The conclusion to the film is daft and not very funny - although the sheriff appears to be a first draft of Yosemite Sam. The material is a little weak and isn't really as funny as it should have been - certainly we have seen much better cartoons that involve Bugs and Elmer on a stage of some sort. As an early Bugs (I assume!) this is OK but it is hardly the best example of Bugs' talents. With a title that sounds like it was a working title rather than a title meant to be used as the real title certainly it isn't anywhere near the usual puns and such - and if you are able to remember the film Stagedoor Canteen, then you likely won't be watching this! The film starts out appearing to be an early Bugs in the way that he is quite slimly drawn and smart mouthed without too much of the later stuff. With Fudd training the shotgun on him at all times, Bugs is forced to perform to avoid being shot. When Bugs runs for cover, the two of them end up going in the stage door of a local theatre. "Stage Door Cartoon" must have been a takeoff of "Stage Door Canteen."Įlmer Fudd is out hunting rabbits - Bugs Bunny in particular. I had read in a very well-written jazz resource about an all-star revue picture titled "Stage Door Canteen" (1943), which features such great bandleaders as pianist Count Basie and clarinetist Benny Goodman. For awhile, I wasn't sure about the significance of the title "Stage Door Cartoon" until, as a professional jazz musician, I recently made a small discovery. And during Elmer's "striptease," the song we hear is "If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight," also prominently heard in the Warner Bros. During Bugs' tap dance, we hear a very familiar Stalling dance number, also heard in "Bugs Bunny Rides Again" (1948) and in "(Blooper) Bunny!" (1991). When Bugs disguises himself as a female cancan dancer, a lively Parisian theme accompanies, and Stalling used this theme in other cartoons such as "For Scent-imental Reasons" (1949) and "Daffy Duck Hunt" (1949). Stalling? During the film's opening credits, the familiar "What's Up, Doc?" theme can be proudly heard. And, of course, what would a Warner Bros. And at the closing of this short, Elmer gets arrested by a southern sheriff (perhaps a precursor to Yosemite Sam), but when the theatre shows a Bugs Bunny cartoon on the big screen, the sheriff decides to pause and get a good laugh before turning Elmer in. Elmer causes the audience to roar with laughter during his long fall into the glass of water and during his reluctant entrance in a violet outfit that Bugs hastily dresses him in. After Bugs does a delightful tap dance with a hat and cane, he bangs away at a grand piano while Elmer hides inside the soundboard and subsequently gets struck in the face by the hammers. Here are the highlights from this wonderful cartoon (don't read any further until after you have seen it). In this case, Elmer chases Bugs into a vaudeville theatre, where Bugs cleverly maneuvers Elmer on stage and gets him in all kinds of trouble. Friz was apparently very cautious about using Elmer Fudd in the cartoons he directed, so his treatment of Elmer is somewhat respectful in that no matter where Bugs runs off to, Elmer is there with his shotgun waiting for him. Directed by Friz Freleng, "Stage Door Cartoon" is an excellent Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd picture.
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