Tag Archives: Donald Duck

September 1, 1939 – The Donald Duck Short Film The Autograph Hound is Released to Theaters

“Get out! And stay out, you web-footed autograph hound!”

On September 1, 1939, the Donald Duck short film The Autograph Hound was released to theaters. The short contains many caricatures of famous stars of the time, including Mickey Rooney, Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, and Greta Garbo. The short was directed by Jack King, and stars Clarence Nash as Donald Duck.

In front of Hollywood Studios, a large sign is set up, proclaiming “No autograph hounds allowed.” Shortly after the audience sees the sign, the gates open up, and the security guard throws Donald out onto the street. As Donald yells at the officer, he is almost hit by a car belonging to famous actress Greta Garbo. Donald tricks the guard into thinking he’s riding in with Ms. Garbo, but when the guard finds out he’s been duped, he pursues Donald across the studio. Donald first hides in Mickey Rooney’s dressing room. He asks Rooney for an autograph, but Rooney plays practical jokes on Donald, angering the duck. Seeing the security guard again, Donald flees.

Donald runs into the Ritz Brothers, and doesn’t hesitate to ask them for an autograph

The next stop Donald makes is on the set of a film, which has an ice skating rink set up. He runs across Sonja Henie, and asks for her autograph, which she carves into the ice. Donald attempts to take it with him while crossing another set set up like the Sahara Desert, only to find the autograph melting fast in his hands. He comes across a tent with what appear to be the shadows of three belly dancers on the wall. When the “belly dancers” pass by the door of the tent, it’s revealed that it’s actually the Ritz Brothers. Donald asks for their autograph, and they provide it, but not in the manner Donald wanted. Spotting the officer again, Donald makes a run for it.

After running up the stairs of a set, Donald trips over Shirley Temple, and the two tumble down the stairs. Shirley recognizes Donald, and the two ask for each other’s autograph. As he jumps for joy over his good fortune, the officer grabs him by the neck and proclaims that he’s got him. Temple, however, chastises the officer for grabbing Donald Duck. The news that Donald Duck is in the studio passes around like wildfire, with celebrities leaving their sets to meet him, including Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, and the Marx Brothers. Donald is soon surrounded by autograph books, with the officer himself handing Donald a pen and asking for his autograph. Donald grabs the pen and gives it to him, spraying the officer’s face with ink.

August 30, 1946 – The Donald Duck Short Film Dumb Bell of the Yukon Premieres in Theaters

“Dear Donald, in the winter, a young girl’s fancy turns to FUR COATS. Daisy.”

On August 30, 1946, the Donald Duck short Dumb Bell of the Yukon was released in theaters. The short was directed by Jack King, with story by Harry Reeves and Homer Brightman, and Donald Duck voiced by Clarence Nash.

Donald is walking through the snow of the Yukon, reading a postcard from Daisy. She lets him know that she really wants a fur coat, and he searches for a bear to trap. Hearing the sounds of snoring from a nearby cave, he peeks in to see a mother bear snoozing with her cub resting on her stomach. Seeing the cub as the perfect specimen to turn into a fur coat, Donald lures the cub out with the “essence of honey.” Unfortunately, just as he traps the bear, the mother begins searching for her cub in her sleep, grabbing Donald instead.

Donald is so distracted with the idea of pleasing Daisy, he imagines that the bear cub is her in a new fur coat

Donald carefully sneaks away, using a rock in the place of the cub, and takes the cub back to his cabin. The cub gives Donald a smile, but Donald is too distracted with the idea of Daisy in a fur coat. He decides that the best way of killing the bear for its fur is to hang it, but the plan goes awry, with Donald getting caught in the noose instead. Meanwhile, back in the cave, the mother wakes up and notices tracks leading to Donald’s cabin. She breaks down the door and searches for her cub.

Donald, who has been chasing the cub around the cabin, thinks he’s caught the cub by the foot, when he’s actually been dragging around the mother bear, who is ready to attack. When the mother chases after Donald, Donald disguises himself as the cub, only to be popped out of his costume when the mother hugs him just a little too tightly. He manages to sneak back in, but at this point, the mother has become suspicious. The real cub sneaks back into the cabin, revealing Donald’s ruse and kicking him into the cupboard, where a jar of honey falls and lands on Donald’s head. The short ends with mother and baby licking the honey off of Donald, much to his chagrin.

August 10, 1945 – The Donald Duck Short Film Duck Pimples is Released to Theaters

“Are you Mr. D. Duck? I’ve been looking for you.”

