The Screwball


The Screwball is the seventh animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on February 15, 1943, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures.

Plot

A local crowd gathers at a baseball park for a game between the Droops and the Drips. A policeman stands at the park entrance discouraging spectators who have not paid to see the game by poking their eyes. Woody notices that kids returning baseballs can get in for free, so he tosses the cop a cannonball and enters the park.
Woody tries to watch the game but is discovered by the officer. He escapes by shaking a soda pop bottle and spraying it into his adversary's face, adding "No stopper, Copper!"
Woody joins the game as the pitcher for the Drips. When he is up to bat, he causes so much trouble that the entire team chases him along the baselines while the policeman waits for him at home plate. He escapes by pecking his way through a barrage of baseball bats. However, instead of getting away with it, Woody ends up being assaulted with a barrage of baseballs as soon as he pops out of the park's scoreboard.

Production notes

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" can be heard in the background score during the establishing shot of the baseball park. The music is used sporadically throughout the film.