TV Firsts

Ah, TV trivia! Where would we be without it?

Perhaps the first concerted effort to keep track of TV trivia in the modern age (1948 and later) was on page 39 of Weekly Variety of July 26, 1950. The cockeyed information caught the eye of syndicated columnist John Crosby, who took it easy in his August 1st newspaper piece and simply summarised what he read in Variety. That may have been a first, too.

One of the things mentioned in the Variety column that the writer felt would make a nice surprise in a refrigerator commercial would be “Ed Sullivan frozen in a block of ice.” I couldn’t help but think of the 1961 Paramount cartoon “Cool Cat Blues,” featuring an ersatz Sullivan frozen in a block of ice. Did the great Irv Spector, who wrote the cartoon, see the Variety piece and file it in the back of his head for future use?

Alas, the frozen Sullivan (how would anyone know he wasn’t?) suggestion didn’t make the cut in Crosby’s column. Neither did something Variety recorded that was on television at the time—the TV camera that drank a glass of Schaefer beer between innings of the Brooklyn Dodger games. I’d like to have seen that commercial.

Radio In Review
BY JOHN CROSBY
Variety Salutes Television
VARIETY'S current issue contains its annual salute to television, roughly 14 pages of complaints, criticisms, predictions and assorted laments about TV contributed by the deep thinkers of the R.C.A. building and Hollywood. I hurriedly skip over the large-scale observations, which are too sweeping for my small-scale intellect, and pass along to some of the more minute perceptions.
H. Allen Smith, for example, reports that he has watched 3,212 icebox doors open, only 3,210 of which were subsequently closed. Two were left standing open. Mr. Smith suggests that they get a little suspense into it. When a door swings, there should be some sort of surprise—a copperhead poised for the kill or Groucho Marx leering from behind a beer bottle.
THIS IS such a fine suggestion I'm afraid it will be adopted. Not the copperhead, though. There will be four bottles of beer there, singing that old folk song, "Piel's Light Beer of Broadway Fame" at you. Then a can of Hunt's Tomato Sauce, doing a soft-shoe dance in the deep-freeze unit, will tell you what it does to a flounder. The possibilities are endless.
Some one score years ago, George Bernard Shaw used to complain that about two-thirds of the average movie consisted of opening and bedroom doors. But the movies matured. The actors graduated from the boudoir and began opening and closing taxi doors, shouting "Follow that cab!" Now, we are in the icebox door age, but already there are rumblings of change. The automobile door is getting the play. ("Notice the easy finger-tip action, the vibromatic swing of this fine, all-steel hydro-active door, exclusive with the Blodgett.")
For my money, the best door-opener in the business is Miss Betty Furness, the Westinghouse Girl. When she opens a frigerator, she gets her whole body into it, not just her wrist. She's also the most polished oven-door opener now operating. Another year and she'll be ready for a Cadillac door.
ANOTHER Variety essayist, Hal Kanter, of Hollywood, scripted a little ode to television's unsung pioneers. Milton Berle, Mr. Kanter points out, is the first man—Hey Nonny, Nonny—to kiss his own hand in front of a television camera. Mr. Berle is also credited by Mr. Kanter with launching the "Check your brains and we'll start even" joke on TV, a notable first.

Ed Sullivan, says Mr. Kanter, blazed another trail when he showed the industry "you can entertain an audience at home by photographing audiences in a theatre. Mr. Kanter, a diligent historian, also salutes the first technician to walk in of a camera at the most dramatic moment of the play; the dress designer who designed the TV neckline, thus adding a new dimension to the industry; and the first English film, "Tiffin on the Thames," to be seen on TV. This picture, he pointed out, may be seen tonight on Channel 2, the following night on Channel 6 and twice on Sunday on Channel 11.
Another noted Hollywood scholar, Manny Mannheim, contributed easily the most exhaustive paper yet written on the subject of scratching and shaking on TV; (Mr. Mannheim first won renown with his searching study of cigarette choreography on TV.) Ken Murray, Mr. Manheim points out, is a top-of-the-head scratcher, an action that comes just before the straight line and just after Mr. Murray has flicked his cigar.
WHENEVER Ed Sullivan is momentarily at a loss, (Mr. Mannheim continues) he scratches his right eyebrow. Mr. Sullivan, he notes, is a switch scratcher. Equally adept with either right or left hand. Milton Berle is another eyebrow scratcher, but a delicate one, just a flick of the finger. Mr. Berle is also a back-of-the-neck man. Bob Hope,a television novice, seems to be troubled in the same areas as Mr. Berle--back of the neck and eyebrow, whereas Ed Wynn, the itchiest man on TV, is an all-over man. Close behind Mr. Wynn comes Abe Burrows, who scratches his forehead, top-of-the-head and back-of-the-neck.
As for handshakers, Berle, Mr. Mannheim notes, is the warmest host. He shakes hands both before and after the girl sings a song. Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Murray shake hands only afterward. They're all put in the shade, says Mr. M., by a Chicago m.c. who shakes hands before and after, pummels the guest in the intervals and occasionally kisses them.

Pigfish

Yesterday, we talked about Bob Clampett’s “Sour Puss” (1940). Perhaps the oddest visual gag is when Porky tells his cat they’re going to have fish for dinner. Porky then demonstrates by turning himself into a fish. The first seven drawings are consecutive, animated on twos.



Vive Risto and Dave Hoffman get the animation credit, but reader Devon Baxter believes this is Norm McCabe’s work.

Now I've Seen Everything

Suicide gag in a Bob Clampett cartoon? Sure. A few of them had one. Here’s the one from “Sour Puss” (1940), featuring a cat that goes nuts over fish. He’s so crazy he kisses a mouse.



A pet canary is shocked.



“Now I’ve seen everything,” he says. No reason to live anymore, then. He ends it all.



Warren Foster wrote the story.

A Famous Woodpecker

Many new cartoon studios seem to have popped up in the late 1940s and early 1950s, ready to make industrial films or commercials for movie houses or television. Some of the old guard studios got into the business as well; Walter Lantz needed it to survive.

Here’s a drawing from an industrial film made by Famous Studios in New York. The facial expression on the right looks like something you’d see in adults in a Little Audrey cartoon. The film was highlighted in the May 1949 edition of Business Screen Magazine along with the article below.

TRANSFORMER SALESMAN
Sponsor: Westinghouse Electric Company. Film: It's CSP For Me. Producer: Famous Studios.
► CSP means "completely sell protecting." In the new Westinghouse movie it refers to those transformer boxes which appear near the top of some power line poles, old style models of which evidently go out of whack occasionally because of overload from increased consumption of electricity or lightning.
Realizing the difficulty of making an interesting and entertaining film on the quality of various transformers, Westinghouse has gone to much pains to work up a story with an amusing plot to provide color and liveliness to its subject. Famous Studios (Popeye, Little Lulu, etc.) produced It's CSP For Me as a ten minute cartoon film in Technicolor, featuring a harassed lineman who has to replace three burned-out transformers in one day, with a scoffing woodpecker for comic relief.
Westinghouse's CSP model is introduced in a "school tor transformers" where the animated boxes are taught the principles of de-ionized lightning arresters, cooling oil thermal circuit breakers, external operating handles, overload warning lights, etc.
It comes out quite good, incongruous as it may seem. The pleasant little hokum added to the necessary information on the product will undoubtedly serve to make it much more palatable for the convention and sales use Westinghouse intends it for.
Kenneth Banghart is the narrator and Milo Bolton and Art Carney speak for the leading characters.

Banghart was a newscaster for years in New York City. Carney is famous today for “The Honeymooners” but on radio he was known for his accents and impersonations, talents he rarely used on television. He regularly appeared on The March of Time.

The film doesn’t appear to have been copyrighted.

How Billy Graham Got Laughs

The Reverend Billy Graham has been a towering figure in evangelism. In his heyday, his heavily-publicised crusades were huge events. He commanded a tremendous amount of respect. He was not the sort of individual who would likely appear on a television comedy-variety show. But he did. He appeared on the Jack Benny show.

The Benny show was the ideal choice. Benny always made his guests look good. He gave them the best lines, the big laughs. But Billy Graham was no stand-up comic. So the writers had to figure out a way to get laughs without turning Dr. Graham into a jokester. And making fun of religion was out, too.

For writer George Balzer, the solution must have seemed pretty simple. The Benny show’s humour had been based—for years—on Jack Benny being the butt of the jokes. Why should a show with the Reverend Graham be any different?

