The Devil's Brother (1933)

 

Producer Hal Roach had loved Daniel Aurber’s comic operetta, Fra Diavolo since he had seen the play live as a kid. When Laurel and Hardy had appeared in supporting roles in The Rogue Song, audiences and critics accepted the boys easily in a period movie. This led Hal Roach to begin considering Fra Diavolo as a Laurel and Hardy feature. The original play featured two characters named Beppo and Giacomo. These were two comedic characters, who had very childlike personalities. Hal Roach felt Laurel and Hardy would fit perfectly into these roles and expanded them for the movie. The characters were also renamed Stanlio and Ollio to further complete this transformation.  This film ended up being The Devil’s Brother (1933). The title was originally going to be Fra Diavlo, but MGM (the film’s distributor) did not feel they could sell a movie under that title, and it was changed. The movie was released as Fra Divalo overseas, however. 

Not only was this a dream come true for Hal Roach, but it ended up being what Stan Laurel would call one of his favorite Laurel and Hardy features. Stan would also later state that one of the reasons he loved this film so much is that it was a period piece. These type of films (mixing comedy with costumes and sets resembling the olden days) reminded Stan of his work in the English Pantomimes as a child. However at first Stan did have his worries that audiences might not accept them in these period films. 

As the movie begins, we see the famous bandit Fra Diavolo (Dennis King) telling his followers about how he, disguised as Marquis de San Marco met with Lord Rocburg (James Finlayson) and Lady Pamela (Thelma Todd). During this ride he has convinced Lady Pamela to tell him where her jewels are hidden. While this is happening Stanlio and Ollio (Guess who?) are robbed by bandits. This is when Stanlio comes up with the brilliant idea that they should become bandits themselves (“Well, if we became rich and we robbed the poor and gave them to the bandits and... we could start at the top, and we'd get to the bottom without working hard anymore. We can't go wrong. It's the law of conversation.”). Naturally they prove to be completely inept at being bandits. They decide to impersonate Fra Diavolo by having Ollio sing the song the famous bandit always sings. Unfortunately, the next man they try to rob is Fra Diavolo. Ollio forgets the words and Fra Diavolo finishes it for them. The boys know they are in trouble. The bandit however makes a deal with them. They are to pose as his servants as he once again disguises as Marquis de San Marco to rob Lady Pamela. Of course, the boys don’t seem to be much help.  

Some of the most delightful scenes in the movie revolve around Stanlio playing two games, “Kneesy-Earsy-Nosey” and "Finger Wiggle". The first game consists of Stanlio slapping his knees then brining his hands up and putting one hand on his nose and the other on his knee, then repeating this but switching hands. Ollio would try to repeat this but would constantly fail. The innkeeper (Henry Armetta) even gets involved in the fun as he stays up all night trying to do this. “Finger Wiggle” on the other hand (pun intended) involves Stanlio mashing his hands together and wiggling one finger on each hand. These games would end up being referenced in Babes in Toyland (1934). In that film Ollie says anything Stan can do he can do. Stan disagrees and plays both games to Ollie’s annoyance. 

After criticism of the two previous Laurel and Hardy features called the films too episodic, Hal Roach wanted to make sure that this movie did justice its source material in that regard and so he had hired an experienced screenwriter, Jeanie Macpherson. Macpherson had begun her screenwriting career back in 1908 on the D.W. Griffith short, The Fatal Hour. She is best known by film buffs today for her work with Cecil B. DeMille during the silent era. For DeMille she would write such films as The Cheat (1915), Male and Female (1919), The Ten Commandments (1923) and The King of Kings (1927). As she was not a writer of the type of comedy Laurel and Hardy did, she did not write any comedy scenes. Instead, she wrote a straight screenplay, that Laurel and Hardy's usual team of writers would then build gags around. 

