It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

With TWO good themes carried off in a hilarious way, good characters chosen and a good plot, this Daffy Duck episode is pretty tough to beat! Yet another good thing about this episode, is the clever, brilliant mux-ip of the modern and the old Daffy Duck (this episode was made in 1950, when the new greedy, sly, mean Daffy Duck that most of us know was just starting to appear) and the choosing of so many Looney Tunes characters - including a new one! The episode begins with Daffy feeling hyperly angry and stressed at doing so much comedy and he has had the nerve and steel to write a script which focuses on a more serious theme - or as serious as Daffy can possibly be. The story is not the Scarlet Pimpernel - but the Scarlet Pumpernickel, as Daffy! Also appearing is Porky as the High Chamberlain and who seems to be a new character, a yellow duck, as the fair Melissa. She is to marry the Grand Duke, who is Sylvester, but she loves the Scarlet Pumpernickel, who is an outlaw. It's the start of a grand adventure, with good gags along the way...Good for people who like comedy versions of famous book people and good for people who want to watch Daffy's attempt at a more serious episode. Enjoy "The Scarlet Pumpernickel"! :-)

In this one, Daffy plays himself as an actor tired of comedy roles so he pitches J.L. a script called "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" by Daffy Dumas Duck. The duck's the title character hoping to rescue the fair Melissa from the evil Porky Pig. The pig tries to get Sylvester to marry her to keep her from Daffy. Also involved is Elmer (done for the first time by Mel Blanc instead of Arthur Q. Bryan) and the Mama Bear from Chuck Jones' Three Bears cartoons. Nice humorous touches throughout with Daffy, especially, in fine form. I noticed Sylvester doesn't have any whiskers here. Essential viewing for any Jones fan or anyone who loves animated spoofs of old movies.

We've all seen the images of up-and-coming writers trying to pitch their work to studio heads. Well, in "The Scarlet Pumpernickel", Daffy Duck is trying to pitch his 2,000-page script to studio head J.L. The script casts Daffy as the Scarlet Pumpernickel, an 18th-century rogue. Seeking to trap the guy, the dastardly Lord High Chamberlain (Porky Pig) comes up with a most devious scheme: marry fair maiden Melissa off to the unpleasant Grand Duke (Sylvester the Cat). So, it all comes down to a sword-fight between Daffy and Sylvester.Actually, it doesn't come down to that. Daffy never wrote an ending, and so at the spur of the moment, he comes up with an ending that seems a little strange to put in a cartoon. But, as he notes, that's apparently what you have to do to sell a script these days. The cartoon makes fun not only of movies starring Errol Flynn (whom Daffy mentions by name), but also of everything Hollywood-related. Chuck Jones, Mel Blanc, and that whole team probably knew all about such things. Another classic cartoon.

Blowing your brains out is the answer and that's just what Daffy Duck ends up doing.The cartoon opens in the office of one of the Warner Brothers producers. Daffy is trying to get him interested in making a movie from his 1000 page script 'The Scarlet Pumpernickel'. Daffy plays a swashbuckling hero/thief who would like for no more than to marry his maiden in peril. But Sylvester is out to catch him and take her for himself.The producer likes Daffy's script but need a bigger ending. How about a tidal wave? Not good enough? And a volcano explodes? Not good enough. But there's nothing left for the Scarlett Pumpernickel to do but blow his brains out?Blam!I love that Duck.