Here’s a column from the Knickerbocker News of September 11, 1963. This may be one of the few solo interviews that Balzer ever gave about writing for the Benny show.

Graham on Benny Show; Writers Pen Fun Lines
By KURT WACHENHEIM
What's funny?
“Everything. Everything in the world is funny.”
That's the opinion of George Balzer, a writer for Jack Benny the last 21 years.
“A broken leg, for instance.” He was addressing a medical society meeting and the doctors didn't agree.
“It isn't funny to the man whose leg is broken,” he said. “And it isn't funny to you when you're working to set it. But just step back far enough and think a minute. How did he break his leg? Look at the ridiculous position he's in.”
He paused for a minute. Then a few doctors chuckled, closely followed by a round of guffaws.
Remarked the meeting chairman later, “You've got a point. Humor is where you're willing to look for it.”
BALZER and the others on Benny's writing quartet looked long and hard for humor when the program's guest star for the Sept. 24 Jack Benny Show (which will be seen on Chanel 10) was announced.
“Billy Graham? The evangelist? You must be kidding,” Balzer said when he answered the phone the day he returned from his summer vacation.
When work started in earnest, he learned the restriction-filled ground rules: Graham was to be a straight man, with no jokes to be directed at him.
“We decided to use factual material and in a conversation between the two we hope to get great laughs,” he said.
HOW'S that accomplished? Here's a sample from Balzer's pen:
Benny: Billy, we almost met on one occasion in 1954 when I was playing the Palladium in London.
Graham: I recall that.
Benny: I was a tremendous success. I played to 30,000 that week.
Graham: Fine.
Benny: How many did you play to?
Graham: About half a million.

Balzer, who's been with Jack Benny since 1942—a time when Jack already had turned 39 and was a confirmed tightwad—admits the four writers are “in a happy rut, and we're in no hurry to get out of it.”
His boss likes modernization of his stingy character (“after all, the Maxwell jokes are out of style in 1963”), and refinement of the violin jokes.
JACK tells the writers: “Don't say my violin playing is terrible; after all, I do have a name now.”
Says Balzer: “We still indicate it's bad.”
The four writers work both jointly and independently, with Benny as the editor of the final script, and, according to Balzer, now pretty lenient with the black pencil.
“We agree on a central idea before we leave for a weekend, then we develop it independently.
On Monday we get together and hash out our thoughts, then get the material on paper and in concrete form starting Tuesday. About Friday we have a script. We think about it carefully over the weekend, meet again Monday and frequently make changes. Then when Jack's free, we sit down with him.
“Sometimes he'll OK a script just as is, Sometimes he'll ask for changes. If we don't agree with him, we hash it out until we're agreed or arrive at a compromise. Later, at rehearsal, there may be other changes, but the script that emerges from our meetings is pretty much the final one.”
THERE was an additional hurdle for the Sept. 24 script. Graham had to approve before he'd go ahead with the show.
Jack showed him the script and he was delighted. “He didn't ask for a single change,” Balzer said.
Does he like working for the ageless Benny?
“My 21 years with him is the answer. If it weren't nice and pleasant, I'd have moved on long ago.”

Actually, the dialogue didn’t quite go the way Balzer put it. You can watch the show below. It was the season premiere. There’s a funny bit with Frank Nelson and you’ll see Benny Rubin on the left in the opening scene. The “no-insult” routine is based on a Benny radio show where critic Gilbert Seldes was the guest. It looks like Frank Remley and Dennis Day got in some ad-libs.

Cartoons of 1942, Part 2

Victory wasn’t claimed by allied forces in the latter part of 1942, but Paramount claimed a decisive victory over the Fleischers over control of their studio. Unlike many takeovers, Paramount didn’t send in their own people. It simply maintained the existing management structure and then decided to move operations back to New York from Miami.

Very little of note happened in the last half of the year, at least according to the pages of The Film Daily. It’s interesting to read the cartoon reviews as many of the shorts were seen for many years on TV. Bugs Bunny continues to grow in popularity. Tex Avery’s first cartoons for MGM began to be released.

An intriguing item is about Hugh Harman’s studio having three units. I wonder who was directing them.

And for those who think gun-nut pressure groups are something new, read Phil Daly’s editorial on the criticism of “Bambi.”

July 1, 1942

Benchley, Hedda Hopper Shorts Off Para. Roster
Revamp of Paramount's shorts lineup for next season, occasioned by the decision to make only 52 releases, plus 12 Supermans in Technicolor to be sold separately, will see the Bob Benchley and Hedda Hopper series as well as those starring the Quiz Kids dropped, it was learned yesterday.....
...the seasonal shorts lineup will embrace 12 Popeye cartoons, [and] six of George Pal's Puppetoons in Technicolor...

First Disney Feature Ready for S. A. Market
Initial Walt Disney feature produced for the South American market as a result of his last Summer's trip through Latin America has been completed and prints will be en route to all RKO South American branches next week. Picture, a Technicolor musical, is titled "Saludos" and is in Spanish for all S. A. countries except Brazil where it is in the native language and titled "Alo Amigos."
Film combines live action highlights of the Disney party's tour with four cartoon episodes based on the music and atmosphere of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru. The Brazilian episode "Aquarela do Brasil" introduces Jose Carioca, a brilliantly plumaged parrot who "co-stars" with Donald Duck. In "Pedro," the Chilean episode, Disney tells of the little mail plane which goes over the Chilean Andes while the Argentine pampas and the Texas range are the setting for "El Gaucho Goofy." "Lake Titicaca." featuring Donald Duck, is a tribute to Bolivia and Peru which borders on the lake. Appropriate native music is used all through the film.
An English language version of the Disney feature is being prepared.

July 3, 1942
Fleischer Studios Now Famous; Staff Retained
Miami — Under a change in the corporate setup, Fleischer Studios, Inc., hereafter will be known as Famous Studios, operating under the ownership of Isador Sparber, Seymour Kneitel and S. Buchwald. Studio will continue to produce cartoon subjects for Paramount release, concentrating on Popeye and Superman. Same staff of approximately 275 persons is retained.

July 10, 1942
Phil M. Daly column, New York
Exhibit entitled, "Walt Disney's Bambi: The Making of an Animated Sound Picture," opens next Wednesday in the Museum of Modern Art ...



July 20, 1942
Terry-Toon 1942-43 Shorts Budget to be Jumped 30%
That 20th-Fox's shorts program for the new season will be the most ambitious in the company's history is indicated by statistics made available by Edmund Reek, Movietone producer, and Paul Terry, producer of the Terry-Toon cartoon series. It is said that the Terry-Toon budget for 1942-1943 will be more than 30 per cent larger than that for the past season.
The greater use of color is given as the chief reason for the higher cost of both Terry-Toon and Movietone releases for the new season.

July 29, 1942
‘Diversity Balance, Elasticity,’ RKO Lineup Key
...Supporting the feature program will be 185 shorts, including 22 Walt Disneys... Four of the Disney shorts will be "specials."... From Independent [feature] Producers
...Walt Disney is represented by "Bambi" scheduled for an early world premiere at Radio City Music Hall. It's based on Felix Salten's book.

July 31, 1942
Loew's Asks Judgment In Wis. Copyright Action
Judgment is being submitted for entry in Milwaukee today in the copyright infringement case brought by Loew's against the Ogden Theater, Milwaukee, for the alleged unauthorized showing of the Technicolor cartoon, "Art Gallery."
An affidavit filed with the court by counsel for Loew's claimed that the defendant, Manning Silverman, had admitted for the purpose of the action that he obtained the print for exhibition without the knowledge or authority of the Milwaukee exchange from a person then employed in its shipping department.
According to Jack Levin, of the Copyright Protection Bureau, the major distributors are going to continue to crack down on unauthorized showings regardless of whether they involve features or short subjects.

August 3, 1942
Oklahoma University Institute Will Seek Films’ Influence on Children’s Behavior
Norman, Okla.—University of Oklahoma extension division, under direction of Thurman White, will sponsor a children's movie institute for kids from five to eight years of age next Fall to determine films' influence on children's behavior.
The plan is for the University to hold a series of six or more hour to hour and a half showings on cartoons and other shorts with trained observers in the audience noting youngster's reactions. Parents will be sent a questionnaire to be filled out. Typical queries:
"What was the nature of your child's conversation when he returned from the show?"
"Was he too nervous to sleep, or eat?"
"What kind of a game did he play when he came home?"
White said there would be no "shoot 'em up" or other "emotional" films used in the institute.