The Film Daily, 1933

 The Devil’s Brother would be directed by Charlie Rogers and Hal Roach. Rogers directed most of the comedic scenes while Roach directed most of the serious ones. It was very rare for Roach to direct a film at this time, but because of his love of the source material this was natural. Besides Laurel and Hardy this film also stared stage great Dennis King in his third film appearance (and last for elven years). Dennis King felt Laurel and Hardy were a joy to work with, but he also found it a bit difficult to get used to how much they improvised. Dennis King would later comment on Hal Roach, "I could see the way he talked to Stan Laurel in the screening room or to other actors on the set, this man had one of the quickest minds if anyone I'd ever seen under pressure. He was always right even when he wasn't, he reacted so far and with such assurance that no one would ever challenge him. It was one-two-three and on to the next thing with no hesitation. There was no time for it anyway; he was running this whole studio in addition to this particular set, and his schedule wouldn't allow for debate or mistakes. He was actually quite a charming guy, but you could see everyone recognized his authority. He really tried to stay out of everyone's way in the background, but he had this dominant personality and there was no question he was totally in charge of any area he wished to run and deserved to be in charge." When asked whether there was a lot of friction between Stan Laurel and Hal Roach, King responded, "No, insofar as I could see. Comedy is not an art I profess to know anything about. All I can tell you is that Laurel and Roach were always conferring, and Laurel wanted his opinion on a lot of things."    

Music from the operetta was both sung as big musical numbers and used as background music during scenes of visual slapstick. 

This movie ranks among Laurel and Hardy’s best. It has many funny moments. The casing couldn’t be better. The film looks great (despite some backgrounds that look very fake). Though this movie had a mixture of slapstick comedy and more serious scenes (both musical and romantic), the story and comedy never get in the way of each other, but instead complement the other. Also because of the source material this has some of the best musical numbers to ever appear in a Laurel and Hardy film. This movie was not only a box office success, but it also fared well with critics. In fact, this would become the boy’s biggest box office hit. Due to this the duo would appear in more comic operettas in the future.

Critic Mordant Hall wrote about this film in The New York Times, “Without being unkind to the apprehensive Stan Laurel or his companion, the ponderous Oliver Hardy; one is apt to conclude after witnessing this production that much less of their antics and more of Mr. King's fine baritone voice would have made this shadow version of an opera far more entertaining."   

The following are three exhibitors’ reviews for this film written for the Motion Picture Herald (dated October 21, 1933). 

“Devil’s Brother, The: Laurel and Hardy – Dennis King shares the limelight with his pleasing singing in this picture but that does not take anything away from the work of these two comedians. They are as good as ever and have some real good laugh producing gags in this one. Business better than average. Running time, 92 minutes. Played October 2-3. – W. M. A. Crute, Victoria Theater, Vancouver, B. C. Neighborhood patronage.”

“Devil’s Brother, The: Laurel and Hardy, Dennis King - This production brought more laughs from patrons than any picture this year. There were minutes at a time when nothing could be heard but the laughter of the audience. I have read criticisms in this column that there was too much singing. My patrons did not seem to think so. In my personal opinion the singing of King was equaling pleasing as the comedy antics of Laurel and Hardy. I was however, somewhat disappointed in the drawing power of this picture. Running time 92 minutes. Played October 3-4. – W.J. Powell, Lonet Theater, Wellington, Ohio. Small Town and Rural Patronage.”    

“Devil’s Brother, The: Laurel and Hardy – I liked this picture very much, especially the singing of Dennis King. The real comedy was in Henry Armetta as the waiter trying to imitate Stan Laurel. All in all it was good and pleased almost 100 per cent. Played October 4-5. Emmerson Theater, Hartford Ark. Small town patronage.”    

It may seem odd to many Laurel and Hardy fans that these reviews praise the musical numbers more than Laurel and Hardy themselves. Today many movie lovers fast forward through these music numbers to get to the Laurel and Hardy comedy. They find such songs as unneeded interruptions, and these musical numbers make films like The Devil Brother less popular than the duo's short films with some movie fans. This is all a matter of changing tastes. There are simply less people today who want to watch an operetta film, than those who want to watch a slapstick comedy. This does not mean there is anything wrong with these musical numbers. The songs are lovely and Dennis King’s voice is beautiful and I will admit to loving the musical numbers in this movie. The original cut however contained much more music and plot that didn't have Laurel and Hardy in it. This led the movie to being 27 minutes longer. Editor Bert Jordan later commented on this saying, "The original cut was good, but it was very long - very long. We had to cut a lot out of that one." This movie at 90 minutes is still longer than most of the Laurel and Hardy feature films. 

