''Hare Trigger'' is a 1945 ''

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

'' cartoon directed by

Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (; August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons ...

. The cartoon was released on May 5, 1945, and features

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

. The short featured the first appearance of

Yosemite Sam Yosemite Sam ( ) is a cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park in California. His real name is ''Aloysius Bartholamew Sam''. ...

, as well as the first short to credit (almost) the whole animation staff who worked on the short (previously, shorts credited the director, one animator, writer, musical director and sometimes the voice actor). This short is also the first to use the shortened version of "Merrily We Roll Along" that played from 1945 to 1955. The title is a play on "hair trigger", referring to any weapon or other device with a sensitive trigger.

Plot

After opening credits underscored by a lively instrumental of "

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

", an old-fashioned

2-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and no trailing wheels. In most of North America it b ...

train is seen rolling along through the desert. It passes another train going around a utility pole, and voices are heard repeating " Bread and Butter" with the engine blowing its whistle to the tune "

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

". Bugs is riding in the mail car of a train, singing a nonsense song called "Go Get the Axe", when a pint-sized bandit attempts to rob the train (with the underscore playing the ''

Erlkönig "Erlkönig" is a German poetry, poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It depicts the death of a child assailed by a supernatural being, the Erlking, a king of the fairy, fairies. It was originally written by Goethe as part of a 1782 ''Singspiel' ...

''), only to have it pass clear over his head. He then calls for his horse, which he needs a rolling step-stair to mount. He catches up and boards the train and begins to rob it while the mail clerk wraps himself in a package marked ''DON'T OPEN 'TIL

XMAS Xmas (also X-mas) is a common abbreviation of the word ''Christmas''. It is sometimes pronounced , but ''Xmas'', and variants such as ''Xtemass'', originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation . The 'X' comes from the Gree ...

''. The bandit accidentally throws Bugs Bunny in his sack. Bugs assumes that he is

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...

. The bandit scoffs and tells him (and the audience), "I'm Yosemite Sam, the meanest, toughest, rip-roarin'-est,

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton, Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor and comedian. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born March 18 ...

-est ''hombre'' that ever packed a six-shooter!" (This pattern of Sam introducing himself to Bugs and the audience continued in other cartoons.) Bugs tells Sam that there is another tough guy in the train packing a "seven-shooter", and Sam goes looking for him – and it turns out to be Bugs in disguise. Various fights ensue, as each character temporarily gets the upper hand for a while. In one scene, Bugs dumps red ink on Sam, causing him to think he has been shot; he collapses (while Bugs sings "O

Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" is a cowboy folk song. Also known as "The Cowboy's Lament", "The Dying Cowboy", "Bury Me Out on the Lone Prairie", and "Oh, Bury Me Not", the song is described as the most famous cowboy ballad. Members of the Wes ...

") but eventually realizes the red liquid is only ink. Sam pushes his face furiously into Bugs', then pulls back and with a quiet, offended tone asks, "Why did you pour ink on mah haid?" After another skirmish, Bugs tricks Sam into dashing into a lounge car in which a horrific fight is occurring. (Stock film footage of a stereotypical western saloon fight, taken from the Warner Bros.

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film ''

Dodge City Dodge City is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. It was named after nearby Fort Dodge, which was named in honor of Grenville Dodge. The city ...

'', was used here.) With the sounds of crashes and bangs in the background, Bugs calmly sings "

Sweet Georgia Brown "Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard composed in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with lyrics by Kenneth Casey. History Reportedly, Bernie came up with the concept for the song's lyrics – although he is not the credited lyricist ...

