His Bitter Half
Encyclopedia
His Bitter Half is a Merrie Melodies
animated short produced and copyrighted in 1949 starring Daffy Duck
. Released May 20, 1950, the cartoon is directed by Friz Freleng
. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc
.
Both "His Bitter Half" and a later short -- 1962's "Honey's Money
" -- have a similar plot: a fortune-seeking bachelor marrying an ugly widow and, after forced to do backbreaking housechores, being made to care for her child, introduced (to both the main protagonist and the audience) only after the marriage is legalized. The child in both shorts is named Wentworth; here, Wentworth is a brat who causes trouble, with Daffy suffering the consequences of his son's actions. (In the later "Honey's Money," Wentworth is completely innocent, his giant weight causing trouble for Sam.) The differing personalities of the two Wentworths results in different executions for each cartoon.
After being scalped playing cowboys and Indians
, Daffy -- after being shown the bank book -- is made to take Wentworth to the amusement park. There, Daffy tries his luck at a shooting gallery, but each time the duck takes a shot, Wentworth uses a slingshot to bean the back of the barker's head; eventually, the angered barker socks Daffy. His disgusted wife assumes that Daffy is "fried to the gills" and orders him to bed, since he's got to help Wentworth shoot off fireworks on the Fourth of July. The holiday begins with Daffy taking the brunt of a fireworks mishap, followed by Wentworth disguising himself as a lit firecracker. Daffy, wanting to teach the brat a lesson, thinks he's found him and begins to discipline him -- only to see the disguised Wentworth racing by, just seconds before the firecracker explodes.
The woman duck demands that Daffy take Wentworth to the zoo. Despite a threat from his wife to pluck every feather from his body, Daffy stands his ground, "No zoo.". He then walks out the door with packed suitcases in hand, retorting, "Nobody's going to tell this little black duck what to do!" His body (below the shoulders) has been stripped clean of feathers, just as his now ex-wife had promised.
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
animated short produced and copyrighted in 1949 starring Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
. Released May 20, 1950, the cartoon is 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....
. The voices were performed 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...
.
Both "His Bitter Half" and a later short -- 1962's "Honey's Money
Honey's Money
Honey's Money is a 1962 Merrie Melodies animated short starring Yosemite Sam.-Summary:Honey's Money is somewhat of a remake of the 1950s shorts "His Bitter Half" and "Hare Trimmed." In The Bitter Half short, Daffy married a woman duck for money, but is thrown for a loop when the wife immediately...
" -- have a similar plot: a fortune-seeking bachelor marrying an ugly widow and, after forced to do backbreaking housechores, being made to care for her child, introduced (to both the main protagonist and the audience) only after the marriage is legalized. The child in both shorts is named Wentworth; here, Wentworth is a brat who causes trouble, with Daffy suffering the consequences of his son's actions. (In the later "Honey's Money," Wentworth is completely innocent, his giant weight causing trouble for Sam.) The differing personalities of the two Wentworths results in different executions for each cartoon.
Plot
Daffy learns that a "refined, lady duck" with an income is seeking someone to marry. After the requisite courtship and marriage, Daffy looks forward to a life of luxury. However, the woman -- an oversized lady duck whose personality is as domineering as her size -- immediately orders Daffy to do the housework; when Daffy objects, his bill is slapped off his face. After an afternoon of exhausting tasks, he is startled by the appearance of Wentworth, a rambunctious duckling whom Daffy wants nothing to do with.After being scalped playing cowboys and Indians
Children's games (role play)
Cowboys and Indians is a very old childhood game, with roots extending further back than even the romanticized historical period from which it springs...
, Daffy -- after being shown the bank book -- is made to take Wentworth to the amusement park. There, Daffy tries his luck at a shooting gallery, but each time the duck takes a shot, Wentworth uses a slingshot to bean the back of the barker's head; eventually, the angered barker socks Daffy. His disgusted wife assumes that Daffy is "fried to the gills" and orders him to bed, since he's got to help Wentworth shoot off fireworks on the Fourth of July. The holiday begins with Daffy taking the brunt of a fireworks mishap, followed by Wentworth disguising himself as a lit firecracker. Daffy, wanting to teach the brat a lesson, thinks he's found him and begins to discipline him -- only to see the disguised Wentworth racing by, just seconds before the firecracker explodes.
The woman duck demands that Daffy take Wentworth to the zoo. Despite a threat from his wife to pluck every feather from his body, Daffy stands his ground, "No zoo.". He then walks out the door with packed suitcases in hand, retorting, "Nobody's going to tell this little black duck what to do!" His body (below the shoulders) has been stripped clean of feathers, just as his now ex-wife had promised.
Censorship
- On the FOX Merrie Melodies Show version of this cartoon, the scene of Wendell playing cowboys and Indians was cut to remove Wendell pretending to die from an imaginary gunshot wound http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/h/.
- The version of this cartoon that aired on Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon left in the part that FOX cut and was shown uncut until 1992, when the scene of Wendell lighting his string of fireworks in the backyard was cut (though not the scene of Daffy picking up the string and getting blown up by the smallest one) http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/h/.
Further readings
- Friedwald, Will and Jerry Beck. "The Warner Brothers Cartoons." Scarecrow Press Inc., Metuchen, N.J., 1981. ISBN 0-8108-1396-3.