| Deduce, You Say! | |
|---|---|
| Looney Tunes (Daffy Duck and Porky Pig) series | |
Lobby card |
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| Directed by | Chuck Jones |
| Produced by | Eddie Selzer |
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Music by | Milt Franklyn |
| Animation by | Abe Levitow Richard Thompson Ken Harris Ben Washam |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date(s) | September 29, 1956 (USA) |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7:00 |
| Language | English |
Deduce, You Say! is a 1956 Warner Bros. cartoon short of the Looney Tunes series, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, with musical arrangements by Milt Franklyn. It features Daffy Duck as the dim-witted detective Dorlock Homes (a parody of Sherlock Holmes) and Porky Pig as his sidekick Watkins (based on Dr. Watson), as they attempt to locate and apprehend the dangerous "Shropshire Slasher". This episode can be found on the DVD Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1: Disc 2.
The cartoon begins with Mr. Watkins' narration explaining that he and Dorlock Holmes live on Beeker St. in London. Then, we see the inside of their apartment, where Holmes is busily engaged in deduction...tax deduction, that is, hoping to write off such costs as "taxi fares, to and from murders." Following a knock on the door, a mailman falls into their apartment. While Holmes attributes it to curare, a type of poison, the mailman chides him for not fixing the step (at which point Holmes declares that the mailman will get no gratuity). The letter identifies that there is a criminal on the loose named The Shropshire Slasher.
Daffy and Watkins go to a bar where the Slasher is known to hang out. Holmes' attempts to gather clues land darts in his bill. When the Shropshire Slasher finally gets revealed, Holmes repeatedly tries to deal with the man and cajoles and threatens him, but he proves much stronger and always injures Holmes; meanwhile, Watkins speaks reasonably to the suspect and he not only willing divulges his identity but is peacefully persuaded to turn himself in to the police.
Just then, a woman arrives selling flowers. Holmes accuses her of selling them without a license and threatens to arrest her. The Shropshire Slasher moans "Mother!" Before Holmes has time to consider what has happened, the Shropshire Slasher grabs him by the neck and starts shaking him violently, causing all of Daffy's possessions to fall out of his pockets. The Shropshire Slasher and his mother then leave. Porky asks a beat-up looking Holmes what school he learned to be a detective. Holmes answers "Elementary, my dear Watkins. Elementary."