Phil M. Daly column, New York
• • • ABOUT to go on newsstands is the new mag, "Terrytoon Comics," which is the creation of Paul H. (Terrytoons, Inc.) Terry to tickle the funnybones of the younger generation .... Too, it's swell promotion for his product.

August 5, 1942
Coming and Going
SAM BUCHWALD, general manager of Famous Studios, is here from Miami to confer at Paramount on new season plans for Superman Popeye cartoons.

Phil M. Daly column, New York
Bit 'Bout "Bambi"
• • • BELATEDLY, but considerably before Walt Disney made "Bambi" from Felix Salten's story (it was a best seller here in the late '20s and a high favorite in Europe previously), this corner became one of the yarn's many avid fans .... Sparks that touched off the personal interest in the book was an original illustration there from which hung and still does in the New Jersey home of Emerson Yorke, producer of shorts and informative films .... It was no surprise to Phil M. when Mister Disney announced a celluloid version of "Bambi,"—a natural for Sir Walt's titanic talents .... 'Tis a magnificent film and a worthy successor to Metro's "Mrs. Miniver" when the latter exits from Gus S. Eyssell's Music Hall on the night of August 12.
• • • IN ADDITION to its many unique qualities, "Bambi" is the first Disney opus 'round which a controversy is raging .... Editor Raymond J. Brown of Outdoor Life contends the picture is an insult to American sportsmen .... And he's crusading on that thesis ..... He doesn't like its alleged indictment of hunters .... True, the Disney piece depicts terror of the forest's folk when man is on the loose with firearms .... It also shows man as a factor responsible for forest fires .... And also how Bambi, a young deer, becomes an orphan when the hunters shoot down his mother .... All this, Brown evidently feels, is a terrible reflection upon sons of Nimrod as a fraternity.
• • • WHAT Mister Disney has contrived is merely a fantasy and rich entertainment for old and young .... The job is masterful .... Just as Salten did, Sir Walt presents the animals' and birds' side of the hunting-go .... Patently, it isn't pleasant for them to be besieged and set-upon by hounds, or merely filled with lead without the baying auxiliaries, although there are some most substantial precedents which can be called up to prove that the creatures of field, air and water are here to serve, as man's chattels .... But there is a difference 'twixt liberty and license .... We have no quarrel with the legitimate hunter who carries a conscience along with a permit to indulge in the pastime .... But wanton killing of wild life is something else .... That's Disney's exposition, condemned too, by the Nation and by the States, as is hunting any desirable specie when the latter is bagged on an unjustifiable scale .... Hence our conservation laws.
• • • AMOS ALONZO STAGG, the gridiron's Grand Old Man, speaking of unsportsmanlike behavior on the football field, once observed that "you can't make a gentleman out of a mucker" .... Nor can you make a sportsman by the mere process of handing him a gun and turning him loose in the woodlands .... A hunting license won't change his soul .... And as for setting forest fires through carelessness and dumbness, remorse won't bring back the forests .... The REAL sportsmen will delight in "Bambi" .... To the other sort, it's a good lesson .... Game Commissions should back it heartily, and we wish Mister Brown would pour the same energy into helping it as he is using to condemn it ..... Better to back "Bambi" than for all of us interested in the out-of-doors to sit in charred woods, and, by the light of a mechanical campfire (approvved by the underwriters) twirl our trigger-fingers and spin yarns about the good old days of* the Passenger Pigeon, the Trumpeter Swan, the American Bison, and Bambi and Faline .... In "Bambi," the hunters got the doe .... At the box-office, exhibitors'll get it—with a different spelling!



August 11, 1942
Phil M. Daly column, New York
• Walt Disney has edited down the idea, "in the Spring a young man's fancy, etc.", to the single word "twitterpated" in his new and wonderful "Bambi" .... La Toni Spitzer t'other day placed the first of a trio of consecutive -day ads in the personal colyums of the Herald-Tribune and the World Telegram .... They were little romantic notes in which the word "twitterpated" appeared .... During the three days, the ads brought some thousands of telephone calls to the Toni who signed 'em .... This Spitzer stunt put the word with a bang into New York's vocabulary .... Each curious caller was informed that it comes from "Bambi," opening Thursday at Radio City Music Hall .... Ingenious, wot?

August 12, 1942
Phil M. Daly column, New York
• Felix Salten, the author of "Bambi", cabled Walt Disney the other day congratulating him on the completed picture, which American friends tell him, is great .... (it is) .... It was the first time Salten had been heard from in two years .... He's living in Zurich and when Hitler came to power, all of Salten's books were destroyed because their tenderness toward animals and lessons in compassion were declared "enervating to German youth."

August 13, 1942
Pal's New Para. Pact Increases Program by Two

West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—George Pal, producer of Puppetoon series for Paramount, has signed a new contract with that studio calling for eight pictures for 1942-43 season. This increases Pal's release set-up by two pictures.
Pal's first two under the new contract will be "Jasper and the Haunted House" and "Jasper and the Choo-Choo." Both pictures feature the little sepia star "Jasper" and will introduce Pal's newly developed cross-section animation.
All pictures will be in Technicolor.

August 17, 1942
RKO Reports Smash Biz At Opening of 3 in N. Y. C.
Despite a heavy, all-day downpour, three RKO Radio new season pictures, premiering simultaneously in New York, chalked up smash opening day business on Thursday with Walt Disney's "Bambi" at Radio City Music Hall, Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons" at the Capitol, and "The Big Street" at the RKO Palace.

August 27, 1942
Fat Conservation Short For Labor Day Release
Newest Victory Film, "Out of the Frying Pan into the Firing Line," a Disney-Technicolor special, 294 ft. in length (three minutes, 16 seconds), will be released Labor Day Week, the War Activities Committee announced yesterday. Minnie Mouse and Pluto are the stars.
WPB's Conservation Division produced the reel which dramatizes the necessity for saving of waste kitchen fats to be made into glycerine for the manufacture of explosives. In addition to emphasizing need for this saving, the footage explains in a most amusing and entertaining fashion how to save used kitchen fats and greases, and what to do with them after they have accumulated.
Photography, writing, direction, and editing of the film was done by Walt Disney Productions, and distribution" will be via RKO Film Exchanges under the auspices of filmland's WAC.

August 31, 1942
Skouras Asks Staff To Aid in War Work
Members of 20th Century-Fox's field staff were urged to join their local war activities groups and give as much time as possible to the war effort...
...Fourteen of the 26 Terrytoons and six new subjects based on the "Nancy" comic strip will be made in Technicolor...

September 2, 1942
Metro Will Make No Cut In Shorts, Says Rodgers
... Subjects to be made in Technicolor are 16 M-G-M cartoons...

September 4, 1942
De Seversky to Appear In Disney Film of Book
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — Major Alexander P. De Seversky, author of "Victory Through Air Power," has arrived here to appear in Walt Disney's picturization of his book. A novel method of presenting De Seversky in the picture is being worked out by Disney and his staff. Disney hopes to have the picture ready for release in December.

September 9, 1942
Harman on 3-Unit Basis
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—With the addition of a new type of production, that of industrial-war instruction films, Hugh Harman Productions, Inc., is operating on a three-unit basis, according to W. Earl Shafer, general manager.

September 17, 1942
Disney, Financial House Named in Commission Suit
Walt Disney Productions and Kidder, Peabody & Co., financial house, were named defendants yesterday in a $70,000 damage suit filed in New York Supreme Court by Michael Myerberg. The plaintiff is seeking commissions allegedly due him for bringing the defendants together in an arrangement to raise needed finances for Disney. The complaint alleges that Disney in April, 1940, obtained $3,750,000 through Kidder, Peabody & Co. after the latter had marketed 150,000 shares of Disney preferred stock. Myerberg asserts that the defendants promised to fairly compensate him for his part in the financing arrangement.

"Saludos" Set for B. A. Bow
Buenos Aires (By Air Mail)—Walt Disney's "Saludos" starts in the Ambassador here Oct. 6, with proceeds from the opening night turned over to the charity organization headed by the wife of President Castillo.

September 23, 1942
Ralph Wilk column, Hollywood
FIRST of the new George Pal-Puppetoon series of shorts for Paramount, "Jasper and the Haunted House," has been completed. This marks Pal's first picture completely made with his new cross-section animation.

