A Feud There Was

A Feud There Was
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Airdate:	24 September 1938 Blue Ribbon reissue: 11 September 1943 13 September 1952
Series:	Merrie Melodies
MPAA Number:	4525
Production Number:	1317 (2nd reissue)
Vitaphone Number:	8506
Runtime:	7 minutes, 44 seconds (2nd reissue)
Copyright Renewed:	27 September 1965
Starring:	Elmer Fudd
Crew
Voice Characterizations:	Mel Blanc Tex Avery Billy Bletcher Dave Weber Gil Warren Edna Harris Roy Rogers Sons of the Pioneers
Director:	Fred Avery
Written By:	Melvin Millar
Producer:	Leon Schlesinger
Animated By:	Sid Sutherland Irven Spence (uncredited) Virgil Ross (uncredited) Paul Smith (uncredited)
Film Editor:	Treg Brown (uncredited)
Musician:	Carl W. Stalling

A Feud There Was is a 1938 Merrie Melodies short directed by Tex Avery.

Plot

Two feuding families of stereotypical hillbillies, the Weavers and the McCoys, spend their time taking potshots at each other. Several sight gags are involved, including a radio station intercom with a feuding family. At one point, a McCoy asks if there are any Weavers in the movie audience. One man, shown as a silhouette against the screen, answers in the affirmative, and the McCoy takes a shot at him.

In the midst of the fray, a yodeling, bulbous-nosed, domestic peace activist enters the feud zone on a motorscooter bearing the words "Elmer Fudd, Peace Maker", and goes to each side preaching peace and an end to wanton bloodshed. Neither side is impressed, and when Elmer attempts once more to preach peace to both families, both sides get furious at him and open fire on the would-be peacemaker together. When the smoke clears, only Elmer is left standing. He gives a final yodel and says, "Good night, all!" and the Weaver in the movie audience yells "Good night!" taking one more shot at Elmer.

Caricatures

• Bert Gordon - "Do ya mean it?"

Availability

(1986) VHS
Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festivals: The Best of Bugs Bunny and Friends

(1992) LaserDisc
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 3, Side 8: The Evolution of Egghead

(2024) Blu-ray
Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 3 (restored)

(2024) Blu-ray
Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volumes 1-4

Streaming

Tubi (2025 - )

Notes

• This short is the first cartoon to be reissued in the Blue Ribbon series.
• Although "The Isle of Pingo Pongo" promoted the character as "Elmer" on its lobby card, this is the first cartoon to feature the name Elmer Fudd on-screen.
• Elmer's singing voice was provided by Roy Rogers, with additional vocals in the cartoon done by the Sons of the Pioneers.
• The microphone which the Hatfields are singing into contains the call letters KFWB, a radio station launched by Warner Brothers in 1925. Numerous other cartoons reference this radio station.
• The European dubbed version uses the 1937-1938 ending card instead of the 1947-1948 one. This also happens on the EU dubbed versions of "Hobo Gadget Band", "Fox Pop", and "I Only Have Eyes for You". The version also uses the 1938-41 end theme of Merrily We Roll Along instead of the original 1937-38 rendition. The US dubbed version uses the 1941-55 rendition.
  • As the restoration uses the European dubbed version's soundtrack, the 1938-41 ending cue persists in that version.
• MeTV aired a restored print of this short on Saturday Morning Cartoons and Toon In With Me. While a nitrate slide of the original title card is known to exist, it is not a full print, hence the short was restored with the Blue Ribbon titles instead. The same restoration was later released as part of the Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 3 Blu-ray.
  • The nitrate slide was part of Tex Avery's personal collection, and was auctioned in 2004.

Gallery

Production cel

Production cel

Storyboards consisting of unused spot gags