On August 10, 1945, the Donald Duck short film Duck Pimples was released to theaters. The short’s title is a play on the phrase “goose pimples,” with Donald being frightened the entire short. It was directed by Jack Kinney, with story by Virgil Partch and Dick Shaw. Donald Duck is voiced by Clarence Nash, Detective Hennessey is voiced by Billy Bletcher, and Colleen (the woman) is voiced by June Foray.

On a dark, stormy night, Donald is in his living room, listening to a murder mystery radio program. The program scares him so much that he tries to change the channel, but to no avail. Suddenly, Donald’s door opens, and a shady figure appears, saying he’s been looking for Donald. He opens his coat to reveal several books, letting Donald know that if he sells six more, he’ll be able to get a bicycle. The figure disappears like a ghost, leaving his books behind. Donald begins to read one, getting engrossed in the story. Then Donald suddenly finds himself in the story, being accused of being the thief.

The characters gather around the book, trying to see what comes next in the story

When the woman who lost her pearls goes missing, Donald is accused of kidnapping as well. The case keeps taking strange, comical turns, and Donald struggles to find a way out of his situation as characters pop in and out of the book. The cop keeps threatening Donald, demanding to know where the pearls and the woman are. Suddenly, just as the cop has Donald in a corner, the author appears from the pages of the book and announces Donald’s innocence. When the author reveals that the cop is really the thief, the cop pulls out two pistols and attempts to run, shooting Donald in the process (except the gun is fake, and Donald is just fine). Donald looks around his room, having returned to the present, and little voice tells him it was just his imagination. Donald ends the short with a nervous tick, unconvinced, as a string of pearls shines around his neck.

July 24, 1942 – The Donald Duck Short Film Donald’s Gold Mine is Released to Theaters

“Quack quack quack quack, quack quack quack quack, excavating for a mine…”

On July 24, 1942, the Donald Duck short film Donald’s Gold Mine was released to theaters. It was directed by Dick Lundy, and stars Clarence Nash as the voice of Donald.

The Lucky Duck Mine is hard at work, and Donald is inside, singing a song as he shovels rocks into his cart. His donkey decides to join in the singing (although he is very off-key), much to Donald’s annoyance, and he shoves the cart into the donkey to silence him. The donkey shoves the cart right back, sending a shovel full of rocks down Donald’s throat. Donald tries to trick the donkey into shoving all the rocks out of his stomach, but once he does, he gives the donkey a “Thanks, pal” before giving him another sharp kick.

Donald finds the pickaxe stuck in his shirt after a slip from a boulder

Donald then takes a pickaxe and starts to mine, but slips on a boulder and ends up wearing the pickax, which is stuck beneath his shirt. He struggles to remove it, but to no avail, and the donkey continues to bray at the duck’s misfortune. He finally manages to remove to the pickax, which sticks into the ceiling and brings down a multitude of gold nuggets, which land in his cart.

Suddenly seeing dollar signs, Donald climbs into his cart and laughs maniacally at his good fortune, throwing pieces into the air while crying out that he’s rich. Unfortunately, the pieces spook the donkey, who takes off flying with Donald stuck in the cart; Donald and his cargo get dumped in the ore drop shaft when the donkey comes to a sudden stop. The donkey runs to see Donald getting caught in the ore drop process, narrowly missing being crushed over and over again. The donkey comes out to the finish, seeing Donald processed as a 24K gold block, and brays once again at the duck’s misfortune.

July 11, 1947 – The Donald Duck Short Film Donald’s Dilemma is Released to Theaters

“Donald Duck! You are the greatest singer in the world!”

On July 11, 1947, the Donald Duck short film Donald’s Dilemma was released to theaters. Surprisingly, although the title is Donald’s Dilemma, the short is really about the problems Daisy Duck faces when Donald is hit on the head by a flowerpot. The short was directed by Jack King, with the story by Roy Williams, and stars Clarence Nash as Donald Duck and Gloria Blondell as Daisy.

The short opens at the office of psychiatrist Dr. Sigmund Frump, P.D.Q., R.S.V.P., C.O.D., S.O.S., P.M., A.M., P.S., P.P.S., M.O. Sitting at his desk is Daisy Duck, holding a flower. She begins to explain about how she and Donald were taking a walk on a beautiful spring day, when a flowerpot fell from the 99^th floor of a tall building and landed smack on Donald’s head. She tried to revive him, but Donald had somehow become someone else: the greatest singer in the world. He grabbed a broom and began to croon “When You Wish Upon a Star” like Frank Sinatra. Unfortunately, Donald has no recollection of Daisy.

