The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1950) User Reviews

Spectacular Art; Inside Jokes Pretty Good

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 22 February 2007]

Daffy the actor is in the boss' office, pleading for a new role and a new image. He's tired of being typecast as a comic. He brings a script for a film he wants to do: The Scarlet Pumpernickel by Daffy Dumas Duck. He starts reading it and we see the images as the story unfolds.

"Once upon a time," Daffy starts...and then stops to say, "Great opening, huh?" Anyway, "in merry old England......."

We get the story with Daffy as the hero, and Porky Pig and Sylvester the Cat playing key roles. The colors and the art in depicting the castles, streets and costumes of the day are spectacular. The story is good; not a ton of laughs but smart enough with inside jokes (Errol Flynn references, Jewish jokes and lines) to be enjoyable for us adults. Daffy Duck cartoons, from what I've seen, are geared more for adults than kids, anyway.

WB Take on Classic Tale of Romance

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 30 December 2015]

Daffy is tired of being cast in comedy roles. He writes a script where he will appear as the Scarlet Pumpernickel, a highwayman who gets what he wants. In this case, it is the hand of a princess (whose father is a pig and who is, herself a duck). Don't ask. Anyway, on her way to marry Sylvester who is a viscount, Daffy/Pumpernickel absconds with her. No wedding takes place. Then it is up to Daffy to keep what is his. Very crisp animation of Chuck Jones makes this work. Even though he is playing a serious role, Daffy continues to be Daffy. His script appears to be several thousand pages long. I've seen this so many times. It is somewhat endearing.

A very good Daffy Duck episode!

[Mightyzebra · 8/10 · 21 January 2008]

With TWO good themes carried off in a hilarious way, good characters chosen and a good plot, this Daffy Duck episode is pretty tough to beat! Yet another good thing about this episode, is the clever, brilliant mux-ip of the modern and the old Daffy Duck (this episode was made in 1950, when the new greedy, sly, mean Daffy Duck that most of us know was just starting to appear) and the choosing of so many Looney Tunes characters - including a new one!

The episode begins with Daffy feeling hyperly angry and stressed at doing so much comedy and he has had the nerve and steel to write a script which focuses on a more serious theme - or as serious as Daffy can possibly be. The story is not the Scarlet Pimpernel - but the Scarlet Pumpernickel, as Daffy! Also appearing is Porky as the High Chamberlain and who seems to be a new character, a yellow duck, as the fair Melissa. She is to marry the Grand Duke, who is Sylvester, but she loves the Scarlet Pumpernickel, who is an outlaw. It's the start of a grand adventure, with good gags along the way...

Good for people who like comedy versions of famous book people and good for people who want to watch Daffy's attempt at a more serious episode. Enjoy "The Scarlet Pumpernickel"! :-)

pretty good

[movieman_kev · 23 November 2004]

Daffy Duck goes to Jack Warner to pitch his take on "The Scarlet Pimpernickel" in another good looney Tunes short. This kinda broke away with the formulaic nature of the other Tunes shorts of the period. And as such it's able to stand out from the pack a bit more and it's better for it. This short is delightful.Furthermore, The ending is intact unlike what you'll see in the TV versions. So the cartoon goes out with more of a bang for your buck hehehe. This cartoon is on Disk 2 of the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1". It also has an optional commentary, as well as a music-only track.

My Grade: B+

A "snuff" film, in EVERY sense of the word . . .

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 2 January 2016]

. . . Warner Bros. animated short THE SCARLET PUMPERNICKEL is one of America's first flicks to draw a correlation between tobacco usage and suicide-by-gun. Powder proves to be Daffy Duck's downfall. First, his title character suffers uncontrollable spasms and fits from ingesting the Demon Snuff. Then, gun powder powers a bullet into Daffy's skull. Daffy's motivation toward self-destruction here seems to be his strong desire to be a chain-smoking movie star like Errol Flynn. Big Tobacco paid billions in bribes to put the Wicked Weed in the mouths of stars such as Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, John Wayne, and Flynn in a successful effort to get 1900s America smoking like a rusty muffler. (These tobacco shills also introduced the illogical concept of the post-coital cigarette, realizing that the American Race would peter out and die from the effects of their product--hurting sales growth and year-end bonuses--unless smokers started to reproduce at rabbit-like rates). So what if kissing a smoker is akin to licking an ashtray? With Humphrey, Errol, Bette, and Daffy pushing coffin nails, why NOT succumb and then shoot yourself in the head to avoid a lingering Death by Cancer?

