Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #211

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with the Tom and Jerry short, Muscle Beach Tom (1956). In this short film, Tom and Butch (the black cat) are fighting over a girl cat on the beach. The girl cat has a similar design to a girl cat that Tom and a bulldog fight over in an episode of Hanna-Barbera's The Tom and Jerry Show entitled, The Ski Bunny (1975). The Tom and Jerry Wiki claims these are the same character, but I remain skeptical about that. A clip from this film would later be used in the made for TV short, The Mansion Cat (2001). 

Next comes the Terry Toons short, Squirrel Crazy (1951). 

The Old Mill (1937) is far from your typical Silly Symphony cartoon. This short film has no storyline to speak of nor has it any gags. This is instead a mood film, that is much more concerned with creating a sense of atmosphere than telling a story. As such it stands as one of the most powerful and unique short films Disney ever made. The basic idea for this cartoon had been on the minds of the Disney filmmakers for quite a while. In 1931 an idea for a film called The Old Mill Stream had been proposed. This story was elaborated further in 1934, though at that time the story was planned to be more comedic. This film introduced Disney's famed multiplane camera. This camera would create a three-dimensional effect by moving various pieces of artwork past each other at varying speeds. This would of course play a major role in Disney's later feature length animated films. To help the animators and layout artists Ferdinand Horvath would create a large model of the mill. This cartoon won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, and the studio received a special Oscar for the multiplane camera. More recently it received the 14th spot in Jerry Beck's book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons. It is interesting to note that such an unusual cartoon was the first Disney film that was distributed by RKO. 

Next comes a silent Out of the Inkwell film, Koko Lamps Aladdin (1928). 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next comes a Terry Toons cartoon staring Gaston Le Crayon (in his first appearance), Gaston is Here (1957). When Gene Dietch was given control of the Terry Toons studio, he had little interest in the types of cartoons that had been made there. During his time in charge of the studio, almost all of the starring characters (Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, etc.) had been dropped in favor of new characters. This was not the only difference between these new films and the previous shorts. These new films featured a very stylized look inspired by modern art. 

Next comes our good friend Porky Pig in Porky and Gabby (1937). The credited director on this short film is Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney's former right-hand man and co-creator of Mickey Mouse. However, it is believed that the two credited animators Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones co-directed this film with Iwerks. This cartoon marks the first appearance of Porky's short lived sidekick Gabby Goat. 

Speaking of Chuck Jones, here is an early directorial credit for Chuck, Snowman's Land (1939). 

Let us close with a song that has become a Dixieland jazz standard. 

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

50 Greatest Cartoons edited by Jerry Beck

Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman

https://likelylooneymostlymerrie.blogspot.com/2012/05/163-porky-and-gabby-1937.html

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Muscle_Beach_Tom

Video Link: Gene Autry and Ann Miller - We Never Dream the Same Dream Twice (from Melody Ranch 1940)

Silent Film of the Month: Pollyanna (1920)

 

Run Time: 58 minutes. Studio: Mary Pickford Company. Director: Paul Powell. Writer: Frances Marion. Based on the book by Eleanor H. Porter and the play by Catherine Chisholm Cushing. Producer: Mary Pickford. Main Cast: Mary Pickford, Wharton James, Katherine Griffith, Helen Jerome Eddy, George Berrell, Howard Ralston, William Courtleigh, Herbert Prior. Cinematographer: Charles Rosher. Art Director: Max Parker. 

While this film may be far from obscure, Pollyanna is a movie you rarely hear silent film buffs talk about. However, it is one of the purest examples of the type of picture that made Mary Pickford such a major movie star. This is "the little girl with the curls" that would become "America's sweetheart." 

In this film, Mary plays Pollyanna, a little girl who has been orphaned and sent to live with her Aunt Polly (Katherine Griffith). Aunt Polly cannot understand her niece's relentless optimism as she has become a very jaded person. However, Pollyanna helps inspire the townspeople around her by finding the good in all of them. 

While the 1960 Disney version may be my favorite adaptation of Eleanor H. Porter's 1913 novel, this 1920 movie is very charming. This is an extremely sentimental movie but it so unashamed of its sentimentality that it works. There is not one ounce of cynicism in the whole film. While some might find it sickeningly sweet for the right audience, it is a complete charming. Mary Pickford hated making this film (screenwriter Francis Marion felt the same way). However, this does not show on screen at all. She is downright wonderful in this role. Some may argue that she is too old (she was 27 and the character as 12) but if you are a fan of Mary (as I am), you are used to this. Still even with the age difference between the actress and the character, she is utterly convincing in the role and makes scenes that would otherwise be too saccharine work. The sweetness of the story is also helped by being balanced with some genuinely funny humor. The runtime is a little less than an hour making this a breezy watch that is never anything less than completely entertaining.

Pollyanna marked Mary's first film for United Artists. United Artists as formed by four of the biggest names in American cinema at the time, Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford (herself). The idea behind this studio was to give filmmakers a greater amount of control of their pictures, outside of the already rigid Hollywood studio system. Here the great filmmakers of the time (Mary included) would be able to produce their own pictures. Because of this, with the making of Pollyanna, Mary Pickford worked with some of her favorite collaborators. This included her favorite cinematographer Charles Rosher and writer Francis Marion, who wrote many of her most popular films (she would later direct the Mary Pickford movie, The Love Light (1921)). As for the director, Paul Powell, Pollyanna remains his biggest claim to fame. However, he had worked with another United Artist founder. His movie The Wood Nymph (1916) had a story by D.W. Griffith and Griffith produced the Powell directed feature, Hell-to-Pay Austin (1916). Powell had directed such stars as Bessie Love, Colleen Moore and Rudolph Valentino as well. 

For anyone wanting to watch this delightful film, you can watch below.