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Apparently Bugs Bunny is far older than any of us knew and was also alive in the time of the Roman Empire. This episode sees him encountering Yosemite Sam again, this time Sam is a Legionnaire, out to capture Bugs as a star feature against the lions in the Coliseum!
Rome 54 AD
Sign: Another Appian Freeway for your safety. Slow chariots keep right
Sign: Coliseum today
Detroit Lions in Season Opener
Undefeated lions out for first taste of victory
We see the shadows of roman citizens and legionnaires walking by
Trumpets blare announcing the start of the coliseum
Scene: The coliseum
Announcer: What a sight! The coliseum is packed to the brim! A great day for the big event!
Soldiers blowing trumpets enter the coliseum, followed by a cohort marching
Announcer: And here comes Emperor Nero
Nero, wearing a laurel wreath, enters the coliseum in a chariot suspiciously reminiscent of a 1955 Thunderbird.
Scene: Nero is now in his box, with a view of the coliseum grounds
Announcer: Emperor Nero has kindly consented to throw out the first victim
Nero: OK, give me the victim, give me the victim! Come on!
A soldier: but sire - we’re all out of victims
Nero: Out of victims? Captain of the guards!
Yosemite Sam dressed as a Roman legionnaire approaches and salutes Nero.
Nero: Get me a victim right away! Or you’ll be the victim
Sam leaps in the air in horror and runs off to find a victim
Yosemite Sam: Oooh! What a grouch!
Sam stops and blows his trumpet to summon his cohort of men. A group of legionnaires assembled, but very clumsily, with lots of banging into each other.
Yosemite Sam: Fall in! Forward march!
Sam turns and marches away and the cohort follows
Yosemite Sam: Hut-2-3-4, Hut-2-3-4, Hut-2-3-4…
They march out town down the roman road, with Sam calling the beat. THey pass a gentle hillside, holding a rabbit hole. Bugs Bunny sticks his head of the hole, gnawing on a carrot.
Bugs Bunny:Neeee…
Yosemite Sam: Hut-2-3-4, Hut-2-3-4, Hut-2-3-4…
Bugs Bunny:What’s that? A parade! Oh, boy, I love parades!
Bugs hops out of his rabbit hole to go and see what the parade is about. He catches up with the troop of men and marches beside Sam
Yosemite Sam: Hut-2-3-4, Hut-2-3-4, Hut-2-3-4…
Bugs Bunny:Neeee… What’s up, Doc? Roman Legion convention or something?
Yosemite Sam: Hut-2-3-4 … No, it ain’t no Roman Legion convention. I got to find a victim to feed to the lions.
Bugs Bunny:Looks like you’re out of luck, Doc. No-one’s around but me. So long.
Bugs walks away while realization dawns on Sam that Bugs is a victim
Yosemite Sam: Hmmm… Get that rabbit! CHARRRRRGE!
Sam and the cohort run after Bugs
Bugs see them coming and runs behind some ruins. As the Romans approach he sticks out a foot, tripping most of the troupe, but not sam.
Bugs Bunny:Oops!
Bugs runs away and sam jumps into a chariot with a black horse in front to follow.
Yosemite Sam: Giddyap, giddyap, giddyap, mule! giddyap! Hya, hya, mule!
The horse, slow to start, then runs off very suddenly. Sam is left behind but hanging onto the reins drags him after. He lands in the chariot disheveled. THe horse catches up to, then passes bugs.
Yosemite Sam: Woah, woah, woah mule! Woaaaah, Mule!
The horse is resistant to stop, then does stop so suddenly that the chariot flies over the horse and squashes Sam
Bugs Bunny:eh, these hot rod kids
Yosemite Sam: You moth eaten rabbit!
Sam runs up to bugs, his helmet squashed down over his head, and swings the sword at him
Yosemite Sam: I’ll slice you to ribbons!
Sam, unable to see, flails wildly with the sword.
Bugs runs away and sam trips, releasing him from the helmet.
Bugs runs into the coliseum, passing a sign saying ‘beware of the lions.
Sam picks up a wooden club and follows
Bugs runs down a stone corridor and past a grill holding a lion.
Sam follows Bugs and stops in front of the lion’s den.
