strangled Eggs in which he co-stars again with Foghorn Leghorn as well as with another popular character of that period, Miss Prissy. Following that production, Henery continued to be seen periodically in other animated presentations such as The Looney Tunes Show and Looney Tunes Cartoons.

<i>Walky Talky Hawky</i> 1946 film by Robert McKimson

Walky Talky Hawky is a 1946 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies theatrical short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on August 31, 1946, and features Henery Hawk and Foghorn Leghorn. This is the first appearance of both Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg.

<i>The Foghorn Leghorn</i> 1948 animated short film by Robert McKimson

The Foghorn Leghorn is a 1948 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on October 9, 1948, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.

Feather Dusted is a 1955 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short film directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on January 15, 1955, and features Foghorn Leghorn and Egghead Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foghorn Leghorn</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Foghorn Leghorn is an anthropomorphic rooster who appears in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and films from Warner Bros. Animation. He was created by Robert McKimson, and starred in 29 cartoons from 1946 to 1964 in the golden age of American animation. All 29 of these cartoons were directed by McKimson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnyard Dawg</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Barnyard Dawg is a Looney Tunes character. A feisty anthropomorphic basset hound, he is a friend and the archenemy of Foghorn Leghorn. He was created by Robert McKimson, who also created Foghorn, and was voiced by Mel Blanc. Dawg also feuds with other notable Looney Tunes characters as well, such as Henery Hawk, Daffy Duck and Sylvester. He appeared in 23 Golden Age–era Warner Bros. shorts.

Mother Was a Rooster is a 1962 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on October 20, 1962, and features Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg. The voices are performed by Mel Blanc. It is the last-released cartoon scored by Milt Franklyn; Bill Lava would take over as composer for Looney Tunes cartoons starting with Good Noose until the cartoon department's closure in 1969.

Banty Raids is a 1963 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on June 29, 1963, and features Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc.

Strangled Eggs is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on March 18, 1961, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and Miss Prissy. The voices are performed by Mel Blanc. This was the only cartoon to star both Miss Prissy and Henery Hawk.

<i>A Broken Leghorn</i> 1959 film

A Broken Leghorn is a 1959 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on September 26, 1959, and features Foghorn Leghorn and Miss Prissy. The voices are performed by Mel Blanc.

The Dixie Fryer is a 1960 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on September 24, 1960, and features Foghorn Leghorn.

Of Rice and Hen is a 1953 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on November 14, 1953, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Miss Prissy and the Barnyard Dawg.

The Leghorn Blows at Midnight is a 1950 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on May 6, 1950, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.

Henhouse Henery is a 1949 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on July 2, 1949, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.

Leghorn Swoggled is a 1951 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. It is story by Warren Foster. The cartoon was released on July 28, 1951, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg. The cartoon's plot is similar to Henhouse Henery (1949) and The Leghorn Blows at Midnight (1950).

Lovelorn Leghorn is a 1951 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on September 8, 1951, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Miss Prissy and the Barnyard Dawg.

The EGGcited Rooster is a 1952 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on October 4, 1952, and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.

Plop Goes the Weasel! is a 1953 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson and produced by Edward Selzer. The cartoon was released on August 22, 1953, and features Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg.

All Fowled Up is a 1955 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short film directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on February 19, 1955 and features Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.

<i>Fox-Terror</i> 1957 film by Robert McKimson

Fox-Terror is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on May 11, 1957, and features Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg. The title is a play on the dog breed name "Fox Terrier."

References

  1. "Robert McKimson WARNER BROS CARTOONS INC.Director Lead Sheet A FRACTURED LEGHORN | #2019175111". Worthpoint. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  2. Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 215. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  3. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 81–82. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.