You're Killing Me J. L.!

[Rikichi · 10/10 · 23 February 2004]

This cartoon starts out with Daffy Duck in J. L.'s (Jack L. Warner's) office pitching for a dramatic role. He's tired of having anvils drop on his head and never getting the girl. In his buildup of the proposed plot, he has J. L., and us, on the edge of our seats.

This is not your typical Looney Tunes fair. It's a roller coaster ride of slapstick comedy, cameos and that special brand of humor from writer Michael Maltese, all beautifully animated by one of the best crews ever assembled. It's a welcome departure from the formulaic series that the Warner Bros. cartoon factory from this era did so well, but the recipe from this one was to be tried out again with great success in later Daffy Duck shorts (Duck Dodgers, Stupor Duck).

What exactly is a pumper-nickel, and do they come in . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 7/10 · 16 August 2021]

. . . any color besides red? Perhaps there's some sort of typographical error here, and the brief cartoon is SUPPOSED to be entitled as THE SCARLET BUMPER-NICKEL. I've seen many coins that have been partially or entirely splattered in paint, and crimson is one of the most common hues for such tinting. I've also seen gamblers--sometimes including young school kids--bumping coins against the junction of walls and floors, with the coin nudging closest to the wall usually being considered the winning "wager." Perhaps one of the cartoon team had a red-stained Lucky Buffalo Bumper Nickel as a youngster, and this provided the original germ for the story (in which case it obviously got lost in the shuffle, like a soup spoiled by too many cooks).

Interesting take on the Dumas classic

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 12 January 2010]

The Scarlet Pumpernickel is a great and very interesting take on the Alexandre Dumas classic The Scarlet Pimpernel. The short starts with Daffy getting frustrated at only being typecast in comedy, and reads HIS version of the classic to the producer. The rest is a roller-coaster of priceless performances from the toons, swashbuckling and sight gags complete with references to Errol Flynn, with an unexpected ending to boot. The animation is pretty much spotless, and the music is rousing. The story is fun, and there are some many good moments, so much so I cannot think of my favourite part.

The toons however are the real stars here; Daffy takes on the role of "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" and does so with gusto. Porky is given little to do but does what he can with The Lord High Chamberlain, while Sylvester relishes his part as the Duke. Also Melissa is a very beautiful and cute duck I think. All thanks to the marvellous vocal talents of the immortal Mel Blanc. All in all, hugely entertaining. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Thou fair cartoon! Mel Blanc and Chuck Jones have rescued thee from boredom!

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 28 November 2005]

We've all seen the images of up-and-coming writers trying to pitch their work to studio heads. Well, in "The Scarlet Pumpernickel", Daffy Duck is trying to pitch his 2,000-page script to studio head J.L. The script casts Daffy as the Scarlet Pumpernickel, an 18th-century rogue. Seeking to trap the guy, the dastardly Lord High Chamberlain (Porky Pig) comes up with a most devious scheme: marry fair maiden Melissa off to the unpleasant Grand Duke (Sylvester the Cat). So, it all comes down to a sword-fight between Daffy and Sylvester.

Actually, it doesn't come down to that. Daffy never wrote an ending, and so at the spur of the moment, he comes up with an ending that seems a little strange to put in a cartoon. But, as he notes, that's apparently what you have to do to sell a script these days. The cartoon makes fun not only of movies starring Errol Flynn (whom Daffy mentions by name), but also of everything Hollywood-related. Chuck Jones, Mel Blanc, and that whole team probably knew all about such things. Another classic cartoon.

What does it take to get a movie made around here?

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 10/10 · 6 May 2004]

Blowing your brains out is the answer and that's just what Daffy Duck ends up doing.

The cartoon opens in the office of one of the Warner Brothers producers. Daffy is trying to get him interested in making a movie from his 1000 page script 'The Scarlet Pumpernickel'. Daffy plays a swashbuckling hero/thief who would like for no more than to marry his maiden in peril. But Sylvester is out to catch him and take her for himself.

The producer likes Daffy's script but need a bigger ending. How about a tidal wave? Not good enough? And a volcano explodes? Not good enough. But there's nothing left for the Scarlett Pumpernickel to do but blow his brains out?