Yosemite Sam: Now where’d that skunk of a rabbit go?
The lion roars, making Sam jump
Yosemite Sam: why, you mangy fang-toothed critter
Sam uses the wooden club to hit the lion over the head, leaving the lion woozy
Yosemite Sam: take that! Maybe that’ll learn you to keep your big mouth shut.
Yosemite Sam: That fur-bearing varmint is around here somewhere!
Further own the corridor, Bugs turns a handle that raises the cage door
The lions roars
Yosemite Sam: How many times do I have to tell you … to… shut …… up?
Sam realizes the bars are no longer keeping the lion away from him.
Sam runs away and the lion roars again and follows.
Sam runs through a door and shuts and bars it, then stands on the mat in front of the door
Yosemite Sam: Wait till I lay my hands on that varmint! I’ll
The lion reaches under the door to grab the mat Sam is standing on, dragging him under the door.
The sounds of a beating come through the door
Sam is returned under the door well beaten with clothes in rags
Scene: Bugs runs up some stairs then stops in surprise and runs back down.
Sam chases Bugs down the stairs
Bugs runs down a corridor with Sam right behind him and through a doorway. He manages to slam the door in Sam’s face.
In the room, Bugs realizes he is in a room full of sleeping lions.
Sam adjust his helmet then shoulders the door open.
He finds bugs is tippy-toeing halfway across the room
Bugs turns and puts his finger to his lips to tell sam to be quiet.
Sam follows on tippy toe
Bugs climbs the ladder set into the wall of cell to an access-hole in the ceiling then lowers down alarm clock that goes off
The noisy alarm clock wakes all the lions who attack Sam.
Bugs puts the lid on the access hole and walks away.
Sam fights his way out of the access hole and jumps on the lid to get the lions to stay in there.
Sam runs after bugs, and comes to the edge of a pit that is blocking the width of the corridor, full of lions, with Bugs on the other side. He screeches to a halt at the edge.
The lions in the pit look at Sam.
Bugs is grinning at Sam from the other side
Bugs Bunny:How now brown cow?
Yosemite Sam: no long eared galoot can outfox the captain of the guard
Sam runs off and comes back with a pair of stilts
Yosemite Sam: OK, rabbit! Now lets see who is the smartest!
Bugs Bunny (calmly): oh! it looks like you have outsmarted me. Oh woah is me
Sam walks across the pit on stilts, with the lions trying to jump up at him. Sam stops, hits a lion with a club and yells at them
Yosemite Sam: Ah, shaddup!
Bugs Bunny: Here. lions
Bugs throws a selection of tools in the pit
Sawing noises are heard below sam. Sam looks horrified and makes a run back to his side of the pit, the stilts getting shorter and shorter as he goes.
Sam drops below our view on the stilts until he disappears, then gets higher as he runs on air to get away from the lions, until he is safe back on his side of the pit
Yosemite Sam (exhausted): I hates rabbits
Bugs Bunny: I better get out of here while the getting’s good
Bugs runs through an unbarred door
Sam quickly bars the door behind him
Bugs funds himself on the main floor of the coliseum. The crowd cheers!
Sam runs up to report to Nero, happy
Yosemite Sam: There’s your victim, your Neroship
Nero: Release the lions!
On the floor of the coliseum, a door is opened and the lions come roaring out.
Bugs looks frightened and ducks and covers his eyes, but the lions run straight past him, heading for Sam and, consequently, Nero.
Sam and Nero climb a column to get away from the lions, but the lions are slowly shortening the column
Bugs dons Nero’s fallen lauren wreath
Bugs Bunny: Well, like the Romans always say: E Pluribus uranium
Nero and Sam clutch each other as the column shakes as the lions attack it
The lions start to swipe out sections from the bottom of the column
Nero stands tall, playing his fiddle, as he gets lower and lower. Sam holds his hat. (Scene is reminiscent of a ship going down)
Story
Warren Foster
Animation
Virgil Ross
Arthur Davis
Gerry Chiniquy
Layouts
Hawley Pratt
Backgrounds
Irv Warner
Voice Characterisations
Mel Blanc
Musical Direction
Milt Franklyn
Directed By
Friz Freleng
7:16
32 seconds
Looney Tunes
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