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Jerky Turkey
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Wikipedia article
'Jerky Turkey' is a 1945 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon directed by Tex Avery.
Plot
In 1620, Pilgrims, riding a caricatured 'Mayflower' with a number of World War II-era anachronisms (such as a navy gunnery deck, a Henry J. Kaiser nameplate and a fuel rationing card) land at Plymouth Rock and establish a colony, where they quickly separate into "Ye Democrats" and "Ye Republicans." The Pilgrims all stand in line for cigarettes (some are caricatures of Avery's animation crew), while the town crier bemoans that he has been made eligible for the draft with a card bearing his "1-A" eligibility in his hand.
A pear-shaped Pilgrim, who speaks with the milquetoast mannerisms of Bill Thompson (here impersonated because he had been drafted and was unavailable), emerges from his dilapidated teardrop trailer home and goes hunting for a turkey for a Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey emerges from the "House of Seven Gobbles" (a literal black market in disguise) and, seeing an easy mark and speaking in an impersonation of Jimmy Durante, offers himself to the pilgrim, only to use this as the start of a series of rapid-fire gags that stretch the limits of even cartoon physics, with the turkey consistently getting the best of his increasingly befuddled and frustrated opponent.
Eventually the two make up and decide to "eat at Joe's," following the advice of a clapboard-wearing bear advertising his steakhouse that appears throughout the short. When they reach Joe's steakhouse, the door closes, loud crashes and thuds are heard, and Joe the bear is seen coming out of the restaurant without his sandwich board; on his back is a tattoo which reads "I'm Joe". The bear is grinning and picking his teeth, as the swallowed-whole turkey and pilgrim sulk in the bear's stomach. The pilgrim closes the cartoon by holding up a sign of his own: "DON'T eat at Joe's."
Voice cast
*Tex Avery as Crows Nest Pilgrim, Turkey Call, Turkey Gobble, Junior Pilgrim
*Frank Graham as Indian
*Leone LeDoux as Crying Pilgrim
*Wally Maher as Jimmy Durante Turkey
Notes
*Internet sources claiming Daws Butler provided a voice are incorrect, as he did not arrive in Hollywood until after World War II.'Daws Butler Characters Actor', Joe Bevilacqua and Ben Ohmart, Bear Manor Media. He did make his first voice appearance in 'Little Rural Riding Hood' (1949) as the voice of the city wolf.
*'Jerky Turkey' is one of six MGM cartoons in the public domain. The others are 'The Discontented Canary' (1934), 'The Calico Dragon' (1935), 'To Spring' (1936), 'Bosko's Easter Eggs' (1937), and 'Doggone Tired' (1949).
*Voices were provided by radio actors Wally Maher, who had previously voiced Screwy Squirrel, and Leone LeDoux,'The Animated Film Encyclopedia', Graham Webb, McFarland Publishers, 2000. who specialised in baby cries.
*The Turkey from the short was planned to have a cameo in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit,' but was later dropped for unknown reasons. However, he can be seen in the storyboards from the deleted "Acme's Funeral" scene.
References
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