"The Dudley Do-Right Show" (1969) TV series 1969-1970

Creator:

Bill Scott

Release Date:

27 April 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Surrealism | Northwest Mounted Police | Police Officer | Tied To Railroad Tracks | Mounted Police Officer

Cast

Bill Scott	...	Dudley Do-Right (voice)
June Foray	...	Nell Fenwick (voice)
Hans Conried	...	Snidely Whiplash (voice)
Paul Frees	...	Inspector Nathaniel Fenwick / Narrator #1 (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barbara Baldwin	...	(voice)
William Conrad	...	Narrator #2 (voice)
Skip Craig	...	(voice)
Walter Tetley	...	(voice)

Runtime:

USA:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Jay Ward Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Skyscraper (1996) (V)

The 88 Keys that Made Dudley Famous

I don't really remember Dudley Do-Right as a show in itself. I only recall this show as part of the Rocky & Bullwinkle series. In any case, I came to really appreciate this show when I was older.

I do think that it was REALLY neat the way the Dudley Do-Right show seemed to have "vestiges" of the Silent Movie Era, despite the fact that it was a "talkie". Every now and then, they would pull up a frame, with a caption, describing what was going on in the scene (with a decorative background).

Another great touch, along those lines, was the piano, that played in the background, during the entire episode. The pianist, with his/her tunes, so often evoked a "Gay Nineties" or "vaudeville" aura, so germane to the Silent Movie genre. I often found myself picturing the live pianists (or organists) who used to play, for audiences, in those old movie houses, dating back to the tens, the teens and the twenties, while I watched Dudley Do-Right!

I often wondered where Dudley Do-Right's voice came from. I always assumed that the actor, who read his lines, stole it, from someone who was famous (or from a character in radio or the movies who was popular). I am glad that that voice was used, however. Do-Right just would not be Do-Right without that manner of speaking!

It was neat that we got to hear that same voice again, just a few years later, when that same actor used it for Tom Slick (from George of the Jungle)......and Dudley's girlfriend, Nell, also reprised her voice (as that actress also breathed life into Tom Slick's girlfriend, Marigold).

Of all the shows, from Rocky & Bullwinkle, this show was the one in which music held the greatest importance. I especially like the show's "signature sign-off" via piano.

Nearly always, the piano keys would build to a crescendo of a few high notes, when the story was ending. Those few high notes would just kind of flutter there, in place, for a few moments. Then, abruptly, the final five LOW notes would usher in: Dun, Dun, Dun, Dun, DUNN!.........that would signal the close of the episode......Gosh, I nearly feel a chill running right through me, as I recall these last five notes now!.......It's like I'm ten years old, all over again!