Screwball Football

Screwball Football is a 1939 Merrie Melodies short directed by Fred Avery.
== Plot ==
A series of gags hung on a football game includes a baby that is licking an ice cream cone; the man next to the baby wants to have some of the cone. There are the warmups: a kicker punts sitting in a chair, and three other kickers break into a chorus line. After the coin flip, the players pile right up. During the kickoff, the ball stays put, and the man who has it in his hand is kicked. In a re-kick, one player is used like a golf club by another. There is some razzle-dazzle on the scrimmage line. The QB literally fades for another pass. During a quickdownloa show by the marching band, the team beats up their coach, and a cheerleader rallies his team's supporters, one man. In the second half, a touchdown run is interrupted because of a commercial; when completed, a cheerleader literally yells their head off. After a quick montage of action, the final gun comes from the ice cream tot, who has finally fended off the neighbor.
== Caricatures ==
* Artie Auerbach's character Mr. Kitzel - "Mm, could be."
== Availability ==
Golden-Age-of-Looney-Tunes-3-F.jpg|(1992) LaserDisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 3, Side 7
== Censorship ==
* On Cartoon Network and Boomerang, the part after the announcer says, "And there's the gun that ends the half!" where a dim-witted referee nearly shoots himself in the head with the starter pistol he has in his hand is cut.http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-s.aspx
* Some syndicated TV versions cut the final joke where a baby guns down the man sitting next to him who has been licking his ice cream cone throughout the short.
== Notes ==
* The radio announcer's line, "Have you had your fluffies today?" is a reference to the advertising slogan for Ironized Yeast in the 1940s, "Have you had your iron today?"
* MeTV aired this short on 12 March 2022 on Saturday Morning Cartoons, however, this airing appears unrestored.
== Gallery ==
Screwball_football.jpg
Screwball-Football.jpg
268-PC1.png|Production cel
268-PC2.png|Production cel
268-PC3.png|Production cel
268-PC4.png|Production cel
268-PC5.png|Production cel
268-PC6.png|Production cel
268-PC7.png|Production cel
268-PC8.png|Production cel
268-PC9.png|Production cel
268-PC10.png|Production cel
268-CD1.png|Character design
== References ==
Category:1939
Category:Shorts
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Tex Avery
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package
Category:One-Shot Cartoons
Category:Spot Gag Cartoons