An Itch In Time is a 1943 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Bob Clampett.
In it, traveling vagabond A. Flea has decided to set up camp on Elmer Fudd's dog. The dog desperately wants to scratch himself free of the pesky newcomer, but has been sternly warned by Elmer that if he sees him "skwatching", he'll give the dog a very unwanted bath. Hilarity Ensues as Flea's pestering slowly but surely become too much to bear.
Tropes:
- Bowdlerization: The final gag where the cat shoots himself after seeing the flea carry Elmer and the dog on a platter has been cut on most American TV airings. The older transfers edit the scene out with a fake "iris-out" while newer airings use a fake dissolve to the end card.
- The Cameo: Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig can be briefly seen on the cover of Elmer's comic book.
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: According to
his wife Sody Clampett, Bob himself wrote A. Flea's earwormy Ode to Food, "Food Around the Corner". - Driven to Suicide: The cat in the uncut version.
- Eyes Out of Sight: A. Flea's hair almost always covers his eyes.
- Fire of Comfort: At the start, Elmer and his dog are relaxing by the fireplace.
- Flea Episode
- Hates Baths: The main conflict is that Elmer's dog is trying to avoid scratching himself, all because Elmer will give him a bath if he realizes the dog has a flea on himself.
- Inconvenient Itch: Elmer's dog is in agony from A. Flea's pestering, but he knows that if he scratches, Elmer will put him straight into the bath.
- Larynx Dissonance: While almost all of A. Flea's dialogue is spoken by Sara Berner, the "T-BONE!" line is screamed by Mel Blanc in a much different sounding voice.
- No Name Given: The dog's name is never revealed.
- Ode to Food: A. Flea, on seeing the dog, starts joyfully singing "Food Around the Corner".
- Pain-Powered Leap: When A. Flea tricks the dog into biting himself on the butt, the dog jumps into the air and lands in Elmer's lap.
- Pun-Based Title: On the phrase "A stitch in time."
- Punny Name: A. Flea.
- Rapid-Fire "No!":Elmer: Skwatching, skwatching, skwatching! One more skwatch, and I'll give you a bath.
Dog: No, no, no, no, no! No, please, no! - Recursive Canon: Elmer is seen reading a Looney Tunes comic book by his fireplace.
- Seen-It-All Suicide: When Elmer's cat sees both his owner and the dog getting carried off on a plate by A. Flea, he quips, "Now I've seen everything!" and shoots himself in the head with a pistol.
- Soundtrack Lullaby: A. Flea bounces into the dog's ear, then sings "Brahms' Lullaby" to put him to sleep so he can set up camp.
- Swapped Roles: Just as Elmer has had enough and is dragging his dog toward the bath, A. Flea lands on Elmer, who starts to scratch himself. The dog picks up Elmer by the seat of his pants and starts carrying him toward the bath. On the way, he slips on a bar of soap, and they both land in the bath.
- Talking with Signs: As A. Flea makes his appearance, a sign appears on the screen announcing: "It's a flea, folks!", followed by another reading: "Teeny, ain't he??"
- To Serve Man: A. Flea puts both the dog and Elmer Fudd on his menu in the end.
- Wartime Cartoon: There are some brief references to food rationing (A. Flea takes a point out of his ration card before biting the dog, and sings about "no more Meatless Tuesdays" at the end), and A. Flea hides inside an air raid shelter after setting off some explosives.
