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Porky's Phoney Express

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Porky's Phoney Express
Title card
Directed byCal Howard
Cal Dalton
Story byMelvin Millar
Produced byLeon Schlesinger
StarringMel Blanc
Music byCarl W. Stalling
Animation byHerman Cohen
Color processBlack-and-white
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Productions
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • March 19, 1938 (1938-03-19)
Running time
7 min
CountryUnited States

Porky's Phoney Express is a 1938 American animated comedy short film directed by Cal Howard and Cal Dalton.[1] The cartoon was released on March 19, 1938.[2] It is the 99th film in the Looney Tunes series and the 37th cartoon to feature Porky Pig. It is the first film in the series to be directed by Howard and Dalton, who replaced Friz Freleng after his departure to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[3][4]

Plot

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Porky works at the Pony Express as a janitor who dreams of joining the Express but is repeatedly denied by the manager. A deliveryman on the way to Red Gulch returns with arrows shot by hostile Native Americans, refusing service due to risking death. He and the manager decides to mockingly let Porky deliver a bag of horseshoes intended to hinder his progress. They accidentally mix up the actual mail with the horseshoes with their chagrin, while Porky rides away with the actual mail.

Porky is spotted by the Native Americans. He tries to shoot them with his revolver, only for the recoil to throw him off repeatedly. A Native American rides a bicycle and uses it to grind a throwing axe, which destroys the bag of mail as Porky retrieves them with a net. He successfully arrives at Red Gulch and delivers the mail to the cheers of the populace, who had not received mail in months due to the Native Americans. Porky is promoted to manager at his town while the original manager is demoted to janitor as punishment.

Home media

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Porky's Phoney Express is available on disc 2 of the Porky Pig 101 DVD set.[5]

References

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  1. Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 68. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 70–72. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  3. Parten, James (March 17, 2020). "Looney Tunes 1937-38: Steady As She Goes". Cartoon Research. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  4. Roquet, Mark (2007). "Toward Absurdity: Warner Bros. Animation During the Depression" (PDF). Seven Hills School: 13.
  5. Beck, Jerry (August 16, 2017). "Warner Archive Announces "Porky Pig 101" DVD Collection". Animation Scoop. Retrieved July 16, 2026.