Cartoons of 1939

Don't Forget 1935

2012-01-03T21:38:00.002-05:00

The Cartoons of 1943 blog is primarily finished; on to 1935 (again, soon).

Also, Paul Etcheverry posted about the screen cap vid form this blog; which reminds me I need to assemble one for '43.

http://psychotronicpaul.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-year-of-cartoons-in-five-minutes.html
Also I can't remember if I set up a Google alert for '43 or '35...

BluRays of 1939 volume 1

2011-07-23T08:57:00.005-04:00

And so cometh 1939 on BluRay in the form of the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection volume 1. "Old Glory" is on it, so it has '39 content.

It comes in the regular ugly cover version and the just as ugly "ultimate collector's edition" filled with the kind of hateful crap that gives us the bad cover art; your extra $20 gets you or the cheesy bastard you're buying it as a gift for one of those crappy litho cels, a tiny tin sign and a shot glass. Thank you, WB, for letting us opt out, instead of having a "Why is the Simpsons in this giant plastic head? what do you mean I can't buy it without it?" debacle. They both come with a Jerry Beck related book which has nice looking internal pages.

AHAA needs help

2011-05-03T22:35:00.001-04:00

The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive is curtailing operations due to a lack of funds. Please consider donating to them. The Archive is a resource for people who like animation and related arts (for example, this 1939 Terrytoons studio tour movie). I sent $20. Perhaps you could too.

http://www.animationarchive.org/?p=2515

Wrapping Up 1939

2011-01-03T08:58:00.003-05:00

Well, that was certainly a lot of cartoons. This is the 257th post in the blog; since I set up Google Analytics to keep stats in early February, it has recorded 21,997 visits, 48,596 page views and 7,036 visitors (almost certainly an overestimation of visitors as cookies get erased).

What did we learn? A 1939 cartoon is made up of establishing shots, silhouettes, celebrity caricatures, ripped off radio catch phrases, baby chicks in peril and text gags, and there's a good chance it has had its original title replaced by a later theatrical reissue or tv retitle. If it was from early in the year, it was probably about jitterbugging.

Terry, Columbia and Lantz did not make markedly less funny cartoons than the other studios; they did make a few crappy cartoons, and can reasonably be said to have often made less visually impressive cartoons than the best of the others, tho they each had some visually impressive cartoons. Disney's cartoons were by far the least funny (tho not devoid of funny). The illusion of life, apparently, takes its toll on comedy, as the Fleischers found out when they made the largely unfunny Gulliver's Travels.

You should keep in mind that while 1939 sounds like a long time ago, it was 28 years after Winsor McCay's 1911 Little Nemo cartoon, making it about 28% of the way through the entire history of American animated cartoons, and only slightly before the half way point between the beginning of American animation and the end of the theatrical era.

I should do a best and worst post, but I need a longer view for most of the categories which would go into such a post. The firmest category I could write about now would be the following:
Worst overall studio - Disney
Disney does not perform well in 1939. They had a sure hand in technical quality, but almost no comedic ability, no sense of action, and a marked inability to tell a compelling story. This last they seem to have sacrificed for telling completely self contained stories with no loose ends, made in excruciating (for the audience) detail about almost nothing. Well made unfunny cartoons are not a good thing.

More collateral posts will come in this blog eventually following this post, but it's time to update your links of ongoing blogs to include the Cartoons of 1935 and the Cartoons of 1943. The main work of populating the text of this blog is now complete (The Old Firehorse aside). It is my hope that it will be a useful resource for those seeking to learn about the cartoons of 1939.

Title Cards of 1939 in Review

2011-01-02T09:04:00.001-05:00

As with yesterday's post, I present to you a compilation of all the title cards, as seen on this blog (I think). These each last for a second, tho, so you can see them much more clearly than any given image in yesterday's video, wherein each image lasted for about 1/10th of a second.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzIXz4mGBZw

A quick visual review of 1939

2011-01-01T09:16:00.001-05:00

Here for your perusal I present screen caps of all the US theatrical shorts as they have appeared on this blog. I tried to remove all the other things, but I notice that I at the very least missed clearing out the Mickey Mouse Nabisco short. Think of it as A Clockwork Orange meets animation history. It'll be real horrorshow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzIXz4mGBZw

Jack Benny, New Year's Eve, 1939

2010-12-31T18:35:00.000-05:00

The picture above is from Man About Town (possibly taken on July 7, 1939).

However, we have below the New Year's show of the Jell-o Show.

http://www.oldradioworld.com/media/1939-12-31_0355_-_Jack_Benny_Show_the_-_Gladys_Zybisco_Disappoints_Jack_on_New_Years_Eve.mp3

158 The Curious Puppy

2010-12-31T08:01:00.001-05:00

Title: The Curious Puppy
Studio: Warner Bros.
Date: 12/30/39
Credits: -
Series: Merrie Melodies (on a Blue Ribbon retitle)
Running time (of viewed version): 7:34

Synopsis: Puppy breaks in to amusement park, attracts attention of guard dog.

Comments: Silhouette shot. For some reason, this takes place in an amusement park instead of at the NYWF (it does seem to be Coney Island, at least). Wherever it is reopens May 31, 1940. There's a poster of a musician or graffiti on the poster that says "ZIZZ"; I'm not sure what it's a reference to. The dogs are kinda similar to the pair in Jones's earlier cartoons this year. Alternate universe where they aren't pals (or their origin story). Mirror gag; this was surely cliche by now. They had Mexican food at Coney Island, apparently. The search lights in the amusement park landscape look tasty. There seems to be an actual ad for Squirt in the cartoon (more than one, actually); someone liked it in house, I guess. (Not that I don't like; Squirt is mm mm good.) The silhouette chase in front of the lit park is great looking, as the backgrounds are overall.Big dog is really trying to kill little dog at the end, and is left with only impotent rage.

The last US theatrical cartoon of 1939 (of the mainline theatrical US shorts, tied with Mad Maestro in terms of release date, and the last one I watched of those for the year, until I find The Old Firehorse, or decide there is enough evidence to include other cartoons). Onwards.

Father Coughlin, December 31, 1939

2010-12-31T07:12:00.003-05:00

Father Charles Coughlin was the voice of American evil in the radio days, supporting Hitler and Mussolini and generally being anti-semetic. This broadcast comes several months after he had become so out of control that he forced the hand of the government and the Catholic church to become involved, and after his support of Germany had become an embarrassment. It is unwise to forget who Coughlin was, or what he did, or how he may be reflected in his modern pink-faced halfwit descendants (not to mention the intervening halfwits, like Joe McCarthy). The cartoons above by Dr. Seuss show the response from the general time period.

http://www.archive.org/download/Father_Coughlin/FatherCoughlin_1939-12-31__ReviewOfPast10Years.mp3

My grandfather's bones lay across the street from the temple of Coughlin's hatred, the Shrine of the Little Flower. I generally give the Shrine the finger when I drive by, tho it is simply a place, as it remains a symbol of vileness, stained by Coughlin's memory.

Breakdowns Of 1939

2010-12-30T09:39:00.000-05:00

Here we have screens from WB's gag reel for the year, including Porky saying son of a bitch. THe cow painting is pretty nice. It can be found at
http://www.archive.org/details/Breakdowns_Blowups_1936-1947
Also on LTGV v4, d4.

157 The Mad Maestro

2010-12-29T08:36:00.001-05:00

Title: The Mad Maestro
Studio: MGM
Date: 12/30/39
Credits:
A
Hugh Harman
Production
Series: -
Running time (of viewed version): 7:38

Synopsis: Misfit orchestra short.

Comments: Not the last cartoon of the year because of the M I use to identify MGM in my list comes before the W I use to identify Warner Bros. If I'd used S for Schlesinger... this still would not be last. A shadow appears in the title card. Far more cartoony than recent MGM output; the previous cartoon was the dire war film Peace on Earth and the one before that was the arty Blue Danube. This feels like a mix between a Lantz and WB cartoon (possibly because both studios later made more famous (to me at least) conducting cartoons that have some commonality with this (more than Tex Avery's MGM conducting cartoon). I'm not sure if the conductor is a dog man or a bear man (other dog men in the cartoon have more pronounced snouts). I think the hair on the harpist is meant to recall Harpo Marx. A good and generally funny cartoon. For some reason the orchestra is in the orchestra pit. In my experience, an orchestra should be on stage when they are not providing music for some other endeavor (play, opera, silent film, headlining singer, etc.). The character designs are a bit conservative in this (not for Harman's MGM cartoons at the time, but compared to the later orchestra shorts), although the bear shaped conductor here does bear a certain resemblance to Wally Walrus as conductor in the Lantz attempt. There are some smeary inbetweens that seem more advanced for the time period than I would expect. Big man small instrument, small man big instrument. There's a big reddish brown haired dog on a tuba in a group shot who looks like he could be Droopy's dad. There are at least three different tuba players. There's one shot where the conductor is rushing past the players, and they are still paintings. Very flat and bright for backgrounds at the time; odd. And again when the little guy gets blown away.

Publicity photos from the short below:

Pinocchio, The Comic Strip

2010-12-28T09:15:00.001-05:00

The year began with Disney still milking Snow White's teats for all they were worth, and comes to an end with Disney starting to tap into Pinocchio's mapley goodness, from print to airwaves. The Pinocchio comic strip premiered on Christmas Eve, as seen above. The strip below is from New Year's Eve.

You can find the full series at:
http://mydelineatedlife.blogspot.com/2009/11/porters-pinocchio_7510.html
http://mydelineatedlife.blogspot.com/2009/11/porters-pinocchio_7069.html
http://mydelineatedlife.blogspot.com/2009/11/porters-pinocchio_14.html
http://mydelineatedlife.blogspot.com/2009/11/porters-pinocchio.html
It's the full movie serialized. Disney didn't seem to be so worried about giving away the store...

156 The First Robin

2010-12-27T08:01:00.001-05:00

Title: The First Robin
Studio: Terry
Date: 12/29/39
Credits:
Story by
John Foster
Directed by
Connie Rasinski
Music by
Philip A. Scheib
Series: Terrytoons
Running time (of viewed version): 6:47

Synopsis: Robins move in, have kids, do not get eaten by cat.

Comments: Open with text, but not a character free monumental establishing shot, rather on a prop held by a character. I wouldn't call it a gag; it's just "From the South". Birds have unsettled domestic lives in cartoons. Horrific featherless chicks, like in real life. The title is confusing; there being two robins to start with, and they have three chicks. It's like they just picked a name that had robin in it. Way to make the effort, Terry. Self flagellating cat; now with sticking out tongue! Interesting moving backgrounds in the cat on balloon scene. Vocally wordless cartoon. Should it be considered funny that birds would take an elevator to their nests? This isn't really any funnier than Gulliver's Travels, but at least it's compact. There was a fairly large amount of golfing in the '39 cartoons; I would not have expected that.