October 2, 1942
Phil M. Daly column, New York
• With production of his latest Puppetoon for Paramount just under way, George Pal announces that nine of his staff are off to the various Army camps Those leaving are Dale Tholen, Ray Harryhausen, Herb Price and Allen Hamm, animators; Jimmy Stone and Stuart O'Brien, set-up men; Leo Barkume and Bob Larson, production men; and William Eddison of the music dept.

October 6, 1942
Moving Para. Cartoon Plant?
May Switch Production from Miami to N. Y.
Famous Studios, Paramount's cartoon production plant in Miami, may be shifted to New York, it was learned yesterday. The studio is owned by Isador Sparber, Seymore Kneitel and Sam Buchwald who recently took it over from Max Fleischer. The cartoon staff was moved from New York to Miami in1938 when the new studio was opened.
Buchwald has been inspecting buildings in midtown New York for a possible studio site. Among the places under consideration is the Pathe Bldg., at 35 W. 46th St.
Buchwald was not available last night for comment.

October 7, 1942
Labor-Management Clause In New SCG-Disney Pact
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—New contract between the Screen Cartoonist Guild and Walt Disney embraces a labor-management clause and runs to June 1, 1944. It provides for vacations, sick leaves and minimum wages at current scales in the industry.
A labor-management committee consisting of five union members and five persons named by Disney will undertake to develop methods designed to speed production, increase efficiency, eliminate bottlenecks and constantly improve labor-management relations.
It will recommend the establishment of a schedule of awards for such employees as may have made acceptable suggestions for speeding up production and increasing efficiency.

October 8, 1942
Ralph Wilk column, Hollywood
GEORGE PAL, producer of the Puppetoon series of shorts for Paramount, has signed Willis O'Brien, pioneer special effects cameraman, who originated the trick animation effects in "The Lost World" and "King Kong." First assignment for Pal will be "Jasper and the Choo-Choo."

October 8, 1942
Phil M. Daly column, New York
• • • SLATED for top spot among song sensations is "Der Fuehrer's Face" .... Composition is in the Disney short originally titled "In Nutzi-land" .... Walt has now titled the tab reel to coincide with the song .... Spike Jones made a recording of it for the Bluebird company and the latter is $350,000 behind in current orders as result of airing by radio stations .... The short is scheduled for RKO Radio release next month.

October 9, 1942
"Saludos Amigos" in Capital
Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Washington—Walt Disney's "Saludos Amigos," his new South American musical feature soon to be released in this country by RKO will be screened in the National Archives Building this afternoon.

October 15, 1942
Phil M. Daly column, New York
• Walt Disney will produce a feature-length cartoon based on "The Gremlins," by Flight Lt. Ronald Dahl, R.A.F.

October 22, 1942
Schlesinger Explains Closing of Studio
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—Reviewing the dispute which he said caused him to close his studios Oct. 21, Leon Schlesinger declared that on the 19th of October, 27 of his employes "who are members of the Screen Cartoonists Guild and who were employed by me as breakdown men failed, and refused to appear for work. These men had made demands upon the studio for an increase in pay which demands were in violation of the studio's agreement with the Guild and not in accordance with the prevailing scale throughout the cartoon industry relating to breakdown men.
"I recently signed a new wage scale with the Screen Cartoonists Guild as of June 1, 1942 which increased my payroll over $85,000 per year in which this, group was included. After the men refused to return to work, a demand was made upon Guild to supply the studio with 27 experienced breakdown men to commence work at 8 a.m., Oct. 21. And the Guild was. informed that unit less such men were supplied it would be impossible to continue production of animated cartoons and would be necessary to close the studio. Such men have not been supplied and therefore it has become necessary to close studio tonight.
"I am convinced that demands by the breakdown men were not made in good faith and were inspired and sponsored by the business agent of the Guild in violation of the existing agreement. I deeply regret penalizing my loyal employes but I am left with no other alternative. As soon as I am able to obtain a sufficient number of experienced breakdown men the studio will continue operations."

Harman Starts 8,000-Foot "King Arthur's Knights"
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — Hugh Harman Productions has started work on "King Arthur's Knights" and it will be in production for a year. It will be in Technicolor and it will be distributed by United Artists. It will be 8,000 feet in length.

October 26, 1942
SCG Mapping Plans for Pooling Talent and Work
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — Screen Cartoonists Guild is mapping plans for pooling of talent and work so as to continue production of Government training films and other animated subjects for war effort, believing approximately 50 per cent of its members will be lost to the armed services within the next few months.
The Guild is finishing a survey of manpower to decide what move should be taken to check loss of skilled cartoonists. If pooling is not successful, it may be necessary to ask Government deferment of cartoonists.

October 27, 1942
Disney One-Reelers for Next 12 Months Finished
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—The Walt Disney studio has completed virtually its entire single-reel output for the next 12 months. The schedule has been advanced because the production of Government films and other subjects will tax the capacity of the studio to the limit.
Disney now is devoting 90 per cent of the studio output to films for the Navy, Army and other agencies and will turn out 300,000 feet before the end of 1943. In the list of finished product or those in production are eight Donald Ducks, four Plutos, two Goofys and a number of special subjects.
The regular schedule of Disney entertainment shorts will be augmented by a group of special attractions, including "Der Fuehrer's Face," "Education for Death," "Emotion and Reason" and "Chicken Little."

October 28, 1942
Schlesinger, SCG Settle Dispute; Studio Reopens
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—Leon Schlesinger and the Screen Cartoonists Guild have reached an amicable agreement of their dispute and the studio reopened yesterday. The studio was closed down when 27 assistant animators walked out on Oct. 21 because the company refused to advance any one of them to a higher pay classification in accordance with contract negotiations. No details were available, but it is believed that more than half of the group will be advanced to a higher classification as originally requested by the Guild and the workers themselves.

October 29, 1942
Ralph Wilk column, Hollywood
WALT DISNEY yesterday stated that he would combine four more of his Latin-American cartoons into a feature-length film to be titled "Surprise Package," with a live-action prologue, a Mexican, Brazilian and Argentine episode, plus "The Cold-Blooded Penguin" having the Antarctic for locale. Three of the are nearing completion and work has started on the fourth.

Eddie Kilfeather Named Fleischer's Music Chief
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — Eddie Kilfeather, Broadway and Hollywood composer and conductor, has been named music director for Dave Fleischer's cartoon producing unit at Columbia Studios, it was announced yesterday.
Kilfeather, will write original music as well as supervise all musical activities for the cartoon series.

October 30, 1942
"Bambi" Deal is Closed With National Theaters
Walt Disney's "Bambi" has been set for the National Theaters Circuit in a large scale deal just concluded, it was announced yesterday by Ned E. Depinet, president of RKO Radio Pictures.
Deal involves more than 400 runs in the Fox theaters in the following territories: Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha and Milwaukee. Playing time will be scheduled to start immediately.

November 4, 1942
Semper Fidelis
Herbert A. Foote is the first Terry-Toon employe to be listed as a war casualty. The 20-year-old cartoonist, who enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps early last year, was killed in the Guadalcanal engagement last month, according to official notification.

Set Shorts Releases to Mar. 17
Release dates on Movietone shorts and Terry-Toon cartoons have been set by 20th-Fox to March 17, 1943. The two-reel special, "Everybody's War," will be released on Friday.

Ralph Wilk column, Hollywood
MILTON GROSS and Stephen Longstreet have written the story for, "He Can't Make It Stick," an animated cartoon satirizing Hitler, which will be produced by Dave Fleischer for Columbia.

November 5, 1942
UA to Release Disney's Next Cartoon Feature?
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—It is reported that negotiations are in the final stages for United Artists to release the next Walt Disney feature cartoon. This presumably will be founded upon Alexander P. de Seversky's "Victory Through Air Power", although UA would not confirm it.
It is believed that Disney's "Saludos Amigos", a number of South American shorts made on his recent visit there, will be included in the deal with UA.

November 13, 1942
Columbia May Be Given New Treasury Cartoons
Dave Fleischer, head of Columbia's cartoon unit, is creating, at the request of the Treasury Department, new cartoon characters for a possible series under Government contract.
For the fashioning of story ideas in connection with the contemplated cartoons, Edmund Seward, who adapted "Sullivan's Travels" to the screen, has been added to Fleischer's story department. During World War I, Fleischer served for seven months in the Amy Medical College on training film production.

