A Pest in the House

A Pest in the House
A Pest in the House
Directed by	Chuck Jones
Story by	Tedd Pierce; Michael Maltese
Produced by	Edward Selzer
Starring	Mel Blanc; Arthur Q. Bryan
Music by	Carl Stalling
Animation by	Ben Washam; Ken Harris; Basil Davidovich; Lloyd Vaughan
Layouts by	Richard Morley
Backgrounds by	Richard Morley
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Warner Bros.
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	August 2, 1947;
Running time	7:50
Language	English

A Pest in the House is a Merrie Melodies animated short film released on August 2, 1947.^[1] It is directed by Chuck Jones and stars the characters of Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd.^[2]

Plot

A brief narration describes a labor shortage that "became so bad" that employers are willing to hire "anybody – or anything". At the "Gland Hotel", Daffy is a hotel bellboy and Elmer Fudd is the manager. Elmer tells Daffy to take a customer to room 666. The customer (voiced by Arthur Q. Bryan, in his natural voice) asks for peace and quiet, and suddenly threatens to punch Elmer right in the nose if he is disturbed at any time, causing Daffy, in a Jerry Colonna-like sarcastic aside to the audience, to remark: "Likable chap, isn't he?"

After escorting the man to room 666 and briefly tricking him into getting locked out, Daffy causes no end of noise trying to do his job, awakening the customer in the process. Every time this happens, the increasingly irritated man trudges to the lobby, to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel", and at the second where the song says "pop", he punches Elmer in the face (Elmer at one point gets hit through the phone and later dons a knight's helmet in a futile attempt to prevent getting hit).

Near the end, Daffy finally concludes it is too cold in the man's room and decides to fix the radiator. Elmer, knowing he will get beat up again, chases after Daffy. Daffy makes the heat vibrate to the room. Elmer hears whistling and covers it with several pillows. Daffy, thinking that Elmer is blowing whistles, proceeds to yell at him so loudly to him that he once again wakes the now infuriated man, so Elmer hurries downstairs and he and Daffy switch places through a fake promotion in an effort to fool the man: "Fow vewy mewitowious sewvice, you are hewewith pwomoted to the position of managew. Take ovew." However, Elmer gets punched one last time, and Daffy concludes the cartoon with another Jerry Colonna-like aside: "Noisy little character, isn't he?"

Cast

Mel Blanc as Daffy Duck, Unseen Drunk and Narrator
Arthur Q. Bryan as Elmer Fudd and Hotel Guest (uncredited)

Production notes

A Pest in the House offers a distinctive portrayal of Daffy Duck, diverging from earlier depictions by Tex Avery and Bob Clampett, as well as the later characterization popularized by Chuck Jones. In the DVD audio commentary, Paul Dini describes Daffy as akin to a sprite, portraying him as a mischievous yet harmless creature, devoid of malicious intent.^[3]
It is one of only three non-Bugs Bunny cartoons released in 1947 not to be reissued.
A similar plot was used Daffy Duck Slept Here (1948), with Daffy once again disrupting the peace as a fellow guest in a hotel, this time causing unrest for Porky Pig.

Reception

Director David Bowers writes, "A Pest in the House is a great cartoon featuring a terrific performance from Daffy Duck. Although it's directed by Chuck Jones, he hadn't yet developed Daffy into the selfish, greedy, ill-tempered foil to Bugs Bunny that he would become. For me, the cartoon is the best of two worlds: the wonderful drawings, poses, and comic timing of Jones' direction coupled with the much funnier Daffy of directors Bob Clampett and Frank Tashlin. ... Daffy was rarely more obnoxious—or funnier."^[4]

References

^ Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice And Magic: A History Of American Animated Cartoons (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Plume. p. 429. ISBN 0-452-25993-2.
^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 178. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
^ Paul Dini. A Pest in the House - DVD audio commentary - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5.
^ Beck, Jerry, ed. (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. Insight Editions. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-64722-137-9.