Resources Used

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/72983/the-devils-brother/#articles-reviews?articleId=78423

DVD Commentary by Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann. 

Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies by Randy Skretvedt

Movie Review: Red Rocket

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

A well-made character study. 

So much of this movie hangs on the performance of Simon Rex. This is not an easy part to play by any means. His character is a washed-up porn star who simply uses anyone who trusts him to get back to the top. Not only does Rex have to play such an unlikable character, but he has to play him in a way that he is charming enough to believe that people buy into his lies. He does this perfectly, expertly balancing the charm and the underneath sliminess of the character. There are times when we too get caught up in our charms. But before we can get to the point where we are actually rooting for him, we snap to senses and remember just how horrible this man is. That is the brilliance of this performance that we can equally be revolted by this character, yet unable to look away. The script (written by director Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch (who have previously collaborated on The Florida Project (2017) and Tangerine (2015))) does a great job of telling us this story of a horrible person without ever moralizing to us. The script neither condemns nor endorses his behavior but instead just simply shows it. This creates a film that is much more emotionally effective than if we were told what to think. 

This film does have its flaws though. While our main character, his wife and his 17-year-old girlfriend are all quite interesting to watch characters, many of the other characters are not very interesting. This is especially true of the next-door neighbor. This character is downright boring and is so obviously just there to give our main character someone to talk to and confide in. Unfrotantly the scenes these two characters share most consist of dialogue that is too obviously simply exposition and little else. In fact, the next-door neighbor character could have been left out of the film and nothing really would have been lost. The movie is also longer than is needed to tell the story and a little trimming would have helped. 

None of those faults though change how dynamic the main character is nor how truly smart the script can be. And with that in mind, I definitely recommend this film. 

Movie Review: The Tragedy of Macbeth

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

One of the best film adaptions of Shakespeare's immortal play. 

Macbeth has long been my favorite Shakespeare play. Like the best of his work, it touches on themes and story elements that still are prevalent in storytelling today. Though the way the dialogue is written is very differently from how a modern story would be, the actual story could be written today and would not have dated at all. This is true of Macbeth especially. Its dark and violent story and its themes of how lust for power can easily corrupt a man are not that different from the stories of so many films today. Perhaps that is why there have been so many film adaptions of this story, yet very few have had the power of Joel Coen's (his first solo directorial effort (instead of co-directing with his bother Ethan)) new film has. The movie may present a bit of an unbridged version of the classic story, but everything is so spot on, I hardly noticed while watching it. Yes, the cast speaks the lines straight out of Shakespeare. While in some ways this may turn off your average movie goer, it works perfectly to the drama of the film. The action and the events of this movie are clear enough that someone who may get lost with some of the dialogue will still have a good understanding of what is happening. However, the cast speaks each line of dialogue in a way that you can hear every word. Having spent more time reading Shakespeare than listening to it, has made it so that for me the way many people read the words on stage or on film makes me miss some of the dialogue. This is a shame because I truly do view Shakespeare as one of the great poets and his words are very powerful. However here I could hear every word each actor said and therefore truly appreciate this great poetry. The cast also did a great job speaking this dialogue in a way that feels perfectly natural and believable. I have known the Denzel Washington was a great actor for a long time, but his performance here blew me away. He is truly a great Shakespearean actor. This movie is also probably the most visually beautiful movie of 2021. Joel Cohen and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel create a world that is one hand very stylized yet feels more real than if the film was shot in a more realistic manner. In many ways this movie visually reminded me both of American film noir and German expressionism in all the best ways. Yet this look is perfectly in service to the story and pulls you further into the emotion of each moment. 

This is a cinematic masterpiece and a top-notch Shakespeare adaption. 

Cowboy Church #152

 Hello my friends and welcome back for another service of Cowboy Church. 

