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Director: Friz Freleng
Release Date: August 5, 1950
Stars: Daffy Duck, Porky Pig
Rating: ★★
Review:

1950 was a transitional year for Daffy Duck: director Robert McKimson still retained Daffy’s old loony self in ‘Boobs in the Woods‘, but Chuck Jones introduced a new version of the character, as the anti-hero in ‘The Scarlet Pumpernickel‘.

However, two other shorts from the same year, ‘Golden Yeggs’ and ‘The Ducksters‘, show that the directors were uncertain where to go with the character. In Friz Freleng’s ‘Golden Yeggs’ a goose lays a golden egg (24 karat solid gold) at Porky’s poultry farm, but she blames Daffy for doing it. Daffy plays along, but the news soon attracts a gang of gangsters, led by Rocky, in his debut*. The gangsters kidnap Daffy, forcing him to lay more eggs.

Daffy Duck is quite an empty character in this cartoon, more a victim than in control. He has lost his loony character traits completely, but his later greed and foul play haven’t entered, yet, leaving the character pretty much in limbo. The result is an erratic cartoon, weak in its comedy, and uncertain in its delivery, despite some great gags, like Daffy opening a ‘door’ which consists of a gangster.

Watch ‘Golden Yeggs’ yourself and tell me what you think:

This is Porky Pig cartoon no. 133
To the previous Porky Pig cartoon: An Egg Scramble
To the next Porky Pig cartoon: The Ducksters

This is Daffy Duck cartoon No. 53
To the previous Daffy Duck cartoon: The Bitter Half
To the next Daffy Duck cartoon: The Ducksters

‘Golden Yeggs’ is available on the DVD-set ‘Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume One’

* The Rocky in ‘Racketeer Rabbit’ (1946) was a different character, being a caricature of Edward G. Robinson)