Thursday 18 June 2015

Nose Handshake

Why two native Indians are flying and joyfully rubbing their noses together is just one of many unanswered questions in the strange 1938 Terrytoon “The Last Indian.”



I get the impression the story for this one was invented after a long liquid lunch by the Terrytoons staff. It doesn’t make a lot of sense and there are some gags that are so odd they’re funny. Take this one when the Indians’ noses turn into hands and shake.



For some reason, the native in his roadster starts weaving along country and city streets that are shot in live action footage that’s edited together with no regard for geographic continuity, as Paul Scheib’s saxes toot away. Friz Freleng did the same thing with Porky Pig in “You Ought To Be In Pictures” about two years later, though it’s less zany.

3 comments:

  1. IIRC, they remade this cartoon in color sometime around 1950, so either Paul Terry liked it a lot, or the staff at another long liquid lunch at some New Rochelle watering hole.

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  2. Missed opportunity here for a takeoff of the song from "Polar Pals" (1939) -

    Let's Shake Noses, Like the Navajo-ses...

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    Replies
    1. LOL! Liked your song parody a lot...!SC

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