UA Closes Deal for New Disney Feature
Confirmation of the deal whereby United Artists would release and distribute Walt Disney's "Victory Through Air Power," by Alexander de Seversky, was announced yesterday. Negotiations were concluded by Edward C. Raftery, Gradwell L.Sears and Arthur W. Kelly, acting for UA, and Roy Disney and Gunther Lessing, representing Walt Disney Productions, Inc.
"Victory Through Air Power" is 72 minutes in length and is a departure from other Disney features in that it has been made with living actors as well as cartoon characters. De Seversky, himself, from whose best-selling book the picture was adapted, will be seen in an important role.
It is reported that the current deal is a prelude to a broader arrangement which will include shorts and features when Disney's present commitment of 18 pictures for RKO is completed. Roy Disney said the timeliness of "Victory Through Air Power" made it desirable for early release. He added that United Artists was the logical company to release the picture because it was in the most strategic position in the industry to arrange early playdates and to get behind a pre-selling campaign at once for immediate bookings.

November 16, 1942
TO THE COLORS!
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—Six more Metroites have left the Culver City studio for armed forces:...JOE SMITH, layout man, and BERNIE WOLF, animator, both of cartoon studio, join motion picture unit of Army Air Corps;

November 18, 1942
Para. to Shift Cartoon Production to New York
Miami—Paramount's cartoon studio operations here will be moved gradually to New York where the cartoon shorts will be produced in space leased in the Pathe Bldg., 35 W. 45th St. First unit is expected to start the first week in January and for a while production will be carried on both in Miami and New York. Eventually all of the cartoon subjects will be made at the New York plant.

November 23, 1942
Ralph Wilk column, Hollywood
ACTUAL photography will be combined with cartoon drawings by Dave Fleischer for his special cartoon, "Animal Newsreel." which he is currently producing at Columbia. Cartoon is based on a story by Sam Cobean, and illustrates what animals think of human beings.

December 3, 1942
"Saludos Amigos" Trade-Showings Set for Dec. 14 Tradeshowings of Walt Disney's "Saludos Amigos" have been set by RKO, the distributors, for Dec. 14 in the company's 32 exchanges, general sales manager Robert Mochrie announces.
All of the showings have been fixed for the morning of this date, 11:00 a.m., except the Cincinnati branch which will hold its screening at 8:15 p.m. In addition to its morning showing the New York City branch will have a repeat screening at 2:30 p.m. at the RKO Projection Room, 630 Ninth Avenue.

December 17, 1942
Schlesinger Completing War Bond Cartoon Deal
Leon Schlesinger, producer of the "Merrie Melodies" and "Looney Tunes" for Warners, is completing arrangements in Washington for the production of animated cartoons for use in boosting War Bond sales. Schlesinger, who has been in the East since last week, is due in New York on Monday for a short stay before returning West.

Reeling 'Round Washington
By Andrew H. Older
THE Russian Department: Walt Disney is rushing a print of "Education for Death" to OWI, for shipment to Stalin. The request followed a special showing here for OWI officials.

December 23, 1942
Para. Cartoon Plant Starts Here Jan. 2
A branch of Famous Studios Miami, which produces Paramount's cartoon subjects, will be opened in New York at 25 W. 45th St. on Jan. 2. When subjects now in work at the Florida plant are completed, the operations will be transferred to New York. It is understood that a branch of the armed services will take over the Miami studio.

REVIEWS

July 6, 1942
"Hold The Lion, Please" (Merrie Melodies)
Warners 7 mins. Fair
Technicolor is employed in turning out this wacky cartoon based on the good old theme of who wears the pants in what family. There is a big tussle between the bunny and the lion (vying for the title of "King of the Jungle") which is rudely interrupted by Mrs. Lion's insistence that her mate come home. The bunny, victor, is soon taken down a peg by his wife.

"Double Chaser"
Warners 7 mins. Funny
Here's another one of Leon Schlesinger's funny Technicolor cartoons. This time it involves the cat, dog and mouse tale. There is much auick action on the part of all three due to good animation by Gerry Chiniquy. Incidentally, it's the little mouse who does the outwitting.

July 7, 1942
"Gopher Goofy"
Warners 7 mins. Amusing
Leon Schlesinger has whipped up a reel on the misery two little gophers cause a home owner when they invade his premises and set up their own peculiar methods of housekeeping. Going through an agonizing series of experiences in an attempt to eradicate the two pests, the gardener's only accomplishment is the creation of complete havoc in his own back yard. It's a lot of fun.

"A Battle for a Bottle" (Phantasy Cartoon)
Columbia 7 mins. Fair
Routine entertainment is provided by this cartoon about a cat's attempt to purloin a bottle of milk from the front steps of a house. The thieving cat gets involved with a fierce watchdog in a series of mild comedy situations. The dog manages to defeat the cat's purpose every time victory seems imminent. The film winds up with the dog having the last laugh. The kids may get a few laughs out of this one.

"Hobby Horse Laffs" (Looney Tune Cartoon)
Warners 7 mins. Good
A take off on the Hobby Lobby program, this reel is very well done. Several clever innovations have been ingeniously worked into the animation. An invention for distributing black eyes to those who have the annoying habit of reading over someone's shoulder and a fountain pen like device to use for dunking are a couple of the crazy things that make for good laughs in this.

July 8, 1942

"Donald's Garden" RKO 7 mins. Swell
From Disney's atelier comes the usual superb Technicolor cartoon. This time our pal Donald Duck is having trouble with his gardening methods. However, he gets things straightened out and is examining with pride his watermelons, when a nasty little gopher appears on the scene and creates havoc, and ends up by tying Donald to his own vines.

"Bats in the Belfry"
M-G-M 7 mins. Only Fair
A Technicolor cartoon concerning a few bats who are literally going bats from the sound of all sorts of bells ringing in the belfry at any and every hour. They go through a number of contortions in their agony and dread of the hour of twelve, but nothing much happens.

"The Bowling Alley Cat"
M-G-M 8 mins. Amusing
Swell animation and a good imaginative sense of humor make this a very funny reel. The chase between Tom and Jerry, the cat and mouse is on as usual and this time they get into a heck of a lot of very wacky jams trying to outwit each other. They practically rip one another apart, but the mouse comes out on top again, after being batted round the alley, and almost crushed with a ball, to say nothing of a couple of wild chases he manages to survive.

July 17, 1942
"Lights Out" (Terry -Toon)
20th-Fox 6 mins. So-So
Gandy Goose as an Army rookie has a nightmare in which he and his sergeant are invited by an old witch to a party in a haunted house where all the guests are spooks. The action, which is lightning-fast, has to do with the efforts of the two to escape from the place. They get a terrible bouncing around by the spooks, who are in hot pursuit of the two when Gandy mercifully awakes. So endeth a bad dream in Technicolor. This is not better than so-so.

July 23, 1942
"Neck and Neck" (Terry-Toon)
20th-Fox 7 mins. Passable
A few laughs, none too strong, are scattered through this Technicolor cartoon, which has to do with the effect of love on a racehorse, a champ of champs. When the horse's attentions are spurned by a stunning filly, he finds all the running drained out of him. That presents quite a dilemma on the day of the big race. His spirits are restored and the day saved by the filly's sudden change of heart.

"The Frozen North" (Terry-Toon)
20th-Fox 6 mins. Entertaining
This animated cartoon deals with the frozen North in ironic fashion. The various phenomena identified with that icy wasteland are treated with considerable fun. The audience also is introduced to certain aspects of human and animal life for the sake of a laugh. The action and scenes are described by a commentator who adds materially to the enjoyment of the subject.

July 24, 1942
"Pigeon Patrol" (Walt Lantz Cartune)
Universal 7 mins. Okay
A new character known as Homer Pigeon is introduced in this Walt Lantz cartoon in Technicolor. A pigeon without a breast, Homer has been supplied with a voice patterned after that of Red Skelton. While the character may not be terrific, it has possibilities for loads of fun. This cartoon indicates that. Homer has a patriotic theme for his coming out. Broken-hearted because he can't make the grade as a carrier pigeon on account of his flat chest, he gets his chance to be a hero when a pigeon carrying an important message is brought down by a Jap bird of prey. Homer saves the message and delivers it safely at great peril to himself.

