Ub's Odds and Ends

How’s this for an assessment of Flip the Frog?

Sydney Tremayne, in a feature story on Walt Disney published in a London newspaper on Jan. 1, 1932, wrote.

Walt Disney...gathered together one or two other men—some with cinematic and photographic experience and, as very little capital was required, he set to work in conjunction with a gentleman who used the un-rhythmic and un-melodious name of Ub Iwerks, to make the now famous cartoons. During the partnership there was a Rabelaisian twist to the humour and, I think, a certain coarseness of line in the drawing, both of which are very much more in evidence in those films which Mr. Iwerks has made independently since the partnership was dissolved, Iwerks’ own cartoons lack invention and artistic merit, and he has imposed on his compositions disgusting, pseudo-human, pseudo-comic figures in whom mouths and posteriors reach the apogee of distasteful importance.

If he printed this today, social media and website comment sections would be overcome with apoplexy.

We came across a few news items about the Iwerks studio and posted them here. We’re passing along some more random clippings.

I was quite surprised to discover this theatre ad. I’m using to seeing drawings of the Disney and Warner Bros. characters, even Woody Woodpecker, in newspapers. This is the first one I’ve seen of Flip.

Australia seems to have an interest in the frog. This unbylined blurb, from the distributor, I imagine, showed up in papers there around about July 30, 1930.

MICKEY MOUSE'S NEW RIVAL
"Flip The Frog" Is On The Way
A NEW comedian of the same sort us the now half-forgotten Felix the Cat and the delirious, roguish Mickey Mouse, should shortly be seen in Australia.
THE newcomer is to be called Flip the Frog, as animated and saucy a creature us can be imagined.
Flip comes from the magical pen of a cartoonist called Ub Iwerks—a name that is so odd that one is almost inclined to feel it may be real — who drew so many of the enchanting animals we met in the Mickey Mouse cartoons.
And because we all like so much the same artist's sentimental horse who plays the drum with such feeling, his evilly-disposed Tom Cat, his simple little tiger cubs, and his long-legged birds, I think Flip the Frog will have a great welcome.
These new animated film cartoons will, of course, be accompanied by sounds and music, too, just like the Micky Mouse ones.
Flip is rather a pompous frog, wearing a neat bow tie on the white shirt front Nature gave him, and bubbling out his eyes in a most expressive way.
Ub Iwerks was a well-known commercial artist who was working for an advertising firm in America, before he became a film cartoonist, and went into partnership, in 1924, with Walt Disney, creator and master of Mickey Mouse and the other jolly creatures we have only grown familiar with during the last year.

Another Australian story, showing up in papers around May 26, 1932, explained how Iwerks made cartoons.

HOW A COMEDY CARTOON IS MADE.
Do you know that it takes on an average of five thousand "shots" with a camera to make one Flip the Frog comedy? It requires a great amount of thought and labor to make one of these little five or six hundred feet cartoon comedies. What one sees on the screen in the six or seven minutes requires thirty people to produce working from three to four weeks steadily. Frequently it requires as many as ten thousand drawings to make a single picture.
Mr Ub Iwerks, creator of Flip the Frog comedy cartoons, which are distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, employs two scenario writers whose job it is to manufacture plots, situations and "gags" for new comedies. This is no small task, for an average of six to eight stories must be written every three weeks, as this is the allotted time for each picture. From these stories only one is generally selected.
The story is then ready for the animators who make the drawings. Each animator is given a particular scene, to animate, a scene which is best suited to his ability, for some animators are especially adept in depicting expression, others action, and so forth. There are usually from twenty to thirty scenes to a five hundred or six hundred foot cartoon. In order that the exact continuity may be followed, it is necessary to make the original drawings on trans-parent paper, from these, tracings are made with ink on sheets of celluloid. Each sheet is numbered so that when it comes to the camera-man he shoots it in its numerical sequence.
Now we come to the most difficult part of cartoon making, which is the arrangement of the musical score. The services of a composer, not just a musician, but one who can compose and arrange music, is required. It is said that better results are obtained when the musical score is planned first and the drawings made to fit the music, rather than arranging the music to fit the drawings.
If the character is playing the piano, the music must be synchronised with each stroke of the fingers on the keys. If the character happens to fall through a window, the sound of broken glass must be recorded simultaneously with be impact, or the whole effect is lost. Timing as you see, is a very important factor.
When the picture has been "shot" and the music arranged, the next step is to have it recorded. This requires the services of from ten to fifteen musicians and usually takes from three to five hours on a sound stage. Several re-takes are invariably necessary to make sure that certain sound effects and dialogue will register properly. The negative is then sent to the laboratory for developing. After this it is carefully assembled, prints are made, and the completed Flip the Frog cartoon comedies are sent on their way to theatres throughout the world.

