Racketeer Rabbit
Encyclopedia
Racketeer Rabbit is a 1946 animated short film in the Looney Tunes
series produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons
, Inc. It stars Bugs Bunny
, who duels with a pair of racketeers
or gangsters, Rocky and Hugo
forerunners who resemble Edward G. Robinson
(Rocky, not to be confused with the aforementioned Rocky) and Peter Lorre
(Hugo). Directed by Friz Freleng
; written by Michael Maltese
; animated by Manuel Perez, Virgil Ross, Gerry Chiniquy
and Ken Champin; music
by Carl Stalling
, and voices by Mel Blanc
and, uncredited, Dick Nelson (as "Robinson").
. After claiming "Huh! Sounds like Inner Sanctum
" while opening the squeaky front door, he drills a hole in the ground and sleeps. Shortly thereafter, Rocky and Hugo return after being pursued by the cops. Bugs comically gets up in the middle of the firing session to use the bathroom and returns to bed just as the gunfight ends.
That night, while Rocky is doling out his and Hugo's money, Bugs slyly cuts in after noticing Rocky isn't paying attention. He poses as several gang members until he gets all of their money. Rocky now wises up, and demands the money. Bugs refuses, even suntanning under the light he focuses on him. Rocky then has Hugo take Bugs for a ride, which he gladly accepts, claiming "I could use a breath of fresh air!" Bugs returns to the house without Hugo, and Rocky at first doesn't notice. When he does, he threatens Bugs continuously (all the while demanding that he help him get dressed). He demands to know where the "dough" is, and after promising not to look (since Bugs doesn't want him to know where he hid it) gets a bowl of pie-dough in the face.
Bugs then poses as Mugsy, another gangster (flipping a coin like George Raft
), who threatens that "It's curtain
s for you, Rocky" as if he is going to execute Rocky, and then pulls an actual set of curtains from inside his jacket and hangs them over Rocky's head ("Aw, they're adorable", Rocky purrs). Bugs then pretends to be the police, and has Rocky hide inside a chest while he "deals with" the police. In faux pas
, Bugs acts out the police breaking in, demanding to know Rocky's whereabouts, a fight ensuing over the chest which he is in (Bugs sticks two swords in the trunk within the process), and Bugs eventually throwing the cop out the window. Sometime during the phony fight, Bugs had placed a time bomb inside the chest (advising Rocky to "hold me watch"), and it now promptly blows up.
Rocky asks which direction the cops went, and after Bugs points the way, flees the house while screaming to be arrested and not wanting to be left "with that crazy rabbit!" Bugs sighs, "Some guys just can't take it, eh? Nah, nah, nah, nah!"
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
series produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
, Inc. It stars Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
, who duels with a pair of racketeers
Racket (crime)
A racket is an illegal business, usually run as part of organized crime. Engaging in a racket is called racketeering.Several forms of racket exist. The best-known is the protection racket, in which criminals demand money from businesses in exchange for the service of "protection" against crimes...
or gangsters, Rocky and Hugo
Rocky and Mugsy
Rocky and Mugsy are animated cartoon characters in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. They were created by Friz Freleng.-Character Biography:...
forerunners who resemble Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
(Rocky, not to be confused with the aforementioned Rocky) and Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
(Hugo). Directed by Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
; written by Michael Maltese
Michael Maltese
Michael "Mike" Maltese was a long-time storyboard artist and screenwriter for classic animated cartoon shorts.-Career:...
; animated by Manuel Perez, Virgil Ross, Gerry Chiniquy
Gerry Chiniquy
Germain Adolph "Gerry" Chiniquy was an American animator. He is best known for his work with Friz Freleng, at both Warner Bros. and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises....
and Ken Champin; music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
by Carl Stalling
Carl Stalling
Carl W. Stalling was an American composer and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by Warner Bros., where he averaged one complete score each week, for 22 years.-Biography:Stalling was born to Ernest and...
, and voices by Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
and, uncredited, Dick Nelson (as "Robinson").
Plot
Bugs Bunny, looking for a place to pass the night, happens on an abandoned farm house, which, unbeknownst to Bugs, is the hideout of two gangsters, Rocky and HugoRocky and Mugsy
Rocky and Mugsy are animated cartoon characters in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. They were created by Friz Freleng.-Character Biography:...
. After claiming "Huh! Sounds like Inner Sanctum
Inner Sanctum Mysteries
Inner Sanctum Mysteries, a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952, was created by producer Himan Brown. A total of 526 episodes were broadcast.-Horror hosts:...
" while opening the squeaky front door, he drills a hole in the ground and sleeps. Shortly thereafter, Rocky and Hugo return after being pursued by the cops. Bugs comically gets up in the middle of the firing session to use the bathroom and returns to bed just as the gunfight ends.
That night, while Rocky is doling out his and Hugo's money, Bugs slyly cuts in after noticing Rocky isn't paying attention. He poses as several gang members until he gets all of their money. Rocky now wises up, and demands the money. Bugs refuses, even suntanning under the light he focuses on him. Rocky then has Hugo take Bugs for a ride, which he gladly accepts, claiming "I could use a breath of fresh air!" Bugs returns to the house without Hugo, and Rocky at first doesn't notice. When he does, he threatens Bugs continuously (all the while demanding that he help him get dressed). He demands to know where the "dough" is, and after promising not to look (since Bugs doesn't want him to know where he hid it) gets a bowl of pie-dough in the face.
Bugs then poses as Mugsy, another gangster (flipping a coin like George Raft
George Raft
George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
), who threatens that "It's curtain
Curtain
A curtain is a piece of cloth intended to block or obscure light, or drafts, or water in the case of a shower curtain. Curtains hung over a doorway are known as portières...
s for you, Rocky" as if he is going to execute Rocky, and then pulls an actual set of curtains from inside his jacket and hangs them over Rocky's head ("Aw, they're adorable", Rocky purrs). Bugs then pretends to be the police, and has Rocky hide inside a chest while he "deals with" the police. In faux pas
Faux pas
A faux pas is a violation of accepted social norms . Faux pas vary widely from culture to culture, and what is considered good manners in one culture can be considered a faux pas in another...
, Bugs acts out the police breaking in, demanding to know Rocky's whereabouts, a fight ensuing over the chest which he is in (Bugs sticks two swords in the trunk within the process), and Bugs eventually throwing the cop out the window. Sometime during the phony fight, Bugs had placed a time bomb inside the chest (advising Rocky to "hold me watch"), and it now promptly blows up.
Rocky asks which direction the cops went, and after Bugs points the way, flees the house while screaming to be arrested and not wanting to be left "with that crazy rabbit!" Bugs sighs, "Some guys just can't take it, eh? Nah, nah, nah, nah!"