August 7, 1942
"The Bulldog and the Baby" (Fable Cartoon)
Columbia 6 Mins. Fair
The chief characters in this cartoon are an infant and a bulldog. The dog, who has been left to guard the child, has a hair-raising experience when the carriage in which the baby is lying starts on a wild journey. The child is hurled upon the ironwork of a building under construction. Finally the dog manages to rescue the tot. There is only fair entertainment in this one.

"Volcano" (Superman)
Paramount 8 mins. Okay
Lois Lane and Clark Kent are sent to cover the action on a small island in the Pacific where a long dormant volcano is threatening to erupt. Lois goes up to the peak to see what it's all about and a terrific blast ruins everything in sight. It is at this point that Kent dashes in, rescues her and saves the island from complete destruction. This is in Technicolor.

"Woodman Spare That Tree" (Color Rhapsody)
Columbia 7 Mins. Fine
The verdict on this cartoon in Technicolor is surprisingly good. Laughs are rolled out in profusion. This is an excellent booking for exhibitors everywhere. The action has to do with the efforts of a wily crow to prevent a fox woodchopper from cutting down the tree which serves as his home. The fox carries the day but only after he has resorted to every trick in his bag. The characters of the crow and the fox are well conceived and a lot of cleverness has gone into the making of the short. Phil Duncan deserves much praise for the fine animation.

"Baby Wants a Battleship" (Popeye)
Paramount 7 mins. Fair
Popeye is charged with the mission of watching Sweetpea while Olive goes shopping. The child, not satisfied with a toy boat Popeye whittles for him, escapes onto the large destroyer at the dock and proceeds to make a lot of unnecessary trouble and worry for all concerned. The usual routine ideas and situations are employed for laughs.

August 14, 1942

"All Out for V" (Terry-Toon)
20th-Fox 7 mins. Excellent
Paul Terry has produced a war cartoon that deserves heavy booking everywhere. Any praise of it, however, is not limited to its value in promoting the nation's defense program. It is, above everything else, superb entertainment into which has gone a lot of cleverness and inventiveness. Laughs are numerous and strong. The short depicts the war activity of all the living things of a woodland community after their peaceful habitat has been bombed by an enemy power. Everyone chips in in an all-out effort to meet the menace. Some of the means used to create the implements of defense are the last word in ingenuity. The film contains a song called "We're Working for Defense" which has all the earmarks of a hit. The inspiring tune was composed by Phil Scheib. The effectiveness of the short is enhanced by the use of Technicolor.

August 17, 1942

"T-Bone For Two"
RKO 7 mins. Fair
Walt Disney's Pluto has his troubles with a bulldog and a bone this time. There is a fast and furious chase and the ingenuity of the artists who did the animation makes for a good laugh or two. Pluto, by means of an old auto horn, pumps the bulldog so full of air that he just sails away, leaving his competitor peacefully behind with the coveted prize. In Technicolor.

"Donald's Gold Mine"
RKO 7 mins. Swell
Donald has purchased a mine and after getting into a spat with his burro, he finds himself in a real jam. He is cast into the whirling inferno of machinery and goes through all sorts of contortions to save himself. There are lots of funny situations and he finally escapes pressed in a gold brick. In Technicolor.

"The Sleepwalker"
RKO 7 mins. Okay
Disney has made Pluto a sleepwalker in this reel. While in this state, he has a peculiar habit of forking over all his bones to a female dachshund. Awake, however, he thinks she has stolen them, and proceeds to take them all back. This goes on for quite a while, until Pluto discovers his mistake, and also the fact that the dachshund is the mother of five little puppies. A romance soon develops between the two canines. In Technicolor.

August 21, 1942

"Terror on the Midway" (Superman Cartoon)
Paramount 8 mins. Dynamic Stuff
Not the least of the attributes of the Superman shorts is their ability to slake the entertainment thirst of the rising generation, and amuse as well as astonish their elders. In the series, the present offering ranks high as a juvenile thriller and a stimulant to adult credulity. The scenes are in handsome Technicolor, and depict Superman (Reporter Clark Kent in mufti) in hand-to-hand combat with Gigantic, the colossal and fierce gorilla of a circus. The denizens of the jungle get out of their cages as Gigantic, inadvertently released by a playful monkey, goes berserk, menacing the terror-striken audience. The circus tents and paraphernalia are being rapidly reduced to swatches and matchwood when Superman hurtles into the panic, saving his journalistic sidekick Lois from doom at Gigantic's hands. Rationing and getting retreads for your tires seem so simple after viewing this one.

September 3, 1942
"The Early Bird Dood It"
M-G-M 9 mins. Good Gags
A very funny Technicolor cartoon, drawing most of its laughs from off-stage remarks and gags, will tickle audiences. Involving the worm, the early bird and the cat, the action is fast and comical as the three try to outwit each other. Tex Avery directed.

"Blitz Wolf"
M-G-M 10 mins. Modernized Three Pigs
An up-to-date version of the Three Little Pigs with a caricature of Hitler as the wolf has a number of amusing gags and a plug for War Bond and Stamp purchases. This new Technicolor cartoon version has two of the pigs lulled by a non-aggression pact with the Hitler-wolf but the third porker is skeptical so he makes a fortress of his house The blitz, headed by a mechanical huffer and puffer, destroys the straw and wood houses but the three pigs retire to the fortress and throw back the enemy legions. Kid audiences will go for it.

September 8, 1942
"Yankee Doodle Swing Shift"
Universal 6 2-3 mins. Timely Subject
Walt Lantz offers in this tab reel in Technicolor an amusing bit of nonsense, well conceived and animated. It is a particularly appropriate subject for theaters at this time because its yarn is on the metal salvage theme. The Zoot Suit Swing Cats, a torrid ork, are out of jobs, when along comes the long and urgent arm of Uncle Sam to whom the Cats give their metal musical instruments and thus hasten the day of Victory. The donors go to work in a defense plant where they are shown amid all sorts of humming and pounding machines busy with converting all sorts of metals into tanks, guns, shells, etc. It is all done with a light touch, and will remind audiences that they, too, should get in the scrap.

September 9, 1942
"Old Blackout Joe" (A Phantasy Cartoon)
Columbia 6 mins. Amusing, Timely
This is a good little reel, amusing and timely. It shows a Negro air raid warden in a blackout. He finally gets all the lights on his Harlem sector extinguished at the whine of the siren,—except one. That pernicious lantern flame defies all efforts to destroy it. And not until the lights go on again with the sounding of the all clear does the pestiferous flame cease hounding him. Animation is clever. Patrons of pic houses, virtually all of whom are by this time familiar with blackout routine and difficulties will like this subject.

"Foney Fables" (Merrie Melodie)
Warner 7 mins. All Right
Some of the most famous fables are roundly kidded in a Technicolor cartoon done with plenty of cleverness to the accompaniment of music that is appropriately ironic. A modern interpretation is resorted to in some instances with considerable effectiveness in the burlesquing of those old pals of childhood. The irreverence pays off with plenty of laughs.

September 17, 1942

"How To Play Baseball (Disney Cartoon)
RKO Radio 7 mins. Excellent
With a serious world looking forward to the World Series, that incomparable master of animated humor, Walt Disney, comes forward with one of his most side-splitting subjects,—"How To Play Baseball." Goofy is the film's star, in fact he plays multiple roles of pitcher, catcher, infielders, outfielders, and even opponent batters and base runners. The footage was especially created by Disney to accompany Samuel Goldwyn's RKO Radio powerhouse, "The Pride of the Yankees." It is a worthy bit of laughter-spice for pic programs. The millions who avidly follow the so-called national pastime will particulary appreciate the antics of Goofy as he satirizes the sport, even to the institutional mannerisms of players. Climax is Casey At The Bat, only in reverse. Here we see the confident pitcher losing the game, 4-3, after leading 3-0 with two out in the last half of the ninth. The coup de grace is a grand-slam homer. Exhibs. will be figurative namesakes of Goofy if they don't book this one.

"The Ducktators" (Looney Tune)
Warner 7 mins. Acceptable
Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito are taken for a ride—a one-way ride —in this animated cartoon, which produces many laughs at their expense. The action has to do with the efforts of the dove of peace to win the trio over to the cause of world amity. The poor bird gets nothing but abuse for his good intentions. Finally he gets so blazing mad that he calls upon a minute man to help him put the dictators out of circulation. The three men of hate are impersonated by duck-like characters.

