A Ham in a Role

A Ham in a Role is a 1949 Looney Tunes short planned by Arthur Davis and finished by Robert McKimson.
== Plot ==
A dog gets sick and tired of being a comic actor in cartoons, so he writes a letter of resignation to his boss and returns home to rehearse Shakespeare so he can become a dramatic actor. Upon arriving back home, the dog finds gopher holes on his lawn. Unfazed, the dog then begins reading Hamlet. Upon discovering the gophers sleeping in the book, he throws the book out the window.
The Goofy Gophers then get their revenge on the dog by literally interpreting lines from Shakespeare works, including "lending him ears," tormenting him with flames (to his foot), dousing him with "the joy of life" (by dumping a tub of water on the dog), dumping Limburger cheese as the dog utters the "that which we call a rose" line while holding a rose, imitating the exhumed Yorick in a dance (making the dog appear like a Shakespearean coward), using magnets on the floor and ceiling to toss the dog around the room (in armor), with the coup de grâce coming about when the Gophers use a horse to kick the dog out of his house and back to the studio, where the dog laments that "parting is such sweet sorrow," returning to the studio where he began as the song "You Ought to Be in Pictures" plays in the background. The dog recites, "To be...or not to be..." only to be splatted by the pie in the face again.
== Caricatures ==
* John Barrymore
== Availability ==
lt mdiy.jpg|(2007) DVD My Dream Is Yours
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6.jpg|(2008) DVD Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6, Disc One (original opening and ending restored)
lt spotlight 6.jpg|(2008) DVD Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 6, Disc 1 (original opening and ending)
Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection- Looney Tunes.jpg|(2013) DVD Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection: Looney Tunes, Disc 1
LTPC Volume 3 Cover.png|(2014) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc One (original opening and ending)
LT Platinum Collection VOL 3 DVD Cover.png|(2014) DVD Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc One (original opening and ending)
=== Streaming ===
lt boomerang.jpg|Boomerang App (2017 - ) (original opening and ending)
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2023) (original opening and ending)
lt max.jpg|Max (2023 - ) (original opening and ending)
== Notes ==
* The short draws heavily from the works of William Shakespeare, with its gags relying on literal interpretations of lines from Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Richard III, and Romeo and Juliet.
* This cartoon was originally issued as a Looney Tunes short with the Looney Tunes music. The cartoon was re-issued with Merrie Melodies credits, but retained the Looney Tunes music. Moreover, despite being reissued, the short's original ending titles were still shown as a part of gag after the opening credits.
* Its working title was "A Hammy Hamlet".http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/robert-mckimsons-a-ham-in-a-role/
* This would be the last short in the Golden Age of American Animation to star the dog that had opposed the Gophers in their first two appearances. In addition, this is the first Gophers cartoon to be directed by Robert McKimson; it was supposed to be directed by Arthur Davis, but when Warner Bros. Cartoons disbanded Davis's unit to reduce costs, "A Ham in a Role" was reassigned to McKimson, along with animators J.C. Melendez and Emery Hawkins.
* This is the final Warner Bros. cartoon to be released in the 1940s.
* When the shot is being set up at the end for the pie-in-the-face gag, the clapperboard displays the scene details: “SCENE 43, TAKE 99, PROD. 1106”. The production number for this cartoon is 1106
* The Shakespeare references recited by the dog in order of appearance and character role are:
** Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1 (Hamlet)
** Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 2 (Marc Antony)
** Hamlet Act 1, Scene 5 (Ghost)
** Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 2 (Juliet)
** Hamlet Act 5, Scene 1 (Hamlet, about Yorick)
** Hamlet Act 1, Scene 5 (Hamlet, to Ghost)
** Julius Caesar Act 2, Scene 2 (Julius Caesar)
** Richard III Act 5, Scene 3 (Last lines of the scene of which Richard is preparing his soldiers for battle)
** Richard III Act 5, Scene 4 (Catesby and Richard III)
** Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 2 (Juliet)
** Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1 (Hamlet, with a comedic twist)
* This cartoon was shown in theatres with The Inspector General during its original release.
== Gallery ==
HamInaRoleCredits1.png
HamInaRoleCredits2.png
199519 10150148367593926 223597233925 6487776 1498526 n.jpg|Lobby card
A-ham-in-a-role-us-lobbycard-the-goofy-gophers-aka-mac-tosh-left-1949-E5M7PK.jpg|Lobby card
45482995 349460932483557 586810141723066368 n.jpg|Lobby card preliminary sketch
AHamInARole001-600.jpg
HamInARole-2-600.jpg
== References ==
 
Category:Goofy Gophers Cartoons
Category:Cartoons directed by Robert McKimson
Category:Shorts
Category:Looney Tunes Shorts
Category:1949
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Cartoons animated by Charles McKimson
Category:Cartoons animated by Bill Melendez
Category:Cartoons animated by Emery Hawkins
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Cornett Wood
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist