170. Porky's Badtime Story (1937)

Release date: July 24th, 1937

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Bob Clampett

Starring: Mel Blanc (Porky, Gabby, Boss)

This is certainly a moment I’ve been anticipating for a very long time. This marks the official directorial debut of Bob Clampett, my favorite of the Looney Tunes directors—the freneticism and appealing looks of his cartoons speak to me the most out of all of the directors’ cartoons, so I’ve been eagerly awaiting the day that I get to dissect his cartoons! 

This is one of those “history lesson” cartoons—lots to discuss beforehand. As I mentioned before, this is Clampett’s first cartoon. Initially, this cartoon was started by Ub Iwerks himself, writing the storyboards and even getting as far as the layout stage. Then, one may Monday morning, Bob Clampett walked into the studio to find the director’s chair empty. He was the director now. Ub had simply vanished without a trace. Chuck Jones was technically the assistant director for the first number of Clampett cartoons—that’s another can of worms we’ll open when we get to the second Clampett entry, Get Rich Quick Porky. 

Regardless, it was up to Clampett to finish the job. As I've mentioned before, Iwerks’ (and now Clampett’s) unit was a part of the Ray Katz unit, run by Leon Schlesinger’s brother in law, Ray Katz. It was run as a separate company, separate from the Schlesinger studio, but essentially the same–the only real major difference is that it was limited to only black and white Looney Tunes cartoons, no Merrie Melodies. Clampett would direct his first Merrie Melody, Goofy Groceries, a whopping 5 years later in 1941. For now, the pig was their priority. 

This wouldn’t be the only time Clampett would visit the cartoon—in 1944, he would remake it as Tick Tock Tuckered, with Daffy starring in place of Gabby. Initially, this cartoon was going to be titled It Happened All Night (a take on the Clark Gable pre-code film It Happened One Night), but the implied promiscuity proved to be a bit too risqué, and thus Porky’s Badtime Story it was. This also has the honor of being the first cartoon to have Porky wearing his iconic suit and tie. Much to cover! 

After Porky and Gabby oversleep and get chewed out by their boss for showing up late to work, they both plan to get a good night’s sleep early. However, a variety of mishaps put the two in their place and then some.

The typography of the title card melts away to get a clear picture of our two stars, waking up only to ignore the cries of the alarm clock, its shrill rings juxtaposing with Carl Stalling’s calming rendition of “When My Dreamboat Comes Home.” Porky and Gabby roll over and doze on–an overlay of the clock hands moving indicates the passage of time. 

Now 10:00, Porky is the one who wakes up first and realizes his plight. Immediately he shakes Gabby awake (”Geh-Gabby! Eh-geh-eh-geh-Gabby, come on! It-it-i-uh-it’s time to get up!”), prompting both of them to throw on their clothes in a daze, with Gabby complaining about how it’s a “swell time to get up, in the middle of the night!” at one point, the two put on the same exact shirt, both raveling up into a ball until putting on their respective clothes independently. Tick Tock Tuckered takes the sensible route and has this shirt being Porky’s jacket, yet here, the shirt is unidentifiable–Porky’s jacket and Gabby’s sweater are both elsewhere. Still a fun little bit of animation regardless.

In a great bit of classic Clampett rubbery animation, the two rush to their garage, hopping in their jalopy. The car takes off with such frightening speed that the entire garage is turned inside out from the process. Its animation is very rubbery, tactile, and loose–a delight to see. Tick Tock Tuckered emphasizes the gag even more by filling it with a ton more details.

As the two rush off to work, we’re treated with a lovely under-view of the car roaring by, our vision obscured by the trail of smoke left behind in its wake. The sound of the car horn blaring past (and paired with the motor of the car itself) top off the urgency of the situation nicely, as does the animation of the two crashing their car against the parked car in front of them (with an accordion sound effect to boot.) Treg Brown’s sound effects add an element of whimsicality to the scenes that are rather lacking in the remake–the sound effects aren’t as prevalent. Then again, the ‘30′s whimsicality present in the accordion sound effect may prove to be a little anachronistic even 7 years later. 