Today's musical selection begins with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with The Cowman's Prayer. Next is the Bluegrass Martians with their 2013 recording of In the Sweet By and By. This song came about because of a friendship between composer, Joseph Webster and poet, Dr. Sanford Fillmore Bennett. One day Webster was depressed, and Dr. Bennett recognized this. Dr. Bennett asked his friend what was wrong. Webster replied, "Oh nothing. Everything will be alright by and by." These words brought up an idea in Bennett and he wrote down three verses and a chorus to this song as soon as he could. He handed it to his friend saying, “Here is your prescription, Joe.” Webster loved the lyrics and wrote music for them in practically no time at all. Dr. Bennett later said, “It was not over thirty minutes from the time I took my pen to write the words before two friends with Webster and myself were singing the hymn.” The hymn was first published in 1868 and went on to great fame since. This is followed by The Carter Family with Diamonds in the Rough. The group had recorded this song on February 15th, 1929 along with 4 other songs. The other songs recorded that day included Engine One Forty Three, Bring Back My Blue Eyed Boy to Me and The Foggy Mountain Top. Next is Hank and Audery Williams with their 1949 recording of Something Got a Hold of Me. This is definitely one of the more obscure hymns that Hank recorded and one that was fairly recent at the time he recorded it. It was written by Warren Caplinger and Andy Paterson, who were two thirds of the musical group Cap, Andy and Flip, a group that was very popular on radio in the 1930's. The writers never made an actual recording of this song, but country music fans might know that the Carter Family had recorded it in 1941. Hank and Audery most likely based the sound of this and other gospel recordings they made together off of husband-and-wife evangelists that they grew up hearing. This is followed by Waylon Jennings with his self-penned I Do Believe. After this comes Ernest Tubb with Love Lifted Me.  This song was written by James Rowe in 1912 and was based on two stories from the book of Matthew. One was asleep in the boat with the apostles during a storm. As the apostles were terrified of the storm, they couldn't understand how Jesus was so calm that he could take a nap. They wake Jesus up from his nap and Jesus simply tells the storm to stop and it does. The other story also involved the apostles, Jesus and the sea. It was about how when his eyes were fixed upon Jesus, he was able to walk on the water, but he lost the ability when his faith faltered, and he looked away. Still Jesus was a faithful friend and lifted Peter into a boat. Next is The Louvin Brothers with Nearer My God to Thee. This hymn was written by stage actress Sarah Flower Adams. She had had great success on the stage and was especially praised for her role in an 1837 production of Macbeth. However, her failing health made her have to leave the stage. During this time, she took comfort in writing hymns and poems. In 1841, her pastor was having trouble coming up with a hymn to fit a sermon about Jacob's Ladder. Sarah decided to write a hymn for this sermon and to get it done in time for the church service she wrote it in just a week's time. Today's musical selection ends with The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1946 recording of Cowboy Camp Meeting. This song was written by Tim Spencer who was one of the founding members of the band. 

Next comes an episode of Gene Autry's Melody Ranch Radio Show (which aired on November 15, 1952).

Next comes the C.S. Lewis essay, On the Reading of Old Books.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:30-31

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19

 He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and olive oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. Deuteronomy 7:13

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Philippians 4:6

Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from above. These gifts come down from the Father, the creator of the heavenly lights, in whose character there is no change at all. James 1:17

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again. 

Movie Review: The King's Man

 

Michael's Movie Grade: C

An okay entry in the Kingsmen franchise. 

The best parts about this movie are the characters and the action scenes. Our main heroes are undeniably likable and easy to root for. While they are not the most complex characters, there is a certain charm to them that makes us want to see them be victors and for nothing to happen to them. Because of this we gain a bit of an emotional connection to them and therefore when a certain scene towards the middle of the film happens, it is surprisingly emotionally effective. While I doubt many are going to cry watching this, this scene works much better than it has any right to and provides a real emotional center for the rest of the film. Just as much as the good guys are likable, the bad guys are easy to hate. While many movies today try to have you sympathize and understand their villains, there is something so many of us (including me) love about a real baddy with no redeeming qualities. There is a pure simple charm to watch our movie heroes fight against pure evil and I really enjoyed seeing that here. The action scenes are very well handled. They have great pacing and are beautifully choregraphed most of all they were just fun to watch. 



