Dudley Do-Right is a fictional character created by Alex Anderson,

Chris Hayward Christopher Robert Hayward (June 19, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American television writer and producer. He was the co-creator, with Allan Burns, of the television shows ''The Munsters'' (1964) and '' My Mother the Car'' (1965), and the ...

Allan Burns Allan Pennington Burns (May 18, 1935January 30, 2021) was an American screenwriter and television producer. He was best known for co-creating and writing for the television sitcoms ''The Munsters'' and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''. Early life ...

Jay Ward Joseph Ward Cohen Jr. (September 20, 1920 – October 12, 1989), also known as Jay Ward, was an American creator and producer of animated TV cartoon shows. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bu ...

, and Bill Scott, who appears as the main

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of "Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties", a segment on ''

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the American Broadca ...

.'' The segment parodies early 20th-century

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

and

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

(the " Northern"), using only a

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

as a musical background. Dudley Do-Right's first appearance specifically incorporates silent film tropes such as

intertitles In films and videos, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (hence, ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred ...

and

iris shot An iris shot is a technique used in silent film and sometimes television to emphasize a detail of a scene above all others, more commonly to end or open a scene. The film camera's iris is slowly closed or opened, so that what is visible on film app ...

s, as well as incorporating a similar plot to 1921 silent film '' O'Malley of the Mounted'', starring William S. Hart.

Overview

Dudley Do-Right is a dim-witted, but conscientious and cheerful Canadian Mountie who works for Inspector Fenwick. Do-Right is always trying to catch his nemesis, Snidely Whiplash, and rescue Inspector Fenwick's daughter, damsel-in-distress Nell Fenwick, with whom Do-Right is deeply infatuated. He usually succeeds only by pure luck or through the actions of his horse, named "Horse". A

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

throughout the series is Nell Fenwick's disinterest in Do-Right; instead, she appears to be infatuated with his horse. She is shown to kiss the horse rather than Do-Right, and when Do-Right leaves the Mounties, she is only upset about the horse leaving. In Do-Right's first appearance, the narrator states,

Dudley loved Nell. Unfortunately, she loved his horse.

In the standard intro, Do-Right jumps on Horse and furiously rides him backwards as titles appear. Musical accompaniment is a c. 1900 style virtuoso trumpet fanfare, played by Uan Rasey. While riding, he comes across Whiplash tying Nell Fenwick to a railroad track, accompanied by musical bridge by low trombones. The trumpet fanfare returns as Do-Right reappears; he tips his hat to the two, before realizing what is going on and righting himself in time to save the day. Dudley Do-Right made a cameo in a "Rocky and Bullwinkle Fan Club" segment as the hero in "She Can't Pay the Rent", a play staged by Boris Badenov. Rocky and Bullwinkle also appeared as cameos in "Mountie Bear".

''The Dudley Do-Right Show''

''The Dudley Do-Right Show'' is an animated television series assembled by P.A.T. Film Services, consisting of cartoons produced by

Jay Ward Productions Jay Ward Productions, Inc. (sometimes shortened to Ward Productions) is an American animation studio based in Costa Mesa, California. It was founded in 1948 by American animator Jay Ward. As of 2022, the studio was headed by Ward's daughter, Ti ...

and Total Television that aired Sunday mornings on

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

(ABC) from April 27, 1969, to September 6, 1970. Each half-hour show included two segments each of "Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties" and " The World of Commander McBragg", along with one segment each of " Tooter Turtle" and "The Hunter". ''Dudley Do-Right'' was a Jay Ward production, while the other segments were products of Total Television. Both companies used Gamma Productions, a Mexico-based animation studio. The U.S. syndicated version of ''The Dudley Do-Right Show'', called ''Dudley Do Right and Friends'', follows the same format but features different episodes. The syndicated package features "Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties", "The World of Commander McBragg", "The King and Odie", and "The Hunter". The latter two originally appeared as part of '' King Leonardo and His Short Subjects'', a series that aired between October 15, 1960, and September 28, 1963, on NBC-TV. Twenty-six new segments of both series were produced for CBS-TV's '' Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales'' in 1963, and these later segments are included in the syndicated ''Dudley Do Right and Friends''. Actors (voice overs) included: * Bill Scott — Dudley Do-Right *

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American Voice acting, voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animation, animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha F ...

— Nell Fenwick *

Hans Conried Hans Georg Conried Jr. (April 15, 1917 – January 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for providing the voices of George Darling and Captain Hook in Walt Disney's '' Peter Pan'' (1953), Snidely Whiplash in Jay Ward's ...

