Red Hot Riding Hood 1943

The film opens with a traditional, narrated rendition of Little Red Riding Hood, using the wolf from the earlier short Dumb-Hounded. The familiar trio—Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, and Grandma—grow tired of the stale, derivative staging and demand something fresh. The annoyed narrator agrees to redo the tale, and the story restarts in a markedly different, once-again-metaphoric arrangement.

In the new version, the tale moves to a contemporary urban setting. The narrator explains that Little Red Riding Hood is now an adult and a glamorous performer in a Hollywood nightclub under the stage name Red Hot Riding Hood Sara Berner. The Big Bad Wolf has transformed into a Hollywood swinger who follows Red to the club where she performs. Onstage, Red delivers a memorable rendition of the 1941 classic hit Daddy, and the Wolf is overcome with desire. He approaches her at his table, heeding his longing, but Red makes it clear she wants nothing to do with him. She escapes to her Grandma’s place, determined to leave the pursuit behind, yet the Wolf reaches the destination first.

Grandma’s place sits atop a towering 36-story skyscraper and serves as a penthouse where Red’s grandma, an oversexed man-chaser, quickly becomes smitten with the Wolf. The Wolf finds himself trapped when Grandma blocks the exit, locks the door, and theatrically showcases her allure. She slips the key down the front of her gown and pursues him with a provocative allure, applying a striking red lipstick as the chase intensifies. Each time the Wolf tries to make an exit, Grandma is waiting behind the door with a smile and a kiss. Ultimately, he manages to break free by leaping out a window, suffering a severe fall to the pavement far below.

Bruised, the Wolf makes his way back to the nightclub, swearing off women and vowing to end his life rather than face another woman. No sooner does Red take the stage again than the Wolf reveals two guns and, in a shocking moment, takes his own life. Yet the tale takes a supernatural turn as his ghost rises from the corpse, howling and whistling at Red just as he did in life.

The mix of humor, showmanship, and peril threads through the tale, presenting Red as a confident, magnetic performer and the Wolf as a relentless, lingering presence who cannot escape the pull of desire. Grandma’s bold, unexpected advances add a darkly comic twist, while the nightclub setting provides a glossy backdrop for the action, weaving together music, misadventure, and a spectral refrain that lingers after the final curtain.