Michael_Elliott Scarlet Pumpernickel, The (1950) *** (out of 4)Daffy Duck, tired of playing comedy roles, goes to J.L. Warner with a new swashbuckler screenplay and begins to read it. It features our hero (Daffy) trying to save the woman he loves from her evil father (Porky Pig) and the man he wants to marry her off to (Sylvester). This film has a lot of heart and imagination but not enough laughs to make it one of the best from Merrie Melodies. The visual animation is top-notch from start to finish with some beautiful looking backgrounds especially those inside the castle. The wedding scene in pedicular stands out as does the ending where we see a volcano go off as well as a dam break. Sylvester is pretty much wasted in the film as is Porky but we do have Daffy going all out.

Julia Arsenault (ja_kitty_71) I love it! it's my favorite (and only) Daffy Duck cartoon, I'm not too crazy about him. Also I'm not to keen on parody too. In fact, I HATE IT PERIOD! But I can accepted this great swash-buckling cartoon by Chuck Jones with animation by Phil Monroe. I do love the Chuck Jones/Phil Monroe collaborated cartoons.And since this short was inspired around the title of the story "The Scarlet Pimpernel," I would like to point out, that I've seen the movie version of the book "The Scarlet Pimpernel" from 1935 starring Leslie Howard on T.C.M and I had even taped it too. I'm even thinking of reading the book too; I'm crazy about literary movies.So overall I really love this cartoon.

movieman_kev Daffy Duck goes to Jack Warner to pitch his take on "The Scarlet Pimpernickel" in another good looney Tunes short. This kinda broke away with the formulaic nature of the other Tunes shorts of the period. And as such it's able to stand out from the pack a bit more and it's better for it. This short is delightful.Furthermore, The ending is intact unlike what you'll see in the TV versions. So the cartoon goes out with more of a bang for your buck hehehe. This cartoon is on Disk 2 of the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1". It also has an optional commentary, as well as a music-only track.My Grade: B+

bob the moo Tired of being typecast in comedy-duck roles, Daffy pitches an adventure story to a studio executive. He tells the story of the Scarlet Pumpernickel, a gentleman bandit that befuddles the authorities, until, that is, the Lord Chamberlain devises a cunning plan to draw him out and trap him.This cartoon is a mix of period piece and studio-spoof; it starts and ends in the studio and has a vague Errol-Flynn tale in the middle. The main story is surprisingly unfunny and really could have used a great deal more spark to really make it enjoyable. As it is it only has a few gags, such is the time given to the array of characters and the frame of the plot. The studio set bits are quite funny due to the joke of how hard it is to sell the story, the idea that Daffy is a real actor worried about typecasting and the delivery of the duck himself - but these aren't enough to carry it.The cast are very good on paper, the problem is there are too many players. Daffy is funny in his twin roles as actor and character, but Porky is given too little time to really do anything. Likewise Sylvester is pretty much wasted. The feeling of an ensemble cast is not necessarily a good thing in a 4 minute long film - sometimes things need to be scaled down to be more effective.Despite the promise shown by the film, it tries to do too many things and the end result is that it doesn't do the main story or the studio stuff justice. If anything I was surprised by just how average this cartoon was!