However, this movie has more than its share of flaws. By far the worst part of this movie were the scenes with Rasputin. These scenes were horrible, and I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few people who see this in a theater decide to leave during these scenes. The presentation of this character is too over the top and silly for even a Kingsmen film. It feels like these scenes belong in a very different movie (one that would be horrible I'm sure). Not to be a prude, but these scenes were also ridiculously vulgar. While yes when I see an R rated movie I except a certain amount of crudeness there, there seemed to be no reason for the vulgarness here. It wasn't funny, it wasn't clever, and it added nothing to the story. It just seemed to be there for a sense of gratuitousness, and it passed the line from being crude to just being gross and unpleasant. This is especially unnecessary once you consider that with all the over-the-top violence and cussing that the movie would have still had a hard R rating even without these scenes. The worst part of these scenes is that if you cut them out of the film, it would still have worked just as well. Which leads us to the next problem with this movie. It is much longer than it needs to be and can often feel padded and does drag at points. The humor is also hit and miss but it misses more than it hits. For a film with so many jokes, I heard surprisingly little laughter seeing this in a theater with an audience. There is also the problem that is seen in most prequels, which is that due to the existence of the other movies, you know what is going to happen next at many spots. 

This is far from a great film but if you just want to take a trip to the movies this should provide you with enough entertainment to satisfy you. 

Silent Film of the Month: Call of the Cuckoo (1927)

 

Runtime: 17 Minutes. Studio: Hal Roach Studios. Director: Clyde Bruckman. Supervising Director: Leo McCarey. Titles: H.M. Walker. Producer: Hal Roach. Cast: Max Davidson, Lillian Elliot, Spec O' Donnell, James Finlayson, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase, Charlie Hall, Frank Brownlee, Charles Meakin, Leo Willis, Lyle Tayo, Edgar Dearing, Fay Holderness. Cinematographer: Floyd Jackman. Editor: Richard Currier. 

While I love Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, sometimes it is nice to talk about the silent movie comedians who don't get the same amount of attention. One of these is the great Max Davidson. Part of the reason he is probably so overlooked is that his character clearly belongs to another time period. He is Jewish and retains quite a bit of the stereotypes that populated Jewish characters of this time period. However, if this character was just a stereotype and nothing else than there would be little sense of talking about or recommending his films today. Luckily there is much more than this. His character is someone we would be glad to know or call our friend. This is because there is a warmth and humanity behind this character that makes him feel real. Film curator, Paolo Cherchi Usai once said of Max's movies, “That his films parody ethnic particularities without even a tinge of racism is what bestows Davidson with greatness. As is the case with all truly intelligent film comedies, the parody also mocks cultural and ethnic prejudices.” One could debate whether or not this excuses the obvious stereotypes, but it is hard to deny that his films are still very entertaining and charming today. In fact, in 1997 the London Jewish Film Festival ended with quite a few of his classic comedies and they were meant with almost unanimous praise. In his time Max was incredibly popular with movie audiences and Hal Roach gave him his own series of short films. These shorts, entitled "Max Davidson Dialect Comedies" were some of the popular films coming from the studio at that time. Call of the Cuckoo is a perfect example of why this is. 

Exhibitor's Herald, 1927

In this movie Max is having trouble with his neighbors (Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Charley Chase, Charlie Hall), who are driving him crazy with their zany attempts at radio announcing. This eventually gets so bad that Max decides he and his family have to move, but that seems to cause even more trouble. From this simple story idea comes a wealth of top-notch silent comedy. The slapstick involving Max is not only very clever but downright hilarious and you can easily see that he delivers slapstick comedy right up with the best of them. While the idea of the neighbors training to be radio announcers is a bit odd for a silent film, it works remarkably well, heavily due to a cast of comedy greats playing these characters. The film also moves at a fast pace quickly going from one great gag to another without missing a beat. The story is very zany, but in the most charming and irresistible way. Max is as likable as ever and while he is the butt of many of the slapstick gags, there is no doubt that we really get to care for him in this short. 

