''The Weakly Reporter'' is a

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

cartoon released on March 25, 1944. Directed by Chuck Jones, written by Michael Maltese, and with music directed by Carl Stalling, this cartoon is a spoof of sacrifices made by those on the Homefront during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Plot

The opening sequence is set to ''

My Country, 'Tis Of Thee "America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" is an American patriotic song, the lyrics of which were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The song served as one of the ''de facto'' national anthems of the United States (along with songs like "Hail, Columb ...

'' and shows the Statue of Liberty and the presidents of

Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakot ...

in wartime garbs, such as air raid wardens and civil defense personnel. An uncredited Frank Graham is the narrator. The second sequence, to the tune of ''

California, Here I Come "California, Here I Come" is a song interpolated in the Broadway musical '' Bombo'', starring Al Jolson. The song was written by Bud DeSylva, Joseph Meyer, and Jolson. Jolson recorded the song on January 17, 1924, with Isham Jones' Orchestra, ...

'', states that

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

loves

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

"for the duration". Several scenes following, set to the tune of '' In My Merry Oldsmobile'', deal with the lack of

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

traffic. One of those scenes shows a policeman chasing someone only to zoom out to show a foot chase. The policeman makes a reference to early race car driver

Barney Oldfield Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield (January 29, 1878 – October 4, 1946) was an American pioneer automobile racer; his "name was synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century". After success in bicycle racing, he began auto ...

. To the tune of "Memories", a scene shows a trio of armored car guards carrying a pound of

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...

, while the next scene shows a lady at a butcher shop asking if the

butcher A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...

has

Porterhouse steak The T-bone and porterhouse are steaks of beef cut from the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries and Ireland). Both steaks include a "T"-shaped lumbar vertebra with sections of abdominal internal oblique muscle on each side ...

. The butcher replies, "We certainly do ma'am." and allows the lady to sniff the

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

, then charges her $1.19 (equal to $ today) for the privilege of sniffing. The cartoon then switches to a man tossing and turning in bed and, to the tune of "A Cup Of Coffee, A Sandwich and You", discusses the rationing of

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

, both before and after rationing. The sequence after that deals with hoarding, and to the tune of ''

Yankee Doodle "Yankee Doodle" is a traditional song and nursery rhyme, the early versions of which predate the Seven Years' War and American Revolution. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today. It is the state anthem of Connecticut. Its ...

'', says about war bonds, "You can't hoard too many of these!" A scene, to the tune of '' Oh, You Beautiful Doll'', deals with women regularly visiting

beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and medical spas. Beauty treatments Massage for the body is a ...

s to improve wartime morale, and one lady is shown wearing a welder's mask as a nod to

Rosie the Riveter Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon in the United States who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new ...

. An

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

of a

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...

nets an alarm clock. Following sequences deal with feminine intrigue as well as women joining the Army (to the title tune of "

Captains of the Clouds ''Captains of the Clouds'' ( ''Shadows of Their Wings'') is a 1942 American war film in Technicolor, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney. It was produced by William Cagney (Cagney's brother), with Hal B. Wallis as executive p ...

") and taking jobs vacated by men who have gone off to war. One "feminine intrigue" scene shows a woman with an accent being affectionate to an American man in front of what appears to be a German castle, saying, "I can't go back without them. Please! Please!" As the camera zooms out, the castle is actually on a calendar advertising meat in a butcher shop. The butcher says, "Oh, very well. Here, that will be fifty cents" (equal to $ today) as he wraps two

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

steaks up for the woman. The cartoon closes with scenes dealing with factory workers building ships, planes, and guns faster than they had ever been built before and features a scene where a female repair person empties her toolbox and starts a stalled machine (and the entire factory) with a

hairpin A hairpin or hair pin is a long device used to hold a person's hair in place. It may be used simply to secure long hair out of the way for convenience or as part of an elaborate hairstyle or coiffure. The earliest evidence for dressing the hai ...

. The closing scene shows a formally dressed man standing with a woman (who is holding a bottle of

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

) at an empty dry dock, ready to launch a ship. The woman asks the man, "But, where's the boat?" The man replies, "Just start swinging, lady!" As she swings the bottle of champagne, the ship rises out of nowhere, gets struck by the bottle and launches to the tune of ''

Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" is an American patriotic song which was popular in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Composed 1843, it was long used as an unofficial national anthem of the United States, in competition ...

''. The camera pans to a shack, and then closes in on a shot showing the shack's door window marked "

Henry J. Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...

- Private" and a sign hanging from a nail on the shack's door which read "Back in 2 minutes - out to launch". Iris out.

Home media

''The Weakly Reporter'' can be found uncut, uncensored, and digitally remastered on Disc 2 ("Patriotic Pals") of the '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6''. It was also included on the 1989 MGM Home Video release, "Bugs and Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons".

Notes

Both 1995 Dubbed Versions USA and Europeans replaces 1941-1955 with the 1938-1941

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weakly Reporter, The Merrie Melodies short films 1944 films 1944 animated films American World War II propaganda shorts Short films directed by Chuck Jones American black-and-white films Films scored by Carl Stalling Films produced by Leon Schlesinger 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese