Tex Cracks Him Up

Perhaps it’s because he grew up in an era of silent films, but Tex Avery avoided dialogue when it really wasn’t necessary. This blog has all kinds of examples where we’ve shown one of his gags with frames and no commentary.

Wags to Riches is one of many cartoons where the premise is set up at the start with a bit of dialogue (Spike wants to kill Droopy to get Droopy’s inheritance), and almost the rest of the cartoon is visual with sounds effects.

Here’s a gag we’ve condensed into 17 drawings. You can follow what’s happening. I’ve left in three head shake frames to give you an idea of how the take was handled.

Bobe Cannon, Grant Simmons, Walt Clinton and Mike Lah are the credited animators with Jack Cosgriff and Rich Hogan helping Avery with the gags. It sounds like Don Messick as Droopy, with Pat McGeehan as the lawyer and the Irish cop on the phone, and a cameo appearance by Bill Hanna's scream.