Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #216

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Heckle and Jeckle in Wild Life (1959). 

Up next is the Walter Lantz produced cartoon, The Big Cat and the Little Mousie (1938). I personally have a fondness for these black and white Walter Lantz cartoons. This is a really charming and fun film. It may not be exactly hilarious, but it does have a real charm to it. The whole sequence with the drunk mouse is similar to a famous sequence in the Disney cartoon, The Country Cousin (1936) and was perhaps inspired by it. While the character animation here may not be as impressive as that of the Disney film, it is still quite well done. A review in The Film Daily stated, "Kids and grownups alike will find this yarn amusing." A review in the Motion Picture Herald calls this film "unnecessary" and states, "The background commentary with its 'teeny weeny little mousie,' has a burlesque ring in light of the theme of this Oswald Rabbit subject." 

Next comes an early example of one of Disney's Silly Symphonies, Arctic Antics (1930). Like all Disney cartoons of this era, this short film benefits from an incredible cast of animators. The opening scene with the bears and seals was animated by Frenchy de Tremaudan. Wilfred Jackson, who would go on to direct some of the finest Silly Symphony shorts animates more of the bears and seals as well as the penguin leader and the little penguin during the march. Dave Hand, who would later be the supervising director for the Disney feature films, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Bambi (1942), animates the bear cub on the ice cake and much of the penguin march. Les Clark, one of Walt's future Nine Old Men and one of the best Mickey Mouse animators, animates the large bear on the ice cake and a penguin doing a dance by himself. Norm Ferguson, whose animation would help define the character of Pluto, animates the operatic walrus (reused animation from the Mickey Mouse cartoon, Wild Waves (1929)) and the penguins dancing in a chorus line. Ben Sharpsteen, who was the supervising director for the Disney feature films Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941), animates the four dancing seals, the seals applauding (reused animation from the Mickey Mouse cartoon, Wild Waves) and the walrus with the fish. Dick Lundy, who would go on to be a great Woody Woodpecker director, animates the seal dancing by himself and the seal balancing a fish on his nose. Johnny Cannon animates the seal squeezing the walrus' nose. Jack King, who would go on to direct some wonderful Donald Duck cartoons animates more of the penguin march. This short film would make its TV debut on an episode of The Mickey Mouse Club that aired on February 17, 1956. 

 Now for the World War Two era Terry Toons short, Keep 'Em Growing (1943). This film is incredibly topical and of its time but that is just what makes it so much fun. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now for the first short film directed by Walt Disney, Little Red Riding Hood (1922).

Next comes another real classic, Falling Hare (1943). This cartoon features one of the few characters to get the upper hand of Bugs, the gremlin. Despite only appearing in this one short, the character has proven quite popular and has appeared in quite a few Looney Tunes spin offs. The original title for this short was going to be Bugs Bunny and the Gremlin. However, since Disney was working on an animated feature film about gremlins (a movie that would never be finished), the studio took the word gremlin out of the title of this cartoon to appease the Disney studio. The following is a review from The Film Daily, "Literally and figuratively, Bugs Bunny, already a prime favorite among current cartoon characters, gets off to a flying start in the distribution season just started. The buck-toothed, long-eared clown meets up with a gremlin and both find themselves aloft in an airplane, with Bugs or what's left of him being darn glad to get back to earth. There are plenty of laughs throughout. The tough Bunny, if this initial '43-'44 offering of his producer Leon Schlesinger, is any criterion, is in for a further rise in popularity among fans who like humor. Of course, the reel is in Technicolor. It was supervised by Robert Clampett and animated by Roderick Scribner. Warner Foster wrote the story and Carl W. Stalling handled the musical direction." This cartoon amounts to one of my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoons and it is appropriately in Jerry Beck's book, The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes.  

