Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #88

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

Today's selection begins with a Looney Tunes cartoon starring Beans the Cat (one of the Boston beans). Though not as well known Beans made his film debut in the same cartoon as Porky, I Haven't Got a Hat (1935). That cartoon was a takeoff on the Our Gang shorts and featured a bunch of little kid characters in a talent show. The studio did not know right away, which character would be the most popular, so they all appeared starred in some Looney Tunes when the studio was looking for a new character to replace Buddy (the rather bland character that had become that series' star). While Porky would become the most popular of these characters, Beans certainly had his fans in the studio as he would star in eight of these cartoons (Porky would even be relegated to a supporting role in some of these). Hollywood Capers (1935) is a good example of one of these Beans cartoons. While it may not be as laugh out loud funny as a Tex Avery or Bob Clampett Looney Tune, this is a charming little film that always puts a smile on my face. As a character Beans certainly has more personality than his predecessor Buddy. In many ways his personality is like the early Mickey Mouse before Mickey got toned down. He is very mischievous and always on a lookout for the next big adventure. Naturally this gets him in a lot of trouble but he always manages to have quite a bit of fun along the way. A quick joke has Beans disguise himself as Oliver Hardy to sneak into the movie studio. Porky would later try to do the same (less successfully) in You Ought to be in Pictures (1940)  Look in the background for a poster advertising a fight between “Punchy” Pierce and “Hurricane” Hardaway. This is referring to two of the writers of Warner Brothers cartoons at the time, Tedd Pierce and Bugs Hardaway (thanks Yowp for calling attention to this in-joke on his blog)  Also Beans is voiced by Tommy Bond here (who played Butch in the Our Gang shorts). 

This is followed by an above average early Merrie Melody, Freddy the Freshman (1932). While this has a lot of the cute animals singing that was so popular in these early Merrie Melodies, some great cartoon-y gags (especially at the football game) make this one truly stand out. While this cartoon does feature a lot of "borrowing" from Disney, it must be remembered that at this time all of the American cartoon studios stole a lot from Disney. So when you see Horace Horsecollar and Clarabella Cow lookalikes and even an unauthorized appearance from a certain mouse, don't be surprised. A review in Variety stated, "Brightly animated by Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising, it has the same skillful Frank Marsales musical orchestration. Very entertaining." It is kind of nice to hear Variety single out the musical composer for a cartoon. The title song would reappear in the much later Foghorn Leghorn cartoon, Raw, Raw Rooster (1956). 

The Film Daily, 1931

Classic Hollywood films often showed a nostalgia for the 1890's (or the gay nineties). Mickey even got swept up in this nostalgia in the delightful short, The Nifty Nineties (1941). While this is not the funniest Mickey Mouse short, it is one of the most charming. Even today when no one remembers the 1890's this cartoon has lost none of its charm. It is still simply a delight from beginning to end. This short is in fact so effective that it makes us nostalgic for a time before any of us were born. Once Mickey got toned down it was hard for the Disney staff to find stories to fit this sweeter and less mischievous character. However this cartoon finds the perfect story for this later version of Mickey Mouse and may be one of the best post-1930's Mickey shorts. One delight for animation buffs is the appearance of a comedy duo called Fred and Ward (a reference to the great Disney animators, Fred Moore and Ward Kimball). A review in the Exhibitor stated "...all of which makes for a very pleasant episode and one which the older folks will like especially." A review in The Film Daily stated, "This tab reel is as gay and bright as the Technicolor medium in which it is made." This cartoon was reissued to theatres in 1953. 

Are you bored during lockdown? Are you looking for some sort of activity to do? Well the Superfriends are here to help.

Today's cartoon selection ends with a fun Aesop's Sound Fables cartoon, A Close Call (1929).

Come back next week for another selection of classic cartoons. Until then may all your Tunes be Looney and your Melodies Merrie.

-Michael J. Ruhland 

-Michael J. Ruhland