We get to a point of the proceedings in The Dover Boys (1942) where melodrama villain Dan Backslide says the best-known line in the cartoon.
“A runabout! I’ll steal it! No one will ever know!”
Today’s animation question: where does that line come from? Is in an inside joke? Is it from an old movie, maybe a silent movie title card? Is it just a non-sequitur? Does anyone have a real answer for this, instead of speculation I’ve read on-line.
Interestingly, one of the other boys book series of the era featured a runabout. It was "Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout" (1910).
The cartoon’s well-known for its smear animation. Here’s an example.
If you’re wondering what Carl Stalling has scored behind the opening credits, it’s the 1857 song ‘Annie Lisle,’ associated with a number of American colleges and universities.
I admit this is speculation, but informed speculation. I believe these kinds of lines were common in the Rover Boys/Hardy Boys type novels, where the villain would do something outrageous, and more or less lampshade their evil. I will try to find an example from the literature the cartoon spoofs.
ReplyDeleteThere's a thread here with some genuine Rover Boys quotes; none go to "No one will ever know!" but they do give a strong hint that Pierce was very close to the original: https://boards.fireden.net/co/thread/83648282/
ReplyDeleteYikes. Try to wade through the slop there.....
DeleteSomeone else has suggested it's a parody of a line in one of the original books, and that wouldn't surprise me.
On a side note: one thing I hadn't caught before is that one of the titles in the Rover Boys series is "The Rover-Boys at Colby Hall." Colby! Roquefort! That's a joke, son!
ReplyDeleteMel was at his screaming best in this one. He would start off with a regular volume ending in a scream. The one that had me on the floor was; " That means Dora must be alone AND UNPROTECTED!!!! " The little side comment was also great; " Dora...I LOVE HER!!!!! ( off to the side ) a love her father's money ". The run-a-bout line sometimes has taken a life of it's own. I once had a Program Director who loved " The Dover Boys ". Whenever we would see a small sports car, at the top of out lungs usually in the lobby, would come " I'll steal it...NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW!!". The suits and office staff would give us this long stare..like..." We could kill them. I don't think anyone will care. ".
ReplyDeleteI always thought the joke was the non-sequitur of Dan bellowing his intentions so loud that there's no way anyone COULDN'T know.
ReplyDelete