Motion Picture Daily, 1941

Now for the Aesop's Sound Fables short, Gypped in Egypt (1930). The following is a review from The Film Daily, "This Aesop Fable has the cartoon cat and dog on an adventure in Egypt. They fall into an ancient town and find themselves surrounded by mummies and skeletons that come to life. There is a funny fire sequence, with all the skeleton riding pell-mell to the fire in chariots. It finishes with a wild ride in an elevator to the top of an obelisk, where they step off the platform into space. A nightmare of goofy antics cleverly worked out for the laughs."   

Now for The Simpsons in Skateboarding (1988). This was a short made for The Tracey Ullman Show before the family received its own TV series. 

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

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

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

100 Greatest Looney Tunes Edited by Jerry Beck.

https://lantern.mediahist.org/

Silent Film of the Month: A Pair of Tights (1929)

 

Run Time: 20 minutes. Studio: Hal Roach Studios. Director: Hal Yates. Titles: H.M. Walker. Producer: Hal Roach. Supervising Producer: Leo McCarey. Main Cast: Anita Garvin, Marion Byron, Edgar Kennedy, Stuart Erwin,  Spec O'Donnell. Cinematographer: Art Lloyd. Editor: William H. Terhune. 

The filmmakers at the Hal Roach studio tried multiple times to create a female comedy team in the vein of Laurel and Hardy. The best known of these attempts was Thelma Todd and Zazu Pitts (later Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly). Less known is Anita Garvin and Marion Byron. This is unfortunate as the three shorts that paired these two are truly hilarious. Still A Pair of Tights might be the best of the bunch. 

Like many of the best silent comedy shorts, the premise of this film is very simple. Two girls are invited to a dinner with their boyfriends and one of their boyfriends' bosses. On the way the girls decide to get some ice cream. Unfortunately, with swinging door and a clumsy Spec O'Donnell, this proves to be a very difficult task.   

This film is everything you could want from a silent comedy short. It takes a simple premise and milks as many gags as it can out of it. Many of these gags are laugh out loud funny. When I first saw this film, I wasn't expecting anything great and was shocked by just how often and loud I laughed. This short even has a fantastic use of a running gag. The running gag with the sliding door starts off as simply amusing but it gets increasingly funnier with each use, adding a little bit to the gag each time. This brilliant use of the running gag is one of the specialties of the Hal Roach Studio. It is something this studio did better than pretty much any other comedy studio of Hollywood's golden age. This short also benefits from a great cast. Anita Garvin and Marion Bryon are both perfect here. They show themselves to be expert slapstick comedians They deliver each gag perfectly and their timing and facial expressions make each gag all the funnier. 

Hal Yates is a very underrated director of comedy shorts. His other work for the Hal Roach Studio included the Mabel Normand films, Anything Once (1927) and One Hour Married (1927), the Laurel and Hardy films, Sailors Beware (1927) and Hats Off (1927, the infamous lost film) and the Charley Chase short, Imagine My Embarrassment (1928). As a writer he worked on the Mabel Normand film, Raggedy Rose (1926) and the Our Gang (or Little Rascals) short, Thundering Fleas (1926) as well as comedy shorts starring the likes of Lucien Littlefield, Clyde Cook, Bill Beavan and Glen Tryon. However, comedy fans might remember him best for his work at RKO, where he wrote and directed many of the Leon Errol and Edgar Kennedy comedy shorts. He would continue working into the TV era directing episodes of the My Little Margie and Blondie TV series. 

Not only does this short show some similarities to the Laurel and Hardy films but Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were originally going to appear. There was originally going to be a bit involving the famous comedy duo, but it never made it to the final film. This was perhaps due to trying to keep the focus on Anita Garvin and Marion Bryon. During the big climatic fight scene, Stan and Ollie were going to get involved in the big fight (this involvement would involve the two being hauled off in a police wagon). This bit was actually filmed but not used.

The Hal Roach Studio paid $35 to the movie animal provider Henry East of use of Hank, the angry dog who appears in the short for the days of September 19th and 20th. The money was well spent as dog provides some great gags for this film. This short was filmed from Wednesday, September 19, 1928, through Friday, September 28,1928 and released on February 2, 1929. Much of this film was shot on the Hal Roach backlot. However, there were a few shots taken on location at Culver City on Main Street. This can be told by the fact that the Harry H. Culver Building (later the Culver Hotel) can be seen in some shots.  

