Foghorn Leghorn is one of those cartoon characters that some people love, and some people hate. I fall in the middle. Some of his early cartoons are among the best cartoons Warner Bros ever made... in fact his first one was nominated for an academy award. On the other end of the spectrum, some of his later cartoons are among the worst ever made. Check out
Mother was a Rooster, The Slick Chick or
Strangled Eggs to see the worst. Look for
Walky Talky Hawky or
The Leghorn Blows at Midnight to see the best. You'll notice I didn't create links for the worst; you'll have to find them yourselves. I won't take blame for that.
A little history about Foghorn Leghorn might be appropriate here. He started out as a supporting character to Henery Hawk, a character who had already debuted in a cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. Foghorn debuted in Walky Talky Hawky and literally stole the show from Henery. The cartoon earned an Academy Award nomination for director Robert McKimson, and a new cartoon series was born. Twenty eight Foghorn cartoons were made, all directed by McKimson.
Most people think that Foghorn Leghorn was patterned after
Senator Claghorn, a character that lived on Allen's Alley on the Fred Allen radio show. In fact, in his early days he was patterned after a sheriff character that appeared on a 1930's radio show called Blue Monday Jamboree. However, as the character developed, he began to sound more like Senator Claghorn, picking up many of his catchphrases ("That's a joke, son!" is among the most obvious)
The interesting thing about Foghorn is that, although it may seem like his cartoons are all the same, the writers and directors actually tried to create some variety in the series. They created several characters to inhabit the Foghorn universe, and each cartoon may differ depending on the supporting cast. Henery Hawk, the weasel, Miss Prissy, Little Egghead, and Barnyard Dog were among the regulars. Sylvester and Daffy Duck also made appearances in the series. This is in contrast to Pepe Le Pew, Hippity Hopper or the Roadrunner, in which every cartoon had the same basic plotline.
The cartoon I'm posting below is Foghorn's fifth cartoon,
A Fractured Leghorn, from 1950
.. It's a bit different than most of the others, and was rarely seen on television. No Barnyard Dog, no Henery Hawk in this one. Enjoy!
I've posted very few Chuck Jones cartoons on this blog... the reason for that is because everyone has seen his best work practically everywhere. In this blog I'm trying to bring you the different stuff, the stuff you don't see all the time. For instance, you will NEVER see What's Opera Doc posted on this site. They show that darn cartoon at every animation festival I attend. I have seen it so much I can no longer enjoy the Der Ring des Nibelungen without singing "Kill the Wabbit!" And if you knew how much I enjoy the full 15 hours of the cycle, you'd understand my frustration.
