Good Noose is a 1962 Looney Tunes short directed by Robert McKimson.
Title[]
The cartoon's title is a pun on "good news." In this case, the title is used sarcastically.
Plot[]
A ship captain announces that all stowaways found aboard are to be hanged. Upon hearing this, almost all stowaways leap off the ship and swim away. The captain orders his faithful parrot, Mr. Tristan, to look for any stowaways and have them roped. Daffy Duck, the only remaining stowaway, is caught. Before he can be hanged, he is able to persuade the captain to let him go by pretending that he's a magician and is willing to entertain him.
His first so-called magic trick is pulling a fish out of his cap, which turns out to be an inflatable prop that Tristan bursts with a pin. Daffy pulls a milk bottle out of his sleeve. Mr. Tristan reveals three bottles of milk under Daffy's cap, claiming that everyone knows that trick. Daffy tries a card trick, but Tristan sabotages this by placing a lit stick of dynamite on the deck, which explodes in Daffy's face. Daffy attempts a concoction trick inside of the Captain's hat, which also involves the captain's valuable watch given to him by the Queen. After Daffy predictably botches the trick, he throws the hat with the watch inside it overboard. The enraged captain calls for Mr. Tristan to bring him the rope, but Daffy takes the rope for his next trick. He asks Tristan to tie his hands behind his back, and lock him into a wooden chest, from which he will escape in ten seconds. Tristan quips, "Simple trick; anybody can do it... but he can't!" This is true for poor Daffy, who is trapped inside for ten days, and is finally freed by Mr. Tristan who admits to having switched boxes on Daffy, who loops a noose over him, and he is strung up by the captain. Daffy offers to perform his last resort, a disappearing act. The captain gives in to the offer, but states to Daffy that this is his last chance.
Daffy's "disappearing act" is really a plot to dispose of the double-crossing Mr. Tristan. He places him atop a barrel of gunpowder, leaving behind a trail of powder to serve as a fuse. He puts a cloak over Tristan and lights the trail of gunpowder, which unfortunately burns towards the opposite direction and straight back into the explosives storage room from where Daffy had brought out the barrel. As a result, the entire ship is blown up. As the Captain floats atop a plank of wood among the wreckage, Tristan remarks, "The whole ship's gone!", declaring it an amazing trick. Daffy, who is nearby in a barrel, the noose from earlier wrapped around his neck, remarks, "Sure, but what can you do for an encore? Sheesh!"
Caricatures[]
Availability[]
Streaming[]
Censorship[]
- Due to the scenes of Daffy being strangled on a noose and being locked in a trunk for ten days, this cartoon has seldom aired on network television out of fear of impressionable viewers imitating the dangerous stunts, though, as of 2020, MeTV now airs the short uncut and uncensored (Cartoon Network and Boomerang also aired this short uncut, but the short aired infrequently on both networks, and is made available on Boomerang Streaming Service). Prior to that, versions shown on Nickelodeon and the former WB network have aired a heavily-censored version where all scenes of Daffy being on a noose or locked in a trunk are edited, making this a very short, choppy and incoherent cartoon.
Notes[]
- It is the first short fully scored by William Lava (the first short for which he scored music, "The Jet Cage", was partially scored by Milt Franklyn, who died before its scoring could be completed). After this short and until the three Format Films transition shorts, "Quacker Tracker", "The Music Mice-Tro", and "The Spy Swatter", he was credited as "Bill" Lava.
- This is also the first time William Lava is credited, since in "The Jet Cage", only Milt Franklyn was credited.
- The short's opening credits reuses some title card credit images from "Daffy's Inn Trouble".
Gallery[]
TV Title Cards[]