It’s unfortunate the article mentions no staff names. David R. Smith’s fine story on Iwerks in Funnyworld 14, published in spring 1972, reveals Tony Pabian, then Fred Kopietz, were the first two animators hired. A newspaper story reveals Ben Clopton joined the staff in 1932. Shamus Culhane writes in depth about his experience at the Iwerks studio, which also began in 1932. But neither Smith nor Culhane really explain the politics that went on when it came to distributing Iwerks cartoons.

Flip was replaced on the MGM release schedule in the 1933-34 season. Why? Culhane speculated “Ub must have realized that Flip was a flop at the box office, so he cooked up a new character, Willie Whopper....In addition, he wanted to do a series of fairy tales.”

Film Daily of July 5, 1933 explained:

"Jack and Bean Stalk" New Cartoon Series
Hollywood—"Jack and the Bean Stalk," the first of a new series of cartoons in Technicolor, will be ready for release in September. This new series of famous old fairy tales in color will be produced by UB Iwerks under the screen title of "Once Upon a Time." Scenarios have been prepared on the following stories for future production: "Tom Thumb," "Cinderella," "Jack, the Giant Killer," "Little Red Riding Hood," "The Three Bears," "The Snow Queen," and "The Little Tin Soldier."

Powers journeyed from New York to Los Angeles on Nov. 20 to deal with “story and production details on the new series of ‘ComiColor Cartoons’ to be put on the independent market by Celebrity [Productions].” But the company appears to have changed its name, judging by Eleanor Barnes’ column in the Los Angeles Daily News of Dec. 26, 1933:

EMIL OFFEMAN, general manager and treasurer of Animated Pictures corporation, has signed Billy Leyser as director of publicity and advertising for that organization, effective immediately.
Animated Pictures are producers of animated cartoons in color, and are now in the midst of production on two distinctive series which are in work—"Willie Whopper," which is being distributed throughout the world by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Comicolor Cartoons, which are being distributed through Allied Exchanges.
Ub Iwerks is president of Animated; P. A. Powers, vice president; Glenn Behymyer, secretary, and H. A. Post, assistant secretary.

The question remains: since MGM was releasing the other Iwerks cartoons, why didn't it release the Comi-Colors? Could it be because of Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising?

The Hollywood Reporter of January 4, 1934 stated a deal was expected to be “closed in a day or two” for MGM to release Harman-Ising cartoons, adding in its issue of January 26, 1934 stated that the deal had been “pending for several months.”

So why did MGM drop Iwerks altogether and go with Harman and Ising? Dissatisfaction over the Iwerks shorts could be the reason, but no one seems to have gone on the record about it.

Apparently, Pat Powers felt he could complete in the colour cartoon market by giving it imitation Silly Symphonies. The Film Daily’s story of Dec. 11, 1933 says:

Cartoon Studio Expands
Hollywood — Increasing demand for animated cartoons in color is resulting in expansion and development of the Animated Pictures Corp. studio, it is announced by Ub Iwerks, studio head. Staff will be increased, space will be enlarged, new equipment acquired and personnel divided into several units each capable of producing individual pictures.

According to Culhane. Grim Natwick headed the Whopper unit, with Bernie Wolf and writer Cal Howard, while Culhane and Al Eugster, with writer Otto Englander, took on what became the ComiColor series. Variety, on Jan. 22, 1934, stated Iwerks’ Animated Pictures Corp. had hired Earl Hurd, William Wheeler and Bob Stokes, and mentioned the “Comicolor” series. (Bugs Hardaway, for whom Culhane had no affection, had left for the Schlesinger studio).

