Thugs With Dirty Mugs (Snitches Get Stitches and Rats Get Stuffed)

 

Director(s): Tex Avery

Summary: In this spoof of gangster movies, police detective F.H.A (Sherlock) Holmes is searching for something — anything — that leads him to the capture of notorious bank robber Killer Diller (played by Edward G. Robensome).

Fun Facts: 

• According to Canadian animation historian Gene Walz (no relation to Tim Walz, I don't think), this short was banned in Canada in the 1930s (specifically in the province of Manitoba and its capital city of Winnipeg) because the censors at the time didn’t like how crime was being used for comedy and felt that Killer Diller being punished Bart Simpson-style (read: writing lines on the blackboard as part of detention) was not a “serious” punishment. Well, no duh! That’s the point of a parody. Even back in the 1930s, you had humorless people not understanding jokes. I understand if a Gen Zer or Gen Alpha can’t parse a joke from the Boomer, Gen X, Xennial, or Gen Y millennial eras, especially if it’s a pop culture reference from before they were conceived. But the 1930s — The Greatest Generation — they’re supposed to know better. So don’t believe the hype over which generation is better, because they’re all a mixed bag of good, bad, ugly, and inane that ends up being trash and treasure for future generations.

• The title is a spoof on the 1938 crime drama, Angels with Dirty Faces, starring James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Ann Sheridan, and Humphrey Bogart. Edward G. Robinson wasn’t in this one, despite Killer Diller being based on him and his gangster roles. Coincidentally, Angels With Dirty Faces was banned in China, Denmark, Poland, Finland, and parts of Switzerland and Canada, due to their censors thinking American gangster films will drive its denizens to be criminals.

• Fred Allen is the radio comedian Killer Diller impersonates when he and his goons are planning their next heist.

• Tex Avery would again parody crime dramas with the MGM short, Who Killed Who?, and it does run on the same engine of fourth wall-breaking, mocking genre conventions, cartoon craziness, and mixing live-action with animation (though Who Killed Who? did the live-action/animation hybrid thing better. The closest thing Thugs With Dirty Mugs has is the silhouetted man in the audience who already saw the short twice and ends up helping the police catch Killer Diller).

The Channel(s): The WB

Part(s) Edited: Two scenes cut, one justified (in my opinion), one questionable (also, in my opinion):

• One of Killer Diller’s goons belting a bank teller in the back of the head for acting like a schoolyard snitch, chanting “I’m going to tell-ell”.

• Police detective F.H.A (Sherlock) Holmes yelling, “Take that, you rat!” from behind his police officer door, only to reveal that he’s feeding cheese to a rat.

What Grinds My Gears About the Edit(s): As I mentioned, one edit is justified (the bank teller getting belted for being a schoolyard snitch) while the other (F.H.A. Holmes feeding cheese to a rat) has no discernible reason as to why it would be cut. Doesn’t feel like it could be a time cut; maybe WB’s censors thought the dialogue was too threatening or mean? Maybe WB’s censors didn’t want kids feeding rats cheese (what if they have actual pet rats and not ones that scurry in and out of their house because it’s that dirty?). The second edit is a mystery to me...and there will be plenty of those kind of cuts to come.

Video Comparison: 

Availability Uncut: Unfortunately, this isn’t a public domain short, so you’re going to have to legally buy or download it in order to see it. On physical media, you can find it on the Golden Age of Looney Tunes laser disc (volume 1, side 3), the Golden Age of Looney Tunes VHS (volume 3, “Tex Avery”), as a special feature on the 2005 DVD release of the 1939 gangster film The Roaring Twenties, starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, and Humphrey Bogart; and volume three of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection (also released in 2005). I recommend the Looney Tunes Golden Collection third volume, since that’s more recent, though I’m so sure the DVD copy of The Roaring Twenties is still available.

Is/Was It on Streaming or Digital Download: Yes, for iTunes and Tubi, no for HBO Max, Max, and Amazon Prime Video.

‘Til next time, Stay Looney and Be Merrie.