Now hear this: all stowaways found aboard my ship will be promptly hanged to the nearest yardarm!
Ship's captain
"Good Noose" is a 1962 Looney Tunes short staring Daffy Duck. It was directed by Robert McKimson.
A ship's captain threatens to execute any stowaways on his ship by hanging them in a noose. He then sends out his parrot, Mr. Tristan, to track down any such stowaways. Eventually, Mr. Tristan does find one stowaway: Daffy Duck, who tries to elude death by hanging by posing as a Stage Magician, with questionable results.
Also of note, this is officially the first Warner Bros. cartoon whose music was fully composed by William Lava. Lava had begun at Warners by finishing up the music for The Jet Cage after composer Milt Franklyn died during production, leaving only the first third of the cartoon scored.
"Good Noose" provides examples of:
- Bowdlerization: Given the cartoon's subject matter (not only Daffy being hanged, but also locked in a trunk for an extended period of time), it seldom, if ever, is shown on television, though Cartoon Network, Boomerang and now MeTV do show this uncut and uncensored (which is unusual in Cartoon Network's case, since they will usually censor such scenes). Nickelodeon and the now-defunct WB! network, on the other hand, have heavily censored this cartoon, with all scenes of Daffy in a noose and locked in a trunk being edited, resulting in a very short and incoherent cartoon.
- Dawn of an Era: This is the first Looney Tunes cartoon to be fully composed by William Lava.
- Escape Artist: As Mr. Tristan provides the captain with some rope to hang Daffy, the duck snatches the rope away to use for a new trick: he has Mr. Tristan tie his hands behind his back and lock him into a wooden chest, from which he will escape in ten seconds. Mr. Tristan complies, then tells the captain, "Simple trick; anybody can do it — but he can't!" Indeed, Daffy is so inept at his stunt that it takes him ten days, plus some assistance from Mr. Tristan, to escape. By now, Daffy is a ragged mess with sharp teeth.Daffy: (to Mr. Tristan; raspy voice) You dirty rat! You switched boxes on me!
Mr. Tristan: You are so right! - Gallows Humor: This whole cartoon pretty much revolves around the threat of death by hanging. It's in the very title.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: The ship's captain is clearly a caricature of Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh. Incidentally, the real Laughton passed away just after this cartoon's release.
- Pirate Parrot: Not a pirate parrot, but Mr. Tristan does serve as the captain's aid in ferreting out any stragglers on the ship.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The cartoon opens with a threat from the ship's captain to hang any stowaways on his ship. Cue dozens of people all jumping overboard and swimming away.
- Stage Magician: How Daffy tries to act to avoid hanging. His efforts are of course dismal.
- The Stool Pigeon: Daffy accuses Mr. Tristan of being this.
- Toothy Bird: After his escape artist act fails miserably, Daffy is revealed to be a grotesque, ragged mess with sharp teeth.
