The Hunt For the Elusive Quarter

Great poses highlight Walter Lantz’s last cartoon for United Artists, Drooler’s Delight. By the time this cartoon was released in 1949, Lantz had his studio on a hiatus and did some world touring. Profits from overseas theatres were still tied up in post-war money restrictions and Lantz discovered his U-A release contract wasn’t as financially beneficial to him as when he was working with Universal-International.

It would appear Ed Love was the last animator kept on staff. Several more cartoons were in the pipeline and had been written by Heck Allen and timed by Dick Lundy but sat unmade until the studio reopened over a year later. Love was the sole animator of this cartoon, though I imagine he must have had an assistant. Woody is extremely well animated, with little dances and lots of subtle changes in expression. Most of the frames below are extremes as Woody searches for 25 cents to buy a drooler’s delight like the one he heard advertised on the radio.



Love was never rehired when the studio reopened. He freelanced in commercials and then landed regular work at Hanna-Barbera when it was putting Quick Draw McGraw on the air in 1959.

The cartoon benefits from Lionel Stander, whose wonderful growly, gangster-type voice suits Buzz Buzzard perfectly. Bugs Hardaway is Woody; Dal McKennon might play the radio announcer.