" to himself. Sam emerges tottering, banged and bruised, to a comical instrumental of " Rally 'Round the Flag". Bugs, affecting the stereotyped voice of an African-American train porter, persuades the dazed Sam that he is supposed to disembark the train, piling him up with luggage; Sam even hands Bugs a silver coin as a tip, and Bugs says, "Thank you, suh!" As Sam steps off the moving train, the mail-drop hook grabs him and temporarily whisks him off the train. Bugs thinks he has vanquished Sam, and yells, "So long, screwy, see ya in Saint Louie!" a line that will be echoed in ''

Wild and Woolly Hare ''Wild and Woolly Hare'' is a 1959 American animated Western comedy short film directed by Friz Freleng and written by Warren Foster. The short was released on August 1, 1959 by Warner Bros. Pictures as part of the ''Looney Tunes'' series, and fe ...

'' and '' A Feather in His Hare''. But Sam gets back on board somehow. Bugs and Sam start a fight on top of the passenger carriages. Finally, Sam has Bugs tied up, dangling from a rope, weighted down by an anvil, and fiendishly cutting through the rope, while the train is passing over a gorge. ("Now, ya lop-eared polecat, try and get out of ''this'' one!") The screen fills with the words the narrator (

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 ...

, in close to his natural voice) is saying, "Is this the end of Bugs Bunny? Will our hero be dashed to bits on the jagged rocks below?". Then Bugs walks across the screen, dressed in top hat and tails, carrying a bag full of gold (reward money), and dragging the now tied-up Sam behind him, mocking the on-screen words ("Is he to be doomed to utter destruction? Will he be rendered

non compos mentis ''Non compos mentis'' is a Latin legal phrase that translates to "of unsound mind": ''nōn'' ("not") prefaces ''compos mentis'', meaning "having control of one's mind." This phrase was used in English law as early as the seventeenth century to de ...

?"). Bugs closes by turning to the audience and repeating a popular radio catchphrase from

Red Skelton Richard Bernard Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national old-time radio, radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelto ...

's "Mean Widdle Kid": "He don't know me vewy well, do he?" as a bar of " Kingdom Coming" plays on the track at iris-out.

Home media

* VHS – ''Bugs Bunny Classics: Special Collectors Edition'' * VHS – ''Bugs Bunny's Zaniest Toons'' * VHS – ''

The Golden Age of Looney Tunes ''The Golden Age of Looney Tunes'' is a collection of LaserDiscs released by MGM/UA Home Video in the 1990s. There were five sets made, featuring a number of discs, and each disc side represented a different theme, being made up of seven cartoon ...

'' Vol 6: Friz Freleng * Laserdisc – ''Bugs Bunny Classics: Special Collectors Edition'' * Laserdisc – ''

'' Volume 1, Side 6 * DVD – '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6'', Disc 1 * Blu-ray – ''

Looney Tunes Collector's Vault ''Looney Tunes Collector's Vault'' is a series of 2-disc Blu-rays from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's Warner Archive division collecting various ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' theatrical animated short subjects from Warner Bros. Cartoo ...

'' Volume 1, Disc 2

Notes

*The engines on both trains are

4-4-0 4-4-0, in the Whyte notation, denotes a steam locomotive with a wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels. First built in the ...

s or American type locomotives, which were the most common wheel arrangements for locomotives, during the 1800s on American railroads, despite the engine being a

, converted to a 2-4-0. *"Hare Trigger" contains the first appearance of

, who would go on to be one of

's most frequent rivals, after

Elmer Fudd Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes''/''Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. Elmer Fudd's aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antag ...

and (later)

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Me ...

. Freleng created Yosemite Sam because he thought Elmer Fudd was too stupid and soft and he needed a smarter and tougher foe for Bugs. *This is the first cartoon with the 1945-55 opening rendition of '' Merrily We Roll Along''. *This is the first cartoon with full credits. *This is also the first Bugs Bunny cartoon with the "Bugs Bunny in" opening.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hare Trigger 1945 films 1940s Western (genre) comedy films Merrie Melodies short films Short films directed by Friz Freleng Short films with live action and animation American Western (genre) comedy short films Western (genre) animated films Bugs Bunny films Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese 1945 comedy films 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films Yosemite Sam films Films scored by Carl Stalling Animated films about trains Films set on trains 1945 animated short films

Plot

Home media

See also

Notes

References

External links