Tex Avery and Heck Allen take advantage of this as they roll out some clichéd gags in The First Bad Man (MGM, 1955). “Men had no trouble with their women in them days,” the narrator informs us, as a parade of pulled people passes by. “Exceptin’ the back seat drivers.” We get the nagging wife stereotype, with the wife (June Foray) growling at her man “Slow down. Turn left. Watch that car. Slow down. Yack, yack, yack. Blab, blab, blab. Yack, yack, yack!”
“Well, doggone! Newlyweds,” says Tex Ritter as they come into view. You know what’s next. You’ve seen it in before in Avery cartoons. 1950s Nightclub comics loved the joke too: “Uh, oh. The mother-in-law.”
The most off-beat part of the scene is, what I’m assuming, are not a husband and wife. However, they, and everyone else, are designed by Ed Benedict.
Walt Clinton, Ray Patterson, Mike Lah and Grant Simmons are the credited animators. Johnny Johnsen painted the backgrounds.
LOL! Two Flintstones connections: Ed Benedict and cavemen. And, Tex Ritter, for an MGM appearance, is credited..Steve
ReplyDeleteEvery time Tex Avery had a mother-in-law joke, Scott Bradley had a little musical riff (warbling saxophones?). I don't recognize the tune, anyone know what it is?
ReplyDeleteMight be "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (that one pops up in The House of Tomorrow).
DeleteThat's it! That's the "mother-in-law cue" I hear!
DeleteI didn't notice the scene with the (sabertooth) kitty-cat and the mouse on TV.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the last frame is a "Tom and Jerry" reference?
ReplyDeleteI never thought of that. It could be.
DeleteI think, though, it's simply a matter of Avery and Allen extending the gag to include a household pet and then matching it with something applicable.