| The First Bad Man | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Directed by | Tex Avery |
| Story by | Heck Allen |
| Produced by | Fred Quimby |
| Starring | Tex Avery (Caveman, uncredited) June Foray (Cavewoman, uncredited) |
| Narrated by | Tex Ritter |
| Music by | Scott Bradley |
| Animation by | Walt Clinton Michael Lah Ray Patterson Grant Simmons |
| Layouts by | Ed Benedict (uncredited) |
| Backgrounds by | John Didrik Johnsen |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Production company | MGM cartoon studio |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 6 min (one reel) |
| Language | English |
The First Bad Man is an American animated cartoon directed by Tex Avery, and features narration by singing cowboy Tex Ritter. It was released by MGM on September 30, 1955.
Plot
An unnamed narrator tells a story about the history of Texas set one million years ago, when Dinosaur Dan, the eponymous villain, terrorized the state. He rustles all the cattle (brontosaurs with the heads of Texas longhorns), and runs off with all the pretty women. The primitive Texans finally corner Dan in his mountain hideout, and cleverly chisel away the outer rock, leaving behind a small rock jail with Dan inside. The final scene shows the jail still standing in modern-day Dallas, and reveals that the narrator is really Dinosaur Dan, still in jail and sadly asking: "When are y'all gonna let me out of here?"
Notes
- Ed Benedict provided uncredited layout designs for this cartoon. Benedict would later work for Hanna-Barbera Studios (which was started by MGM alumni William Hanna and Joseph Barbera), where he would use some of the caveman designs from this cartoon as the basis for characters in The Flintstones.
- The Wacky World of Tex Avery used this short as the primary inspiration for Einstone, one of the show's characters.
References
- "AVERY…. Vol. 2??? WELL, IMAGINE THAT! -". cartoonresearch.com. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 146–147. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
- The Flintstones FAQ
External links
 | This article related to a short animated film is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
- 1955 films
- Films directed by Tex Avery
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short films
- 1955 animated short films
- 1950s American animated films
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
- Films scored by Scott Bradley
- Films with screenplays by Henry Wilson Allen
- Animated films set in Texas
- Animated films set in prehistory
- Films produced by Fred Quimby
- Animated films about cavemen
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio short films
- Films about Brontosaurus
- 1950s English-language films
- Animated films about dinosaurs
- Films set in Dallas
- English-language short films
- Short animated film stubs