Devil's Feud Cake
Devil's Feud Cake is a 1963 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Friz Freleng.[1] The short was released on February 9, 1963, and stars Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam.[2]
| Devil's Feud Cake | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Directed by | Friz Freleng |
| Story by | Friz Freleng Warren Foster |
| Starring | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Bill Lava |
| Animation by | Gerry Chiniquy Virgil Ross Bob Matz Art Leonardi Lee Halpern |
| Layouts by | Hawley Pratt |
| Backgrounds by | Tom O'Loughlin Irv Wyner |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date | February 9, 1963 |
Running time | 7:40 |
Serving as his final appearance in the Merrie Melodies series (although he would star in the Looney Tunes short Dumb Patrol - directed by Gerry Chiniquy, a year later), Yosemite Sam is killed off in this short, which relies heavily on recycled footage and animation from past Friz Freleng cartoons. The only new animation links the clips from past shorts as Sam dies and faces Satan.
Plot
Beginning with footage from Hare Lift, Yosemite Sam robs the Last National Bank in town and erases the assets (leaving only 8 cents). The bank manager presses the button which sets off the alarm and alerts the police. Sam jumps into his car and drives off to the airport with plans to hijack a plane to another country, where the police will not find him.
The airport happens to be having an aircraft surplus sale and Bugs Bunny is taking a look at the biggest airplane on the lot. Bugs gets into the cockpit and starts pretending to be a pilot. Sam boards the plane and, orders Bugs, at gunpoint, to take off. Before Bugs can protest that he is not a pilot, Sam threatens to blow his head off. Bugs finds the starter right away, and as the plane goes down the highway, Bugs makes the plane go straight up to avoid a collision with a skyscraper, and straight down to avoid a collision with the moon, causing Sam, at both times, to fall to the tail and the nose.
In the cockpit, Bugs is reading a "Learn To Fly" book. Then a "robot pilot" is activated, but the robot grabs one of the two parachutes on board and jumps out of the plane. With just one parachute left, Bugs decides that they will have to draw straws to see who gets the parachute; Sam agrees—while Bugs draws straws, Sam will take the parachute. After jumping and pulling the lever on his backpack, it turns out not to be the parachute, and Sam crashes down into the ground, killing him instantly. Meanwhile, Bugs manages to stop the plane in midair by pulling an "air brake" lever.
Now mimicking footage from another Freleng short, Satan's Waitin', Sam goes down a spiral escalator/conveyor belt to Hell, where he is greeted by the Head Devil, Satan. Sam introduces himself, to which the Head Devil discovers in the Book of Life that Sam has been a bad boy, although Sam protests that it was Bugs that made him go to Hell. The Head Devil tells Sam that he is after Bugs as well, and since Sam has a connection with Bugs, the Head Devil makes a deal; if Sam brings Bugs to Hell, he will be set free, but if he fails, he will remain in Hell forever. Sam gladly accepts the deal and the Head Devil sends him back to the world of the living.
Back on Earth, Sam discovers from a poster that Bugs is to star in a stage play titled "Ben Hare," and dresses up as a Roman Centurion. During the shooting, Bugs, dressed up as a legionary, realizes his cue is up next, but Sam comes up and tells Bugs that he has a long overdue date with the Head Devil down in Hell and tries to slice him with a sword, only to miss him. Commenting that Sam has flipped his lid, Bugs runs into the Coliseum set and Sam gives chase.
Now using footage from Roman Legion-Hare, both run into a pit of sleeping lions, which they sneak through. Bugs, having got out first, lowers in an alarm clock, which rings in front of Sam and wakes up the lions. Bugs then shuts the secret door above with his foot so that the lions can thrash Sam. Sam manages to escape the set, but the lions pursue him to a cliff, with a river below. Faced with an awkward dilemma of falling to his death [again] or being eaten by the lions, Sam hastily jumps, hoping to land in the river, but is killed again and ends up back in Hell.
When Sam comes back to Hell, the Head Devil discovers that Sam has not brought back his replacement. Sam begs the Head Devil to give him another chance, which the Head Devil gladly accepts and sends him back to the world of the living again.
Back on Earth, and using footage from Sahara Hare, Sam shows up in the Sahara Desert, riding a stupid camel that will not "whoa" on cue, so Sam has to hit him over the head with his gun. Seeing Bugs, Sam starts firing his gun at him, but Bugs manages to escape into an abandoned Foreign Legion post. Sam immediately tries to chisel his way in by hammering out the cement on a stone brick, but when he pulls out the stone brick, he discovers that Bugs has placed a cannon in wait for him. Sam tries to push the brick back into proper place, but Bugs fires the cannon, blasting Sam and the brick through several sand dunes and a palm tree. This "date" is fatal and sends Sam back to Hell.
When Sam gets to Hell for the third time, the Head Devil sees that Sam still has not brought Bugs back with him and, even though he is disappointed in him and despite Sam not asking for one, decides to give him one more chance. Sam, however, has had enough of these backfired attempts and tells the Head Devil that if he wants Bugs, he can get him himself and announces that he is staying in Hell. Sam then rushes away, puts on a devil's suit, comes back, and starts laughing in a maniacal way.
References
- Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 341. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60-62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.