D' Fightin' Ones

D’ Fightin’ Ones is a 1961 Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng.
== Title ==
The title and the cartoon itself are parodies of The Defiant Ones, a movie about two escaped inmates shackled together.
== Plot ==
Sylvester and Hector are on a truck headed for the pound. Both are shackled to each other and hate each other's guts. When the truck hits a bumpy road, the truck's back door opens, dumping Sylvester and Hector out. The two quickly run for cover, which is easier said than done due to being stuck together.
After fighting over some food, Sylvester and Hector realize they must break the chains. However, attempting to blow up the chains with TNT and hammering it both fail. Later, while walking near railroad tracks, a train snags their chain. That night, the two sneak into the city and take brief refuge in an abandoned building when a spotlight almost catches them. They decide to disguise themselves in human clothes, with the other person hiding in a suitcase, and hop aboard a bus, but hightail it out of there when the bus is revealed to be headed for Sing Sing.
Hector gets an idea to hang below a train track that goes between two mountains, with the idea that the train will cut their chains. However, both realize it's a bad idea when Sylvester points downward, indicating that it was too late once the chains are broken, they fall hundreds of feet to the ground. Sure enough, Sylvester and Hector fall into a junkyard after their chains are cut. At first, both continue to argue about how dumb the plan was, but are briefly joyous when they realize they aren't shackled together anymore. However, they look down and realize they're now connected by leg via a pipe. They hear police sirens and hop down the road to escape.
== Availability ==
lt vs14.jpg|(1984) VHS The Looney Tunes Video Show Volume 14
=== Streaming ===
lt boomerang.jpg|Boomerang ( - )
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2022) (restored)
== Censorship ==
On the ABC version of this cartoon, the following scenes were cut:http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-d.aspx
* Hector punching Sylvester in the face before and after Sylvester pulls "a switchblade claw" on him.
* Hector whacking Sylvester on the head with a stop sign.
* The scene where Sylvester and Hector try to escape by hiding each other in suitcases, only to end up at a bus stop for buses heading to Sing-Sing Prison and the two running off when they discover the dreaded destination.
== Notes ==
* Although there is no story credit for this cartoon, it is most likely that Michael Maltese wrote the story; his departure from Warner Bros. to Hanna-Barbera in 1958 could have been the reason why his name was removed from the credits.
* When shown on television anthology programs like The Merrie Melodies Show, the title was changed to D’Fightin Ones.
== Gallery ==
D'Fightin'OnesCredits1.png
D'Fightin'OnesCredits2.png
FightinOnesRESTORED.jpeg|Cropped screenshot of 2020 restoration
=== TV Title Cards ===
14.png|The Merrie Melodies Show
Screenshot 2020-10-11 at 3.29.05 PM.png|The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show (Final Season)
Bnt891.jpg|The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show
== References ==
also see the List of Sylvester Cartoons
 
Category:1961
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng
Category:Shorts
Category:Sylvester Cartoons
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Hawley Pratt
Category:Cartoons with music by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Tom O'Loughlin
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons produced by John W. Burton
Category:Cartoons produced by David H. DePatie