False Hare (1964)
Directed by Robert McKimson
Story by John Dunn
Animation by Warren Batchelder, George Grandpré, Ted Bonnicksen
Music by Bill Lava
B.B. Wolf and his giggly nephew conspire to trap Bugs Bunny by creating Club Del Conejo, a phony social club designed exclusively for rabbits. Bugs, of course, is wise to the antics of these lupine predators but plays along, inevitably causes B.B. to fall victims to his extravagant booby-traps.
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One key problem with the film industry is that too many worthy productions fall under the radar and never find the audiences they deserve. Robby Henson’s 1995 production “Pharaoh’s Army” is one of a countless number of smaller gems that never caught a break. Barely released in theaters and dumped into DVD release in 2004 with no fanfare, it remains an unfairly obscure title. This is a major shame, since “Pharaoh’s Army” is a provocative surprise at every level.
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The Iceman Ducketh (1964)
Directed by Phil Monroe and Maurice Noble
Story by John Dunn
Animation by Bob Bransford, Tom Ray, Ken Harris, Richard Thompson, Bob Matz, Alex Ignatiev, Harry Love
Music by Bill Lava
Daffy Duck is a would-be hunter in the Klondike who is eager to cash in on the trade for animal furs. However, he begins his quest just as the snowy winter sets in. He hopes to snag Bugs Bunny’s soft furry coat for profit, but the rascally rabbit constantly outwits the neurotic and increasingly agitated duck.
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When Barbra Streisand began production on her 1974 film “For Pete’s Sake,” she stated that this was being conceived strictly as a fun film. In a way, she kept her word because it is a light, silly, uncomplicated bit of fluff that offers 90 minutes of mindless distraction.
BOOTLEG FILES 941: “Uncle Tom’s Bungalow” (1937 animated short directed by Tex Avery).
LAST SEEN: On Vimeo.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: An excerpt was featured in a 1989 VHS video release.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It was withdrawn from circulation.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: None.
The slavery era represented one of the most painful chapters of American history, and the idea of making a comedy out of this tragedy is incomprehensible. Incredibly, the Warner Bros. animation unit thought it would be a fun idea to take Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery landmark “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and turn it into a breezy, irreverent romp.
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Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare (1964)
Directed by Robert McKimson
Story by John Dunn
Animation by Ted Bonnicksen, Warren Batchelder, George Grandpré
Music by Bill Lava
The denizens of the forest are in a panic with the approach of the Tasmanian Devil, but Bugs Bunny is unaware of the peril because he is taking a soapy bath in a pond. Taz tastes the soap covering Bugs’ body, but dislikes it and washes it off with a bucket of water – and then the bucket gets dumped on Bugs’ head. When Taz pours ketchup on Bugs’ head in preparation of eating him, Bugs becomes melodramatic and insists he’s bleeding. He sends Taz off for medical assistance, not realizing that he is soon dealing with Bugs in multiple disguises as a general practitioner, a psychiatrist, a maternity ward nurse, and a surgeon.
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It is a shame that the film adaptation of John Berendt’s “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” was not helmed by a director who thrives in the radically offbeat. In the hands of someone like David Lynch, Tim Burton or John Waters, the extraordinary wealth of eccentricity, depravity and old-fashioned freakiness would have flowered brilliantly.
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