Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning, once again, it is time for another round of classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with an early Woody Woodpecker short, Hollywood Matador (1942).
Now for a classic early black and white Silly Symphony, The Clock Store (1931). Like many of the early Silly Symphonies, this movie doesn't have much in the way of plot but instead focuses mainly as a mood piece. This allows the Disney studio to do what they did best, with wonderful animation, beautiful artwork and an incredible sense of atmosphere. No other Hollywood cartoon studio of the time could have done a cartoon like this and make it turn out so well. This film is heavily helped by a truly wonderful group of artists. Johnny Cannon animates the lamplighter. Our first peek inside the clock store is animated by Cecil Surrey. Chuck Couch, an underrated Disney animator and also a cartoon writer for Disney, Walter Lantz and Hanna-Barbera, animates the cockoo clocks. Harry Reeves, who would work as a Disney animator and story writer into the 1950's, animates the four alarm clocks. Hardie Gramatky animates the timepieces. Frenchy de Trémaudan animates the wristwatches and the dancing alarm clocks. Dan Tattenham animates the Swiss clock with the chimes. Albert Hunter, animates the wonderful scene with the minuet figures. Ben Sharpsteen, who would later be supervising director on the Disney features Pinnochio (1940), Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941), animates the grandfather and grandmother clocks. Charles Byrne animates the Dutch windmill clock. Jack King, later director for both Warner Brothers and Disney (at Disney he directed some of the finest Donald Duck cartoons), animates the Dutch dance. Rudy Zamora, who had previously been a major animator at the Fleischer Studios and would later animate on the Charlie Brown TV specials as well directing various TV cartoons for Hanna-Barbera, animates the alarm clocks fighting and the clock on the wall. Joe D'Igalo animates the crowd cheering for the fight. This film made its TV debut on an episode of The Mickey Mouse Club that aired on December 1, 1955.
Npw for Sylvester and Tweety in Trick or Tweet (1959). About the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, director Friz Freleng stated, "Tweety doesn't do anything. He can't even put a hat on because his arms are too short. And he's got such a bug head. The comedy comes out of Sylvester and his determination, his stubbornness to get the bird no matter what happens to him. Still everybody says 'Oh I love that Tweety.' Audiences are funny. They never love the characters that really get the laughs." This short film features Sylvester competing with Sam the cat for Tweety. This is not the first time the two had fought over Tweety. The two fought over Tweety before in two cartoons, Putty Tat Trouble (1951) and Tweet and Sour (1956). The two would later fight over a mouse in Mouse and Garden (1960). Sam's last appearance in a theatrical short film would be Merlin the Magic Mouse (1967), where he would meet up with one of the last starring Looney Tunes characters (the title character) created for the theatrical shorts.
Next is the Terry Toons short, Catnip Capers (1940). I love the pure creativity in this movie and how it goes from a simple cat and mouse cartoon to something much more bizarre. The following is an exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, " CATNIP CAPERS: Terry-Toons— The colored Terry-Toons are certainly coming into their own. This was a dandy. Running time, eight minutes. - John Stafford. Royal Theatre, Leonardville, Kansas, Rural Patronage."
Motion Picture Daily, 1936
Now for a commercial break.
It is time for a silent movie, Tail of the Monkey (1926).
Now we join The Inspector for Le Cop On Le Rocks (1967). This cartoon is pretty much a solo show for The Inspector as Deux Deux and the Commissioner are not present. This is a prison break comedy and though there have been quite a few cartoons with this same theme, this short film holds its own thanks to some really good slapstick gags. The opening scenes with the criminal who looks just like the Inspector reminded me of the animated opening credits sequence to the feature film, Inspector Clouseau (1968). That opening title sequence also features The Inspector and is also from the DePatie-Freleng studio. The Inspector actually first appeared in the animated opening credits sequence (also made by DePatie-Freleng Studios) to another feature film starring the character of Inspector Clouseau, A Shot in the Dark (1964) before being spun off into his own series of short films. The Inspector was heavily based off the character of Inspector Clouseau but yet they are different characters.
Next is one of the all time great Disney cartoon shorts, Clock Cleaners (1937). The original plan for this movie was quite different from the finished film. In the original outline, Mickey, Donald and Goofy had their own clock repair business where they advertised that they could clean any clock for only one dollar. When Pete hears of this he makes them an offer, they accept only to find out that the clock Pete was talking about was at the top of a tower. This movie does away with all that exposition and instead starts with our heroes atop the tower cleaning the clock. In many ways this short is a thrill comedy of the type that was popular in the silent era (most famously with Harold Lloyd's feature length Safety Last (1923)). This influence is especially felt during the scenes in which Goofy walks dazed after being hit. That scenes is heavily animated by Wolfgang Reitherman. Reitherman was one of Walt Disney's Nine Old Men and excelled at fast paced action scenes (something that can be seen to full advantage with the Monstro the Whale scenes in Pinocchio (1940), as well as the fight with the rat in Lady and the Tramp (1955)). He would later become a director of animated feature films including The Jungle Book (1967), The Aristocats (1970), Robin Hood (1973), and The Rescuers (1977). The following is an Exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "CLOCK CLEANERS, THE: Mickey Mouse—Excel- lent. One of the best series of shorts on the market. If you advertise your shorts heavy and take pride in showing them, by all means book in this series." This movie received the number 27 spot in Jerry Beck's book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
Now to end with a song.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another selection of animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes and looney and your melodies merry.