Carl Stalling works wonders with his music scores all throughout the cartoon, but his genius shines especially bright when Porky and Gabby are dashing to meet the door of their workplace. As their run slows into a trot, which slows into a walk and finally melts into a creep, the ever-present motif of “When My Dreamboat Comes Home” reflects their movements, melting from a hurried, brassy arrangement to a stealthy, furtive rendition. 

Their place of work, of course, is “Peter Piper Pickled Peppers” (later changed to the more clever yet punny “Fly-by-Nite Aircraft Co.” in the remake.) Porky shushes Gabby before turning the doorknob, cautiously poking his head inside. “The ceh-eh–the coast is clear, c’mon.” 

They both creep into the office, both on the lookout. Things are looking bright, as it seems there are no unexpected visitors waiting to pounce. Porky even voices his optimism by whispering “We’re okay if the beh-eh-beh-buh-eh-boss don’t see us come in.” Fortune smiles upon the two as they approach the punch-in clock. Tick Tock Tuckered takes the extra liberty of animating the two physically grabbing their time cards and punching them in–here, they just opt to pull the lever on the clock. 

Porky goes first, moving the lever and successfully punching in quietly so as not to bring attention to themselves. Gabby is next, yet unfortunately for him, the lever gets stuck. The entire scene is a great one: the animation in particular is a joy to look at as Gabby even stands sideways against the wall, pushing with all of his might to get that lever to move. Predictably, (foreshadowed by Carl Stalling’s lovely orchestral crescendos) the clock alarm blares throughout the entire office, now putting a spotlight on the duo. Gabby’s take from the initial scare of the alarm is wonderful, as is going the extra mile to animate him shushing the clock. I wonder if Chuck Jones is behind this scene? 

After a closeup of our protagonists hunkered over in dreadful anticipation, we pan out to see their boss looming over them with a complacent grin on his face. “Well, well.” He chuckles as Porky and Gabby exchange terrified glances. “If it isn’t the Rover Boys! And only two hours late, too. Aw, it’s a shame you boys had to come to work today. Why, I would have been glad to bring your work out to you.” 

The intimidation from the boss radiates off the screen, too. Excellent posing on the boss, and wonderful bits of character animation from the boys, with Porky sparing guilty grins in an attempt to make pleasantries before averting his gaze anxiously and Gabby rubbing his sweater with his knuckles. Of course, the boss’ peachy attitude is merely a front, and we’re welcomed with the inviting boom of the signature Mel Blanc yell as the boss screams “NOW GET THIS! IF YOU’RE LATE ONE MORE TIME, YOU’RE FIRED! GET TO WORK!”

With that, the boys hurry off into the office, the door slamming behind them with such force that it knocks the letters printed on the glass window to the floor.

That night, our heroes are seen going to bed, Porky winding up the alarm clock while Gabby complains about how 8:00 is way too early to hit the hay. Porky rebuts “Well, you heard what the eh-beh-beh-buh-beh-boss said. If we’re eh-leh-leh-late again, we lose our j-jeh-jeh-jee-jeh-uh-jo-uh–we’ll get canned.” 

Animation drawing versus the final product.

Thus sparks the second half of the cartoon, rife with slow burning frustration comedy. As Porky attempts to get some sleep, the yowls of an alley cat cause him to crack an eye open. He disregards the pesky feline, rolling over… until an all out cat fight ensues. Carl Stalling’s perky music score is a delight, as is the animation of an angry Porky trekking over to his window, shoe in hand. 

Porky tosses the shoe out the window, and the cries of the cats subdue. Satisfied, Porky marches away from the window, patting off his hands after a job well done. “Well, that’s that.” He’s rewarded for his complacency by getting a shoe hurled straight back at him. 

Porky’s take as he ogles out the window combined with Treg Brown’s sound effects (and great comedic timing on Clampett’s part) make for a lovely combination–especially intriguing is the animation of Porky whipping his head around with some psuedo-smears (really, just some hearty trail lines) to pause and look at. Porky is appealing as always here.

