''Double or Mutton'' is a 1955

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

'' cartoon directed by

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...

. The short was released on July 23, 1955, and is the third cartoon featuring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog.

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for come ...

provided for the voices of all the characters in this cartoon; however, like all Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog shorts, this short is mostly composed of

visual gag In comedy, a visual gag or sight gag is anything which conveys its humour visually, often without words being used at all. The gag may involve a physical impossibility or an unexpected occurrence. The humor is caused by alternative interpretation ...

s. The title is a play on the gambling wager double or nothing. This is also the first short where it is clearly established that Sam and Ralph are coworkers, as well as the first short where their names are consistent.

Plot

''Introduction:'' Like all Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog shorts, this one revolves around Ralph Wolf trying to steal the sheep which Sam Sheepdog is guarding. 1. As in the previous two shorts, Ralph attempts to steal some sheep by burrowing under the field. After finding Sam waiting for Ralph above one of his holes, Ralph attempts to look innocuous, but Sam hits him over the head with a large wooden

mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. General overview The term is descriptive of the ...

(off-screen, but the effects can still be seen). As in the previous shorts, Ralph politely refills his tunnel. 2. Ralph next attempts to fashion himself a

tightrope Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

over the field by throwing a spear with a rope attached to a tree on the other side of the field. After walking across the tightrope and snagging a sheep with a

lasso A lasso or lazo ( or ), also called reata or la reata in Mexico, and in the United States riata or lariat (from Mexican Spanish lasso for roping cattle), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when ...

, he makes his way back to the cliff where the other end of the tightrope was fastened. Unfortunately, it turns out that Sam is holding that end of the tightrope. Ralph hands the sheep over and begins running the other direction before Sam releases his end of the tightrope. Just before Ralph begins to fall, he manages to grab on to the spear that was attached to the tree. However, as Ralph looks to the left, it turns out Sam is ''also'' holding that end of the tightrope. Sam launches the spear — and Ralph — over the horizon. 3. Ralph next attempts to shoot a rocket with a lasso attached at Sam. The contraption very successfully catches Sam and carries him off into the distance. Ralph, enamoured with his success, prances down to the field and casually takes his choice of sheep. As he prances away he is hit over the head with a club from Sam, still hanging from the fired rocket, which is now lodged in a tree. 4. Ralph's next plan is to disguise himself as Little Bo Peep. He prances up to Sam and shows him a book of

nursery rhymes A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fro ...

to bolster his disguise. He successfully herds a sheep past Sam and into his cave. However, the viewer soon discovers that the sheep is actually Sam in disguise. Ralph discovers this all too late, and the beating which ensues is left to the viewer's imagination. 5. Ralph's fifth plan is to fly over the field with an unwieldy

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

while dangling a claw on a rope and attempting to grab a sheep with the claw, akin to the claw game. Sam casually walks by and yanks on the rope, causing the helicopter to plummet into the ground. After the crash, and much too late, Ralph deliriously attempts to abandon the helicopter and release his

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

, which simply falls on top of him like a shroud. 6. Ralph then attempts to hurl himself over Sam with a

lever A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam (structure), beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or '':wikt:fulcrum, fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, l ...

and a large stone. While successful, Ralph ends up hurling himself into a tree. Sam, sitting at the bottom of the tree, rolls Ralph up into a ball and tosses him over his shoulder, to the sound of

bowling pins Bowling pins (historically also known as skittles or kegels) are upright elongated solids of rotation with a flat base for setting, usually made of wood (esp. maple) standing between 9 and 16 inches (23 and 41cm) tall. Some have interior voids to ...

getting knocked over. 7. Ralph next attempts to roll a lit

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

behind Sam's back, but Sam simply flips the cannon around so it faces Ralph. As Ralph runs away, the cannonball lands exactly where Ralph ended up running to. 8. Finally, Ralph is sitting in his cave, depressed, and notices the rain outside, when an idea strikes him. He sneaks up behind Sam with a bottle of "

Acme Acme is Ancient Greek (ἀκμή; English transliteration: ''akmē'') for "the peak", "zenith" or "prime". It may refer to: Arts, entertainment and games * ''Acme'' (album), an album by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Acme and Septimius, a fic ...

Patented Hair Grower (guaranteed)" and splashes some on Sam's head, who does not notice because of the rain. When the rain clears up, Sam has even more hair in front of his eyes than usual (he has this for the rest of the cartoon). Ralph tests to make sure that Sam cannot see him through the unruly mop of hair on his head and then heads down to grab a sheep. However, the moment Ralph lays a finger on the sheep, Sam hurtles down the hill to grab Ralph and pummel him. During the pummelling, the time clock whistles, signalling the end of their shifts. Sam and Ralph punch out, then cordially bid each other good night.

Home media

The short was released on VHS in the 1980s on the home video release ''Looney Tunes Video Show Volume 3''. ''Double or Mutton'' was released, restored and uncut, on the '' Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 4'' Blu-Ray, in November 2024, and on the '' Looney Tunes Collector's Vault: Volume 1'' Blu-Ray, in June 2025.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Double Or Mutton 1955 films Looney Tunes shorts Short films directed by Chuck Jones 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Animated films about dogs Animated films about wolves Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese Films scored by Milt Franklyn 1950s English-language films Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog films English-language short films 1955 animated short films

Plot

Home media

See also

References

External links