A Lecture on Camouflage
About A Lecture on Camouflage
Technical Fairy, First Class, uses Private Snafu to show camouflage. A swastika gunsight blows the cover off what looked like a small boat and is Snafu's jeep. In the woods a tree asks him for a light in a German accent. Soldiers disguised as a tree, a stump, and a boulder follow him. He is fired out of an enemy cannon, chases a moving shadow around a trunk, and is bombed by a German observation balloon. The Fairy's last demonstration is to blend in beside two mermaids.
Cast & crew
More about A Lecture on Camouflage
Chuck Jones directed this Private Snafu short for troops in 1944. Mel Blanc voices the Fairy, a German soldier, and a German general. Carl W. Stalling directed the music. The track uses Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" and Frank Loesser's "I'm Ridin' for a Fall." Robert C. Bruce is also credited among the voices.
Themes
Background
Private Snafu cartoons were training comedies shown to U.S. troops, not in civilian theaters.
Music
Carl W. Stalling scored the short, using Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" and Frank Loesser's "I'm Ridin' for a Fall."
Notes
- The enemy soldier dressed as a tree is a gag Shull and Wilt trace to Shoulder Arms (1918). Commando Duck (1944) uses it too.
- The Fairy's closing gag puts him between two topless mermaids to make the point about blending in.
Scenes
- A direct hit reveals Snafu's 'boat' to be a jeep.
- A tree asks him for a light.
- A German balloon drops a bomb on the shadow he chose for cover.
Influenced by
- Shoulder Arms (1918)
Also available
- Internet Archive (private_snafu_camouflage)