A number of newspapers that reported on Iwerks' colour process, claiming it had been in development for 18 months. Here are some more newspaper blurbs about Ub's studio.

Win Smith has filed a $125 wage claim against the Animated Pictures Corp., with the Labor Bureau for services as an artist. (Variety, Nov. 6, 1933)

Contracts for the Cinecolor process have been closed for the Willie Whopper cartoons for MGM release and Educational's "Romantic Journeys" series for release through Fox. P. A. Powers also has closed for his Comicolor series. The new business is ascribed to a development which has enabled Cinecolor to secure the effect of three colors. (Hollywood Reporter, Jan. 20, 1934)

A booking recorded is the contract recently signed by the Dollar Steamship company for the entire series of ComiColor cartoons for each of their fleet of 15 ships. This means that the product of Ub Iwerks, creator of ComiColor cartoons, will be exhibited in practically every port in the world, as well as on the high seas. (Daily News, Feb. 2, 1934)

The color cartoon on the program is the happy beginning of a new series by Ub Iwerks, under the label Comi-Color. It is beautifully tinted, displays a high quality of draftsmanship, and is smoothly animated. The spirit of the familiar fairy tale [Jack in the Beanstalk] is faithfully observed, but there are some ingenious embroideries. Plenty of humor and much imagination went into the making of the film, and, if others in the series are as good, Mickey Mouse will have a worthy rival to the general benefit of everybody. (Donald Kirkley, Baltimore Sun, Feb. 2, 1934)

Having just completed “Robin Hood Jr.,” animated “Whopper” cartoon, Ub Iwerks announces another subject portraying the adventures of the “little boy with the big imagination.” Willie starts his next adventure in the Orient. It is titled “Insultin’ the Sultan.” (S.F. Examiner, Feb. 26)

Even though Ub Iwerks, shorts producer, declined to take spot as a judge on the briefers for Academy Awards at first runoff of nominated subjected, committee looked at more than a score of them last week and lamp same amount tonight.
Iwerks declined to submit product in competition with ‘Three Little Pigs.’
Nomination in three classes for final voting are:
Cartoons: ‘Building a Building,’ (Disney Micky Mouse); ‘Merry Old Soul’ (Walter Lantz-U); ‘Three Little Pigs’ (Walt Disney) (Variety, March 1, 1934).

Cupid is stalking the staff of Ub Iwerks’ cartoon plant. Recent aisling had Lee Blair and Mary Robinson tying the knot, while Murray Griffin married Eleanor Griffin, non-professional. (Variety, Mar. 19, 1934)

A total of 24 cartoon comedies, all in color, will be produced by Celebrity Productions for the 1934-35 season, and, according to present plans, these will be released through the independent market. Celebrity currently is released its “Willie Whopper series through MGM, and its new “ComiColor” series through independents.
Next season’s schedule calls for 12 “ComiColor” cartoons, all adaptations of fairy tales and folklore stories; also six musical cartoons and six cartoon “thrillers.” (Motion Picture Herald, Mar. 31, 1934)

UB Iwerks of Animated Pictures has three animated cartoons in production. They are "Puss in Boots" and "Queen of Hearts," two ComiColor cartoons, and "Reducing Creme," a Willie Whopper. (Hollywood Reporter, Apr. 7).

We have been apprised direct, by some of the largest exhibitors in the country on the quality of “Willie Whopper” and “ComiColor” cartoons, that aside from entertainment of a very high grade, the pictures were exceptionally clean. (U. B. Iwerks to The Film Daily, May 14, 1934)

U. B. Iwerks is starting work on the first of ComiColor cartoon shorts for the 1934-35 season. First two will be ‘Rip Van Winkle’ and ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow.’ (Variety, May 15, 1934)

Animated Pictures Studio in Beverly Hills has five animated cartoons currently in work. Two featuring ‘Willie Whopper’ are ‘The Cave Man’ and ‘Jungle Jitters.’ The other trip are ‘Comicolors,’ being ‘Queen of Hearts.’ ‘Aladdin and His Lamp,’ and ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow.’ (Variety, June 5, 1934)

To meet a rising market in color cartoons abroad, U. B. Iwerks is rushing Spanish, German, French and Italian versions of his Comicolor animations, “Puss in Boots” and the “Queen of Hearts.” Iwerks recently completed foreign versions of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk,’ ‘The Little Red Hen’ and ‘Brave Tin Soldier’ cartoons which Celebrity Productions are distributing. (Variety, June 28, 1934).