Fred Allen's Hour Of Smiles, December 27, 1939

2010-12-27T05:12:00.002-05:00

With guest Robert Benchley, of the non animated comedy short Benchleys. There is discussion of Gone WIth the Wind, which naturally had just recently been released. Talk of how long it is.

http://www.archive.org/download/FredAllen-theFredAllenShowhourOfSmiles1939-40/Fredallen-391227TheFredAllenShowhourOfSmiles-dr.AllensClinicguestRobertBenchley.mp3

Gulliver's Travels original art

2010-12-26T08:22:00.011-05:00

There is a very large amount of art from Gulliver's Travels out there. Much of it is model art, but there is quite a lot of production art as well. Of course, there's much Snow White production art out there too; perhaps the studios made more of a point of pimping their features as art.

With Gulliver, this really makes the colors of the art look great, compared to the faded mess the public domain prints we normally see are. I'm sure I have a bit more images than what I've put up, as the pathetic drawing I own isn't currently represented.

You can presently find some of this art for sale at
http://shop.ebay.com/celgirl29/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340
and
http://vegalleries.com/fleish.html
and much of it that isn't for sale (and more) can be seen at
http://www.neverlandanimationgallery.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=4404217

It's Time For Saraka

2010-12-25T12:01:00.006-05:00

Remember when I said I would put up scans of the entire Inbad the Ailer pamphlet if I got one? Well, I got one. I'll assemble these into a movie (well, a glorified slideshow) at some point.
Merry Xmas.

Porky Pig 1939 tin toy

2010-12-25T10:52:00.001-05:00

Assuming the date on it wasn't a straw argument, presumably some (lucky?) kids got this Porky Pig item under the tree on Christmas morning 1939. Presumably winding the thing in back makes the umbrella spin.
Hoggy holidays!

Pinocchio radio play , Christmas 1939

2010-12-25T09:49:00.001-05:00

Lux Radio Theatre presents Pinocchio for Christmas. A blend of radio and a cartoon character.

http://www.archive.org/download/Lux04/Lux_39-12-25_Pinocchio.mp3

Find a bunch more 1939 radio plays of movies at
http://www.archive.org/details/Lux04

For more and different Pinocchio, listed as from 1939, but almost certainly from later, as they appear to be episodes 72 and 73 of a show, possibly centered around "Uncle Tony" but possibly all about Pinocchio, see:
http://www.archive.org/download/Singles_And_Doubles_Singles_O-S/39-xx-xxep0072Pinocchio.mp3
and
http://www.archive.org/download/Singles_And_Doubles_Singles_O-S/39-xx-xxep0073Pinocchioep2.mp3

Blondie and Dagwood, December 25, 1939

2010-12-25T08:10:00.002-05:00

Merry Xmas. Enjoy Blondie's Scrooge, brought to you by Camel Slow Burning Cigarettes.

http://www.archive.org/download/OtrBlondie/Bd1939-12-25Scrooge.mp3

Feature Film: Gulliver's Travels (Part 4)

2010-12-24T08:21:00.000-05:00

(Note that my primary posts on Gulliver's Travels are spread out over four entries; this is an artifical division, and once they have all been posted, it will make more sense to read them together as a single unit.)

Ugh, glum worthless princess again. The movie has cliche plot points, and nothing to make me care about any of the characters; everyone who has been characterized is a douchebag. Gulliver should effect political change by killing Bombo. Maybe Little as well, but especially Bombo. Interesting bit with the detour sign, and holding off on revealing it until after its work is done, tho it's clear what it is. Armada dragging is creepy as it is fronted with rotoscope. Gulliver's 2¢ philosophy apparently trumps long thought out plans of conquest. Princesses must have crappy blue birds alight on their fingers. Was that some sort of cliche before Snow White? Apparently the little spy and Gabby are supposed to end up as a couple at the end.

The second half is not stultifying in the way the first half is, but it still isn't very good. My least favorite Fleischer cartoon of the year that doesn't center around a donkey. You need to construct features differently than shorts, and they do here, but I don't think what they used was ultimately a workable feature structure.

There's something Hoyt Curtain-y about the shipwreck scene. Gabby sounds a bit like he has Alvin and the Chipmunk technology applied to his voice. Lots of smeared backgrounds. So much division; lots of kinda connected stories; Gabby, the kings, the kids, the spies, Gulliver (kinda). The rotoscopes are almost eyeless. Bombo pulls a lot of faces in the face of a torrent of emotion; it doesn't really work. I suppose the memory inset was a technological marvel. The prince has Snow White's hairdo...

Being an inventive group, I suppose they thought an extended sequence focusing on the engineering accomplishments of moving a sleeping giant was a good idea. If they did, I do not agree with them.

This is the most exhausting entry I've had to do, for the obvious reasons of length. But surprisingly for the boringness of it as well. The king's speed also sucks things into its path. Gulliver says "well" and "my" quite a bit. I think the beard barbers are the Mario Brothers. The dancers in the bluebird song are what the prince and princess should look like. The dancing in that sequence is also interesting. And King Little's singing is interesting. Creepy boring pointless song by Gulliver. The tall spies look a bit like if the witch queen was one of the dwarfs. The wedding cake wreck presaged the prince's fall. The overall film is something like a bland Van Bueren cartoon from several years earlier. It was alright for Snow White to be unfunny; Disney cartoons weren't very funny. But the Fleischers were abandoning all that made them who they were by telling a blandly comfortable/mushy story.

http://www.archive.org/details/Gullivers_Travels-1939
shorter:
http://www.archive.org/details/GulliversTravels
http://www.archive.org/details/gullivers_travels1939
http://www.archive.org/details/gullivers_travels1939_vostfr

Campbell Playhouse: A Christmas Carol, Christmas Eve 1939

2010-12-24T05:48:00.000-05:00

A Christmas Carol, narrated by Orson Welles and starring Lionel Barrymore:
http://www.archive.org/details/CampbellPlayhouseAChristmasCarol12241939

Feature Film: Gulliver's Travels (Part 3)

2010-12-23T08:14:00.001-05:00

(Note that my primary posts on Gulliver's Travels are spread out over four entries; this is an artifical division, and once they have all been posted, it will make more sense to read them together as a single unit.)

(Reel change)
Not in a natural break point either, just like this paragraph! Archers pull back... and red break. Now we get the horrors of war, which is to say Gulliver's rotoscoped face. Gulliver has sock issues. The contrast between the cartoons and rotoscoping makes it even more horrible. Perhaps people were impressed by the horror; they certainly bought into it in Snow White. It's a Hap Hap Happy Day is a bit more like a Fleischer cartoon, as it's not dire or romantic like the rest of the movie so far. Gabby in the pocket looks good. Some of the problem with rotoscoping: animated skin tone is fine on cartoons, but is profoundly wrong on human surfaces. The spies are good looking. It seems like each musical number may have been treated as its own separate cartoon. The timing on the spy jokes is too fast, in spite of the fact that almost everything else is timed too slowly.

Weird rhyming interlude with Gulliver and Gabby. Shadow puppets. It would have been funnier if Gulliver had put out the fire like he did in the book.

Feature Film: Gullivers Travels (Part 2)

2010-12-22T08:55:00.007-05:00

(Note that my primary posts on Gulliver's Travels are spread out over four entries; this is an artifical division, and once they have all been posted, it will make more sense to read them together as a single unit.)

There's a townsperson who looks like Dopey, followed by one who looks like Snow White... The moving light as the bridge is walked on is interesting.

A big difference between this and the original story is that it is told from the point of view of the cruel, small minded Lilliputians. So it is not about the smallness of them, but the bigness of Gulliver. Somehow Gabby, the idiot town crier, is put in charge of the giant operation. It's more than 35 minutes into the movie until Gulliver does anything but almost drown and sleep. Not exactly the optimal way to characterize your title character. But it's certainly the '39 cliche to ditch your title character. Why, they even ditched the "Travels" part of the title. Watching them move Gulliver is like watching a freighter on a lake; it's realllll slowwwwww. He opens his eyes 38:08 into the movie with 38:25 left of it. Imagine if they did that on Lost; instead of someone opening their eye at the beginning of, well, a bunch of episodes. It would have lost a lot of punch. The same holds true here, i think. But then the cast of Lost is not ugly like Gulliver. Gulliver has a sort of Bing Crosby rip off voice. Big red reel change in my viewed print.

Radio Guide, December 22, 1939 (Gulliver)

2010-12-22T08:09:00.001-05:00

Article on Gulliver's Travels from Radio Guide, 12/22/39

http://www.otrr.org/Pages/Publications/magz_radio_guide.htm
http://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Radio%20Guide/Radio_Guide_39_12_22.pdf

Click on the image for decent size.

"Color Cartoons Find Radio
In 'Gulliver's Travels,' latest of the animated cartoon extravaganzas, the Fleischer tribe discover radio - for Jessica Dragonette and Lanny Ross have the singing roles of Princess Glory & Prince David
Here is Gulliver (radio announcer Sam Parker speaks his lines) as Jonathon Swift pictured him, surveying tiny Lilliput, whither a sea adventure led him. Gulliver saves the romance of Glory and David
Terrified at first by the huge 'man-mountain' in their midst, the Lilliputions - including the Princess - lionize Gulliver when he captures the enemy fleet and brings the Prince and the Princess together
Funnyman of the fantasy is Gabby, one of the Lilliputians Jessica and Lanny will see as they attend film's world premiere in Miami (Mon.). That morning Lanny will interview Jessica on his show, CBS"

Feature Film: Gullivers Travels (Part 1)

2010-12-21T08:40:00.009-05:00

(Note that my primary posts on Gulliver's Travels are spread out over four entries; this is an artifical division, and once they have all been posted, it will make more sense to read them together as a single unit.)