Donald becomes a crooner with his rendition of “When You Wish Upon a Star” in the style of Frank Sinatra

As Daisy tried to get Donald’s attention, a theatrical agent snapped Donald up, leaving the flower that hit Donald on the head lying at Daisy’s feet, “a symbol of my lost love,” as she tells the doctor. She never saw him again after that day, except in advertisements, on labels, in society columns, and on marquees. Donald is then seen holding a concert, with the sounds of women swooning in the background. Daisy found that she could not sleep, eat, or even want to live anymore.

Hearing that Donald will sing at Radio City, Daisy rushed there, but it was too late – by the time she hit the box office, the tickets were all sold out. She waited at the stage door, but she was shut out by all the fans that rushed to meet him. Night after night, she waited by the stage door. Finally, she tried to get by the doorman by pleading, disguises, and by force, but she was still unable to see her sweetheart. Then, as luck would have it, she ran into him one night quite by chance. She pleaded with him, telling him how much she missed him, but Donald still didn’t recognize her. After he left her, she decided that maybe it was time to seek therapy to get over Donald.

Donald immediately returns to his normal voice, and the crowd begins to throw rotten fruit and vegetables in their anger

The doctor tells her that the hit on the head undoubtedly caused the change, and he can help her, but she has a big decision to make: does she want the world to have Donald and his beautiful voice, or does she want him back again for herself? Without hesitation, Daisy responds that she wants him all to herself, getting rather violent in her haste. He then informs her how to get her Donald back. As she arrives at the stage door with the flower in a flowerpot, she climbs to the top of the theater and drops the flowerpot on his head. On impact, Donald loses his magical voice and is heckled by the audience. He is thrown outside right at Daisy’s feet, where he pulls her into his arms and asks his sweetheart where she’s been.

July 8, 1938 – The Donald Duck Short Good Scouts is Released to Theaters

“You call that a tree? Shame on you! I’ll show you a man-sized tree!”

On July 8, 1938, the Donald Duck short film Good Scouts was released to theaters. The short was directed by Jack King, and stars Clarence Nash as the voice of Donald and his nephews.

The short opens at Yellowstone National Park, with Donald and his nephews on a scouting expedition. The group marches through the park and settles on a place to set up camp. One of the nephews excitedly runs off to chop firewood, but Donald stops him before he can really do anything, shaming him for trying to chop down a pine sapling. Donald finds what he considers a “man-sized tree” and prepares to chop it down. The nephew notices a sign on the trunk, indicating that it’s a petrified tree, and tries to stop his uncle, but Donald won’t hear of it. He takes a giant swing, and finds himself reverberating from the impact.

After he stops shaking, Donald looks over to see his nephews struggling to pitch a tent. Berating them and saying they can’t do anything, he pushes them aside and begins to set up the tent, lassoing the top of a pine tree and tying the rope to a rock before knotting it tightly and placing the tent canvas over the bent tree branch. The nephews cheer at their uncle’s victory, but the victory is short-lived when the knot comes undone and sends Donald flying into their food supply. His nephews laugh, and Donald remarks to the audience “That’s gratitude for you.”

As Donald begins to fling the food away, he spies a bottle of ketchup and gets a wicked idea to trick his nephews. He pours the ketchup on himself and pretends he’s dying; the nephews immediately run to their first aid kit and bandage him completely, blinding him and leaving him unable to move his arms and legs properly. Donald stumbles around and lands face-first into a jar of honey. A bear approaches their camp, and with Donald unable to move and covered with honey, the bear begins to lick the honey from Donald’s feet.

Donald just realized that he has fallen on top of the geyser Old Reliable, and it is just about to be set off

Finding that it is indeed a bear after him and not his nephews, Donald hightails it out of there, with his bandages coming loose. The bear grabs one end of a bandage, pulling Donald back from falling off a cliff. The nephews, hiding from the bear, tell Donald they’ll save him, and use to axe to cut his bandage. What none of them realize is that Donald has fallen right on top of the geyser Old Reliable, right as it’s about to blow. The geyser lets loose, and sends Donald flying back into the reaches of the bear. The boys try various methods to save their uncle, including logs and boulders. A large boulder is sent flying up to the top of the geyser’s spout, and the bear climbs on it to chase Donald.

Later that night, the boys wish their uncle good night before they go to sleep in their tent. Donald, unfortunately, is still trapped at the top of the geyser’s blast, with the bear pursuing him as the moon shines high in the sky. All the poor duck can do is sound his whistle as for help.