Dumb Patrol
1964 film directed by Gerry Chiniquy

Dumb Patrol is a 1964 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon short directed by Gerry Chiniquy. It was released on January 18, 1964, and stars Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. Director Gerry Chiniquy was a longtime animator in Friz Freleng's unit; Freleng helped animate a short of the same name starring Bosko three decades prior. The cartoon is set during World War I opening 'somewhere in France' in 1917, and it also commemorates the 50th anniversary of the war.
Plot
Set amidst the backdrop of World War I in France in 1917, the French Air Force convenes to address the threat posed by the formidable German pilot, Baron Sam Von Shpamm. A decision is made through the drawing of straws, with Captain Smedley emerging as the chosen aviator tasked with confronting the enemy. Things take an unexpected turn when Bugs Bunny incapacitates Smedley to assume his identity. This subterfuge is driven by Bugs' concern for Smedley's familial responsibilities.
Meanwhile, in Germany, Baron Sam expresses disillusionment with his military accolades and yearns for respite.
“Dumb Patrol” enters the record as 1964 film directed by Gerry Chiniquy. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Dumb, Patrol and film can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Dumb Patrol” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Dumb, Patrol and film provides the most credible route into that argument.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q971660. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1964 and 1917.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Dumb Patrol”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Dumb Patrol primary sources, Dumb Patrol archive and Dumb research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Dumb Patrol”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Dumb Patrol” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.