Gold Rush Daze

{{Infobox film

| name = Gold Rush Daze

| image = Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton - Merrie Melodies - Gold Rush Daze (1939) - Title Card.jpg

| caption = Title card

| director = {{ubl|Ben Hardaway|Cal Dalton}}

| story = Melvin Millar

| animator = Gil Turner

| starring = Mel Blanc

| music = Carl Stalling

| producer = Leon Schlesinger

| studio = Leon Schlesinger Productions

| distributor = {{ubl|Warner Bros. Pictures|The Vitaphone Corporation}}

| released = {{film date|1939|2|25}}

| color_process =

| runtime = 7:11

| language = English

}}

Gold Rush Daze is a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton.{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |last2=Friedwald |first2=Will |title=Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons |date=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |isbn=0-8050-0894-2 |page=84}} The short was released on February 25, 1939.{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |accessdate=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/104/mode/2up |pages=104–106}}

Plot

File:Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton - Merrie Melodies - Gold Rush Daze (1939).webm

A dog-faced prospector drives to the hills to dig for gold. A local gas station attendant warns him that he is wasting his time, then goes on to tell the story of his own fruitless chase for gold; since 1849, he pursued strikes around the world and never had any success. The cartoon shows the attendant's various stops including the California Gold Rush, the Comstock Lode, and various other efforts globally that never (literally) pan out. Then, as the attendant finishes his story, a fellow rides up with news that there has indeed been gold found in the hills. The attendant steals the prospector's car to chase this rush, telling him he can have the gas station.

Included in the film is a short, farcical musical number, “My Sweetheart Needs Gold for Her Teeth."