Title: Gulliver's Travels
Studio: Fleischer
Date: 12/22/39
Credits: (extensive):
Paramount Presents
Gulliver's Travels
In Technicolor
Based on Jonathan Swift's immortal Tale (immortal is not capitalized)
Produced by Max Fleischer
Story Adaptation
Edmond Seward
Screen Play
Dan Gordon
Cal Howard
Ted Pierce
I. Sparber
Edmond Seward
Music and Lyrics
Ralph Rainer
and
Leo Robin
atmospheric music
Created and Conducted
by
Victor Young
Singing Voice of Princess Glory
Jessica Dragonette
Singing Voice of Prince David
Lanny Ross
Scenics
Erich Schenk
Robert Little
Louis Jambor
Shane Miller
Photography
Charles Schettler
Technical Advisor
Johnny Burks
Directors of Animation
Seymour Kneitel
Willard Bowsky
Tom Palmer
Grim Natwick
William Henning
Roland Crandall
Tom Johnson
Robert Leffingwell
Frank Kelling
Winfield Hoskins
Orestes Calpini
Animators
Graham Place
Arnold Gillespie
Nicholas Tafuri
Alfred Eugster
James Culhane
David Tendlar
George Germanetti
Joseph Digalo
Nelson Demorest
Reuben Grossman
Abner Kneitel
Frank Endres
Otto Feuer
Joseph Oriolo
Harold Walker
Lod Rossner
Joe Miller
Frank Smith
Edwin Rehberg
Ben Clopton
James Davis
Stephen Muffatti
Irving Spector
Sam Stimson
George Moreno
Ted Dubois
William Sturm
Lou Zukor
Bill Nolan
Stan Quakenbush
Robert Bentley
Edward Smith
Thurston Harper
Tony Pabian
Song
"It's A Hap Hap Happy Day"
by
Sammy Timberg
Al Neiburg
Winston Sharples
Directed
by
Dave Fleischer
Series: -
Running time (of viewed version): 1:16:33

Synopsis: Big dumb man lays around, then numbly stumbles through petty land of tiny people.

Comments: I'm approaching this outside of the normal short numbering because it's a feature. The Fleischer's of course claimed the Popeye two reelers were features as well, but I counted those as shorts. This comes down to a subjective decision, ultimately, tho this particular subjective decision is generally followed by people who classify shorts versus features (except the Fleischers themselves, of course). The run time has an extra field in it compared to every other cartoon in the year, as it runs more than one hour; 7-10 normal cartoons. The opening has a 3D ship moving through clouds (and without water); I think it's live action tho, not (stop motion) animated. It's odd, there is a montage of images during the credits, with the one shot moving significantly. I think my hand is going to fall off transcribing the names.

Open on text (with flickering candle light illumination and lightning). Cut to white capped seas with a dark craft on it, made even darker by the dollar store DVD's print. The white caps look a bit Japanese, but they're not actually done particularly effectively. Muddy Gulliver on the shore, and cut to the high pitched and cartoony Gabby. They show his shadow, in traditional '39 style. And he sings a crappy little song, in animated feature style. Even Gabby hates it, in his minute and a half long walking sequence where nothing funny happens; nothing interesting happens until he comes upon a giant realistic hand (unless you want to count a low angle bridge shot which looks good). Gabby and Gulliver have five fingered hands. Gabby spends a long 30 second shot standing on that hand. A few funnyish things happen as Gabby races to the castle, things sucked into his travel vacuum and such. Such long unfunny sections. Of course, perhaps it's not trying to be funny. Like a Disney film. The he/she on the wedding cake is pretty awesome. Prince and Princess in silhouette; I want to say the Fleischer's chose to do it because it is the zeitgeist for the year, but I think it's because they're less creepy that way (and you don't have to lip sync). Bombo is animated with more face lines than would be common for a cartoon of the time (at least in his memories scene).

http://www.archive.org/details/Gullivers_Travels-1939
shorter:
http://www.archive.org/details/GulliversTravels
http://www.archive.org/details/gullivers_travels1939
http://www.archive.org/details/gullivers_travels1939_vostfr

155 Park Your Baby

2010-12-20T08:12:00.007-05:00

Title: Park Your Baby
Studio: Columbia
Date: 12/22/39
Credits:
Story
Allen Rose
Music
Joe De Nat
Animation
Harry Love
Lou Lilly
Series: Scrappy
Running time (of viewed version): 6:04

Synopsis: Thug leaves kids with Scrappy, who is hassled by and then reforms them.

Comments: This cartoon supposedly released on the same day as Gulliver's Travels. Only Columbia was brave enough to launch in the 6 days before and the six days after Gulliver, and they did it twice. Or maybe Guliver had no effect on shorts and it just happened that way. Great title painting and lettering. Deco in the cartoon, too, starting at the establishing external building shot. Pale background characters painted in in the quick pan. Screwy Squirrel style voice on the tough dad. The threatening guy and the hapless clerk setup feels more like a Porky Pig story than a Scrappy story. I'm not sure if the babies were doing sumo moves. Baby fight. For some reason, the department store has wooden siding and a backyard with a clothesline. Maybe they lifted the animation for the sequence from another cartoon, with its singing drying diapers? Scrappy's design is more modern looking than the Snooks kid in the last cartoon, but the tough's design is less modern than the dad's design from the last cartoon. Baby torture machine. The tough actually makes to physically attack Scrappy, who's still a little kid even if he's not a baby. On the other hand, it's the babies beating up Scrappy that make the cartoon good... The twinned motions aren't really a good idea. Scrappy cartoons sometimes feel like they're happening in a different city in the Popeye universe... The only thing to fear in Scrappy cartoons are the generic credit title cards; they always fill me with dread; but then I am pleased by the cartoon, so it works out. You just have to get by the opening...

Breakfast Pals (Rice Krispies ad)

2010-12-19T11:06:00.004-05:00

Title: Breakfast Pals
Studio: Cartoon Films Ltd.
Date: 1939?
Credits: -
Series: -
Running time (of viewed version): 1:22

Synopsis: Snap, Crackle and Pop battle Mushy and Soggy and their alpha.

Comments: Dating is a bit dodgy on this Rice Krispies ad, but Archive.org at least claims it's 1939. I wouldn't necessarily bet on that, but I don't yet have any evidence to disprove it. It is feasible. There's some fighting. The kids look creepy. Snap, Crackle and Pop don't use the inherent goodness of Rice Krispies to beat the soggies, but instead use pepper, syrup and general dirty fighting to get the job done.

http://www.archive.org/details/Breakfas1939

154 Mother Goose In Swingtime

2010-12-17T08:22:00.007-05:00

Title: Mother Goose In Swingtime
Studio: Columbia
Date: 12/18/39
Credits: -
Series: Color Rhapsody
Running time (of viewed version): 6:06

Synopsis: A kid gets her dad to tell her a story, which ends up being a musical number full of celebrities.

Comments: An amazingly full cartoon, with lots of short shots, and each shot full of people I mostly can't identify but presumably a 1939 audience would have been able to. Baby Snooks style little girl, with her baby Edward G. Robinson voice. Her visual style is archaic compared to her dad, both are markedly different from the caricature style of most of the characters in the cartoon. Mother Goose has a very specific face, presumably a caricature, as the people in the land presumably also are. I think Martha Raye (as the main singer; thank you denture cream ads for helping me remember her and her big mouth) and Edward G Robinson, maybe James Cagney, but those are guesses amongst a sea of "who the hell is that supposed to be?". Cary Grant on trumpet? W.C. Fields maybe? Hugh Herbert (the woo hoo guy). Shirley Temple? Mickey Rooney (I only recognize him because the caricature is close to the one in Autograph Hound). Laurel and Hardy. Glasses with a clarinet; does that describe Woody Herman? Marx Brothers. There are obvious actors playing instruments, so this muddies ID. David Letterman and Bing Crosby and someone else (at least one of those IDs is wrong). Clark Gable. I think Jack Benny on violin, only guessing that because of the violin association. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing, I think. Red nose: "aw gee, tanks". Grumpy Bogart? I think Greta Garbo has closed eyes and an accent. Might be dancing with Leopold Stakowski? Katherine Hepburn singing Little Jack Horner. Horner himself is Fred Allen or that guy who is like Fred Allen maybe? Bunch of wall eyed female caricatures. Virtually nothing to do with Mother Goose in this cartoon, thus successfully ditching the title character in classic '39 style. Someone (not me) should do a blog identifying all celebrity caricatures from cartoons. I think this is the most interesting of the celebrity cartoons of the year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBx-u6eXasc

153 The Film Fan

2010-12-15T07:59:00.006-05:00

Title: The Film Fan
Studio: Warner Bros.
Date: 12/16/39
Credits:
Supervision
Robert Clampett
Animation
Norman McCabe & Vive Risto
Musical Direction
Carl W. Stalling
Series: Looney Tunes
Running time (of viewed version): 6:51

Synopsis: Porky goes to the free movies instead of coming right home from the store. Gosh, what a bad kid.

Comments: Establishing building, followed by text gag. All with a crappy little ditty under it. About the movies, making it self referential. Many posters advertising Looney Tunes. "Ahs of a Wizard" is a title; obvious Wizard of Oz reference (as opposed to the even ore explicit Gone with the Breeze). Lots of text jokes. A better name would have been "Text Joke Fan". So many stills and text based shots. Lone Stranger cheater footage (here, the Masked Marvel). They're all such film fans they went for free. There aren't any actual films; just newsreels/non fiction shorts and a couple of trailers. I feel cheated by this cheater. Sardine dog men. Nice shiny floor. I assume Cold Promise is a specific reference but I don't know to what. It's like a bad collection of spot gags; they needed an excuse for them, and then totally blew the potential of the premise.

Film Fun, Christmas 1939 /January 1940

2010-12-14T11:21:00.002-05:00

Film Fun's Christmas covers seem to be all from January, implying that they had significant lead time (at least a week) from their cover dates.
It's good to know they liked Santa babes in 1939... tho I'm not sure about the face on this one...

152 Screwball Football

2010-12-13T07:27:00.001-05:00

Title: Screwball Football
Studio: Warner Bros.
Date: 12/16/39
Credits:
Supervision
Fred Avery
Story By
Melvin Millar
Animation
Virgil Ross
Musical Direction
Carl W. Stalling
Series: Merrie Melodies
Running time (of viewed version): 7:45

Synopsis: A man finds new and different ways to steal ice cream. Plus some gags about football.

Comments: Animated football playing/mallet murder silhouette animation under opening title. Identifiable stadium? (Rose Bowl would be the obvious possibility, even if it's called the Chili Bowl; it doesn't really resemble the older postcard pic tho; the "huge bowl" shot looks especially wrong, but I think that may be meant to look like a stadium built around the Empire State Building.) Teams of dog men. I almost expect Goofy to show up, but that's a different short. THe stretcher gag where they take some object and not the injured person away on the stretcher is super cliche to me; perhaps it was not cliche yet tho. "Mmmmm, could be" line lift. Gun death means this isn't a Blue Ribbon reissue. I had one of those bird whistles as a kid; the bubbling water sounds kinda like a bird. Invisible man gag. Mandog on mandog kiss.

