| The Foghorn Leghorn | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies (Foghorn Leghorn/Henery Hawk) series | |
Title card of The Foghorn Leghorn. |
|
| Directed by | Robert McKimson |
| Produced by | Eddie Selzer |
| Story by | Warren Foster |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by | Pete Burness John Carey Phil DeLara |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 9, 1948 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7:00 |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Crowing Pains |
| Followed by | Henhouse Henery |
The Foghorn Leghorn is a Henery Hawk/Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1948 and directed by Robert McKimson. Foghorn has to convince an unbelieving Henery Hawk that he really is a "chicken. Rooster, that is."
This was only one of five post-1948 WB cartoons to get a Blue Ribbon reissue prior to 1956 - with the original credits cut. The others were Daffy Dilly, Kit for Cat, Scaredy Cat, and You Were Never Duckier. The Foghorn Leghorn was the only one of these to star neither Daffy Duck nor Sylvester (both of which are known for their lisp), and the only Robert McKimson-directed cartoon in the group (Kit for Cat was directed by Friz Freleng, the others by Chuck Jones).
Contents |
Henery Hawk is talking with his Grandfather about wanting to get a chicken, but Henery's Grandfather dissuades him, as he'd get in the way. Notably, Henery's Grandfather lies about what a chicken looks like, leaving Henery in the dark as to what a chicken really is.
Henery's Grandfather raids a chicken coop and walks out with a couple of chickens, but is stopped by Foghorn, who doesn't let Henery's Grandfather get a word in edgewise before kicking him out. (Foghorn uses this technique against a cat several times, two years later in A Fractured Leghorn, because the cat wants the same worm as Foghorn.) When Henery asks his Grandfather if that was a chicken, his Grandfather claims Foghorn isn't a chicken but a "loud-mouthed schnook" (walking away with a yellow stripe down his back, signifying that he's a coward). Henery goes over to Barnyard Dawg's house, and knocks the dog out with a hammer. Foghorn stops them and asks Henery what he thinks he is — to which Henery replies that Foghorn is a "loud-mouthed schnook." Foghorn isn't helped when the dog wakes up and kicks him, calling him a schnook.
Foghorn continues to try and convince Henery that "I'm a chicken. Rooster, that is." He tries to crow at "sun-up" (pulling up a cardboard cutout of the sun and crowing), but that doesn't work. As Henery exits before Foghorn can even finish his demonstration, leaving only two signs in his absence. The first reading; "Shnook!" and the second saying; "Loud Mouth'd That Is!". When Henery pushes along a trunk, Foghorn again tries to straighten Henery out, but his emphasising by hitting the trunk winds up hitting the Barnyard Dawg, who chases Foghorn up a ladder and into a watermelon, after which Foghorn mutters "Some days it don't pay to get outta bed!".
When Henery throws a stick of dynamite into the Barnyard Dawg's house, the dog slams Foghorn to the ground several times and finally calls him a "good-for-nothing chicken", which is enough for Henery — he knocks Foghorn down with a shovel and starts dragging him away. Although Foghorn now calls himself a "loudmouthed schnook", Henery says, "Chicken or schnook, in our oven he'll look good!"