Profiles in Animation, 1924

One and two-reel shorts filled theatres in the silent era in huge numbers. In 1924, Pathé was not only releasing Aesop Fables made by Paul Terry, the studio’s schedule included shorts by Stan Laurel, Will Rogers, Charlie Chase, Mack Sennett (Harry Langdon and Ben Turpin), the Spat Family, Our Gang, Snub Pollard, the Sportlight series, Dippy Doo Dad, Leatherstocking, and others.

Other studios were just as busy, even in animation.

The Aug. 16, 1924 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review published feature articles on three of them. Conspicuous by her absence is Margaret Winkler, who was handling the Felix the Cat cartoons and the Alice Comedies of Walt Disney.

Comedy Gets a New Character
JACQUES KOPFSTEIN
Gen'l Manager Bray Productions, Inc.
SCENE — Bray Studios.
Enter Colonel Heeza Liar (illustration of Colonel Heeza Liar)
"Gee ! I've been working around the Bray Studios for twelve years now, and am the oldest cartoon in existence. I wish Bray would give me a rest.
"Look what's happened to the other Bray characters. Bobby Bumps has grown up, and is a big boy now; Goodrich Dirt, the famous tramp, became a war profiteer and is living on Fifth Avenue. He's quit the movies too. Dud Perkins and his gang who made "US FELLOWS" famous are all going to college now, and even "Jerry" is not on the Job any longer.
"Of all the Bray cartoons I am the only one that is still working, I wish Bray would give me a vacation."
J. R. Bray heard Colonel Heeza Liar's complaints and told the COLONEL that he would not send him to the Old Soldier's Home, or put him on a pension, but would just give him a short vacation, and then came the thought of another character which would bring joy and smiles to the international audiences that enjoy the Bray Cartoons, ever since they were invented many years ago by Bray himself.
A new cartoon which will come from the Bray Studios during the coming season at monthly intervals will be known as DINKY DOODLE. Dinky Doodle is a rough and tumble boy, full of pep and life — sure to become a favorite of all. — His constant companion is a black and white dog, known as "Weakheart," who takes part in all Dinky Doodle's mischievous under takings.
The first of the Dinky Doodle series is entitled "Dinky Doodle and the Wonderful Lamp" — a burlesque on the Fairy Tale of "Aladdin and his Magic Lamp."
Dinky Doodle will work in this series in conjunction with the cartoonist himself. In other words, these series will not be straight cartoons but will be what are known as "combination" cartoons, where the actor appears in conjunction with the cartoon character — a process which was invented by J. R. Bray — which not only gives novelty to each individual subject, in addition to the entertainment, but is mystifying as well. Walter Lantz, the famous cartoonist who has achieved success in directing the COLONEL HEEZA LIAR SERIES will direct the new Dinky Doodle Series. Distribution will be through the Standard Cinema Corporation.

‘Out of the Inkwell’ Comedies
THE Red Seal Pictures Corp., a comparatively new entrant in the independent production and distribution field will have a program of novelties for next year meriting comparison with the best, according to Edwin Miles Fadman, president of the company.
The organization is confining its activities to the production and distribution of novelty releases alone. Of the total of 120 to 150 novelty reels, over 75 per cent of them will have the comedy element predominating.
Heading the list there will be 22 new single-reel Out-of-the-Inkwell novelties by Max Fleischer, released one every three weeks. Mr. Fleischer's product has enjoyed a popularity and a reputation of cleverness for a period of many years.
There will also be something brand new in the way of a fun novelty which will be released as 13 Song Cartoon reels composed of well known old time and modern songs done in funny cartoon form and adapted for audience singing where desired, perfectly timed, scored and synchronized ; and released one every four weeks.
The first of these reels went on for a pre-release run at the Rialto, New York, and was composed of the three old time Charles K. Harris songs, "Mother, mother, mother pin a rose on me," "Goodbye my Lady Love" and "Come take a trip in my Airship." The trade papers commented freely on the unusual success of this novelty. The New York Tribune said "these things are simply impossible to describe. You must go and see them for yourself."
Releases commence in September.
In addition to 13 Film Facts, (medley hodge-podge reel) humorously edited and titled bv Max Fleischer and released one very four weeks, there will be 9 Funny Face single reel comedies and 52 Animated Hair Cartoons. These Hair Cartoons are about 300 ft. in length and are composed of famous characters, actors and actresses done in animated form by Edwin Marcus, cartoonist for the New York Times. As an instance, he draws Charlie Chaplin on the screen and then changes the hair around so that it turns into Rudolph Valentino right before the eyes of the audience.
The Red Seal is the only organization in the independent field producing a complete program of novelties for the exclusive use of first run theatres and high class independent exchanges.
Among the many first run theatres throughout the country using this material for next year are such representative houses as : The Rivoli and Rialto, New York ; Stanley, Philadelphia ; Fenway, Boston; Eastman, Rochester; Missouri, St. Louis ; Rialto, Washington ; and Victory, Denver.