Contemporary Rose Bowl:

March of Time, Holidays 1939 (and 1938)

2010-12-12T08:50:00.013-05:00

1939 Number: XXX
Title: March of Time; also, "Having a Wonderful Time" with "Angels in Dirty Places"
Studio: Warner Bros.
Date: 12/39 and 12/38 (apparently)
Credits: The Schlesinger Little teenie-weenie theatre group presents
Series: -
Running time (of viewed version): 9:35 (youtube) 17:56 (LTGCv6d3) (about 8:23 for just the '38; 9:33 for the '39 on v6)

Synopsis: Funny stuff before a party.

Comments: Here we have a pair of holiday reels for the Schlesinger group. The commentary with Jerry Beck and Martha Sigall on LTGCv6d4 names the staffers (and identifies these as being from 1939 and 1940). These would have been shown in the projection room before the Christmas party at the Wilshire Bowl.

However, the title of the first piece has a reference to two 1938 movies: November '38's Angels With Dirty Faces and July '38's Having a Wonderful Time. Friz Freleng does not appear and was definitely not at Schlesinger's at Xmas '38, but may have been by Xmas '39. There's also a joke about Fleischer poaching staff, and Dave Monahan had already returned. He had a fair number of credits in late '38 at Schelsinger.

On Cartoon Brew (in 2006), the second part was listed as from 1939
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/looney-tunes-christmas-party-reel-1939.htm
The stripper reference shot is for Detouring America, a 1939 short. It also has Cal Dalton mentioning something about getting the Republican nomination in 1940; if this is Xmas 1940, that seems unlikely, but perhaps it is a joke. Friz is there; his first cartoon after returning was Confederate Honey, March 30, 1940. I'm not sure if he would have been back for the filming of the '39 reel, but it's at least feasible.

And there's this: between the two pictures, there's text written on the film: 1938 XMAS PARTY (if you frame through the space between the films, it's soon after Jerry Beck says "they would" on the commentary). The second can't be from '38, because of Friz's appearance. Which means the first film is almost certainly from '38.

For the second piece, having both Friz and Tex means it could be from '39 or '40. And if it's just stock footage of Tex, it could be from later (especially if it was an inside joke saying he'd thrown a fit about Heckling Hare; it seems unlikely he'd be at the front of the caricature line in the opening then, tho). A '39 calendar shows up in the second piece tho, which likely was filmed for this, and therefore is likely the year of the use. Ideally the tail end of the film could have similar writing as the first reel, although the taped version from 2006 doesn't seem to show that sort of tail, and LTGCv6 does not have it; if there is a slightly longer transfer with tail footage for the second piece, that could clear it up, but Mark Kausler no longer has the original prints, so there's no way to check (unless you reading this know where the print is and can check the tail; thanks in advance, gentle reader).

So, I'm proceeding under the impression that the first section is from 1938, and the second from 1939. Onwards.

1938: ""Having a Wonderful Time" with "Angels in Dirty Places" "

Dave Mitchell and Dave Monahan are both passable ladies.

Watch them wash those cels; heart breaking.

Mel Blanc does most of the voices.

-
March of Time:

1939: March of Time

Quite the outfit on the Russian bomber

Celwashers: Charlie Jones, John Marks, and Eddie Swift. Swift and Marks were black, providing a little bit of diversity in the history of animation.

Parade of hook ups.

Poor Smokey Garner was illiterate.

You can see through Ruthie Pierce's top; she has however chosen to wear a bra, so no big whoop.

Man, Leon's hair was jacked up. But he still has a big bald spot, so it can't be a rug.

Update: Yowp found the following about the stripper in the Los Angeles Times, Aug. 27, 1939:
"Casting of the week: Marcia Eloise a stripper from the downtown answered a call to model for animators drawing a Looney Tune cartoon at the Leon Schlesinger studio"
http://forums.goldenagecartoons.com/showthread.php?t=15776

Bob Hope Show, December 12, 1939

2010-12-12T06:16:00.000-05:00

Bob Hope on the radio; not as funny as in a movie...
http://www.archive.org/download/bob_hope/bhop.1939.12.12_Taking_Peter_To_Toyland.mp3

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

2010-12-11T13:54:00.003-05:00

In 1939, Montgomery Ward introduced Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Supposedly, more than 2 million Rudolph booklets were distributed in 1939. But Gene Autrey's rendition of the written after the story song really brought Rudolh to the future. Hudson's should have put some "make a Christmas song" money behind Santa Bear to entrench him a bit more. Oh well.

You can see (not not really read very well) the contents of the booklet at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39216280@N07/sets/72157621937687556/with/3786225867/

You can also see the '40s Jam Handy/Fleischer Rudolph cartoon at
http://www.archive.org/details/RudolphTheRed-nosedReindeer1948

151 The Ice Pond

2010-12-10T08:11:00.001-05:00

Title: The Ice Pond
Studio: Terry
Date: 12/15/39
Credits: -
Series: -
Running time (of viewed version): 5:43

Synopsis: Pig can't skate, rabbits can't outwit or outskate fox, pig decides to ingratiate himself to rabbits.

Comments: Beginning feels truncated. Yet another skating short. Even a crippled rabbit is better at skating than a healthy pig. Skating under the ice feels wrong. Unlike in Peace on Earth, the predator in this short is willing to capture the prey. Pigs and rabbits ultimately team up versus fox; the pig gets skating partners out of the deal, the rabbits get to live. Ah, Terry, where the main character will be small in a corner with the back of his head to the audience while a slow and elderly rabbit methodically walks towards him, sits down, and slowly puts on his skates in a vast 30 second sequence. Terry wasn't very good at villains; the fox is barely villainous. The fish is nicely designed. No voice acting in this cartoon. Jingle Bells is used a few times.

Superman Sunday comic strip, December 10 (and 17), 1939

2010-12-10T05:39:00.000-05:00

Superman began a Sunday comic strip November 5, 1939.Here are two of the strips (click on them for a larger version).

Find more at:
http://www.seans4sale.com/sm_sunday/Superman_Comic_Strips_Main.htm

BoxOffice, December 9, 1939

2010-12-09T08:33:00.002-05:00

This BoxOffice entry will show no OCR garbling, because I hand transcribed it before the mag disappeared from Issuu, in case I got sick of doing them or was short on time at the end of the year. It also means a photo!

p4
"
"Pinocchio" Hits On Lincoln's Birthday
New York - "Pinocchio" will probably hit key city first runs to coincide with Lincoln's birthday, February 12. The feature length cartoon is expected to average about five weeks at downtown de luxers with just enough span to reach neighborhoods around Easter, when juvenile trade is particularly heavy."

p14
"Many Openers Are Set on "Gulliver"
New York - Robert H. Gillham, publicity and advertising director for Paramount, returns Monday from Miami where he has spent the last few days on the advance campaign for the opening of "Gulliver's Travels" at the Sheridan, Miami Beach, December 18.
Among the other opening set for the Technicolor animated feature are the Paramount, New York, and Newman, Kansas City, Mo., December 20; Paramount in Los Angeles and San Francisco, a day later; Denham, Denver; Michigan, Detroit; Paramount, Seattle; Palace, Milwaukee; Majestic, Houston, and Alabama, Birmingham, all on December 22. On December 23, the following openings will take place: Uptown, Toronto; Stanley, Philadelphia; Palace, Rochester; Keith's, Syracuse; Penn, Pittsburgh; State, Cleveland; Great Lakes, Buffalo; Fox, Atlanta; Saenger, New Orleans; Malco, Memphis, and Majestic, San Antonio.
The Strand, Providence, premieres December 24, and the Paramount, Miami, and COlony, Miami Beach, Christmas Day. On December 28, the Metropolitan, Boston; Allyn, Hartford; Fox, Spokane; the Des Moines and Roosevelt, Des Moines, and State, Portland, Me. On December 29, the Paramount, SPringfield; Paramount, New Haven; Capitol, Worcester; Rialto, Tacoma; Lyceum, Duluth; Criterion, Oklahoma City; Strand, Scranton; Comerford, Wilkes Barr. On the day before New Year's, the Capitol, Little Rock.

---
p18
20th C. Fox wants to soak consumers more per ticket for big movies, including Pinocchio and Gulliver's Travels.

p27, photocut
"Meets a Bally -
Jessica Dragonette, who shares the co-starring role with Lanny Ross in "Gulliver's Travels" meets Dave Ballard, eight-foot giant who is ballyhooing the feature-length cartoon."

p30 Jam Handy production supervisor W. Halsey Johnson going to NY from Detroit.

p67
"Swinnerton Does Cartoon Backgrounds With Oils
Three "firsts" have been chalked up by Leon Schlesinger with the launching of "The Mighty Hunters," initialer in a series of one-reel "Canyon Kiddies" technicolor cartoons which he is producing for Warner release.
It is the first time a noted artist has contributed to the manufacture of an animated cartoon. Schlesinger has James Swinnerton, painter and cartoonist, under contract and Swinnerton created the screen characters, collaborated on the story and painted all the backgrounds.
For the first time, authentic natural backgrounds have been incorporated. Swinnerton, director Charles M. Jones and several writers visited the Grand Canyon several months ago to sketch scenery and absorb local color - incidentally, the first location trip ever undertaken by a cartoon unit.
It is the first time oil paintings have ever been used exclusively for background material. Schlesinger believes the solidity, depth and color effects achieved with oil will give the reel the same advantage an oil painting has over a water color."

p78
SF
"George Thomas and Ed Churchill, Paramount studio publicity men, are in town in connection with the exploitation of "Gulliver's Travels." Churchill is accompanyin the life-size figures of Popeye and Gulliver on their nation-wide tour via the air lanes..."

