Hamateur Night

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Hamateur Night
Hamateur Night title card.jpg
Title card
Directed by Fred Avery
Story byJack Miller
Produced by Leon Schlesinger
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Paul Smith
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • January 28, 1939 (1939-01-28)
Running time
7:42
Language English

Hamateur Night is a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery and written by Jack Miller. [1] The short was released on January 28, 1939 and features an early version of Elmer Fudd. [2]

Contents

History

The film itself

The premise of the film is rather simple; it features a vaudeville-style amateur talent night (see, for example, the contemporary and still-ongoing "Amateur Night" competitions at the Apollo Theater and the long-running radio-turned-television show Amateur Hour ) with a format that resembles the much later television program The Gong Show in that it features a judge who strikes a gong to stop the performance of any entertainer whom he deems bad. The primary character of this short is a prototype of Elmer Fudd who lacks the speech impediment of the character he evolved into.

The cartoon entered the public domain in 1968 when its last rightsholder, United Artists Television (successor-in-interest to Associated Artists Productions), failed to renew the original copyright within the required 28-year period. [3]

Plot

During an amateur talent night at the "Warmer Bros. Theatre" (pun on Warner Bros.), performers put on a series of strange acts, hosted by a disinterested dogface. These include:

With the exception of the swami and the balcony scene, every act is rejected by a backstage judge, who rings a bell and pulls a lever to open a trapdoor under the performers and drop them out of sight.

The acts are broken up by assorted comical interludes, which include:

At the end of the night, as a voice vote is taken for the winner, Elmer wins. The MC is shocked to see that Elmers fill the entire center section of the theater.

Voice Cast

It is currently unknown who provided the voice of Teeny, Tiny, Tinsy, Tinny-Tinny-Tin. [4]

Home media

References

  1. Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 83. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 77–79. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Looney Tunes in the Public Domain"
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Scott, Keith (2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, 1930-1970: Volume 2 - Studio Filmographies with Voice Credits. Orlando, Florida: BearManor Media. p. 33. ISBN   979-8-88771-010-5 . Retrieved December 28, 2023.