— Snidely Whiplash *

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986), better known as Paul Frees, was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass and Walt Disney the ...

— Inspector Fenwick/Narrator *

William Conrad William Conrad (born John William Cann Jr., September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor, producer, and director whose entertainment career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he s ...

did several (but not all) of the narrations. *Evan Cox - cameo in ''The Actors Challenge''

Segments

Season 1

#The Disloyal Canadians #Stokey the Bear #Mortgagin' the Mountie Post #Trap Bait #The Masked Ginny Lynn

Season 2

#The Centaur #Railroad Tracks # Foreclosing Mortgages #Snidely Mounted Police #Mother Love #Mountie Bear #Inspector Dudley Do-Right #Recruiting Campaign #Out of Uniform #Lure of the Footlights #Bullet-Proof Suit # Miracle Drug # Elevenworth Prison #Saw Mill #Finding Gold #Mountie Without a Horse #Mother Whiplash's Log Jam #Stolen Art Masterpiece

Season 3

#Mechanical Dudley #Flicker Rock #Faithful Dog #Coming-Out Party #Robbing Banks #Skagway Dogsled-Pulling Contest #Canadian Railway's Bridge #Niagara Falls #Snidely's Vic Whiplash Gym #Marigolds #Trading Places

Season 4

#Top Secret #The Locket #The Inspector's Nephew #Matinee Idol #Snidely Arrested One segment originally seen on '' The Bullwinkle Show'', "Stokey the Bear", was withheld from all reissues of the series for several decades because the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

objected to the image of a bear that ''started'' forest fires, even though he had been hypnotized by Snidely to do so. The segment was released on home video by

Sony Wonder Sony Pictures Kids Zone is the kids and family entertainment label of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the former record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Despite the similarity in name, Sony Wonder is not directly related to the fo ...

and Classic Media in 2005.

Legacy

On May 28, 1999,

Universal Islands of Adventure Universal Islands of Adventure, often shortened to Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, United States. It originally opened as Universal Studios Islands of Adventure on May 28, 1999, along with Universal CityWalk, ...

opened Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, a

log flume A log flume or lumber flume is a watertight flume constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain using flowing water. Flumes replaced horse- or oxen-drawn carriages on dangerous mountain trails in the late 19th century. Loggi ...

ride based on the cartoon segments. Guests enter a queue themed to resemble a theater, with Dudley, Nell, Snidely, and Horse presented as actors. Riders board cartoon logs and journey "into" the story, where Snidely has cruelly captured Nell Fenwick. Horse and Dudley make their first appearance in front of a

cyclorama A cyclorama is a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to give viewers standing in the middle of the cylinder a 360° view, and also a building designed to show a panoramic image. The intended effect is to make view ...

backdrop, theatrically "charging" to the rescue. The ride system contains three drops, the last and steepest of which is seventy-five feet. It is a hybrid flume/coaster that utilizes steel track to not only shoot guest-filled logs down the final drop, but under the water's surface and over a bunny hill. The ride system was designed and built by Mack GmbH. On August 27, 1999,

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

released a comedy live-action film based on the character, titled ''Dudley Do-Right''. It starred

Brendan Fraser Brendan James Fraser ( ; born December 3, 1968) is an American-Canadian actor. List of awards and nominations received by Brendan Fraser, His accolades include an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a nomination for a Golden Globe A ...

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...

, and

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British and American actor. He is known for his leading roles and character actor roles on the stage and screen. In a career spanning over five decades he has received a Drama Desk Award ...

. It received negative reviews and was a box-office failure, grossing less than $10 million domestically against a $22 million budget. In 2000, music historian Irwin Chusid claimed that scat singer

Shooby Taylor William "Shooby" Taylor (September 19, 1929 – June 4, 2003) was an American jazz vocalist famous for scat singing over various records, including those of the Ink Spots, the Harmonicats, Johnny Cash, Miles Davis, Mozart, and Cristy Lane, i ...

's voice reminded him of Dudley Do-Right's "virile

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

." Premiering in 2013, the Canadian adult animated series '' Fugget About It'' features a dimwitted yet well-meaning Mountie character, Strait McCool. McCool exhibits similar appearance, voice acting, behavior, and personality to Do-Right (except for the addition of sexual and drug references). It may be inferred that the character of McCool is a parody of Do-Right.

References

External links

Dudley Do-Right
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on May 5, 2016. {{The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends Television characters introduced in 1961 Comedy film characters Fictional Canadian people Fictional Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers Jay Ward Productions Male characters in animation Rocky and Bullwinkle characters Television shows adapted into films General Mills Animated characters introduced in 1961 Damsels in distress