Blam!

I love that Duck.

Poor Melissa

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 10 July 2015]

This is a one of these uncountable 7-minute cartoons from Warner Bros and it was made 65 years ago. The star is Daffy this time and he is out to save Melissa who is kept prisoner at a castle. And she is in all kinds of trouble. Not only is the world's least capable superhero out to rescue her, she also gets in trouble with Porky and Sylvester. All these are voiced by Mel Blanc once again and the filmmaker duo are Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese as always. Melissa is voiced by Bea Benederet (Betty on "Flintstones"). All in all, I did not find this cartoon as funny as many other Looney Toons from that time. The jokes just did not really do that much for me. Maybe this is because I am not familiar with The Scarlet Pimpernel that this cartoon obviously spoofs. So yeah, I cannot recommend it. Better stuff out there from the 1950s.

An all-star take on the Errol Flyn style caper

[phantom_tollbooth · 9/10 · 18 August 2008]

Chuck Jones's 'The Scarlet Pumpernickel' is something a bit special. Starring Daffy Duck, this ripping yarn casts several Warner Bros. favourites in a take off of 'The Scarlet Pimpernel'. It's a joy to see these rarely coinciding characters (including Porky Pig, Sylvester, Elmer Fudd, Henery Hawk and Mother Bear) interact with each other and the roles bring out the best in some of the characters. Porky Pig relishes the chance to play the villainous Lord High Chamberlain while Sylvester hams it up gloriously as the Grand Duke. At the centre of it all, of course, is Daffy, spectacularly blundering the role of romantic hero ("parting is such sweet stuff") as he strives to emulate Errol Flyn. The story is framed by the frantic Daffy we all know and love pitching his script to unseen studio boss J.L. J.L's demanding expectations lead to the grisly and memorable finale in which a spent Daffy commits suicide by shooting himself in the head. 'The Scarlet Pumpernickel' was an exciting all-star experience when I was a kid and it remains a remarkable piece of work when I witness it as an adult. It manages to be funny while still masterfully tapping into the spirit of the adventure stories it spoofs

Nice try but not great

[bob the moo · 27 March 2004]

Tired of being typecast in comedy-duck roles, Daffy pitches an adventure story to a studio executive. He tells the story of the Scarlet Pumpernickel, a gentleman bandit that befuddles the authorities, until, that is, the Lord Chamberlain devises a cunning plan to draw him out and trap him.

This cartoon is a mix of period piece and studio-spoof; it starts and ends in the studio and has a vague Errol-Flynn tale in the middle. The main story is surprisingly unfunny and really could have used a great deal more spark to really make it enjoyable. As it is it only has a few gags, such is the time given to the array of characters and the frame of the plot. The studio set bits are quite funny due to the joke of how hard it is to sell the story, the idea that Daffy is a real actor worried about typecasting and the delivery of the duck himself - but these aren't enough to carry it.

The cast are very good on paper, the problem is there are too many players. Daffy is funny in his twin roles as actor and character, but Porky is given too little time to really do anything. Likewise Sylvester is pretty much wasted. The feeling of an ensemble cast is not necessarily a good thing in a 4 minute long film - sometimes things need to be scaled down to be more effective.

Despite the promise shown by the film, it tries to do too many things and the end result is that it doesn't do the main story or the studio stuff justice. If anything I was surprised by just how average this cartoon was!

A great swash-buckling Daffy Duck cartoon

[ja_kitty_71 · 10/10 · 8 November 2007]

I love it! It's my favorite (and only) Daffy Duck cartoon, but I'm not too crazy about him. Also, I'm not too keen on parody either. In fact, I hate it, period! But I can accept this great swashbuckling cartoon by Chuck Jones, with animation by Phil Monroe. I do love the Chuck Jones and Phil Monroe collaborative cartoons.

And since this short was inspired by the title of the story "The Scarlet Pimpernel," I would like to point out that I've seen the movie version of the book "The Scarlet Pimpernel" from 1935 starring Leslie Howard on T. C. M. And I even taped it too. I'm even thinking of reading the book too; I'm crazy about literary movies.

So overall, I really love this cartoon.