Now more frustrated then ever, Porky returns to the window and hesitates before rocketing the shoe out into the great beyond. Fantastic comedic timing as he immediately slams the window down in case of another boomerang effect. His plan is working, as we’re met with only the sound of Stalling’s big, brassy music score… until the shoe flies in from ANOTHER open window and kicks Porky right in the rear, sending him spinning and flopping to the ground. 

Even more appealing drawings of Porky as he throws the shoe out the window a THIRD time, ducking immediately after. This third attempt isn’t in the remake–as the coast finally, FINALLY appears to be clear, Porky marches away once more with a proudly puffed out chest and satisfied grin. And, of course, another shoe in the face reminds him that karma’s a bitch. 

Furious, Porky prepares to attack, but is buried by an armada of shoes before he can react. Defeated, he waves the white flag by taking cover under the covers. In all, this is a wonderful scene: Porky is very appealing and cute, lots of funny expressions. The comedic timing is succinct, Stalling’s score is infectiously energetic, and Treg Brown’s sound effects of the shoe(s) wreaking havoc are the cherry on top of a wonderfully sadistic sundae. 

Funnily enough, this scene seems to have been animated by Bob Clampett himself for reasons unknown. Directors animating in their own cartoons is certainly rare, but not an anomaly. Art Davis and Bob McKimson have both animated in their own shorts--in fact, McKimson's The Hole Idea was animated by himself entirely, due to complications from the WB studio shutdown of '53.

Another scene that was removed in the remake–Porky prepares to get some sleep once more, but a pesky bee floats in through another open window and decides to give Porky trouble. Seeing that Porky duking it out with a bee was in a previous Iwerks cartoon (Porky and Gabby), this certainly has an Iwerks feel to it–some scenes (as we’ll explore soon) definitely have more of a Clampett touch to it than others. 

Gabby, who we haven’t visited in a hot minute, complains about all of the noise his buddy is making while swatting aimlessly at the bee with a pillow. The bee lands on Gabby’s head, and thus Porky answers by whacking Gabby over the head with the pillow, who contemptuously spits out a mouthful of feathers.

Next order of business, the clouds part to reveal a full moon, underscored by a very literal (a Stalling trademark) yet calming, floaty score of “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”. As to be expected, Porky is woken up by the bright light, and heads over to the window by his bed to close the blinds, effectively blocking out the moon’s rays. The scenes with the moonlight are really quite lovely–there’s a nice disparity in values, with the juxtaposition of the bright moonlight and dark bedroom. It’s very easy to forget that black and white cartoons were made with black and white paint! Yet, against all odds, the moon sweeps over the house and changes directions, making a point to disrupt Porky's sleep. 

Once more, Porky engages in another battle, in that his blinds won’t stay shut. Soon enough, the blinds take on sentience–Porky trots back to his bed inconspicuously (in a very similar manner of him trying to fake out the pesky baby in Porky’s Super Service), the blinds slowly rising as he takes each step forward. When Porky finally whips his head around in confrontation, the binds snap shut again, complete with a rather hilariously guilty whine of an electric guitar slide to top off the gag. Porky crawls into bed, where the repetitive battle resumes from there: every time he closes his eyes, the blinds open. 

At one point, Porky opts to dive at the rising blinds, haughtily tying the string to his bed springs to keep them shut. His plan seems to work, but as soon as he gets on his bed, the entire foundation of the bed is ripped out from under him. We’re treated with an Iwerks-ian “dizzy take” as Porky rips through the bed and sits on the floor in a daze.

To add insult to injury, a raging storm has now cooked up. Porky, now bed-less, crawls into bed with Gabby, muttering “T-teh-teh-t-two o’clock. B-beh-buh-be-boy, what a night.” Thus segues into a memorable gag that is definitely Clampett’s doing, and likely the highlight of the short: a puddle collects on the bed on account of a leaky roof. Its presence is enough to disturb Gabby, who ogles at the puddle. He sees Porky asleep next to him, and putting two and two together, glares at the audience with a hilariously contemptuous expression. Chuck Jones is responsible for the animation in this scene–Gabby’s expressions are priceless, as is the hidden dialogue and comedic timing. 

