Edgar Allan Pooh " . . . but I am small!" Daffy Duck (as Dorlock Homes) challenges Scotland Yard's Public Enemy Number One, the hulking Shropshire Slasher. More than ably assisted by his pipe-smoking sidekick Dr. Watkins (played in DEDUCE, YOU SAY by Porky Pig), Dorlock shares a wealth of Bon Mots here. "I'm brown as a nut, and fit as a lath" (perhaps meaning to say "fit as a lathe") Daffy reveals midway through this Looney Tune. "You Ruddy Coastermongers," Dorlock addresses the denizens of Henry the Eighth's Fifths Pub (featuring "Selzer Water," most likely in honor of this animated short's producer, Edward S.). As Dr. Watkins observes, he and Dorlock are "in for a rum go" before this episode concludes. And well they should be, masquerading as indigenous English types after venturing thousands of miles away from America's friendly confines. If this pair were trying to apprehend a Wreaker of Havoc on U.S. soil who'd subsequently fled to Britain (such as Sweeney Todd, Edward Scissorhands, Captain Jack Sparrow, or the Mad Hatter), their dogged pursuit of a suspect might be hailed as patriotic if foolhardy. However, Daffy's bravado seems totally misplaced here, no matter how elementary his schooling.

slymusic "Deduce, You Say" is a fine Daffy Duck/Porky Pig cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. Daffy and Porky work together in different ways, depending on who is directing the cartoon. But under the helm of Chuck Jones, Daffy is a brash, cocky, loudmouthed blowhard who believes he is the best at what he is given to do, usually resulting in him not being effective at all and getting the stuffing beat out of him. Porky, on the other hand, keeps his cool and simply observes Daffy making the biggest ass out of himself. In this case, Daffy is Dorlock Homes and Porky is his assistant Watkins, and together they must locate the Shropshire Slasher and place him behind bars. They find him inside a tavern, where we see a handful of well-drawn seedy-looking oddballs.Here are my favorite sequences from "Deduce, You Say". I love the very opening panning shot of the darkened streets of London, accompanied by some wonderfully gloomy music by Milt Franklyn. When Dorlock enters the tavern he falls bill first onto the floor. The telegram deliveryman appears to be dead when he falls over into Dorlock's threshold, but he merely gets up and, in a humorous Cockney voice, tells Dorlock to have that one step fixed.Upon recently watching "Deduce, You Say", I was reminded of the great comedian Shemp Howard (best known as one of the Three Stooges) when Dorlock (Daffy) tries to be wildly physical with the big, burly Shropshire Slasher. In a fair number of films, Shemp would often perform a hilarious fighter's dance when confronted with an adversary, but of course, Shemp himself would always be the recipient of the first punch!

tavm This is another Daffy Duck-Porky Pig cartoon short directed by Chuck Jones in which the two leads portray legendary folk heroes. In this one the duck is Dorlock Holmes and the pig is Watkins. They're on the search for the Shropshire Slasher. Daffy, as usual, has trouble taking him in while Porky manages to convince him to turn himself over especially after Daffy insults the Slasher's mother. Not hilarious but has many very amusing bits like the times when Daffy loses his beak after tripping on the stairs or some of the clues he takes. Notice in the credits the director actually is credited as "Chuck Jones" and not his previous "Charles M. Jones". This was on disc 2 of The Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Vol. 1.

ccthemovieman-1 Being a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, I was pumped when I saw this cartoon is a parody of him. Daffy Duck is "Dorlock Homes," who recalls one of his cases: "The Case of the Shropshire Slasher." His assistant, "Dr. Watkins," is played by Porky Pig. First off, the drawings of London and its streets are magnificent. Kudos to the artist(s).Unfortunately, the rest of the cartoon didn't live up to that anticipated gem I was expecting. Instead of clever material about a clever detective, it was just stupid with zero cleverness. Basil Rathbone would roll over in his grave watching this, but Nigel Bruce might like it.