The Scarlet Pumpernickel is an amusing parody of swashbucklers and studio pitches

[tavm · 8/10 · 5 January 2008]

In this one, Daffy plays himself as an actor tired of comedy roles so he pitches J.L. a script called "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" by Daffy Dumas Duck. The duck's the title character hoping to rescue the fair Melissa from the evil Porky Pig. The pig tries to get Sylvester to marry her to keep her from Daffy. Also involved is Elmer (done for the first time by Mel Blanc instead of Arthur Q. Bryan) and the Mama Bear from Chuck Jones' Three Bears cartoons. Nice humorous touches throughout with Daffy, especially, in fine form. I noticed Sylvester doesn't have any whiskers here. Essential viewing for any Jones fan or anyone who loves animated spoofs of old movies.

This should be turned into a feature-length film

[Rectangular_businessman · 9/10 · 19 December 2022]

I totally mean it.

When I was a kid, this was one of my favorite Looney Tunes shorts, and I was disappointed the ending had to be rushed into a gag without resolution.

I genuinelly believe this short could work very well as a feature-length parodying the swashbuckler genre. In fact, instead of making these forgettable Tom and Jerry crossover movies where the titular duo always plays a background role, there is much more potential for reenactments of classical literary works starring the Looney Tunes characters.

A shame that Warner doesn't seem to know what to do with the Looney Tunes nowadays; I honestly wouldn't be surprised if something similar to Loonatics was tried once again.

"The price of foodstuffs skyrocketed!"

[utgard14 · 8/10 · 26 December 2015]

Chuck Jones' funny send-up of swashbuckling adventure stories. The title is a pun on The Scarlet Pimpernel and there's even repeated Errol Flynn references. The plot has Daffy once again upset with his career at Warner Bros. He's tired of doing comedy and wants a chance to do drama. So he shows an executive the script he's written about a hero (Daffy) trying to save a damsel in distress from a forced marriage. The cartoon cuts back and forth between the story Daffy's written and him in the exec's office making his pitch. It's very funny with lots of Daffy silliness and great gags. The cast includes not only Daffy but Porky, Sylvester, Elmer Fudd, Henery Hawk and a few other recognizable lesser characters. The animation is nice and colorful. The music is lively. The voice work is top notch. It's a great Daffy cartoon but the added appearances of the other characters (specifically Sylvester) bumps it up a notch. Beware some versions which cut the final scene and leave the cartoon with an abrupt ending. Thanks censorship!

Daffy

[Michael_Elliott · 12 April 2009]

Scarlet Pumpernickel, The (1950)

*** (out of 4)

Daffy Duck, tired of playing comedy roles, goes to J.L. Warner with a new swashbuckler screenplay and begins to read it. It features our hero (Daffy) trying to save the woman he loves from her evil father (Porky Pig) and the man he wants to marry her off to (Sylvester). This film has a lot of heart and imagination but not enough laughs to make it one of the best from Merrie Melodies. The visual animation is top-notch from start to finish with some beautiful looking backgrounds especially those inside the castle. The wedding scene in pedicular stands out as does the ending where we see a volcano go off as well as a dam break. Sylvester is pretty much wasted in the film as is Porky but we do have Daffy going all out.

Daffy DUMAS Duck?!

[slymusic · 26 June 2009]

"The Scarlet Pumpernickel" is a wonderful Warner Bros. cartoon that stars an unusual grouping of familiar characters - Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester, Elmer Fudd, Mama Bear, and Henery Hawk. I love Daffy's earnestness in the opening scene as he pleads with the high & mighty Jack L. Warner to quit typecasting him in comedy and allow him to appear in a dramatic role, namely as the Scarlet Pumpernickel, for which Daffy wrote the story.

Here are my favorite moments from this cartoon. Porky, as the Lord High Chamberlain, is very funny in his initial appearance, stating that he is "simply furious" and shouting at Lady Melissa (a yellow duck) to keep away from "that masked stinker" the Scarlet Punpernickel. Our "hero" is quite funny as he sneezes, swings face first into a stone building, and makes use of an "olympic high jumper". But the funniest of all is Carl Stalling's great music score as Daffy changes into his Scarlet Pumpernickel outfit, dashes out the window, and misses his horse.

Directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" is a brilliant cartoon that clearly pokes fun at medieval action/adventure stories. This cartoon has been "captured" on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 Disc 2 (a disc that specializes in Daffy Duck and Porky Pig).