"Ten Ballyhoo Men in Field For "Gulliver's Travels"
Hollywood - Paramount has sent ten men into the field in an exploitation campaign for "Gulliver's Travels," to be released December 22, and the Great Victor Herbert" which hits theaters December 29.
(list of PR guys)
In addition, Rufus Blair, who handles out-of-town contacts for the Paramount publicity department, is swinging around the country and Ed Churchill is touring with a life-sized rubber model of Lemuel Gulliver."

p84: The Harper Theater opens in Detroit; I believe it is now Harpo's

p86: A building built by and named after my great grandfather and his brothers is mentioned

p87: " "Duke" Clark, Paramount branch manager, is running a department store up in his exchange, and all of the articles on display are tieups to exploit "Gulliver's Travels" which is scheduled for Christmas release."

p108: Florida offers tax breaks to film makers; mentioning Gulliver
the following is a separate story:

p108: "Miami's Plans Expand for "Gulliver" Premiere
Miami - Every succeeding day brings news of bigger and more exciting preparations for what will unquestionably be Miami's most significant world premiere the gala presentation of the first all-Miami made full-length Technicolor feature animated cartoon, Max Fleischer's "Gulliver's Travels" at Miami Beach's Sheridan Theatre, December 18.
Flying south for the premiere will be, among other major lights of the theatrical world, Jessica Dragonette and Lanny Ross, whose singing voices are heard as the princess and the prince in this fantasy of the world of Lilliput.
Ted Husing is to be master of ceremonies at the premiere itself and at the big charity ball at the Roney Plaza Hotel which will follow the performance. The ball, being sponsored by the Miami Herald, to swell the funds of its annual "Mile of Dimes" for the local Milk Fund, is the personal brain child of the paper's Miami Beach society editor, Mrs. Helen Rich.
The palm gardens of the big ocean front hotel are being transformed into Lilliputian Land for the premiere ball during which an original sketch by Louis Jambor, the artist who created the whimsical, gay background designs for "Gulliver's Travels" will be auctioned off. Jambor, who is to have a one-man show at the Collins Memorial Library gallery in January, will autograph the sketch and present it personally to the successful bidder.
The particular significance of this premiere hinges on the big question marks in the mind of the entire moving picture world over the boxoffice future of the animated cartoon, not to mention the feasibility of Miami-made motion pictures.
It is expected that the premiere will serve as a springing board for a Florida campaign to lure more animated cartoon studios down here."

p121
Short Subject Reviews

"One Mouse in a Million"
20th Century-Fox (Terry-Toons) 7 Mins.
The fable of the mouse hanging a bell around a cat's neck forms the basis for this cartoon. With the aid of vanishing cream, the mouse succeeds in his venture and is welcomed as a hero. It is only moderately entertaining."

"SHORT OF THE WEEK
Peace On Earth
MGM 8 Mins.
Cartoons are meant to be gay and diverting. Hugh Harman scores on both points in addition to turning out an entirely relevant and pertinent animated subject in Technicolor. With Christmas marked with warfare in Europe and elsewhere, the cartoon pokes, with sensitivity, a gentle jibe at the stupidity of th human race. The time is Christmas Eve and grandpa rabbit greets his grandchildren with the words: "Peace on earth and good-will to men." The youngsters are curious to know about this creature, man, now extinct. Grandpa proceeds to tell them how wars destroyed them. The tale is summed up when the owl points to the commandment "Thou shalt not kill," and remarks that man was too doggone stupid to follow the rules. Animation is well handled. Here is a short ideally tuned as material for the holiday program."

"A Wicky Wacky Romance
20th Century-Fox (Terry-Toons) 7 Mins.
A diverting bit of cartoon nonesense in Technicolor. Scene is in South Seas where a pirate crew kidnaps the sweetheart of a mouse. A brave lad is the mouse and he single handedly vanquishes the crew and rescues his girl."

p125
"Hour of Shorts
Austin, Tex. - "One Solid Hour of the Season's Best Short Subjects" ws emblazoned across the Capitol front and also in newspaper ads in connection with the showing of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." Shorts were a "March of Time," a Ted Husing Spotlight, a Popeye cartoon, a Merrie Melodie, and an Our Gang comedy."

150 Peace On Earth

2010-12-08T08:14:00.000-05:00

Title: Peace on Earth
Studio: MGM
Date: 12/09/39
Credits: A Hugh Harman Production
Series: -
Running time (of viewed version): 8:48

Synopsis: Animals find comfort at Christmas now that all the people are dead.

Comments: An Academy Award nominee. It's obviously well timed with the outbreak of WWII, but it's not really all that good. It also apparently received a citation from the Nobel Prize jury ( http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=353984&apid=0 ), which seems more likely than being "nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize", which has been the rumor. And a Parents Magazine medal. Soldiers animated under the title cel. Should the snow actually look yellow with a blue or green with a purple tail tail above it? Or was that unintentional? (Is that an effect from some live action chamber, by the way, or it it actually hand animated? I assume it's an effect.) Mother squirrel seems to simply disappear from behind grampa squirrel in the butt stabbing scene. Shadow scene. Apparently humanity ends when there's a war between vegetarians and meat eaters. Perhaps that seemed less likely to actually happen at the time. The owl when it reads "Thou Shalt Not Kill" he should say it says "I am going to eat you" to the little squirrel. And then he should eat him. The animals do wisely skip past "thou shalt have no other god before me". Lots of cross dissolves in this. This is frankly an unimpressive cartoon, other than its use of some dark imagery. It did not deserve a nomination for the Oscar (but then neither did the Ugly Duckling, The Pointer or Detouring America).

The below image is of the original art for the end title card, kindly provided by Mike Van Eaton of Van Eaton Galleries, where it is (or at the very least was) available for purchase.

149 The Sleeping Princess

2010-12-06T11:57:00.007-05:00

Title: The Sleeping Princess
Studio: Walter Lantz
Date: 12/04/39
Credits:
Directed by
Burt Gillett
Story,,, Victor McLeod and Gil Burton
Music ... Frank Marsales
Animators ... George Nicholas Lester Kline
Series: Nertsery Rhyme
Running time (of viewed version): (Columbia House v3: segment 10:12; cartoon begins 0:16 ,ends at 10:12; alt ver, 9:32)

Synopsis: Standard sleeping beauty storyline.

Comments: Unusual narrator voice. The fairies have an incredible grating set of voices. Beauty, Wealth, Wisdom and Destiny. Seems a waste to wish wealth on a princess who seems to not be fallen royalty. The princess's face looks like that of the standard TV blowup woman (a variation on the Nellie look). Destiny does the "I'm a baaaaad girrrrrl" line. The "good" fairies don't seem to have a problem continuing to live with Destiny for 100 years after she curses the princess. Mel Blanc as the dopey lover. (This is the first commercial DVD I've run across for this year of cartoons that seems to have the interlacing issue.) Destiny has an unpleasant level of foolish motion in the waking up scene. Non-dopey lover is unpleasantly rotoscopey. Destiny's reflective nails are interesting. The face manipulations seem almost Fleischery. I assume the vanity scene is meant to call to mind the magic mirror from Snow White. Several crowd scenes are dealt with by use of painted backgrounds. Falling asleep as a teen when being pricked by a spindle is a metaphor for sleeping after sex, right? Mel is stuttering in this with hiccups. We've seen him do this before this very year. The prince ends up like Aquaman.

BoxOffice Magazine, December 12, 1939

2010-12-05T10:49:00.002-05:00

BoxOffice, December 12, 1939

The early material is extremely garbled (I had to remove some characters because it was registering as HTML), due to what is probably an image based Gulliver ad, then a bunch of Gulliver news jammed together making it difficult to guess at a reconstruction. Don't get discouraged; it improves further down.
Check out page 81, where kids were encouraged to bring a pack of cigarettes for the troops so they could see some free cartoons...

Ad on early page? Left here in all its OCR mangled glory. With a little luck BoxOffice's archives will open a little more and will provide an image.

"FEATURE CARTOON A FUU-LENGTH Hours o

,

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Two The Most Wonderful Ever Known. .he screen Hos

Gulliver with the shipwrecked

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own

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Robin and Ralph

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<"^'°"•'"' Copyright 1939, P.r«no>.!'<

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A GIANT of

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• • •

backed by a GIANT of an advertising campaign!

$250,000

ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN!

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"Gulliver"

is

of these national

publications will read the great

news

is

that

coming

.

.

.

and every ad

timed

to break so that exhibitors reap fullest benefits!

"GULLIVER" LICENSEES DO A NATIONAL SELLING JOB FOR YOU

spending more than $100,000 to promote "Gulliver" merchandise national magazines and every ad is a boost for the picture!

.

.

."

-------

p28A? possible conflation:
""Gulliver's Travels" Available

At 40 % or Profit Sharing

Mid-Continent Meeting Calls Robert Gillham

Kansas City Robert H. Gillham, publicity and advertising head for Paramount, met here during the week with Jack DaUey, Bill Lansburg and Karl Kruger, field exploiteers, on "Gulliver's

—

New York—Paramount

liver's

is

selling

"Gul-

—

Travels," full length cartoon, at either 40 per cent or "top flat rentals" in which a profit-sharing arrangement is agreed upon when the gross hits a certain figure, it is learned. Exhibitors who play the film late were taken into consideration when the profit-

Travels."

Studio matters were discussed with Cliff

studio advertising and publicity head, the middle of the week. The two sessions here avoided a coast trip for Gillham, who returned to New York later in the week.

Lewis,

sharing plan was decided upon, it is said, in realization of what the company hopes will see extended and moveover run engagements getting "the cream of the business." These bookings will be at percentage."

"Travel

Ahead

of Gulliver

—

Just the first section of a long train of Paramount exploiteers who will blanket the country in behalf of "Gulliver's Travels" is this group of six, already pitching away as follows: Left to right. Ralph Ravenscroft covering Detroit. Indianapolis, Louisville, St. Louis and Cincinnati; Thomas Jefferson for New York state; Harlan Hobbs for Atlanta. New Orleans, Memphis, Birmingham and Nashville; Vernon Gray for Scranton. Wilkes-Barre. Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore and Richmond; Clinton Bolton in Boston, Providence. Worcester. Hartford, New Haven, Springfield and Portland, and Ben Hill, covering Dallas, Houston, San Antonio. Fort Worth. Oklahoma City and Tulsa."

28h:
"anticipates "Gulliver's Travels" will gross $3,000,000 in the domestlc market. There are nine field exploitcers now working or the picture scheduled to be released"

p29(a?):
"election of employes in four cartoon plants, to determine their bargaining agent, for January 16. Date was set back at the request of the Screen Cartoonists Guild, which is negotiating for an AFL charter. Voting will take place in the Lantz, Metro, Katz and Schlesinger studios. The Screen Writers Guild's executive board has scheduled an open meeting for December 4, to which the general membership has been invited. A discussion of the 'current labor situation, as it affects the SWG, is planned."

p32?
"Metro announces that Hugh Harman is preparing to produce a Technicolor cartoon, "Romeo and Juliet," which the studio claims will be the first cartoonization of the Shakespeare classic. Many exhibitors are of the impression that the studio made a cartoon of that title, with Leslie Howard portraying Romeo, about two years ago."

p34?
"voices and musical backgrounds for "Gulliver's Travels," fea-ture-length Technicolor cartoon, using a chorus of 110 voices."

p44
"The Appleton in Appleton conducted an all-cartoon program for youngsters turning in old toys in a tieup with Sears, Roebuck & Co. in that city. The toys were turned over to the for renovation"

p60
"Max Blumenthal was host to sixty youngsters of the industry children of exhibitors, employes, etc. at a special cartoon show Thanksgiving morning, after they saw the Santa Claus Parade from the Film Exchange. Charley Snyder and Jacob Boodman assisted in handling the crowd."

