The Barber of Seville (1944 film)
| The Barber of Seville | |
|---|---|
| Woody Woodpecker series | |
 |
|
| Directed by | James Culhane |
| Produced by | Walter Lantz |
| Story by |
Ben Hardaway Milt Schaffer |
| Voices by | Ben Hardaway |
| Music by |
Darrell Calker Gioacchino Rossini |
| Animation by |
Verne Harding Les Kline Pat Matthews (uncr.) Emery Hawkins (uncr.) Paul J. Smith (uncr.) Rudy Zamora |
| Layouts by | Art Heinemann |
| Backgrounds by | Phil DeGuard |
| Studio | Walter Lantz Productions |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) |
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| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 6' 54" |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Ration Bored |
| Followed by | The Beach Nut |
The Barber of Seville is the tenth animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on April 22, 1944, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures.
Woody arrives at "Tony Figaro's" barber shop in hopes of getting a "victory haircut" (a then-contemporary World War II reference). Finding the shop's proprietor out for an Army physical, Woody attempts to cut his own hair and those of other customers. The first customer that comes in is a Native American who asks for a quick shampoo, and Woody then makes a mess shampooing the man's head, which then causes the man's headdress to shrink into a badminton birdie. The angry Indian then threatens to scalp Woody for "giving him the bird", but Woody quickly knocks the customer out cold with a mallet and sends him out the door, where he ends up standing perfectly still in front of a tobacco shop. Shortly afterwards, Woody's second and primary customer is a burly Italian construction worker who asks for "the whole works".
Once Woody blow-torches the man's construction helmet off his head, he proceeds to lather his client's face, chin, mouth, and shoes while singing Rossini's Largo al factotum. Woody then produces a sharp razor and begins shaving the man. Woody elevates the barber's chair to the ceiling while singing an aria, allowing the man to fall to the ground and destroy the chair. Woody then begins liberally swinging the razor at his frightened client, who runs to escape him. A chase throughout the barbershop ensues as Woody doubles the tempo of his singing, until the woodpecker corners the man in the barber's chair and proceeds to give him a shave and haircut at manic speed.
The construction worker is dusted off and sent out the door on his way, but the angry client enacts a quick bit of revenge. The man picks Woody up and slings him through a glass window and back inside the shop, where the woodpecker lands and is bopped by shaving mugs falling from a broken shelf. As a last touch, the barber's pole falls on Woody, whose head is seen caught inside the pole.
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