Hamateur Night

Hamateur Night is a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery and written by Jack Miller.[1] The short was released on January 28, 1939 and features an early version of Elmer Fudd.[2]

The premise of the film is rather simple; it features a vaudeville-style amateur talent night (see, for example, the contemporary and still-ongoing "Amateur Night" competitions at the Apollo Theater and the long-running radio-turned-television show Amateur Hour) with a format that resembles the much later television program The Gong Show in that it features a judge who strikes a gong to stop the performance of any entertainer whom he deems bad. The primary character of this short is a prototype of Elmer Fudd who lacks the speech impediment of the character he evolved into.

The cartoon entered the public domain in 1968 when its last rightsholder, United Artists Television (successor-in-interest to Associated Artists Productions), failed to renew the original copyright within the required 28-year period.[3]

During an amateur talent night at the "Warmer Bros. Theatre," (pun on Warner Bros.) performers put on a series of strange acts, hosted by a disinterested dogface. These include:

With the exception of the swami and the balcony scene, every act is rejected by a backstage judge, who rings a bell and pulls a lever to open a trapdoor under the performers and drop them out of sight.

The acts are broken up by assorted comical interludes, which include:

At the end of the night, as a voice vote is taken for the winner, Egghead wins. The MC is shocked to see that Eggheads fill the entire center section of the theater.

It is currently unknown who provided the voice of Teeny, Tiny, Tinsy, Tinny-Tinny-Tin.[4]