"William M. Gardner, of Gardner Disis president of Toyad Corp., with manufacturing plant at Latrobe, which opened shop this week, turning out sponge rubber toys, mannikins, exhibit and display figures and papier mache characters, many of them replicas of film cartoon "stars." Toyad Corp. has been licensed by Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. to use a special type of foam rubber. Firestone will continue the manufacture of sponge rubber chair seats."

p73

"Fleischer Premiere

Scheduled Dec. 18

"Gulliver's Travels," the Max Fleischer full length Technicolor feature, and, inciden,

""The present dearth of men and women who can drain acting ability from their systems to their fingertips and then transfer it successfully to celluloid is handicapping the mass production of long animated cartoons to the point of stymieing it to death," Fleischer adds emphatically.

Because he realizes that talent is futile without technical training, he has induced the Miami art school to schedule classes in animation; and regrets deeply that colleges are not sufficiently cartoon conscious to recognize the service they would be doing their students by making such courses regular features of standard curricula."

"Six Questions Alike

Over CBS For "Gulliver's" Debut

Set Broadcast

Broadcasting Columbia Miami The System will carry a special nationwide broadcast starring Lanny Ross, with Jessica Dragonette as his guest star, in conjunction with the world premiere of "Gulliver's Travels."

It will originate Columbia's outlet here from Station WQAM, on December 18, at 11:00 a.m. and 1:45 p. m. for re-broadcasting to coast outlets. Premiere of the feature-length cartoon takes place that evening at the Sheridan in Miami Beach."

p80
"country's first "transconpicture is the newest title being given to Max Fleischer's "Gulliver's Travels," now being rushed to completion at the new Miami studios. This full-length Technicolor feature is being so tabbed as the result of some recent higher mathematics on the part of several studio employes who figure that the film already has traveled some 176,800 miles, mostly by air. Why? The individual celluloids are being drawn and photographed in Miami while the film development is being executed in the laboratories of the Technicolor lA corporation in Hollywood. If"

""Gulliver's Travels," which will have its world premiere at the Sheridan Theatre on the beach, will be shown all over the country before Christmas."

p81
"Think of Troops

To provide Canadian troops with reading material and other comforts, two of the theatres in Ottawa have conducted special Saturday morning shows for juveniles, the admission charge for which are three recent magazines, a fiction book or a package of cigarettes. The screen program comprised cartoons and other appropriate pictures. The two theatres cooperating in the movement were the Capitol, a Famous Players' house, and the Elgin, an independent. The lobbies were piled high with a wide assortment of publications."

p87
"Sleeping Princess

(Walter Lantz Cartune)

Universal

10 Mins.

An amusing bit of cartoon fantasy in (Which the little princess suffers because 'the invitation to Destiny goes astray. Offended, the little princess is put to sleep until awakened by the kiss of a prince. Destiny finds the ancient invitation in time and makes everything right by changing the unworthy one into a prince charming."

"Pied Piper Porky

(Merrie Melody)

Antics of Pied Piper Porky are fairly amusing in this cartoon. Only one rat remains (who sounds like Rochester) to plague Porky. The rat emerges victorious even after Porky sends a cat after him."

p44
"Disney's"

p34?
"Dave Fleischer, who "Gulliver's directed

Travels" for Paramount, hosted a party the combined scoring and dubbing crews of the Paramount and Fleischer studios. Eighty musicians, technicians and other guests attended."

Schlesinger Sketch Pad Varieties, December 1, 1939

2010-12-04T14:14:00.000-05:00

It is unclear if these second annual Schlesinger Sketch Pad Varieties were separate from the Schlesinger Christmas party as the party was at the Wilshire Bowl, and this program was sponsored in part by the same (also radio 950 KFWB; I wonder if the show was broadcast). Cartoon Brew posted these images of th Schlesinger Sketch Pad Varieties courtesy of Van Eaton Galleries.

The sketch we see a page from was called "Animators Courageous", but there were apparently others, as Google books points me to Marth Sigall's book "Living Life Inside the Lines", which I should probably buy (update before posting: I've now actually ordered the book).
http://books.google.com/books?id=diKnDBs0wrIC&pg=PA132&lpg=PA132&dq=%22KFWB+theatre%22&source=bl&ots=9gxnT7ONbB&sig=iDUomi_jjqlDwTB3Lsry9R9S4Q0&hl=en&ei=_Yr6TKmiJZL4swOG6-n2DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22KFWB%20theatre%22&f=false
"Gaining from their experience in 1938, this group decided that the money made from he prior year's show could be improved upon in 1939. The way we accomplished this was to make up a formal type of playbill for which we sold advertising to local businesses. Not only did we have the money from the admissions, but additional fundes were generated from the playbill. And, for its time and purpose, it was a real nice presentation. The playbill was red on its front and back pages with silver lettering which read
[see image of front cover or text below]
The first sketch was entitled "Put Him on Please," written by Henry Binder. Its cast was as follows:
First Secretary ... Ada Ruinello
Second Secretary ... Virginia Morgan
Sketch #2 was "Ours Not To Reason Why," written and directed by David Mitchell, and starring the following cast:
Mrs Brown ... Dixie Mankameyer
Salesman ... Mike Maltese
A fifteen minute intermission followed with Coca-Cola served out side. After intermission, a song that I wrote, "That's My Cuue," was sung sung by Virginia Morgan.. I originally wrote the song for one of the sketches that was going to be used. But about two weeks before the show, the main female lead left the studio, and we couldn't get anyone on such" (end of Google preview)

"KFWB
Theatre
The The
Leon Schlesiger
Cartoon Studio
Presents
The Second Annual Revue
"Sketch
Pad
Varieties"
"The Play's The Thing"
- Shakespeare
Hollywood' California
Friday Night
December First 1939"

Animators Courageous cast:
"Animators Courageous"
by Chuck Jones
Cast
First Animator . . Harold Soldinger
Second Animator . . Dave Monahan
Third Animator . . Sid Sutherland
Other Animators . . Fred Jones
Robert Atkins
Philip Monroe
Rudolf Zingler
Jimmy .... James Conner
Newsboy ... Paul Callier
Smoky .... Henry Garner
Directed by Virginia Morgan
Scene: Animation room.
Time: Eight o'clock in the morning. "

See CB's original post at:
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/classic/more-van-eaton-goodies.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CartoonBrew+%28Cartoon+Brew%29

148 Sniffles and the Bookworm

2010-12-03T09:22:00.005-05:00

1939 Number: 148
Title: Sniffles and the Bookworm
Studio: Warner Bros.
Date: 12/02/39
Credits: -
Series: Merrie Melodies (on a Blue Ribbon retitle)
Running time (of viewed version): 7:40

Synopsis: Worm fears mouse, ultimately they ally.

Comments: The opening establishing background looks like a bit of a different style. Sniffles has that shading we saw beginning in Old Glory. Pied Piper has a very crescent moon face, which looks like it's made out of shiny plastic. "Porky Pig Easy Payments" sign. Multiple Porky book volumes. Singing, but almost no speech in the cartoon. Sniffles largely ditched, which is a good idea. I like the whole sound of Mutiny in the Nursery. Lots of book titles, but I don't have the energy to transcribe them at the moment. Interesting face palm. Books are coffins for characters. Another outsider gets in with the gang short, tho without assumed cuckoldry in this one. This misses the goodness of a regular blackout cartoon and misses the usefulness of a cohesive story. A throwback, storywise.

Christmas Seals, 1939

2010-12-02T14:24:00.001-05:00

Christmas Seals used to be put out by the American Lung Association. They were the group primarily pointed towards fighting lung cancer. They've now been overshadowed by breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. Lung cancer still kills more people than any of those three tho. Everyone has to die of something, but if you're going to be irritating about it, I'd prefer a Christmas Seal to a ribbon that makes me roll my eyes so hard they threaten to fall out of their sockets. This '39 Seal is way cooler than the crappy drawings by kids that I remember from my childhood.

147 The Hitch Hikers

2010-12-01T06:14:00.000-05:00

Title: The Hitch Hikers (on a retitle; The Hitchhiker in some lists, which could be correct for the original, especially as there is only one hitchhiker in the cartoon)
Studio: Terry
Date: 12/01/39
Credits: -
Series: Terry-Toons (probably; less formally, Gandy Goose, maybe)
Running time (of viewed version): 6:40

Synopsis: Goose with trailer hooks up with mean dog with car; hijinx ensue.

Comments: Some non Gandy Goose it looks like. But he kinda sounds like him. And a dog who kinda sounds like Sourpuss. There's a Gandy title card on this retitle. I'm not sure if it's right. They may have ret-conned it. If not, Terry was futzing with the series. This may just be an interim Gandy design I'm not familiar with. The dog is afraid of automation, like the earlier WB dogs this year. Effects sound odd again. Silhouette shot. They just met and went to bed together; was this normal at the time? Dog takes a pistol to the mosquito. This is why you shouldn't hitchhike. Gandy ultimately powers the trailer with mosquitos and runs the dog off the road into a tree, making the car explode. Which is why you shouldn't pick up hitchhikers.

Wonder Bakers at the Fair

2010-11-29T08:39:00.004-05:00

Title: Wonder Bakers at the World's Fair
Studio: Ted Eshbaugh
Date: (1939?)
Credits:
An Eshbaugh-Victor Production
Series: -
Running time (of viewed version): 3:36 (for footage on Cultoons)

Synopsis: Buy our mass produced baked goods.

Comments: I'm not certain this is a 1939 cartoon; it looks and sounds older. But jingle music retained this type of sound for awhile, so thats not dispositive. And Ted Eshbaugh's output as a solo and at Van Beuren didn't show so much evolution between known dated pieces (say, the Wizard of Oz in 1933 and Sunshine Makers in 1935) to really rule it out. In favor of 1939: the title is "The Wonder Bakers at the World's Fair"; as there were two World's Fairs in 1939-40, not mentioning the city would allow this to have been shown in San Francisco and New York. On the other hand, it also would have allowed it to be shown in 1933 and 1939, in Chicago and New York and San Francisco. If we can pin down creation of either the Wonder Baker bakers or the Hostess hostess mascots to after 1933, we can pin down the segments to the '39-40 fairs (I don't think anyone is arguing for 1963 or the Knoxville entry). Is there any evidence of when Eshbaugh was associated with someone named Victor (or the Voctor part of RCA Victor maybe)? As Eshbaugh's Wizard of Oz from 1933 was color (and he'd been working on color since 1932, based on the article at http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/08/04/how-the-first-color-cartoons-were-made/ , it was technically feasible.

