WHO KILLED WHO? - Tex Avery (1943)

Some cartoons attempt to have some semblance of a story and others are nothing but a series of gags! "Who Killed Who?" is without a doubt, the latter!

The funniest thing about old cartoons is that they took them very seriously, as least as far as looks were concerned, and the artwork like this title card is generally very stunning!

The uncredited host and narrator is Robert Emmet O'Connor who just might possibly be the most uncredited actor in film history! Looks to me that in over half of the 213 films and shorts he was uncredited usually as a detective, a police sergeant, a judge, a sheriff, a riverboat captain, a prison warden, an immigration officer, a bartender, a secret service man, a cab driver, a magistrate, a game warden, a train conductor, a stage manager, a watchman, a baggage attendant, a motorman, a station attendant, a doorman, and/or a drunk! Look at that mug, movies would be nothing without this kind of super regular guy! Here's Robert's explanation of what "Who Killed Who?" is all about!

A dark and stormy night!

Here's the victim! That's about all you need to know! 

The rest is Gag City!

Some gags don't work unless you're really olde or you are a student of the past!

This is a "BooooLova" cuckoo clock! "Bulova" was a major watchmaker of the day!

This is a very large pistol!

When the Detective shows up to investigate the shooting, he tells everybody "Don't move!"  When a member of the audience gets up to get popcorn or go to the restroom, the Detective smacks him in the head!

For some reason, the hired help are the main suspects!

This is what the Detective gets when he asks them if they have any weapons!

While looking for clues, the Detective sees this picture on the wall, but quickly dismisses it! He then goes back to have another look, but the young lady has disappointingly closed her jacket!

This ghost comes unfurled after seeing a live mouse!

Another olde gag! Introducing Red Skeleton! 

(Red Skelton was a very popular comedian of the time!

Looking for clues in all the wrong places, of course!

They thought this gag was funny enough that they used it on the poster! A "Do Not Open Till Christmas" door reveals a hostile Santa Claus that promptly bops the Detective on the head!

It all wraps up with this diabolical hooded henchman!

He would have shot the Detective, but his gun is on empty!

The Detective goes to great lengths to deceive the henchman!

Finally the moment we've all been waiting for! Who is this evil masked man?

Well, what do you know about that! It was the host Robert Emmet O'Connor all along! No wonder he was uncredited so often! He obviously had some things to hide! Robert died in 1962, so I guess enough time has passed that the truth about his sordid past can now be revealed!