Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #199

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

With it being October, today's cartoon selection begins with a spooky classic, Hyde and Hare (1955). This short film does a wonderful job of putting Bugs Bunny into the classic spooky story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The cartoon was directed by Friz Freleng who also directed other Warner Brothers cartoons based off this story such as Dr. Jerkyl's Hide (1954) and Hyde and Go Tweet (1960). 

Now we join our old friend Gandy Goose in Songs of Erin (1951). 

Next comes a delightful early Mickey Mouse movie, The Gorilla Mystery (1930). This short film was somewhat spoofing the 1925 play The Gorilla which also involved a dark house and a sinister gorilla. This play had been made into a silent feature film, The Gorilla (1927). The same year as this cartoon was released a talkie remake, The Gorilla (1930). A more comedic approach to this story was the later Ritz Brothers feature, The Gorilla (1939). The gorilla used in this Mickey cartoon (according to studio documentation) is the same one who would appear in the future Mickey Mouse shorts, Mickey's Mechanical Man (1933) and The Pet Store (1933). This movie benefits from some great atmospheric touches that show just how advanced the Disney studio was even at this point. Those of you who have seen the Mickey Mouse short film, Get a Horse (2013), should note that that Mickey's shout of "Minnie" in this cartoon was reused in that film. Mickey's cry of "Bring her back Mr. Ingagi" is a reference to the movie, Ingagi (1930), which also featured an evil gorilla.

Now for the Columbia Krazy Kat cartoon, Swiss Movement (1931). Though the Krazy Kat featured in these cartoons was originally based off George Herriman comic strip character, the character would soon morph into a Mickey Mouse clone. Here the character is hardly even recognizable as the same character from the comic strip. One of the main differences is that in the strip the character's gender was supposed to be a mystery, while here the character is obviously male. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next comes the silent Aesop's Film Fables short, Do Women Pay (1923). 

Now for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in Annie Moved Away (1934). Cartoon fans will notice that one of the credited animators is Fred Avery. This is the same Fred Avery who would later become a legendary animation director under the name Tex Avery. 

Next comes one of Hanna-Barbera and Larry Harmon's Laurel and Hardy TV cartoons, Love Me Love My Puppy (1966). While most of these cartoons feature the boys in storylines that more reflect Hanna-Barbera than Laurel and Hardy. This episode is an exception as it is a remake of the classic Laurel and Hardy film, Laughing Gravy (1930). The idea for this show did not originate with the Hanna-Barbera studio, but rather with Larry Harmon. He had this idea set in motion years before the show actually aired as evidenced by the following article from Box Office (dated May 29, 1961).

“New York- Although Oliver Hardy is dead, the team of Laurel and Hardy will be revived in the form of animated cartoon characters to be produced by Larry Harmon, who created the character of Bozo the Clown. Harmon, who owns more than half of the California studios in Hollywood, acquired the rights to produce the Laurel and Hardy cartoons from the Hardy estate and from Stan Laurel. Harmon said in New York last week that he planned a series of two-reelers and then would switch to full length features. Initially, however, he will make a series of half-hour Laurel and Hardy programs for television starting in the fall. 'The team of Laurel and Hardy is famous throughout the world’, Harmon said, citing statistics to prove that the pair has played to more people than any other motion picture characters on Earth. When the news first came out that he had acquired the rights to the team for animated cartoons, he received phone calls from every country, asking for distribution and exhibition rights. As an example of their popularity, he said, ‘a maharaja in India has figures of famous persons carved in stone. Laurel and Hardy are among them.’ Harmon said he had no set distribution deal for the theatrical release of the pictures, but that Jayark Films Corp. would handle the television sales. The theatrical stories will be new and written especially for the medium. They will not be remakes of their past successes. All of them will be in Eastman color.” The theatrical animated shorts and features never happened. However much later Harmon would co-direct and co-producer on the live action feature, The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in For Love or Mummy (1999).

Now to end by singing a song we all know. 

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry. 

Resources Used

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein. 

https://mediahistoryproject.org/