Apparently, all sugar is ok and needs no testing for quality unlike flour, yeast and milk. Only bad ingredients are funny. The hostess is attractive. There really isn't much to comment on in this, content wise.

You can find this cartoon on Thunderbean's Cultoons Ads and Oddities
http://www.thunderbeananimation.com/dvdsales.html
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQ7JVG?ie=UTF8&seller=AKK5M0EM2CKQI&sn=thunderbean

BoxOffice, November 25, 1939

2010-11-28T10:13:00.001-05:00

BoxOffice, November 25, 1939

(first couple of pages) I am certain the 5 should be a $, but I am leaving it there to demonstrate the perils of OCR:
""Pinocchio," said to cost Walt Disney about 52,000.000, was originally planned as a Christmas release, but is not expected to be exhibited before the middle of February. "

"Another opening of importance is Max Fleischer's first animated Technicolor feature, "Gulliver's Travels," which goes into Paramount, December 20, under the Estimated cost on this present plans. animated production, is said to be well over $1,000,000. "

p17?
"theatres in the Warner Neighborhood group featured their special Saturday morning shows with 100 minutes of 'cartoons"

p20 compounded cartoon madness (It is obvious how the following should be divided, but only because I already know the names and positions of the individuals):
"Ending a three-week vacation in Honolulu. Roy Disney is back at his desk at Fred C. the Disney cartoon plant Quimby. Metro short subjects supervisor and head of the cartoon unit, is attending the company's sales meeting in Detroit"

p22? Various proper names precede this, none directly.
"leading 53-piece studio orbegins waxing score of "Gulliver's feature-length Technicolor cartoon"

p35? (reassembled)
""10 best roto tomorrow presents the for 1940" as picked by Paramount and the magazine section cover last Sunday was turned over to that traveling "Gulliver's Travels," man, Mr. Gulliver by the way, will hit the screens ahead of RKO's "Pinocchio." If we remember cor. . .
rectly, it'll be on view about Christmas time, while Disney's won't be re-leased until Easter."

p44?
"Much credit for the planting of the early ballyhoo for 'Gulliver's Travels" can he traced back to Bob Clark, local ad sales Local musimanager for Paramount cians' union will go to court to test the state liquor control board's ruling that dancing must stop at midnight on Satur. "

p25? p46?
"and East Dewas along Filmrow with Bruce HarJack sen, who is his general supervisor Moule of the Tuxedo, Highland Park, is putting on another cartoon party for youngsters"

p48?
"Cartoon Characters Herald Xmas in Shop Windows"
"Pittsburgh In addition to the calendar, another reminder that Christmas is really near was the Santa Claus parade

featuring the "Pinocchio," "Tarzan" and "Gulliver" floats, which took over the Triangle and the North Side last SaturPinocchio, hero of Walt Disney's day. new feature film, with Gepetto, Figaro the Cat, the Blue Fairy and the rest of the troupe are occupying the windows of Another one of the department stores. Paramount's "Gulliver's features store Travels" in the windows and the toy department of this store features "Andy Panda," new cartoon figure of Universal. Another store's window features "The Lone Ranger," and the toy department here has a "Lone Ranger" exhibit for which the admission price is 25 cents. Dozens of books, novelties and mechanical toys of these film characters are being featured at all stores. The old favorites, Mickey Mouse, Krazy Kat, Donald Duck, Pluto, Wizard of Oz, and Snow White characters are also offered, and new Gene Autry books, song books and novelties have made their appearance."

p51?
"Rufus Blair, associated with Hollywood Studios of Paramount, arrived to help out with "Gulliver's Travels" and "The Great Victor Herbert." He tied in with Jordan Marsh on the Christmas week showing of Travels," a Fleischer full"Gulliver's Meyer Marcus, M&P length cartoon exploiteer, is still trying to get an inside straight in a poker game."

p5
"any importance whatever, moving them, from the downtown Midwest and Criterion to the suburban Tower and Plaza at downtown prices. Plans are being made for long runs on "Gulliver's Travels," "The Real Glory," "Rulers of the Sea," "Ninotchka" and other hits due soon."

p67
" "Autograph Hound"

(Disney Cartoon)

8

Donald Duck goes Hollywood for a which should more than satisfy the children and also give adults a good time. Hit with the autograph bug, Donald wangles his way into a couple of studios for autographs of Mickey Rooney, Sonja Henie and a few of the others until word gets around he is the famous Disney duck. The stars drop everything and chase Donald for his autograph, even the lumpy gateman who has been chasing the duck off the lots. The color work is beautiful and, en toto, it is a short which will garnish any program with

line piece of entertainment

just the right thing

it

Never Sock a Baby

Paramount

(Popeye the Sailor)

6

Mins.

Popeye learns it does not pay to spank babies. After spanking Swea' Pea, Popeye has a wild dream in which all sorts of adventures befall Swea' Pea who has fled because of the licking. The cartoon is on the weak side."

146 The Millionaire Hobo

2010-11-26T09:34:00.006-05:00

Title: The Millionaire Hobo
Studio: Columbia
Date: 11/24/39
Credits:
Story
Allen Rose
Music
Joe De Nat
Animation
Harry Love
Series: Scrappy
Running time (of viewed version): 6:36

Synopsis: Hobo inherits cats instead of money, a fact he misses, and then overspends.

Comments: There's a complicated looking shot of the hobo walking towards the horizon; the ground is animated rolling towards him, tree background elements are moved up, a hill level is moved up at a slower rate, and the very background clouds and sky do not move at all. Mel Blanc is the hobo. Scrappy is barely in the cartoon, to deliver the mail. Old "walk this way" gag. Scrappy trying to point out the bit about the cats actually ruins the joke. It would be funnier to just have him and us not know, over buy, then have it revealed to all of us together at the end.

Thanksgiving Parade Round Up, 1939

2010-11-25T16:19:00.002-05:00

Popeye appeared on a float in the New York parade, and Donald Duck appeared in the Detroit parade.

New York:

http://books.google.com/books?id=8IR5i5nsX2sC&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=thanksgiving+day+parade+1939&source=bl&ots=5JP8GH_JVo&sig=80KtdOg0vIkMVdnm-OWaPkZ-4TY&hl=en&ei=zIvpTPXzDon0swOCzLCxCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=thanksgiving%20day%20parade%201939&f=false

Detroit:

http://books.google.com/books?id=PZ01sGJfokwC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=thanksgiving+day+parade+1939&source=bl&ots=fK8NiX98AB&sig=p5olizeMPaxxi0zN0K9vaUmpca0&hl=en&ei=zIvpTPXzDon0swOCzLCxCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=thanksgiving%20day%20parade%201939&f=false

(go to p28 to see a Flinstones float, as well)

More on Macy's parade:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/930875@N20/pool/

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/galleries/entertainment/entertainment.html

MIckey Mouse Thanksgiving Postcard from Sunoco

2010-11-25T00:37:00.001-05:00

Here we have Mickey in a pilgrim's hat, hunting a turkey. I'm fairly certain this is not from 1939, as the Mickey Standard Oil advertising cartoon is from 1939, unless Sunoco was a subsidiary, which I don't think it was. Happy Thanksgiving anyway.

145 Scrambled Eggs

2010-11-24T10:30:00.009-05:00

Title: Scrambled Eggs
Studio: Lantz
Date: 11/20/39
Credits:
Directed by
Alex Lovy
Music
Frank Marsales
Animators
Frank Tipper
Hicks Lokey
Story by Elaine Pogany
Designed by
Willy Pogany
Series: A "Peterkin"
Running time (of viewed version): 8:47

Synopsis: Satyr hates birds, mixes their offspring, has to deal with that old devil consequence.

Comments: One of the '39 Lantz cartoons on an official DVD release. So is the next one (the final from the year), but only on the Columbia House set, whereas this one is viewed from volume 1 of the newer multi disc collections. The title has animation in it, but separate from the cartoon, and it's quite brief (one of the briefest showings of an original title card so far, I think). Very unusual backgrounds. Not exactly nice looking, either. The trees look like they're made out of rice crispies and feces. Redheaded woodpecker appearance. I'm not sure if the stork OB is a Fred Allen voice. Apparently the birds all do it at the same time, as their eggs all hatch at the same time. Peterkin is an evil little prick. Blackbird has a southern voice. Everyone breaks up because the guys assume the girls all mated with the other guys (they aren't mad at each other tho; also, the girls don't seem to be denying it); this makes for (at least) the third bird cuckoldry cartoon of the year, after Disney's The Ugly Duckling and Terry's The Orphan Duck. Here they abandon the chicks to die, which is normal for these cartoons. "Hey stupid, I want some jelly beans"; good line, almost in the Screwy Squirrel voice. The chicks picket Peterkin. Outgrowth of union organizing in the industry? There are 8 birds pictured in the initial maternity tree shot; there's also one empty nest. There are three other species in the stork shot; a parrot (or similar), a finch (labeled), and green bird with orange highlights (and the stork OB, but he doesn't count). And there's a pink/purple male with a top hat and a grey faced male (sparrow) with a hat in the pacing scene. I'm not sure if the canary is the yellow bird in the maternity tree; might be. There's a pigeon in a speaking shot. There's a crazy eyed orange bird; it may be intended to be the ruffled looking bird in the maternity tree, or maybe not. Peterkin's nipples are disturbing. Peterkin's face design doesn't animate well. The blackbird's socks look a bit like draggly... well, you know. There's a red brown warbler when Peterkin starts messing. Red with white throat and blue tail in there too. There may be some extra chick species too. I wonder if they had people pitch a bunch of random gags like for I'm Just A Jitterbug? It feels more cohesive than that. It certainly has lots of visuals tho.

(Update 1/22/11: see Peterkin in image 210 at http://www.animationarchive.org/?p=1906 )

144 Porky The Giant Killer

2010-11-22T08:50:00.007-05:00

Title: Porky The Giant Killer (technically in double quotes)
Studio: Warner Bros.
Date: 11/18/39
Credits:
Supervision
Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton
Story by
Melvin Millar
Animation
Gil Turner
Musical Direction
Carl W. Stalling
Series: Looney Tunes
Running time (of viewed version): 8:13

Synopsis: Porky is more of a giant home invader (tho he has a stick for beating with him), and baby sitter/musician.