Resources Used
Npw for Sylvester and Tweety in Trick or Tweet (1959). About the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, director Friz Freleng stated, "Tweety doesn't do anything. He can't even put a hat on because his arms are too short. And he's got such a bug head. The comedy comes out of Sylvester and his determination, his stubbornness to get the bird no matter what happens to him. Still everybody says 'Oh I love that Tweety.' Audiences are funny. They never love the characters that really get the laughs." This short film features Sylvester competing with Sam the cat for Tweety. This is not the first time the two had fought over Tweety. The two fought over Tweety before in two cartoons, Putty Tat Trouble (1951) and Tweet and Sour (1956). The two would later fight over a mouse in Mouse and Garden (1960). Sam's last appearance in a theatrical short film would be Merlin the Magic Mouse (1967), where he would meet up with one of the last starring Looney Tunes characters (the title character) created for the theatrical shorts.
Next is the Terry Toons short, Catnip Capers (1940). I love the pure creativity in this movie and how it goes from a simple cat and mouse cartoon to something much more bizarre. The following is an exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, " CATNIP CAPERS: Terry-Toons— The colored Terry-Toons are certainly coming into their own. This was a dandy. Running time, eight minutes. - John Stafford. Royal Theatre, Leonardville, Kansas, Rural Patronage."
Motion Picture Daily, 1936
Now for a commercial break.
It is time for a silent movie, Tail of the Monkey (1926).
Now we join The Inspector for Le Cop On Le Rocks (1967). This cartoon is pretty much a solo show for The Inspector as Deux Deux and the Commissioner are not present. This is a prison break comedy and though there have been quite a few cartoons with this same theme, this short film holds its own thanks to some really good slapstick gags. The opening scenes with the criminal who looks just like the Inspector reminded me of the animated opening credits sequence to the feature film, Inspector Clouseau (1968). That opening title sequence also features The Inspector and is also from the DePatie-Freleng studio. The Inspector actually first appeared in the animated opening credits sequence (also made by DePatie-Freleng Studios) to another feature film starring the character of Inspector Clouseau, A Shot in the Dark (1964) before being spun off into his own series of short films. The Inspector was heavily based off the character of Inspector Clouseau but yet they are different characters.
Next is one of the all time great Disney cartoon shorts, Clock Cleaners (1937). The original plan for this movie was quite different from the finished film. In the original outline, Mickey, Donald and Goofy had their own clock repair business where they advertised that they could clean any clock for only one dollar. When Pete hears of this he makes them an offer, they accept only to find out that the clock Pete was talking about was at the top of a tower. This movie does away with all that exposition and instead starts with our heroes atop the tower cleaning the clock. In many ways this short is a thrill comedy of the type that was popular in the silent era (most famously with Harold Lloyd's feature length Safety Last (1923)). This influence is especially felt during the scenes in which Goofy walks dazed after being hit. That scenes is heavily animated by Wolfgang Reitherman. Reitherman was one of Walt Disney's Nine Old Men and excelled at fast paced action scenes (something that can be seen to full advantage with the Monstro the Whale scenes in Pinocchio (1940), as well as the fight with the rat in Lady and the Tramp (1955)). He would later become a director of animated feature films including The Jungle Book (1967), The Aristocats (1970), Robin Hood (1973), and The Rescuers (1977). The following is an Exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "CLOCK CLEANERS, THE: Mickey Mouse—Excel- lent. One of the best series of shorts on the market. If you advertise your shorts heavy and take pride in showing them, by all means book in this series." This movie received the number 27 spot in Jerry Beck's book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
Now to end with a song.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another selection of animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes and looney and your melodies merry.
Resources Used
The 50 Greatest Cartoons Edited by Jerry Beck.
Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein
I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety by Jerry Beck.
Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman
https://lantern.mediahist.org/
I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety by Jerry Beck.
Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman
https://lantern.mediahist.org/
Sam the Orange Cat from TRICK OR TWEET, as of 1955's HEIR CONDITIONED, (as voiced by Daws Butler)is based on the rather obscure but very talented Frank Fontaine (1920-1978), who made a big, BIG, name himself out of "J.L.C.Silvoney" on the classic O.G. radio JACK BENNY SHOW and EDGAR BERGEN shows, soon thererafter imitated first at the studio as Pete Puma in 1952's RABBIT'S KIN by Stan Freberg, the goofy "sweepstakes ticket winner" bit,, then the similiar Crazy Guggenheim, and later at WB, Jay Ward, Hanna-Barbera, Universal-International-Lantz, and UPA-Columbia by Daws Butler, then Jackie Gleason brought him as Crazy on his 1962-1966 Florida-based JACKIE GLEASON & AMERICAN SCENE MAGAZINE in the Joe the Bartender (Jackie, who else?) skits.
ReplyDeleteIn these, Fontaine would both do the Crazy act (here with the "Hi.,joe", bit, then malaprop-jokes CG;/FF style), then in a serious, sentimental baritone voice, with a 1920s-30s, style matching, sang real old songs...(in some cases going back to Gleason's and Fontaine's early 1920s childhood, much like the era's "SING ALONG WITH MITCH" choral show-hosted by Columbia Records's unpretenious, bearded,Mitch Miller).
The voice (Daws Butler), debuted on 1955's HEIR CONDITIONED and 1960's Oscar nominee (DAMN that it didn't win!), "MOUSE AND GARDEN", all with Sylvester.
The bit included a mush mouse goofy voice, and the EEEE! bit. Daws added a giddy laugh that preced it..
Take care (Mel Blanc had done various voices, largely Marvin the Martian;' for the cat, both and after the above characterization. Whew!0
Thanks very much for sharing all of that wonderful information.
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