Anita Garvin (who was 22 at the time of filming) was born on February 11, 1906. She started her acting career as a Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty (though on stage not in the movies) at the age of 12. She was able to start so young because she was 5'6 and looked older than she actually was. At the age of 13 she became a Ziegfeld showgirl. She began her movie career in 1924 at the Christie Studio. She made over 90 films before retiring in 1940. However, she is probably best remembered today for the 11 films she made with Laurel and Hardy. Marion Byron (who was 17 at the time of filming) is best remembered for her very first movie role as the leading lady in Buster Keaton's Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928). Unfortunately, despite her talent, she spent much of her career in small roles. The leading men were played by Edgar Kennedy and Stuart Erwin. Edgar Kennedy will be familiar to most any fan of classic film comedy. He worked with such comedians as Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Charley Chase, the Our Gang (or Little Rascals) kids, W.C. Fields and many more. He would even have his own series of short comedies (many directed by Hal Yates). Kennedy acted in more than 400 films. The actor would even appear in some dramatic movies such as A Star is Born (1937). Stuart Erwin didn't do much work for the Hal Roach Studio but had a long and varied movie career. He would even be nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role in Pigskin Parade (1936), a movie that is best known today for being Judy Garland's feature film debut. His other acting credits include The Big Broadcast (1932), International House (1933), Going Hollywood (1933), Our Town (1940), Cracked Nuts (1941), The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941), Blondie for Victory (1942), Father Is a Bachelor (1950), Son of Flubber (1963) and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964). Supporting player, Spec O'Donnell will be a familiar face to my fellow Disney fans as he appears in the live action sequences in the Alice Comedies. He also appeared in a couple of Mary Pickford features and was a supporting player in the Max Davidson comedy shorts. He was 17 when he made this film but would continue playing teenagers into his 30's. His last movie would be Convoy (1978).  

Anita remembered working with Marion very well. When decades later Anita was talking to historian Randy Skartvedt, the two were having coffee and she reminisced about how she and Marion would sit in the cafe at the Hal Roach Studio and have coffee with lots of cream and sugar. Remembering such a minor insignificant detail decades later involving Marion says a lot about the relationship between the two. The two remained good friends until Marion passed.   

A testament to how talented the stars of this film were is that a shot with Anita Garvin simply staring at Edgar Kennedy lasts for one minute and thirty-three seconds. Yet this shot remains hilarious and does not seem like it is held too long. 

The following are some Exhibitors reviews from Exhibitor's Herald World. "ANITA GARVIN COMEDIES, — "A Pair of Tights." One of the funniest comedies we have ever shown. Pleased the adults as well as the children. (Mrs. I. H. Dietz, Star theatre, Covington, Ga., Small Town Patronage.)" " A PAIR OF TIGHTS — This is a knockout. (S. B. Kennedy. Central theatre, Selkirk, Man., Canada - General Patronage.)" " A PAIR OF TIGHTS— Not much to this one, just so much film. No laughs registered from this one. (W.M. Lodge, Fulton theatre, McConnellsburg, Pa. - Small Town Patronage.)" 

For decades this short was only known for its use in the Robert Youngston compilation movie, When Comedy Was King (1960), which used many clips from classic silent comedies. Today though the entirety of this film can be viewed in great quality on the recent Laurel and Hardy: Year Two Blu-Ray set from Flicker Alley. It is included as a bonus feature on that set, which is an essential must have for all silent comedy fans.

 This short can also be watched on YouTube below. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

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

Laurel and Hardy Year Two Blu-Ray set liner notes by Randy Skredvedt

Audio commentary by Randy Skredvedt

https://magnoliasmusingscinema.blogspot.com/2017/04/film-17-pair-of-tights-1929.html

https://mediahistoryproject.org/