Am I Happy! And Will YOU Be Happy!

MGM’s Leo the Lion was animated in the very first Willie Whopper picture, introducing Metro’s newest animated star. However, he appeared in animated form again.

The studio wanted to bring back Leo to be part of a trailer for its 1935 feature No More Ladies, starring Joan Crawford. It made an odd choice to animate the movie promo.

The Ub Iwerks studio animated the first Leo but it and MGM parted ways in 1934. Metro began releasing shorts made by Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising. For some reason, the studio didn’t get Harman-Ising to provide animated footage for the trailer. It called on Bill Nolan.

We wrote this post about Nolan earlier this year. He had been a long-time animator who was hired by Walter Lantz to co-direct cartoons at Universal and then left in October 1934. The next time the trade papers referred to him was in April 1936 when he briefly went to work for Charles Mintz at Columbia. What he did do in the interim? One thing was the animation for the No More Ladies trailer.

In it, Leo successfully breaks away from a theatre manager/hand who is trying to keep him off a stage. “Oh, boy!” yells Leo, who sounds suspiciously like Billy Bletcher, “Am I happy! And will you be happy!” Leo’s head and then a paw zoom toward the camera.



Historian/restorer Devon Baxter has come across this interview with Nolan conducted by The Daily Record of Long Branch, New Jersey and published August 13, 1935. Nolan doesn’t reveal what exactly he’s doing for a living. The story mistakenly states Nolan “originated” Felix the Cat and Oswald the Rabbit. The former was created, arguably it appears, by Pat Sullivan, Oswald was invented by Walt Disney. However, Nolan is credited with redesigning Felix to make him more attractive and, I suspect, easier to animate, and he directed many Oswald cartoons when Lantz took over the series.