"Fables" and "Topics" are Popular
PATHE'S "Aesop's Film Fables" are fast becoming the most popuular one reel subject in the field today, is the consensus of opinion of exhibitors scattered throughout the country. This popularity extends to the theatre manager as well as to the public at large and is due to the fact that the "Fables" have proven themselves "sure fire" program units.
Much of this credit should go to Cartoonist Paul Terry, who conceived the idea and contributed much to their success through his insight into human nature and an over developed bump of humor, which can carefully draw a line between the grotesque and real laughs. To the manager that runs a combination house of vaudeville and pictures as well as to the manager of the regular run picture theatres these one reelers have proven a "lifesaver" in more than one instance. They can always be relied upon to fill a big gap in any program and are an absolute insurance against the show "flopping" for the want of comedy and laughs.
They are released weekly and are booked over every one of the larger circuits throughout the United States. The B. F. Keith Circuit in the East, the Orpheum, Pantages and Loew circuits in the West use the Aesop's cartoon reels as a regular part of the weekly program, and many times local newspaper reviewers credit the film over the rest of the show.
Pathe's "Topics of the Day" enters its sixth year of success as one of the most "business getters" in the short field.
As a snappy joy reel of wit it has no equal, and quite a number of theatres throughout the country have not missed a single weekly issue since its inception. Even radio services and broadcasting stations have adopted it as part of their regular program while the larger class vaudeville houses use it as an advertised feature. The leading high class vaudeville theatre of the world, B. F. Keiths' Palace Theatre in New York, has booked this one "reeler" on every issue since the first.
The Topics of the Day are produced by the Timely Films, Inc., and distributed by the Pathe Exchanges, Inc. It consists of some timely cartoon in animated form and excerpts of wit and humor culled from the leading publications of the world. Exhibitors scattered throughout the country are very strong in their praise of the subject.
As an example of its growing popularity a contest was run in connection with the release some time ago and as many as 18,000 answers per week were received, representing all sections of the country. At the time of the contest the film was running in over 3,000 theatres in the United States and this number has been multiplied by two since that date. Over 100,000 contestants were entered before the closing of the contest.

The animated cartoon landscape changed within a few years. By the dawn of the sound era in 1928-30:
● Harman-Ising, Ub Iwerks, Paul Terry/Frank Moser and Universal/Lantz had started their own studios. (Dare I mention Romer Grey or Scarfoot?)
● Silent stars like Felix and Ko-Ko the clown started fading away.
● Dinky Doodle and Colonel Heeza Liar were distant memories.
● Krazy Kat returned in silent shorts and lasted about a decade when sound came in.
● The Fables studio took its owner’s name and Amedee Van Beuren carried on producing cartoons for a few more years.
● The Fleischer brothers went with a newcomer named Bimbo.
Oh, yes.
● Disney came up with a musical mouse. Whatever happened to him?

What's In the Cave?

Fast chases, odd characters (two-headed camel, two-bodied giraffe) and Tex Avery seeing how far a cocoanut can journey are the highlights of Half-Pint Pygmy.

There's a darkness gag. George, Junior and the pygmy run into a cave. It's dark. George strikes a match.



A tiger! And a tiger take.



George, Junior and the pygmy rush out of the cave and hide behind a rock. The effects artist gets out the dry-brush.



Junior comes out of hiding behind the rock. George is under Junior. The pygmy is under George. And it turns out the tiger is under the pygmy.



Take. Exit.



Boxoffice magazine quoted from an MGM news release in its July 19, 1947 the cartoon was in “preparation.” Daily Variety reported on December 17 the cartoon was completed. It was released Aug. 7, 1948.

Said Boxoffice:

Half-Pint Pygmy
MGM (Technicolor Cartoon) 7 Mins.
Good. Two half-human creatures read an advertisement offering a reward for the smallest pygmy in the world and immediately make tracks for darkest Africa. There after super-human efforts that include encounters with lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes and other fauna, they finally capture a tiny pygmy—only to learn there is another still smaller.

Said the Motion Picture Herald:

HALF-PINT PYGMY (MGM)
Technicolor Cartoon (W-941)
Into darkest Africa where pygmies dwell goes cartoon director Tex Avery. He brings the sad story of a pygmy with an inferiority complex.

Said The Exhibitor:

HALF-PINT PYGMY. MGM—Cartoon. 7m. When a reward is posted for the capture of the world’s smallest pygmy, the two bears set sail for Africa to pint the prize. Spying what they think is the tiny treasure, they make many vain attempts to capture the pygmy, with ensuing chases causing the hunters much grief, they finally catch up with the small pygmy, the bears are then introduced to an even smaller pygmy, who scurries away into the distance. Thwarted, the hunters shoot themselves. FAIR. (W-941)

Perhaps Tex really did kill them off. He made no more cartoons with George and Junior.

Keith Scott has determined Avery played Junior while Wally Maher (the voice of Screwy Squirrel) was George.

Heck Allen was Avery’s gagman in this. The credited animators were Bill Shull, Louis Schmitt, Walt Clinton and Grant Simmons.

Well, I'll Be a Horse's...