Comments: Interesting bendy angles on the low shot of the giant castle under the title. And it panned down as I expected it to. This makes for an external establishing shot. The doors of the castle open onto text, which the camera pushes in on. All in keeping with the zeitgeist. Porky looks funny (not in the good way); possibly more in keeping with the She Married a Cop look. Dog men in armor, and otherwise on the march. Pegleg Pete voice on the giant. The main giant in this is a baby, which makes Porky a baby killer. Fair amount of shading in this. The giant lives in a castle of more or less normal proportions. An example where Porky doesn't get ditched. I think the knight sticking his head out of his helmet has been used earlier this year. Lots of nice angles in this. Like Fagin, the giant is a good bad guy. Lots of white shock sweat coming off of Porky. The eyelids look good; it's not just being lower tho, it's the shiny look they have.

Edit 10/27/11: Sogturtle remains unbeatable. Nevertheless, we have pictures of a cel from this from an eBay auction. For color commentary, we have the following "I am selling this for a friend whose Grandfather had this hanging in his Upstate NY bar for many, many years." So there you go.

Disney's Travel Tykes

2010-11-21T10:32:00.003-05:00

These should be the Travel Tyke comics mentioned in the Standard Parade of 1939 yesterday. These aren't exactly high quality images, but they are superior to the other options known to be available to me in that they exist. Click on them and they will be a bit larger. Note that I over stated "pie eyed".

Disney's Standard Parade for 1939

2010-11-20T09:25:00.005-05:00

Title: "Walt Disney's Standard Parade for 1939!
Studio: Disney
Date: 1939ish
Credits: -
Series: (Standard Parade?)
Running time (of viewed version): 7:33 without Leonard, 2:15 of the "Standard Parade for 1939" (aka without the live action).

Synopsis: Disney pimps for Standard Oil. There was a tie in for a comic insert in papers called Travel Tykes.

Comments: Watch Walt smoke like a chimney. A Saturday Evening Post dated March 11, 1939 shows up, giving a no earlier than date; this makes me wonder if a date of January for the beginning of the Travel Tykes tie in comic is accurate. Awesome illuminated page from Argentina. There is a glazed pottery Mickey in possibly his Fun and Fancy Free outfit in front of Walt's honorary degree. 8 oscars; that should put this in after Ferdinand won and before Ugly Duckling won. Discusses the new $2 million studio being built. Dramatic Mickey and Donald dolls being swing around. For some reason the title reads "Walt Disney's Standard Parade for 1939! Copyright MCMXXXVII Walt Disney Prod. Ltd.". That's 1937. With certainly pre-1939 Donald and Mickey dolls. Perhaps there are earlier versions of this. Mickey's face is very flat looking. I would have guessed this was earlier than '39 to promote the forthcoming year, but the cover of Variety and the 8 Oscars implies that is not the case. Perhaps the animation was done earlier than the final cut of the black and white live action. Uh, there are earlier style pie eyed mice. Is this literally lifted animation from the parade of awards nominees? The Travel Tykes comics, supposedly from 1939, all seem to have a pie eyed Mickey, the animation here (tho not unlike Society Dog Show, the first '39 theatrical Mickey). Perhaps they were recycled from previous years as well? It occurs to me that Disney was trying to remake Mickey into one of the dwarfs.

Buried on Mickey Mouse In Living Color v2, disc 1, in a musical note on the bonus features page. I hate when they bury things as Easter Eggs. It's Title 27, chapter 2, if you can jump directly to it.

143 Fagin's Freshman

2010-11-18T08:57:00.006-05:00

Title: Fagin's Freshman
Studio: Warner Bros.
Date: 11/18/39
Credits: - (but Hardaway/Dalton)
Series: Merrie Melodies (on Blue Ribbon reissue)
Running time (of viewed version): 7:50

Synopsis: Cat hates crappy song, punished with bed, dreams of a wonderful school for criminals, wakes up and pusses out.

Comments: These cats are similar to the She Married a Cop cats. "All you think of is guns and shooting"; must be the influence of all the gun based cartoons... Background portraiture: known people? Super wrinkle face lead. Even criminals need schooling. Thugs standing under a sign that says "Drugs"probably didn't have the exact same resonance then as now, but I'm not sure that resonance was not intended. "Reasonable facsimile"; this has more verbal humor than you might expect in the era; maybe it's just a slightly better version. Probably a lift. Pound of butter gag is quite likable. Several lower eyelids; more evidence for She Married a Cop ID (as a Hardaway/Dalton made segment). I think the voice actress on the mother may have been Dennis Day's mother's voice on Jack Benny. She has at least one shot of just legs, like H/B would use for Mammy Two Shoes. One of a series of "kids hang out with ruffians and get into trouble" cartoons. I suppose Pinocchio would be the pinnacle in this movie season (it being only a few months away; Mel Blanc did the voice of Gideon, one of the bad cats, supposedly, and he shows up here at least as the piano playing cat). There are non-black characters playing dice. I don't know why the class of 1920 all have pardons but are still in prison garb in front of bars.

Columbia Cache

2010-11-17T09:03:00.003-05:00

Christmas came a little early this year, and it was blog topical.

The following 11 matted cels came up on eBay. I was not the only person bidding on these cels, which is bad, but the other bidder was not a crushing bidder, which is good. I got 8 of the 11, with an average price of about twice the starting bid.

Seven of the eleven cels do not show the characters' eyes. WTF?

We start with the oldest elf from Happy Tots. You'll notice it has a huge matte, and the cel is cut small and taped to the matte, and doesn't have the other characters from the shot (if it was horizontal, they could've fit them all in) . There's a good degree of wrinkling on the background.

This next one is from Peaceful Neighbors.

This is from Happy Tots (didn't win it):

Strangely, these two cels are matched, but have been matted separately. (The two girls cel are on the same cel; paint loss in progress, as it is on several other of these, tho its worst here.) Also Happy Tots, obviously.

Once again, Happy Tots. Again, no eyes. But panties.

From The House That Jack Built; my third cel of the damn beaver:

Cel from the same shot as my ostrich/beaver cel, but I didn't win this one:

I have not identified the following three cels; I'm assuming they are also Columbia from the company they keep. But a WAC (or an Andrews' sister in military garb) should be from a bit later. Guy in a blue suit with a yellow tie getting mud(?) in his face could be any time (the backgrounds on those are very very wrinkled). I quick run through my screenshots for the year didn't turn it up for me, but it's possible I could've missed it (especially the guy in the suit). I'd appreciate any ID help you can supply on these.

(edit: Brandon Panther's guess is the Air Hostess, 1937; it sounds like a pretty good guess)

(didn't win the next one)

See additional Happy Tots art at:
http://cartoonsof1939.blogspot.com/2010/03/040-happy-tots-hot-and-happy.html
See additional House That Jack Built art at:
http://cartoonsof1939.blogspot.com/2010/04/048-house-that-jack-built.html

142 A Wicky Wacky Romance

2010-11-16T07:49:00.000-05:00

Title: A Wicky Wacky Romance (there is no dash on the title card)
Studio: Terry
Date: 11/17/39
Credits:
Story by
John Foster
Directed by
Mannie Davis
Music by
Philip A. Scheib
Series: Terry-Toons
Running time (of viewed version): 6:42

Synopsis: Pirate cats kidnap island mouse girl, Greystoke mouse beats up cats and saves her.

Comments: The sound effects I'm hearing don't feel original to me. Neither does the parrot voice. Perhaps this was a music only soundtrack, and they later punched it up. The mouse hula feels earlier than '39. Maybe the entire soundtrack was lost and they had to recreate it? The music doesn't sound wrong the way the FX do. Found the music track, lost the other tracks? Pirate cats apparently want to have sex with hula mice. Instead of Mighty Mouse we get a Tarzan mouse; very much in the prototype line for MM tho. Limited to what a strong jungle mouse can do tho. Camera movement to mimic ship movement. Animated waves behind title. I didn't realize they had wakeboarding at the time. The cannon goes flaccid after it shoots its line to the girl mice. The captain is barely happy when the girl dances, and not even pissed when she kicks him in the face. The island rowing is abnormally simple looking for the time. The animated oar trees are done well, but the overall look of everything in the shot is... cheap. The old "fall through the deck and sink the ship" gag. Tho here it actually explodes.

There's only approximately 10% of the cartoons left in the year.

The Amazing Recovery of Inbad the Ailer

2010-11-14T10:06:00.007-05:00

Title: The Amazing Recovery of Inbad the Ailer
Studio: Lantz
Date: 1939
Credits: -
Series: Advertising
Running time (of viewed version): -

Title Frame: A motion picture presented at the New york World's Fair by the makers of Saraka.

10 Girl frame: Da-da-da da-da! Three luscious nautch girls, slim and sinuous as the houris of Paradise, were swaying in a seductively Oriental dance.

13 "At Saambi's signal, a Nubian marched in. On a salver, he carried an orange colored tin bearing the mystic words "SARAKA for constipation.""

14 " "Saraka!" cried Inbdad. And the look on his face was like that of a thirsty traveler lost in the desert, who suddenly sights a cool, green oasis."

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This has not been viewed by me. This came out for the 1939 New York World's Fair for the laxative Saraka. It looks great, ad is strangely clear for a '39 Lantz color cartoon, but maybe it's just been juiced for 4 color printing. There was reportedly a print on eBay in 2004. The images here come from the booklet put out based on it (essentially screenshots). I'd love to see this. I'd also love to have the booklet so I could scan in the entire thing. In time...

The other images are a promo button form the campaign (I have one), an ad from Life from 1937 in a different style (so Lantz had to adapt the storyline, I suppose), and a 1939ish ad from the Lantz based campaign. I should transcribe the '39 life ad, but I'm not going to right now. You should be able to read it if you like by clicking on the image.

Pin:

1939 ad:

1937 ad:

August 21, 1939 Life magazine Saraka ad:
http://books.google.com/books?id=9EEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=%22inbad+the+ailer%22&source=bl&ots=yLhi779buK&sig=DSf4DSscUGw1KVZLYkqHR8V6_xg&hl=en&ei=845LTLr1HMKB8gbymsk1&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDMQ6AEwBA

Time for Saraka (Inbad the Ailer)
http://www.worldsfaircommunity.org/index.php?showtopic=4332

Cartoon Brew's piece on it:
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/animated-and-constipated.html

A print was apparently on ebay in 2004
http://www.peacethroughunderstanding.org/index.php?showtopic=3687&st=0&p=25568&#entry25568

http://librarydisplays.wolfsonian.org/Comparative%20Colonialism%20Web/86.19.184.htm

'37 ad: http://dr-hermes.livejournal.com/581473.html