"The Squawkin' Hawk" (Merrie Melodie)
Warner 7 mins. Good
The adventures of a baby chicken hawk who goes out prowling for chicken after refusing to sup on worm are treated with loads of fun in this Technicolor short. His efforts to carry away a hen time and again bigger than himself should bring plenty of howls. Trouble starts for the baby hawk when he bumps into a ferocious rooster. After his rescue by his mother, the little fellow still refuses to eat worm.

"Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid"
Warner 7 mins. Swell
More hilarious adventures of Bugs Bunny are recorded herein to the complete satisfaction of young and old. This time he has a brush with a dope of a buzzard instructed by his ma to snare a rabbit for supper. When he picks on Bugs as a likely prey, he discovers he has made a bad choice. Bugs subjects the buzzard to such a verbal going-over that the bird is forced to give up any hope of feasting on Bugs and to return to the safety of his home nest. This Technicolor cartoon is loaded with solid laughs.

"Eatin' on the Cuff" (Looney Tune)
Warner 7 mins. Entertaining
This cartoon is interesting chiefly because it veers away from the usual formula for this type of short. The story is told by a pianist in a sort of narration form. It has to do with a moth and the flame—the latter being a lady bee. The wolfish moth finds himself in danger when a black widow spider, wearing a glamorous disguise, tries to entice him into her web. There is considerable entertainment in this one.

October 5, 1942
"Fox Pop" (Merrie Melodies Cartoon)
Warners 7 mins. Clever Reel
Producer Leon Schlesinger serves notice via this Technicolor reel that his 1942-43 pix are going to pack plenty of appeal to eye, ear and funny-bone. Made under the supervision of Charles M. Jones, with musical direction by Carl W. Stalling, and animation by Philip de Lara, "Fox Pop" recounts the disturbing experience of a young red fox. He hears, according to the delightful Ted Pierce script, an announcement oyer a radio to the effect that beautiful women will wear the silver fox about their necks this season. So the young red fox, his heart surcharged with romance, disguises himself as a silver fox (via a paint job) and arranges for a fox-farmer to capture him. But, like the best-laid plans of mice, Reynard's plans go cockeyed, for he hasn't figured that a fellow gets skinned in the interests of Dame Fashion. He escapes, is set upon by hounds, survives the ordeal, — and smashes to bits the deceitful radio! It's a clever, well-fashioned subject.

"The Hep Cat" (Looney Tune Cartoon)
Warners 7 mins. Nifty Laugh Bit
Fans of all ages,—old and young—, will get lots of laughs from this nifty bit of animated nonsense recounting a tomcat's Waterloo. The Casanova feline, who imagines himself to be the last word in male allure in the backyard sections of a community, goes a-courting what appears to be a glamorous tabby-gal. But the apple of his eye is a dummy, rigged-up by Casanova's energetic enemy, — a menacing dog. There may not be much to the story, but in celluloid form it scores solidly because of the clever situations, good animation, and interesting sound effects. Lots of appeal has been injected via imaginative material.

October 8, 1942
"Life with Fido" (Terry-Toon)
20th-Fox 7 mins. So-So
Done in Technicolor, this cartoon has to do with a hunting dog with a soft heart. A little duck takes advantage of this fact by attaching itself to him. Unable to do harm to the duck, the dog takes it home with plenty of resultant headaches when the quacker refuses to stay put and wanders off in search of adventure. The dog is kept on the jump keeping1 the duck out of trouble. A few good laughs make this a fair booking.

"Andy Panda's Victory Garden" (Lantz Cartune)
Universal 7 mins. Fair
Panda is beset by no end of trouble in trying to plant a victory garden. The ground is unfit for planting, and every effort of his to get the project going meets with defeat. Things look pretty hopeless until a bottle of vitamin B falls into Panda's hands. Presto—the garden is in full bloom with vegetables of a size never known before. This cartoon, done in Technicolor, is good for a limited number of laughs.

"The Big Build-Up" (Terry-Toon)
20th-Fox 7 mins. Fair
The central character in this cartoon is a pup who allows himself to become overly inflated by a radio commentator's praise of dogs. In trying to live up to all the nice things said about his kind, the animal gets himself into some highly ludicrous situations good for a resounding laugh or two. The pup is put to shame by a kitten, which manages by devious methods to scare the daylights out of the pooch.

October 16, 1942
"Night Life in the Army" (Terry-Toon)
20th-Fox 7 Mins. Good
The Sergeant Cat and Gandy characters make their reappearance in this cartoon, which is in Technicolor. The action has to do with a series of nightmarish dreams into which Gandy drags the sergeant, who doesn't like the idea. There seems to be nothing that Gandy can do about it. Some of the situations into which the two get involved in Gandy's dreams are pretty funny and make this short a deserving booking.

October 22, 1942
"School Daze" (Terry-Toon)
20th-Fox 7 Mins. Mild
A new character known as Nancy, an aggressive kid, is introduced in this Technicolor cartoon. This Nancy, judging from her initial appearance, isn't much to get agitated about. She is somewhat on the tough side and is not the type to ingratiate herself with audiences easily. The kid shows herself patriotic and civic-minded in her debut. She scatters a few laughs as she goes about espousing one cause or another, but never proves hereself a solidy [sic] comedy character. The appeal of this short is no more than so-so.

October 26, 1942

"The Vanishing Private" (Donald Duck) RKO-Disney 7 Mins. First-Rate
Donald Duck's experiences as a member of an army camouflage squad are good for a barrage of laughs in this animated item. The real fun begins when Donald discovers a paint that renders things invisible. The idea of a tough sergeant's trying to catch Donald, who acquires invisibility by falling into a pail of the magic paint, is worked into some riotous moments. The poor sarge, who has a tough time convincing the general what he's up to, winds up in the guardhouse. Reel is in Technicolor.

"A Hull of a Mess" (Popeye)
Paramount 7 Mins. Fair
Good for a laugh or two, this animated cartoon has Popeye and another individual competing for a Government shipbuilding contract. The one who finishes a ship first is promised the contract. Popeye's rival tries every manner of dirty trcik to keep our spinach-eating hero from winning the contest. But Popeye overcomes every obstacle thrown in his way and comes out ahead. The short shows clever touches here and there.

"Showdown" (Superman)
Paramount 7 1/2 Mins. Nothing Super
This latest chapter in the Superman adventures is strictly for the comic-loving kids. It is much too dull and unoriginal to be of any interest to the older fans. This time Superman occupies himself with the capture of a gangster who carries on his nefarious activities under the guise of our hero. Superman pulls some amazing stunts in tracking down the phoney impersonating him. Done in Technicolor, this cartoon hasn't much to offer.

October 30, 1942
"Tito's Guitar" (Color Rhapsody)
Columbia 7 Mins. Fair
This cartoon in Technicolor concerns itself with the adventures that befall a Mexican youngster who tries to elope with his girl while her father snoozes. Despite all his caution the kid can't help making a lot of noise, but the old man keeps on sleeping. In the end the little fellow is constrained to ride off without the girl. The laughs in this one are few and far between. The film's appeal is directed almost wholly at the children.

"Loan Stranger" (Walter Lantz Cartune)
Universal 7 Mins. Good

The troubles of a woodpecker with a loan shark impersonated by a fox provide the laughs in this Technicolor cartoon. The fox hounds the woodpecker, who is unable to meet his obligation. The latter's life is made pretty miserable by the fox. The woodpecker finally pretends he's dead, leading the fox into imagining himself a murderer. That causes the fox to relent until he finds out he's been tricked.

November 9, 1942

"Chips Off the Old Block"
M-G-M 8 Mins. Fair
Laughs are none too plentiful in this Technicolor cartoon, which deals with a torn cat which tries to keep from its mistress the fact that it has fathered a litter of kittens. The torn cat turns to every device in an effort to get the little ones out of the way, but without success. When the mistress discovers their presence, the torn cat is both flabbergasted and delighted that she has no objection to them.

"The Dumbconscious Mind" (Phantasy Cartoon)
Columbia 8 mins. Amusing Reel
Producer Dave Fleischer unleashes in this reel the yarn of two dogs. One is Butch, the big bullying bulldog, who gets kicked out of a meat market only to be goaded by his evil inner-self to pilfer the viands which a peaceful little Spaniel is toting home to his mistress. The smaller canine escapes the depredations of his oppressor repeatedly. But eventually Butch makes a frontal attack on the market basket with success. However, before he has an opportunity to wrap his watering jowls around the tasty prize, his victim is about to be run over by railroad train. Butch's better self sends him to the rescue, and, now friends, they share food and fortune together. Reel is amusing and skillfully animated by Grant Simmons.

