Nope, this isn't a late April Fools joke, there really
is a missing Warner cartoon!
I first learned of the film while reading a bit of Karl F. Cohen's Forbidden Animation, sometime in 2020. Self-censorship is brought up, and we are greeted with this fascinating anecdote.;
On December 10th, 1941, the Hollywood Reporter announced, "Leon Schlesinger had but 70 feet [about 47 seconds] to go on a cartoon that good naturedly kidded the Navy. He shelved the entire works pronto."
My guess for Schlesinger shelving the film is that he thought it may be in bad taste, as the
Hollywood Reporter article is dated just three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Anyway, A few months later, by complete accident, I found something that I am still convinced is a huge lead on what the film was. It even gives us a name! On March 10th, 1941,
The Film Daily had this very short thing to say;
Leon Schlesinger is rushing production on "Gone With the Draft," a Merrie Melodie cartoon patriotic short.
Given how, at this point, Warner cartoons seemed to have a 10-month production time (if a scripted Schlesinger interview for
The Al Pearce Show is anything to go by), the film starting production around March and about to wrap up production in December would make sense. This would put its planned release somewhere in January 1942.
It would've also fit in with Schlesinger's other patriotic spoofs in '41, like
Meet John Doughboy and
Rookie Revue. I am still convinced a portion of the film is used in
Crazy Cruise--the "camouflaged ships" gag seems very much in line with what we know about the film.
I have also seen a drawing from approximately 1942 featuring a bunch of Avery/Clampett unit birds, and there is a woodpecker design I've never seen before. Perhaps this woodpecker originated in a gag for this film? Its design is very Avery-like.
If anyone knows a little more about this film, I'd love to hear it.