The Gold Brick
About The Gold Brick
Private Snafu wants out of drill. A fairy, Goldie the Goldbrick, tells him to skip the training. In the South Pacific he is too tired to keep up. Goldie tells him to fake sick. He walks into a booby-trapped hospital. On the battlefield a Japanese tank is behind him. Goldie tells him to dig only a few inches. The tank lands on him. Goldie then says he works for the Japanese: if enough soldiers goldbrick, the Axis can win. Snafu's tombstone turns into a gold bar.
Cast & crew
More about The Gold Brick
Frank Tashlin directed this Private Snafu short for the U.S. Army. The series was produced by the First Motion Picture Unit and animated mainly at Warner Bros. Mel Blanc voices Snafu. The song follows the tune of "Tit-Willow" from The Mikado. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons. The Snafu shorts were government films and are in the public domain.
Themes
Background
A 1943 Army training cartoon about soldiers who dodge drill.
Making
Tashlin made the training lecture as a fairy tale that ends with the fairy working for the other side.
Music
The song is set to "Tit-Willow" from The Mikado. Mel Blanc voices Snafu.
Preservation
A government film, later declassified, and in the public domain. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- Goldie's advice is the trap: skip drill, fake sick, dig a shallow hole.
- The hospital he enters is booby-trapped.
- Hideki Tojo is caricatured.
- The last image is a tombstone that becomes a 22-karat gold bar.
Scenes
- Goldie tells Snafu to dig only a few inches.
- The tombstone turns into a gold bar.