Originator of Felix the Cat, Oswald the Rabbit Returns Here for Visit
By DOROTHY DORAN
No one would anymore think of introducing him as William Nolan of Hollywood, Calif., than they would take a chance killing a Japanese bettle [sic] with a fly-swatter. Both would be clownish. Honestly, this man who makes cartoons walk, talk and do spectacular stunts was halfway in the living-room of the Cross-Roads, Oceanport, and almost seated before his friend and war buddy, Charles Eager of Long Branch, announced, "Meet Bill."
A bulk of copy paper on a coffee table subtly hinted to the son of Mr. and Mrs. John J. Nolan of Long Branch that he was in for something. Arming himself with a cigarette he suggested, "May I smoke?" which was countered with "Proceed." He did and told how he studied at an art school in Providence, Rhode Island, and his first job, ('cause it didn't pay enough to be called a position!) was with the Bridgeport and Waterbury Herald as political cartoonist. The Associated Press signed him up in the same capacity and in between times he' did specialty sketches for the Worcester papers.
The thing that actually drove him to Long Branch was typhoid fever, plus his doctor's advice to wander seaward and throw the disease in the ocean. He certainly did and luck was with him again on his return to New England for he ran across Raoul Barrie [sic] who had brought back the animated cartoon idea from Paris. Of course the first pictures were crude and walked disjointedly but the two men dickered with them and modestly Mr. Nolan advanced, "I had a finger in most of the refinement ideas." Then, as if afraid he was boasting, he added, "The latest British Encyclopedia does give me credit for originating panoramic backgrounds in animated cartoons." Later on he released with Barrie some of the films as novelties. They were sponsored by the old Edison Film Company.
About this time Hearst had a hunch to put some punch in his cartoon strips and for a year Bill Nolan brought them to life. Recalling how Long Branch had brought him luck before in health, he came back and established in 1915 his first studio on Garfield Avenue and did Bud Fisher's Mutt and Jeff series. Every four weeks he alternated with Paul Terry of "Terrytoons," Raoul Barrie and Gregory LaCave (who is now the highest paid director in Hollywood) in turning out one of these motion cartoons. Next he drew some indoor sport animateds about Tad's stuff, featuring the Daffodil and Laughing cat. These were made in West End. Not to his liking he had to write his own stories, so once a week he drove his car early in the morning out to Goose Neck Point to pen his inspirations. He confessed, “I knew whose goose would be cooked if I failed to finish that story before leaving. So I never did.”
Did Felix the Cat
For two years Bill Nolan did Felix the Cat in New York with Pat Sullivan, but when Krazy Kat came along he hiked for West End and had a staff of 15 working there. This was during 1926-27-28. Locally, also, he did work for F. B. O. in News Laughs. They were really highlights and laughter on the outstanding happenings of the day. In other words, punning on people and situations.
Before 1930 had fully dawned the talkies had crashed silent pictures and sounds didn't come cheap. There was no alternative. The equipment was too expensive to buy alone so the song, "The Coast Is Calling You!" had to be put into action. Out to Hollywood Bill Nolan went and signed first a year, then a five year contract with Universal Film Corporation, using Oswald the Rabbit for his hero.
Here in the interview the last puff on his cigarette went in an ashtray and be stopped talking for a second or two, then quietly continued, "I picked something quite special in Long Branch, my wife, Viola Golden, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank X. Golden. We have two boys, Tom and Bill. They are 12 and 14 years old. Husky was his voice when he spoke of the late Frank Sherman of Long Branch and Chester Karrberg, who were graduated from Chattle High School in Long Branch. Both boys studied here with Bill Nolan and were part of his staff of 50 at Universal City in California. Karrberg died four years ago and Sherman passed away last winter. He fell on the ice and a bloodclot became lodged in his brain. Before the accident he was working on Aesops Fables.
Speaking of neighbors, Bill Nolan enlightened us with, "Why Bing Crosby lives right across the street from me and several doors down Dick Arlen, George Brent, Dick Powell, Mary Brian and Mary Astor hold sway. They all have lovely homes in the Tuluca Lake [sic] section. Dick Powell's home is on the golf course. All the actors are very domestic and never talk shop long. Once in a while they'll lament over their tedious hours. They hate to be paged by autograph hounds and despise people who stare at them from sightseeing buses. Instinctively they are retiring. They loathe high-hatted-ness and consider it a sign of cod-fish-aristocracy.
Dick Powell and Roy Disney, Walt's brother, own private swimming pools and love to have the children come and take a splash. Often they jump in with them and the boys call them regular sports. Bing, you know, has a five-foot wall around his estate, but that doesn't keep schoolgirls from trying to scale it. They use the boosting method one stands at the bottom giving the others a lift, sort of stepladder effect, the last one bewailing when no one's left to give her a push to look over the top."
Liked F. D. Film Best
Here the conversation turned personal again and Bill Nolan was confronted with, "What picture did you enjoy working on most?" and without any mental fumbling at all he retorted, "The Roosevelt film on Confidence. When the New Deal was trying out the Depression, or vice-versa, those in the film industry tried to be helpful to the President with educational features and I liked this picture best because it planted food for thought and was constructive in a humorous, friendly way."
Just lately Nolan made a smart, animated trailer for Joan Crawford's picture, "No More Ladies." Leo the Lion did most of the broadcasting and made himself very clear.
Asked, "How have the talkies influenced the animated cartoons?" he beamed, remarking, "They've put new life in the whole movie industry. Characters must have feeling and react to situations. In the animateds we have electric, visual metronomes which help the orchestras, voices and sound effects to keep step with the moving drawings. In other words there are sometimes three separate soundtracks to be welded to the cartoon film before it is finally printed for showing in the theatres. Universal last year made six films in color. They cost five times as much to print as black and white ones do, otherwise their making represents no added expense.
All the time Bill was chatting along a prayer was going up, "Rain, rain, keep on coming down, for if you don't this man will have to be trailed for the climax of this story all over the Long Branch Country Club where he's booked for a game of golf." Granted was the petition and when Bill Nolan whisked out of the driveway it wasn't "Goodbye" but “'Til we meet again.”