Under the Counter Spy

Under the Counter Spy
Woody Woodpecker series
Directed by	Don Patterson
Produced by	Walter Lantz
Story by	Homer Brightman
Voices by	Dal McKennon Grace Stafford
Music by	Clarence Wheeler Raymond Turner
Animation by	Ray Abrams Herman Cohen Ken Southworth Raymond Jacobs Art Landy
Studio	Walter Lantz Productions
Distributed by	Universal-International
Release date(s)	May 10, 1954 (U.S.)
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	6' 23"
Language	English
Preceded by	Alley to Bali
Followed by	Hot Rod Huckster

Under the Counter Spy is the 54th animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on May 10, 1954, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal- International.

Synopsis

A criminal known as "The Bat" (X 490231, alias Willy Garrity, alias Cornball Smith, etc.) unwittingly hides a top secret formula in Woody's house. The bird mistakes "Formula 7 3/8 (One Drop = 50,000 Horsepower)" for his "Redwood Sap" tonic and turns into a multicolored Superman, gaining super strength whenever he ingests it. The chase is on.

Background music

The opera featured as a theme for Woody's first transformation is Richard Wagner's Lohengrin.

Notes

• Under the Counter Spy is a parody of the television show Dragnet. The title is a pun on the work of a counterintelligence agent. The end of the short spoofs the Mark VII Limited production logo with the person accidentally striking his thumb with the hammer.
• Aside from a tired version of his trademark laugh (performed by Grace Stafford), Woody does not speak in this film. Instead, Dal McKennon (as one of the short's three narrators) relays to the audience Woody's "thought dialogue." In a sense, this is the only time McKennon plays the woodpecker in the series (other than providing vocal effects). This also marks the first time Stafford did not provide any dialogue for Woody since 1952's Scalp Treatment.
• The short opens with a disclaimer that parodies Dragnet's standard disclaimer:

The story you are about to see is a big fat lie.
No names have been changed to protect anybody!

• The story is similar to that of the Donald Duck comic Super Snooper (1949). In both stories, the main character mistakes a secret potion for his medicine and gains superhuman powers.

References

• Cooke, Jon, Komorowski, Thad, Shakarian, Pietro, and Tatay, Jack. "1954". The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia.