The First Bad Man

The First Bad Man is an American animated cartoon directed by Tex Avery, and features narration by singing cowboy Tex Ritter.^[2] It was released by MGM on September 30, 1955.

The First Bad Man
Title card
Directed by	Tex Avery
Story by	Heck Allen
Produced by	Fred Quimby
Starring	Tex Avery (Caveman, uncredited) June Foray (Cavewoman, uncredited)[1]
Narrated by	Tex Ritter
Music by	Scott Bradley
Animation by	Walt Clinton Michael Lah Ray Patterson Grant Simmons
Layouts by	Ed Benedict (uncredited)
Backgrounds by	John Didrik Johnsen
Color process	Technicolor
Production company	MGM cartoon studio
Distributed by	MGM
Release date	September 30, 1955 (1955-09-30)
Running time	6 min (one reel)
Language	English

Plot

An unnamed narrator tells a story about the history of Texas set one million years ago, when Dinosaur Dan, the eponymous villain, terrorized the state. He rustles all the cattle (brontosaurs with the heads of Texas longhorns), and runs off with all the pretty women. The primitive Texans finally corner Dan in his mountain hideout, and cleverly chisel away the outer rock, leaving behind a small rock jail with Dan inside. The final scene shows the jail still standing in modern-day Dallas, and reveals that the narrator is really Dinosaur Dan, still in jail and sadly asking: "When are y'all gonna let me out of here?"

Notes

• Ed Benedict provided uncredited layout designs for this cartoon. Benedict would later work for Hanna-Barbera Studios (which was started by MGM alumni William Hanna and Joseph Barbera), where he would use some of the caveman designs from this cartoon as the basis for characters in The Flintstones.^[3]
• The Wacky World of Tex Avery used this short as the primary inspiration for Einstone, one of the show's characters.