Wellington Mack, who writes comedy pantomime for circus clowns, has been signed by P. A. Powers for the Comicolor cartoon story department. Mack has himself been a clown. (Motion Picture Daily, July 25, 1934)

UB Iwerks will produce a series of 12 color cartoons for Celebrity, leading off with ‘Headless Horseman,’ with ‘Rip van Winkle’ probably following. Other subjects of a similar character are to be included in the group.
Studio is now completing the foreign dubbing of the current crop of briefies, making 17 versions of many of the subjects. (Variety, Aug. 13, 1934)

Stories afterward pretty much consisted of production information and plans. Iwerks did put up some of his ComiColors for an Oscar.

Shorts nomination pickers of the Academy last night viewed 16 cartoons and 22 novelties up for the eighth annual awards, at the Paramount studio. . . .
Cartoons viewed last night and their producers are:
“Monkey Wrenches” and “Three Lazy Mice,” Universal; “Jack Frost” and “Sinbad the Sailor,” Ub Iwerks; “Sunshine Makers” and “Bird Scouts,: Van Beuren Corp.; “I Haven’t Got a Hat” and “The Lady in Red,” Warners; “Who Killed Cock Robin” and “Three Orphan Kittens,” Walt Disney; “The Lost Chick” and “The Calico Dragon,” Harman-Ising; “The Spinach Overture” and “Song of the Bird,” Max Fleischer (Paramount release); “The Five Puplets,” Paul Terry (Educational); “The Bon Bon Parade,” Charles Mintz (Columbia). (Hollywood Reporter, Jan. 28. 1936)

Of note:

The first coloured sound cartoon made for health propaganda is shortly to be shown at 200 cinemas throughout the country.
The film has been made by Ub Iwerks, a one-time partner of Walt Disney. It was sponsored by Mssrs. Boots, the Nottingham firm of chemists. It took 170 people seven weeks to make, and no fewer than 70,000 sketches were used.
Its entertainment value is so good that it has already been booked by many cinemas, and at a pre-view in London yesterday Ministry of Health officials attended at the invitation of Messrs. Boots to report on its educational value. (Evening Sentinel, Sept. 25, 1935).

Iwerks would have more commercial cartoons in production later in the decade, as well as an English connection.

There was talk about features, though not necessarily cartoon ones.

Celebrity Productions, the P. A. Powers company which has been making the ComiColor Cartoons in color, is definitely set to enter feature production for 1935-36 with a program of six action melodramas. Pictures will be released in the independent market. A third series of the ComiColor cartoons also will be made. (Film Daily, July 6, 1935)

Celebrity Productions, Inc., has announced that in addition to the present series of “Powers ComiColor Cartoons” which it releases, in the future it will also distribute a group of features on the independent market. These will be known as “Celebrity Productions” and the first two, to be released shortly are “Kiss Me Goodbye” and “For Love of You.” (Motion Picture Herald, Nov. 9, 1935)

Iwerks, or Powers, had further plans in 1936.

In addition to a fourth series of ComiColor Cartoons already planned for 1936-37, P. A. Powers will expand the activities of his Celebrity Pictures by producing a new cartoon series based on the Gene Byrnes newspaper strip, “Reg’lar Fellers”, under a deal made by Charles Giegerich of Celebrity. Both series will be produced under the directorial supervision of Ub Iwerks. (Film Daily, Feb. 26, 1936)

Finally, Iwerks and Powers parted company. This story made the trades:

P.A. Powers may move the ComiColor production to New York from Los Angeles for next season. This would take in the “Reg’lar Fellers” series of Celebrity Prod. Harry A. Post, vice-president of Celebrity, is on his way to the coast to confer with Ub Iwerks on the possibility of moving the entire animation staff eastward, or the advisability of making the “Reg’lar Fellers” here and continuing the Comi-Colors at the Beverly Hills plant. (Motion Picture Daily, May 18, 1936)

Iwerks did neither. The one Reg’lar Fellers cartoon, Happy Days was released Sept. 20, 1936 and, as Culhane put it, Iwerks closed his studio temporarily.