If this film is remembered or talked about at all today, it is for having Laurel and Hardy in supporting roles. By the time of this movie, the two had only been officially teamed for a short time. They had first appeared together in The Lucky Dog (1921), but they were clearly not team and certainly did not play the familiar Stan and Ollie characters at this time. They would not appear in the same film again until 45 Minutes to Hollywood (1926). As they started to appear in films together regularly in 1927, their characters and their relationship with each other would change from movie to movie. They would sometimes work together as a team, while other times they would work against each other and other times they would hardly interact at all. The first official film in the Laurel and Hardy series would be The Second Hundred Years (1927), which finished shooting right before the duo's scenes in this picture were shot. The Second Hundred Years had been a prison picture and because of that the boys still had shaved heads here. George Stevens (who was working at the Hal Roach studios) at this time later stated, "The were so tremendous in the convict picture that the studio grew impatient for their hair to grow in. Finally, it was decided that there was no use in waiting. The boys were too good to be kept inactive, so they were put almost right away into the next picture brush cut and all." 

Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World, 1928

This marked the first time Clyde Bruckman directed Laurel and Hardy. He would later direct the duo in two of their most famous silent shorts Putting Pants on Phillip (1927) and The Battle of the Century (1927). He is best known today for his work with such comedy greats as Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, W.C. Feilds and The Three Stooges. Max's son is played by Specs O' Donnell who was a regular in Max Davidson films around this time, often playing his son. Disney fans may know him for appearing in multiple Alice Comedies.     

If you wish to watch this film, it is on YouTube.

Also be sure to listen to Patrick (from the Laurel and Hardy blog) and entertainment historian Randy Skretvedt talk about this movie below. 

Resources Used

https://laurel-and-hardy-blog.com/2018/10/11/call-of-the-cuckoos-1927/

Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies by Randy Skretvedt. 

 

Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #155

 Hello, my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons. 

Today's cartoon selection begins with Sylvester the cat in Hippety Hopper (1949). This is the second cartoon to feature Hippety Hopper (the kangaroo) and the first one to give him a name. Sylvester and Hippety worked together in a total of 13 classic short films and all of them would follow the same premise of Sylvester mistaking Hippety for a giant mouse. 

 Now let's join Cubby Bear and take a World Flight (1933). If this film feels more like one of the early Looney Tunes with Bosko than most Cubby Bear cartoons that is due to the fact that the film is directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising who made those cartoons. It must be remembered that this movie was made in 1933 well before the horrors that Adolf Hitler would inflict on this world would be fully known to the filmmakers. Seeing Hitler cheer on Cubby is still more than a little uncomfortable today. A review in The Film Daily stated, "Nothing new or particularly clever about this one." The following is a review from The Motion Picture Herald, "When Cubby Bear, the Aesop's Fables animated hero, attempts his world flight, and the plane indulges in those antics that only an animated cartoon artist can conduct, the result is a lightly amusing cartoon, especially enjoyable for the youngsters. Incorporated are caricatures of the Four Marx Brothers, Chevalier and others, cleverly done but no longer new." Notice how the newsboy at the beginning looks more than a little like Bosko. Phileas Fogg would be amazed at just how quickly Cubby can make it around the world.

Next comes a Columbia Color Rhapsody cartoon directed by Howard Swift, Pickled Puss (1948). The basic premise of this cartoon is very similar to that of the Tom and Jerry short, Part Time Pal (1947). This movie is one of the last cartoons from this studio as the studio close in 1949 and Columbia would begin instead distributing UPA's cartoons. 

