Screwball Football is a 1939 Merrie Melodies short directed by Fred Avery.
Plot[]
A series of gags hung on a football game includes a baby that is licking an ice cream cone; the man next to the baby wants to have some of the cone. There are the warmups: a kicker punts sitting in a chair, and three other kickers break into a chorus line. After the coin flip, the players pile right up. During the kickoff, the ball stays put, and the man who has it in his hand is kicked. In a re-kick, one player is used like a golf club by another. There is some razzle-dazzle on the scrimmage line. The QB literally fades for another pass. During a quickdownloa show by the marching band, the team beats up their coach, and a cheerleader rallies his team's supporters, one man. In the second half, a touchdown run is interrupted because of a commercial; when completed, a cheerleader literally yells their head off. After a quick montage of action, the final gun comes from the ice cream tot, who has finally fended off the neighbor.
Caricatures[]
- Artie Auerbach's character Mr. Kitzel - "Mm, could be."
Availability[]
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 3, Side 7
Censorship[]
- On Cartoon Network and Boomerang, the part after the announcer says, "And there's the gun that ends the half!" where a dim-witted referee nearly shoots himself in the head with the starter pistol he has in his hand is cut.[2]
- Some syndicated TV versions cut the final joke where a baby guns down the man sitting next to him who has been licking his ice cream cone throughout the short.[2]
Notes[]
- The radio announcer's line, "Have you had your fluffies today?" is a reference to the advertising slogan for Ironized Yeast in the 1940s, "Have you had your iron today?"
- MeTV aired this short on 12 March 2022 on Saturday Morning Cartoons, however, this airing appears unrestored.
- Vitaphone release number: 9155
Gallery[]
References[]