July 11, 1941 – The Donald Duck Short Film Early to Bed is Released to Theaters
“Doggone it. I’ll get to sleep if it kills me!”
On July 11, 1941, the Donald Duck short film Early to Bed was released to theaters. It was directed by Jack King.
Donald lets out a long yawn as he stretches and gets ready for bed. He mutters that he has to get up early and mentions how tired he is before singing himself a lullaby. As he tries to land on his pillow, he hits the bed frame with his head. Annoyed, he moves his pillow, only to have all the feathers fly out when he tries once again to rest his head. He finally is able to go to sleep, save for the ticking of his alarm clock, which seems to grow louder every second he tries to sleep. His tail begins to move in rhythm with the clock, and he finally just shoves it into a drawer. The clock, however, continues to tick loudly, and Donald loses his temper and throws it against a wall. It lands in a nearby vase and continues to beat loudly, so Donald throws the clock out the window. The clock lands in a sock on the outside laundry line, and the force of Donald’s throw carries it back into Donald’s apartment, where he accidentally swallows it as it flies through the window.
Donald is shocked to find the clock inside his stomach after throwing it out the window
Donald is alarmed to find the clock in his stomach, and tries to kick it out with little success. He is able to break the clock into pieces, but doesn’t silence it. Finally, Donald is able to get the clock and all of its pieces thrown out of him, silencing the ticking forever. He tries to go back to sleep, only to find that his trundle bed has folded itself – and him – in half. The bed refuses to stay down, as the moment he turns out the light, it folds right up again. The bed’s springs also come out from the padding, launching Donald into his chandelier. The chandelier then falls back onto the bed, which folds up. Donald finally takes desperate measures when he ties down his bed with ropes and chains, and locks himself in at the top. Unfortunately, the broken clock magically reassembles itself and sets off the alarm, waking Donald up and causing the bed to self-destruct.
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