A raindrop drips on Gabby’s head to assert that no, Porky did not just piss the bed. That doesn’t do very much to cool off the goat’s temper–Chuck’s animation is wonderfully fluid as always as Gabby finally explodes, his raspy voice screeching “WHY DON’T SOMEBODY FIX THESE THINGS!? How do they expect a guy to sleep with water on the brain??” 

His outburst is enough to wake Porky, who does a take as he spots Gabby opening an umbrella. Ever cautious, Porky warns “Hey! Eh-deh-deh-don’t open an umbrella in the house, it’s eh-beh-beh-beh-bad luck!” 

Animation by Chuck Jones.

The slow burn timing of Gabby’s anger is top notch, all the way through this scene. “Aaaww, that’s a lotta baloney. You’re too supersti… eh… you’re too superst… eh… super, uh… aww, what are ya afraid of!?” 

Porky doesn’t answer–nature does. On cue, a lightning bolt fries Gabby right on the spot. WONDERFUL detail of Porky, ever sadistic, laughing at Gabby’s misfortune, who slaps his fried, skeletal umbrella against the blasted puddle on the bed. “EVERYTHING HAPPENS TO ME! I might as well try sleeping under Niagara Falls!” (interestingly, this line was changed to “Egads, I must have enemies!” in Tick Tock Tuckered.) With that, a giant plume of water soaks the both of them. Great timing all around, from the slow burn of Gabby’s frustration to the comically brief lightning bolt to the all-too-coincidental geyser of water.

Finally, it’s morning, our heroes now seeking out dresser drawers as a replacement for a bed. It’s the same shtick as the day before, only they’ve learned their lesson: Porky wakes up at the sound of the alarm clock ringing at the ripe time of 6:00. Initially, he prepares to ignore it, going back to sleep… until he catches himself. He rouses Gabby, and the events of the previous morning play out. Despite the two not being late, they rush with the same vivacity and urgency of the morning before–same clothes sharing, same peeling out of the garage in their hot rod, same tearing down the street, same frantic run towards the office front. 

They skid to a halt, where they’re greeted with a surprise: 

Another touch of leftover Iwerks' taste as the boys share befuddled looks, question marks popping out of their heads. Nevertheless, they don’t dwell on it for too long–the rush back into the car and zoom straight towards their house, letting the car park itself in the garage as they jump out and run back into the house.

A difference of 7 years--showbiz can put a lot of strain on one's nerves.

The boys resume their post at the dresser drawers, going right back to sleep. The alarm gives a last-call ring, which Porky dutifully answers by smashing the alarm clock with a mallet before heading back to sleep. Iris out as we get one last look at the broken clock–compare that to the ending of Tick Tock Tuckered.

And thus wraps up the first cartoon directed by Bob Clampett! For the longest time, I always preferred Tick Tock Tuckered to this one–my Daffy favoritism comes in strong and there are some elements I liked about it more (such as Rod Scribner’s scene of Daffy shooting the moon), but picking apart this one and analyzing it, I may actually prefer this cartoon. 

It’s a great start for Clampett, especially considering the conditions he was in, becoming director rather spontaneously. It’s far from Clampett’s best, but not at all his worst. There are bits of character animation that add a lovely sense of energy, liveliness, and empathy to these characters, bits of animation that are even missing in the remake. The whole “sneaking into work and getting chewed out by the boss” scene has some exceptional character acting, and I mourn the loss of the many shoes being thrown at Porky in the remake. 

For its time, this is a very lively, very fun cartoon. Stalling’s music score is phenomenal as always, Porky and Gabby look extremely appealing, and the piss the bed gag is a great introduction to the warped world of Bob Clampett and his body-humor gags. In all, I would recommend this cartoon! It’s endearing and makes for a good watch, especially comparing and contrasting with previous Porky entries. Go check it out! 

Link!