November 18, 1942
"Fine Feathered Friend"
M-G-M 8 Mins. All Right
The fun here is provided by a feud between a torn cat and a mouse. The latter gets the better of the argument all the way through. The cat really gets it in the neck when the mouse takes refuge in a barnyard. A hen takes exception to the cat, which receives an awful buffeting about before the entertainment is all over. Some of the incidents in this Technicolor cartoon are good for any number of laughs.

"The Hare Brained Hypnotist" (Merrie Melodie)
Warner 7 Mins. First-Class
Bugs Bunny and Elmer, the goofy hunter, are at it again. Elmer realizes it's no use trying to nab Bugs with a gun, so he decides to try hypnotism. But the new technique doesn't advance the fellow's hunting prowess where the crazy rabbit is concerned. Elmer's strategy backfires when Bugs reveals hypnotic powers of his own. The film ends with Elmer throwing in the sponge. The humor is excellent and productive of laugh after laugh. This is in Technicolor.

"A Tale of Two Kitties" (Merrie Melodie)
Warner 7 Mins. Very Funny
This Technicolor cartoon, a Leon Schlesinger production, is a laugh fest. There is never a serious moment throughout its length. Some , of the situations into which the two cats in the short get themselves are side-spliting. The cats, doing a Bud Abbott-Lou Costello act, expend their energies trying to hook a fledgling bird, who circumvents them at every turn. The take-off on Abbott and Costello is cleverly managed, with the voices a perfect match for those of the comedians.

"The Daffy Duckaroo" (Looney Tune)
Warner 7 Mins. Okay
Leon Schlesinger has turned out another amusing chapter in the adventures of Daffy Duck, who this time enacts a singing star of westerns abandoning Hollywood to see what the cow country is really like. The fellow gets himself involved with an Indian maiden who has a boy friend. The heap big Indian gives the transplanted Hollywoodian a heap of trouble. The fadeout has Daffy beating it back home. The short, done in Technicolor, has some good laughs.

November 20, 1942
"Scrap the Japs" (Popeye)
Paramount 6 1/2 Mins. Amusing
Again Popeye does heroic deeds—with the Japs at the receiving end. Our hero is an aviator on a plane carrier when a Jap bomber moves into the picture. Popeye joins the chase and engages the Jap in battle His antics, culminating in the capture of a battleship single-handed, result in many hilarious moments. The film has a number of rather clever situations.

"Jasper and the Haunted House" (Madcap Models)
Paramount 7 1/2 Mins. Good
George Pal's latest creation is good fun for every members of the family. The action has to do with a plot by a crow and scarecrow to get possession of a pie which Jasper is taking to the deacon at his mother's order. The kid is lured into a haunted house where he is deprived of the pie and scared into hiding. A ghost comes upon the scene. When his tormentors come out of hiding upon the departure of the ghost, Jasper gets enough courage to belabor them.

December 11, 1942
"Malice In Slumberland" (Phantasy Cartoon)
Columbia 6 1/2 mins. Amusing Stuff
This bit of appealing nonsense concerns a tired air raid warden who finds it impossible to get to sleep because of a leaking faucet in the downstairs sector of his house. The more he tries to prevent the monotonous, irritating dripping, the worse the leak becomes and the more serious the consequences to his essayed slumbers and the house's contents. Ray Patterson has done amusing animation. Dave Fleischer produced and Alec Geiss directed. The music by Ed Kilfeather is lively and interesting as it punctuates the action.

"Boogie Woogie Sioux" (Swing Symphony)
Universal 7 mins. Amusing
Plenty of hilarity is packed into this Technicolor cartoon about an Indian chief desperate for rain. When his rainmaker fails him, a jive band comes upon the scene and gives out with hot rhythm. And the clouds give out with rain in torrents. That saves the crops and restores the chief to the favor of his tribe. This short cleverly combines fun and music.

"Saludos Amigos"
with Donald Duck, Goofy, Pedro, Jose Carioca
RKO Radio-Disney 43 Mins.
GRAND TRAVELOGUE-CARTOON FEATURE, HUGHLY ENTERTAINING AND LAUGH-PACKED. ITS DISNEY AT HIS BEST.
Among the glittering assets of Walt Disney's latest full-length feature must be cited initially its power to delightfully entertain and to draw still closer the bonds of mutual understanding between the United States and her sister lands of the Americas. In effecting the former, Disney transported his staff of ace artists and technicians to South America, turned the lenses of Technicolor cameras upon the life and scenic wonderlands there, and then, with sketch material collected on the trip, evolved "Saludos Amigos" ("Hello, Friends") which magnificently and uniquely combines realistic beauty with superbly conceived and executed animation.
On the mutual understanding aspect, Disney has chosen the universal languages of music and humor as the media for a closer meeting of the collective mind of the Americas. His good-will and histrionic ambassadors are Donald Duck and Goofy on the one hand, and two delightful new characters of Latin origin,—"Pedro," the brave and lovable little mail plane, and the dashing Brazilian parrot, "Jose Carioca."
The picture,—inspiring, eye-filling, and teeming with laughs—, is fundamentally a combination of travelogue and cartoon subject. The trip is made by air, the first stop being Lake Titicaca on the Peru-Bolivia border, with the raucous Donald Duck as the tourist. Then on to Chile, where Disney introduces "Pedro" the mail plane, via whose flight is depicted the difficulties attendant upon flying the mail over the Andes, with menacing Mount Aconcagua, the villain to be overcome.
These and the ensuing sequences in glamourous Buenos Aires and rural Argentina are decided highlights, with guffaws galore springing from the satirical scenes of Goofy as the virile gaucho. Showman Disney, however, has saved up for the finale what to this reviewer is not only the climax to "Saludos Amigos" as a picture, but a fresh highwater mark of his own artistic genius and originality. It will come to be known as his "Brazil sequence." Therein is introduced both Jose Carioca and the flowing brush technique which must be seen to be appreciated,—and that it will be by film audiences everywhere is as sure as sunrise. Theater patrons embracing all types and ages will revel in these 43 minutes of Disney delights, and it is a triumph for all who participated in its making. It is a "must" for every screen, nationally and internationally.
CREDITS: Producer, Walt Disney; Production Supervisor, Norman Ferguson; Musical Director, Charles Wolcott; Story Research, Ted Sears, William Cottrell, Webb Smith; Art Supervisors, Mary Blair, Herb Ryman, Lee Blair, Jim Borero; Backgrounds "El Gaucho Goofy" inspired by F. Molina Campos; Music, Ed Plumb, Paul Smith; Story, Homer Brightman, Ralph Wright, Roy Williams, Harry Reeves, Dick Huemer, Joe Grant; Foreign Supervisor, Jack Cutting; Associates. Gilbert Soufo, Alberto Soria, Edmundo Santos; "Saludos Amigos" Lyric, Ned Washington; Music, Charles Wolcott; Narration. Aloysio Oliveira.
DIRECTION, Aces. PHOTOGRAPHY, Top Flight.

December 22, 1942

"Education for Death"
RKO Radio-Disney 9 mins. Eye-Opening Stuff
Disney's ability to put the stark and sinister into celluloid via dramatic delineation plus color is strongly exemplified by "Education For Death." Here he portrays how the Nazis take German youngsters and inculcate into them at tender ages the poisonous precepts of that nation's evil philosophy embracing absolute slavery to the State, the destruction of individual freedom, and the utilization of boys and men as cannon fodder to force the Nazi ideology upon the world. The reel traces the kind and character of the "education,"—making deities of Hitler and his ilk. An impressive climax in awesome tempo is provided by showing the mass goose-stepping of German soldiery, like mechanical men—without souls, when their schooling is completed. This is an eloquent and important short subject, because from it adults and youth in the lands where Freedom lives can appreciate the horrors of the Nazi cult in contrast to the precious way of life under Democracy. The animation is splendidly carried out. Put it down as eye-opening stuff, and only as Disney can do it.

"Me Musical Nephews"
Paramount 6 1/2 Mins. Riotous
One of the best Popeye shorts to hit the screen in years. Popeye's young nephews keep their uncle awake by their practicing on musical instruments and the grief they cause him is the central theme for some hilarious fun. This one deserves prominent billing.