A sigh accompanied a recent thumbing of a 1941 catalogue issued by J. Marvin Painter, Sr., whose company rented 16 millimetre reels of the entire Van Beuren sound cartoon catalogue.

There would have been good prints available. Today, people like Steve Stanchfield at Thunderbean have to search everywhere for decent remaining elements to restore these cartoons to the best condition they can.

One is Nursery Scandal, an Aesop Fable released August 27, 1932. The versions I’ve seen as of this posting are pretty low-resolution and edited; you can hear a cut in Gene Rodemich’s soundtrack after Mother Goose’s goose and a bird comment about the romance going on—and this is the horrendous scandal—between Mother Goose (who looks like a witch) and a scarecrow.

This short is Van Beuren pretending to be 1929 Walt Disney. There’s a lot of dancing, singing by a male quartet heard in other Aesop Fables, and, well, not much else.

An interesting bit of animation is when the marching horses turn around, with their tails becoming heads and vice versa. Even in these pixilated frames, you can see how the heads wither and change.



What would a Van Beuren cartoon be without happy dancing? You can find scenes like these in The Farmerette and Barnyard Bunk.



The cow jumps over the moon! I love the tongues. And I just noticed the cat is Puss in Boots.



Van Beuren churned out the cartoons in 1932. There were two or three releases every month. Is it any wonder the quality suffered? The same month Nursery Scandal was released, RKO put out Wild Goose Chase, Aug. 13 (Fables) and Jolly Fish, Aug. 19 (Tom and Jerry). Some of the animation (and character designs) in this came from the 1931 Fable Fairyland Follies. Harry Bailey and John Foster get the "by" credit.

The gnome quartet is singing "The Kings Horse's (and the King's Men") by Noel Gay and Harry Graham. Here's a nice little version of it.

I Hear Slurping

Purely as a plot device, Jerry laps up the cream Tom has stolen from a bottle on the porch in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse.

Tom finally shoves the dish into a safe and slams it shut. But like Droopy in Tex Avery’s Northwest Hounded Police, Jerry is always there. Tom hears slurping from inside the safe. Here’s the anticipation and the take.



Jerry scrambles in reaction. Here are some drawings.



Tom opens the safe and looks inside. Reaction drawings.



The best part of this cartoon is the wild transformation drawings when Jerry gains and loses his strength. Jerry pops from one odd shape to the next.

Thad Komorowski has mentioned this is one of a number of MGM cartoons where Ray Patterson and Pete Burness did not get screen credit. The credited animators here are Ken Muse, Ed Barge, Mike Lah and Al Grandmain, who generally handled effects. Someone reading may know who is responsible for the pose drawings.

The June 30, 1945 issue of Boxoffice magazine announced the cartoon was going into production. The short was released June 14, 1947.

Tex on Blu-Ray

One of my favourite gags in a Tex Avery cartoon comes from Lucky Ducky when a chase stops because everything has turned black-and-white.



I like most of the other gags in this one, too. But it’s never been put out on higher definition home video because of one particular gag.

Readers here are intelligent and knowledgeable, so you know what I’m talking about.

So imagine my surprise to get up this morning and discover that Warner Archive has come to the rescue of Lucky Ducky.



On December 1, all of Tex’s work at MGM is being released. Uncut. That means, yes, you will see Uncle Tom's Cabaña and, yes, you will see Half Pint Pygmy.

What are being called “Original Release” shorts are bonuses. It sounds as if Lucky Ducky’s ending with the conga-dancing title card is included, as well as war-time gags in The Shooting of Dan McGoo and Wild and Woolfy.

And it will be “accompanied by a lavish 72-page booklet, special features and archival rarities.” Circulating on the internet in recent days has been publicity art from Avery cartoons not found in the actual cartoons. (Someone with facts can tell me if this is part of the booklet).

Could this year be much better? Warner is giving us Quick Draw McGraw (regretfully, the whole 30-minutes of each show cannot be completely reconstructed, but some mini-cartoons will be bonuses) and all of Tex’s MGM shorts. On top of that Yogi Bear has been upgraded to Blu-ray.

There’s more information about the Avery release at this link.

He's the Rabbit

Bugs Bunny, disguised as a “streamlined” turtle, is ecstatic he’s about to beat the turtle, disguised as a bunny, in Bob Clampett’s Tortoise Wins By a Hare (1942).

There’s one problem. The gambling ring of rabbits is going to make sure the hare wins—and they think Cecil Turtle is the hare.

Bugs is about the cross the finish line, but then. . . Here are some random drawings. Yes, one rabbit is stabbing Bugs.



The mobsters rush to help the disguised turtle across the finish line. Bugs goes ballistic. “You fools!,” Bugs screams. “I’m the rabbit!!” He shows off his rabbit body parts.



Time for a radio reference. The mobsters, in unison, give a Jewish shrug and do an impersonation of the Al Pearce version of Mr. Kitzel. “Nyehhh, now he tells us.” Then a multiple suicide gag to end it all.



The animation credit on screen is given to Bob McKimson. This is not McKimson's animation.