Snooper and Blabber

Created by Bill Hanna & Joe Barbera

One’s a cat in a deerstalker cap.

The other’s a mouse in a fedora and trenchcoat.

Yep, we’re back in the weird world of Saturday morning cartoons. This early Hanna-Barbera feature, all six-minute shorts, which aired as part of The Quick Draw McGraw Show, featured the far-fetched antics of mismatched private detectives SUPER SNOOPER and BLABBERMOUSE of theSuper Snooper Detective Agency.

Yeah, it could happen. Why not?

Each episode followed the two toon eyes as they tried to unravel some case or another, like “The Case of the Unhappy Hyena” or “The Big Diaper Caper.” Real thrilling stuff. Snooper spoke the usual PI “Just the Facts” mantra in a tough guy monotone, and Blabber had a lisp, and tended to have real problems with the letter “S”. Oh, the hilarity.

Of course, it would never fly these days, but at the time, it was a fondly remembered cartoon. It even jumped on the sixties spy craze, with Hanna Barbera releasing a 45 with the catchy title “Hanna-Barbera Presents James Bomb Starring Super Snooper & Blabbermouse.”

Bill Hanna & Joe Barbera created several other crime-fighting characters for Saturday morning consumption, according to RonnWebb, including Mumbly (file pending), who spoke and looked just like Muttley, wore a trench coat and appearred on The Tom and Jerry Show, The Grape Ape Show and The Scooby Doo All Star Laffa Lympics. Other detective shows were The Amazing Chan & the Chan Clan, Jabberjaw, Hong Kong Phooey, and Ronn’s favorite show Clue Club, with Woffer and Wimper. I’m not sure if any of these were private eyes or not, but Inch High definitely was. He was human, at least, although he was only an inch high.

TELEVISION

• SNOOPER AND BLABBER
  (Episodes aired as part of The Quick Draw McGraw Show)
  (1959- 1962, syndicated)
  Premiered September 29,1959
  A Hanna-Barbera Production
  Starring the voice of Daws Butler as SNOOPER and BLABBER
  • Season One (1959-60)
  • “Puss And Booty”
  • “Switch Witch”
  • “Real Gone Ghosts”
  • “Desperate Diamond Dimwits”
  • “Big Diaper Caper”
  • “Flea And Me”
  • “Disappearing Inc.”
  • “Baby Rattled”
  • “Not So Dummy “
  • “Fee-Fi-Fo Fumble”
  • “Masquerader Raider”
  • “Motor Knows Best”
  • “Slippery Glass Slipper “
  • “Monkey Wrenched”
  • “Gopher Goofers”
  • “Impossible Imposters”
  • “Adventure Is My Hobby”
  • “Cloudy Rowdy”
  • “Snap Happy Saps”
  • “The Lion Is Busy” (with Snagglepuss)
  • “Laughing Guess” (with Hardy Har Har)”
  • “The Case Of The Purloined Parrot”
  • “Poddle Toodle-Oo!”
  • “Doggone Dog, Gone”
  • “Hula Hula Hulabaloo”
  • “Wild Man, Wild”
  • Season Two (1960-1961)
  • “Ala Kazoop”
  • “Hop To It”
  • “Fleas Be Careful”
  • “Observant Servants”
  • “De-Duck-Tives”
  • “Big Shot Blab”
  • “Big Cat Caper (with Snagglepuss)”
  • “Scoop Scoop”
  • “Prinse Of A Fella”
  • “Flea For All”
  • “Outer Space Case”
  • “Bear-ly able”
  • “Surpised Party”
  • Season Three (1961-1962)
  • “Zoom Zoom Blabber”
  • “Eenie Genie Minie Moo”
  • “Bonco Bluster”
  • “Chilly Chiller”
  • “Gem Jam”
  • “Person To Prison”

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

• Hanna Barbera, According to Wingnut
  RonnWebb’s great fan site dedicated to the work of Hanna Barbera, “the greatest animators of our time,” includes episode guides and tons of info on all their characters, including Snooper and Blabber. Suddenly I’m four again!
• “Oh mama, I got dem cosmic anthropomorphic P.I. blues again…”
  Going to the dogs, the cats and worse.

THE DICK OF THE DAY

• July 9, 2021
  THE BOTTOM LINE: One’s a cat in a deerstalker cap. The other’s a mouse in a fedora and trenchcoat. Could this be where it all started?

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. Thanks to Jan Long for the heads up on this one.