The Screwdriver

The Screwdriver
Woody Woodpecker series
Directed by	Walter Lantz
Produced by	Walter Lantz
Story by	Ben Hardaway Jack Cosgriff
Voices by	Mel Blanc Ben Hardaway
Music by	Darrell Calker
Animation by	Alex Lovy R. Somerville
Studio	Walter Lantz Productions
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	August 11, 1941 (U.S.)
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	6' 44"
Language	English
Preceded by	Woody Woodpecker
Followed by	Pantry Panic

The Screwdriver is the second animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on August 11, 1941, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures.

The plot has the wacky bird driving a car (hence the title of the picture), with a series of gags about the jalopy he's driving and his attempts to speed and to elude a persistent policeman.

Contents 1 Notes 2 Censorship 3 Quotes 4 References

Notes

• Like most of the early 1940s Lantz "cartunes", The Screwdriver carried no director's credit. Lantz himself has claimed to have directed this film, which features animation by Alex Lovy and Ralph Somerville, a story by Ben Hardaway and Jack Cosgriff, and music by Darrell Calker.

• The song, performed by Mel Blanc at the beginning of the film, would make a reappearance in Hot Rod Huckster, performed by Grace Stafford.

Everybody thinks I'm screwy!

Screwy as a loon, that's me!

When I get on the driving spree,

The coppers all get panicky!

Honk my horn!

HONKHONKHONK

Strip my gears!

SCREECHSCHREECHSCREECH

So I'm screwy, what, what, what can I do?

I ask you!

• The Screwdriver marks Mel Blanc provided the voice for Woody, although He would provide his singing voice as well as the voice of the cop in this short (the last one in which he would record any new material for the series). However, Woody's famous laugh and "Guess Who?!" signature line (provided by Blanc) would continue to be recycled in the succeeding shorts. In addition, this would be the last time Hardaway would provide Woody's dialogue until 1943 as Danny Webb and Kent Rogers would portray Woody over the next year.

Censorship

The scene where Woody dressed up as a Chinese stereotype to trick the cop was removed.

Quotes

(Woody ask a question about women to the cop.)

• WOODY:: What's the color of Jeannie's light brown hair? (Turns to audience) No coaching from the audience please

(The Cop is explaining what a speeder is)

• COP:: A speeder is a guy that goes *imitates speeding engine*
• WOODY:: You mean like this 'Pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt'?
• COP:: Nah like this *imitates speeding engine*
• WOODY:: Ah I get it 'Pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-*Cuckoo*'
• COP:: I didn't say 'Pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-*Cuckoo*'. I said *imitates speeding engine*, and if you go 'Pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-pbbt-*Cuckoo*' once more, I'll give you a ticket

References

• Cooke, Jon, Komorowski, Thad, Shakarian, Pietro, and Tatay, Jack. "1941". The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia.