Warden's Coming

Prison inmate Spike hears the Warden’s footsteps in Cellbound, released by MGM on Nov. 25, 1955. There’s no huge-eyed take like everyone thinks of in a Tex Avery cartoon. Instead there are a few drawings which end with a two-frame shake-take, where a character become a vibrating version of himself for a number of frames.

These are all consecutive frames. Yes, Spike is so shocked, he loses an arm for a frame.



Here it is slowed down.



Avery had been gone from the studio for 2 1/2 years when this cartoon finally hit screens. Mike Lah took over the direction and handled the animation along with H-B unit members Ken Muse, Irv Spence and Ed Barge. Ed Benedict laid out the cartoon and Vera Ohman painted the backgrounds. Daily Variety reported on August 2, 1954: "Fred Quimby, MGM cartoon producer, has signed Paul Freese [sic] for the “voice” of “Cellbound.”"