Tuesday 12 May 2020

She Has Oomph

“Hello, Ann. How’s the ‘Oomph Girl’ tonight,” enquires Eddie Robinson of Ann Sheridan (known as the ‘Oomph Girl’) in Hollywood Steps Out.

Being the Oomph girl, she responds as you might expect. “Oomph, oomph, oomph,” she tells Edward G. Notice her hands.



There’s a pause. But she’s not through. “Oomph!” she adds and startles Eddie in the process.



The original titles for this are hiding somewhere. We know Tex Avery directed this, Carl Stalling scored it, and the backgrounds are by Johnny Johnsen. The celebrity designs came from assistant animator Ben Shenkman and voices are supplied by (I presume) Kent Rogers, Mel Blanc and Sara Berner.

5 comments:

  1. This one was always fun.Getting with friends and guessing all the actors. I wonder if there is an intact print anywhere that has the original ending? Instead of the quick fade out, Gable kisses Groucho and says; " I was a bad boy ", or " I'm a bad boy ". somthing of that nature. A number a years ago they restored the beginning and ending of " Have you got any Castles?" . Seeing this one completetly restored would be a treat.If it has been, I've yet to see it.

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    1. No, Errol, I don't know if UCLA or somebody has the unedited version or even if it was ever released that way. Someone here may know.

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  2. As far as I know, the only two snipped bits that have resurfaced are an individual cel of Gary Cooper dancing with Shirley Temple, and the "I'm a bad boy"/Gable bit, only about a second or two. I believe, based on reports, that Blanc did only Jerry Colonna, with Kent Rogers doing all of the other (male) voices. One distinct peculiarity is that while the re-issue had its copyright registered, I was unable to locate a copyright registration for the cartoon upon its initial release in 1941; that would have provided the name of the writer (or, at least the writer assigned) and animator (ditto).

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  3. Hans Christian Brando13 May 2020 at 17:48

    I hope Ann Sheridan never saw this cartoon, which is rather unkind to the female stars, with the possible exception of Judy Garland.

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    1. I don't understand what's unkind about this.

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