The High and the Flighty (1956)

Absolutely Fantastic

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

" . . . bottled duck," concludes Warner Bros.' recommendation about--in Mitt Romney's words--the "con man" who mesmerized 47% of American Voters to go totally Looney Tunes in 2016, despite numerous Warner Bros. warnings against Molester-in-Chief Rump. But what can YOU, an ordinary American, DO against he whom Ted Cruz labeled as a "con artist," who now has millions of jack-booted government thugs at his beck and call? How can YOU bottle up the threat posed by he whom Marco Rubio called a "tiny-roostered Fraudster" (if you substitute the four-letter C-word synonymous with rooster)? Start in your own backyard, as THE HIGH AND THE FLIGHTY shows Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dog dealing with the "New York Values" (by way of Walla Walla, WA) of fast-talking con artist Daffy J. Duck. No one since Hitler has assembled such a rabid pack of mad-dog killers as Rump with his first half dozen "Cabinet" selections. When Rump's American murder toll segues from the hundreds into the thousands (making Weasel Bush's 12,000 dead from 9-11, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Katrina seem like "small change"), write out a Citizen's Arrest Warrant for your neighbor with that Rump\Scents bumper sticker, or that annoying door-to-door Rich People Party campaign solicitor. Then arrest them for Conspiracy to Commit High Treason. There may or may not be a market for FLIGHTY's "bottled duck" now, but surely one will develop soon for bottled Rump Stakes.

This is an odd Looney Toons cartoon because it pairs Daffy Duck with Foghorn Leghorn and his enemy, the dog. Daffy is in the film because he is a greedy and opportunistic novelty salesman who sells BOTH the rooster and the dog a variety of nasty gags to play on each other. Again and again, both do horrible things to each other using items from the Ace Novelty Company--and in the process Daffy becomes rich. It's just great watching all the terribly violent and terribly funny items he sells them--until eventually they realize that they "have been film-flammed" (using Foghorn's words). Then they turn the tables on the duck and give him a wonderful taste of his own medicine.Excellent writing, animation and good old fashioned fun make this one a winner.

I quickly interpreted "The High and the Flighty" as an allusion to the incidents in geopolitics when a superpower sells mutually hostile groups the same weapons and plays them off against each other, much like how Daffy Duck sells both Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dog the same kinds of gadgets. A specific example in real life is that the US basically sold India and Pakistan nukes, and they seem to have been threatening each other ever since. "Divide and conquer" some people call it. No surprise that Foghorn and Barnyard eventually wised up to Daffy's shenanigans.I'm probably reading too far into this cartoon. It was probably just intended as nice, zany entertainment. It sure came out hilarious. So check it out.

Practical jokers Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dog get some picker uppers from one of the masters, who conveniently happens to be a go-getting salesman from the Ace Novelty Co. (Practical Jokes for Every Occasion). Warner Brothers could easily have cast an unknown Toon as the salesman, but actually went ahead and hired Daffy Duck.Though it is quite a surprise that Daffy would accept a supporting role (they would never do this to Bugs), the subject matter ensures us that he makes the part his own. Not to be outdone, that other feathered fiend Foghorn shows his willingness to do anything for stardom, even appearing in the nude.But when Daffy makes the mistake of conning both parties into buying the 'Pipe Full O'Fun' kit no. 7 ($ 26.50 a piece), his selling days are numbered. If only they would have gone that extra mile and declare a three way war of assorted tricks and boobytraps! But alas, that was not to be, and Daffy never made another guest appearance on Foghorn's Farm6 out of 10