Writing

Heck Allen

Born 1912-09-12 · Kansas City, Missouri, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Henry Wilson "Heck" Allen (September 12, 1912 – October 26, 1991) was an American author and screenwriter. He used several different pseudonyms for his works. His 50+ novels of the American West were published under the pen names Will Henry and Clay Fisher. Allen's screenplays and scripts for animated shorts were credited to Heck Allen and Henry Allen. In 1937 Allen began working as a contract screenwriter for MGM animation division. While his early work was for Harman and Ising's Barney Bear series, his longest collaboration was with director Tex Avery. Allen was credited as story artist on many classic Avery shorts, included Swing Shift Cinderella, King-Size Canary, and The First Bad Man, among many others. Allen downplayed his contributions to the shorts, claiming that Avery merely used him as a sounding board for his own ideas. Allen's career as a novelist began in 1952, with the publication of his first Western No Survivors. Allen, afraid that the studio would disapprove of his moonlighting, used a pen name to avoid trouble. He would go on to publish over 50 novels, eight of which were adapted for the screen. Most of these were published under one or the other of the pseudonyms Will Henry and Clay Fisher. Allen was a five-time winner of the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America and a recipient of the Levi Strauss Award for lifetime achievement.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Henpecked Hoboes poster
6.4

George and Junior are two hungry bears who try to make a meal out of a not too bright barnyard chicken.

Henpecked Hoboes

1946

Hound Hunters poster
6.7

George and Junior get a job as dog catchers and spend the picture trying to catch one measly little dog.

Hound Hunters

1947

The Shooting of Dan McGoo poster
6.9

Dangerous Dan McGoo (Droopy) faces the wolf, a dangerous outlaw who is trying to steal his girl Lou, during the Alaska gold rush. Loosely based on "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" by Robert W. Service.

The Shooting of Dan McGoo

1945

Uncle Tom's Cabaña poster
5.6

Uncle Tom tells the blood curdling story of how the evil Simon Legree tried to foreclose on Tom's simple log cabin. Uncle Tom's Cabaña is a 1947 American animated short film directed by Tex Avery. The short is a parody of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and is Avery's second parody of the novel, the first being Uncle Tom's Bungalow in 1937 while at Warner Bros. Cartoons.

Uncle Tom's Cabaña

1947

The Hick Chick poster
6.3

In this triangle drama a country chicken chooses between a country rooster and a city rooster.

The Hick Chick

1946

The Bear That Couldn't Sleep poster
6.0

Barney's settling in for the winter. But water leaks, a loose shutter, a noisy fire, a teakettle left on, and some stray embers all get in the way, and Barney also locks himself out. And that's just the beginning.

The Bear That Couldn't Sleep

1939

Scrappy Birthday poster
6.0

For her birthday, Andy presents his sweetheart, Miranda, with her usual present, candy and flowers. Miranda complains she wants something decent for her birthday like a fur coat...which Andy can't afford. A con man tells him he doesn't need money. He sells him a tracking hound and tells him he can hunt for the fox himself. Unfortunately, the fox Andy and his hound find has no intentions of being caught. Eventually, Andy does capture an animal to make a fur stole with. It's not the fox but, rather, something that's more of a surprise.

Scrappy Birthday

1949

Big Heel-Watha poster
6.2

To prove he's a true Indian Brave, Big Heel-Watha decides to catch a squirrel - but wouldn't you know it; Screwy Squirrel is the first one he sees...

Big Heel-Watha

1944

The Uninvited Pest poster
7.6

Barney is settling in for his hibernation when a squirrel spots his bedtime snack: a bowl of walnuts. The squirrel sneaks in and wakes Barney up. Barney chases out the squirrel, who proceeds to drop first the nut, then himself, down Barney's noisy tin roof.

The Uninvited Pest

1943

Red Hot Rangers poster
6.4

Forest rangers George and Junior try to snuff out a frisky flame with a sparky personality that threatens to set the forest alight.

Red Hot Rangers

1947

Wild Honey, or, How to Get Along Without a Ration Book poster
7.0

Barney sets off in search of honey to compensate for wartime rationing, but his various gadgets don't always work out the way they were intended.

Wild Honey, or, How to Get Along Without a Ration Book

1942

The Bear and the Beavers poster
7.0

Barney has run out of firewood in mid winter. His quest for more is not too successful. Meanwhile, the beavers have been busily cutting and stacking their wood, which proves too tempting for Barney. The beavers are not pleased.

The Bear and the Beavers

1942