Next comes The Pink Panther in Pink Tuba-Dore (1971). 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

The Skelton Dance (1929) was the first of Disney's Silly Symphonies and one of the best. The idea for the series came from musical director Carl Stalling (who would later work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies). The Silly Symphonies were designed to revolve around music. Walt Disney loved the idea and felt that a second series would allow him to experiment more and not be tied down by the formula of a Mickey Mouse cartoon. The idea for the first film also is believed to have come from Stalling. Stalling would tell historian Michael Barrier about the genesis of the movie stating, "He thought I meant illustrated songs, but I didn’t have that in mind at all. The Skeleton Dance goes way back to my kid days. When I was eight or ten years old, I saw an ad in The American Boy magazine of a dancing skeleton, and I got my dad to give me a quarter so I could send for it. It turned out to be a pasteboard cut-out of a loose-jointed skeleton, slung over a six-foot cord under the arm pits. It would ‘dance’ when kids pulled and jerked at each end of the string. Ever since I was a kid, I had wanted to see real skeletons dancing and had always enjoyed seeing skeleton dancing acts in vaudeville.” Though Carl Stalling would use an excerpt from Edvard Grieg’s March of the Dwarfs, most of the music was an original by Stalling. The animation for the movie was completed in six weeks. The majority of the animation was done by Ub Iwerks, the Disney studio's main animator at the time. He animated some of the earliest Mickey films entirety by himself. On this film he was assisted by Wilfred Jackson and Les Clark. It is not known for sure what Les Clark animated as some sources state he animated the opening scene and others (including his own) state he animated one skeleton playing another's ribs as a xylophone. Wilfred Jackson most likely animated the scene where the rooster crowing (which was reused in The Cat's Nightmare (1931)). When Walt tried to sell this film, it did not go as smoothly as he excepted. Walt's daughter, Diane Disney Miller, would later speak about this, “Father wasn’t easily discouraged. He took The Skeleton Dance to a friend who ran the United Artists Theater in Los Angeles and asked him to look at it. ‘We’re looking at some other things this morning,’ the man said, ‘and I’ll have my assistant look at it. You go with him’. Father sat beside the assistant while the film was run. It was just before the first morning show; a few customers had drifted in and it was obvious they liked The Skeleton Dance but the assistant didn’t listen to them. ‘Can’t recommend it,’ he said. ‘Too gruesome’. Father got a hold of another friend and asked him if he could put him in touch with Fred Miller who managed the Carthay Circle, one of the biggest and most important theaters in town. Father’s friend sent him to a salesman on Film Row. ‘Maybe he can get him to look at your skeleton film’. Father found the salesman in a pool hall shooting a little Kelly (a game played on a standard pool table with sixteen pool balls where each player draws one of fifteen numbered markers called peas or pills at random from a shake bottle which assigns to them the correspondingly numbered pool ball, kept secret from their opponents, but which they must pocket in order to win the game). ‘Leave your picture here, Disney,’ the Kelly player said. ‘I’ll look at it. If I like it, I’ll get in touch with you’. It sounded like a stall but he actually did look at the film. When he looked he said, ‘I think Fred will like this. I’ll take it over to him myself’. As a result, Miller showed The Skeleton Dance with a feature picture he was running. It went over big. Father clipped the local press notices and mailed them to Powers with a note: ‘If you can get this to Roxy (the nickname of Broadway showman Samuel L. Rothafel who ran New York’s prestigious Roxy Theater), he’ll go for it the way Miller did. Powers got a print to Roxy and Roxy liked it. He ran it in his huge New York theater.” This movie premiered at the Carthay Circle on June 10, 1929 alongside F.W. Murnau's feature film, 4 Devils (1929). The Carthay Circle is where later Disney features like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Fantasia (1940) would make their Hollywood premiers. 

 

Next comes Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales in Mexican Mousepiece (1966). At this time Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales were being pitted against in each other in quite a few short films. Unlike say Speedy and Sylvester this was not a natural combination and often times the beginning of these cartoons would spend time explaining why Daffy was chasing Speedy instead of cutting right to the chase. Though these films are not always the most popular among cartoon fans, I have always found a soft spot for them. The backgrounds and some of the gags in this movie remind me of a Coyote and Roadrunner cartoon. This cartoon was directed by Robert McKimson, who directed Speedy's film debut, Cat Tails For Two (1953). 

Let us close by singing one we all know. 

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another selection of classic cartoons. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry. 

Resources Used

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-spooky-story-of-the-skeleton-dance/

The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney by Michael Barrier

Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin

Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion Guide to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J. B. Kaufman.