Details aren’t altogether clear, but Iwerks became a sub-contractor. Mike Barrier’s Hollywood Cartoon explains that Leon Schlesinger signed a deal “early in 1937” to have Iwerks make Looney Tunes for him, and assigned Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones to go the Santa Monica Blvd. and oversee Iwerks’ staff. Porky and Gabby (released May 15) and Porky’s Super Service (released July 3) bear Iwerks’ name under “Supervision.”

But Clampett found himself coming in to work on a Monday and learning that he was now the supervisor; Barrier says his promotion was announced in May. A month later, Clampett was back on the Warners lot, in a separate building, with his new unit, some of them having worked for Iwerks.

Iwerks was still in business, though. He had also sub-contracted with Columbia to make Color Rhapsody cartoons. The 1936 Copyright Catalogue credits him with directing Two Lazy Crows, while the 1937 edition lists him as directing Skeleton Frolic, Merry Mannequins and The Foxy Pup. Motion Picture Daily’s review on Spring Festival states Iwerks as the director, though no director apparently was in the original credits and in a number of cartoons Columbia released that year. The annoying thing for viewers today is credits were taken off Columbia cartoons when they were re-released as “Columbia Favorite.”

Iwerks’ last cartoon for Columbia was, at least according to Leonard Maltin’s Of Mice and Magic, Wise Owl, released Dec. 6, 1940. By then, he was gone. He returned to Disney on September 9, 1940, where he received honours for his technical work. During the war, he went to Ottawa, as Disney produced some films strictly for Canadians to buy War Bonds.

There was one last series with which Iwerks was connected, at the end of 1937.

Haris and Ub Iwerks Start Cartoon Firm
HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 13.—Backed by British capital represented by Lawson Haris and having release contracts in Great Britain already signed with the newly formed British Independent Exhibitors' Ass'n, Cartoon Films, Ltd., a new corporate setup for Ub Iwerks, this week started production of 24 color cartoons depicting Lawson Wood's famous Collier's Magazine cover ape, "Gran'pop."
The Beverly Hills studios of the company increased its capacity and is using RCA sound. Haris is president.
"Gran'pop's Busy Day" will be the title of the first picture. (Motion Picture Daily, Dec. 14, 1937)

Film Daily reported on Dec. 19, 1938 that three Gran’Pops had been completed, though they were not apparently released by Monogram until 1940.

A post-script: Iwerks’ cartoons were made available for home viewing by Castle Films by 1941. Some of them appeared on early TV. WABD’s programme listing for June 6, 1944 show Little Red Hen aired at 9:30 p.m. Even before then, W2XBS (NBC’s experimental TV station) broadcast Jack and the Beanstalk on July 18, 1939 as it experimented from the New York World’s Fair. And ComiColors were broadcast in late 1947 on KSD-TV in St. Louis.

And after the war Official Films was selling 8mm versions of Flip the Frog. There were theatre ads in 1947 advertising Flip on the big screen. He's with us today on Blu-ray video while the ComiColors are still on old public domain DVDs but are slowly being restored for home viewers.

At'sa Matta With-a Wings?

On paper, it looked great. You had an established cartoon character in Felix the Cat. You had a popular comic strip property in Fontaine Fox’s Toonerville Folks. You had solid animators (or assistants) in Carlo Vinci, Bill Littlejohn, Alex Lovy, Pete Burness and Jack Zander. You had good writers in Dan Gordon and Joe Barbera.

But Van Beuren couldn’t pull it off. Despite all those people, the studio shut down in 1936.

Why? A good example is It's a Greek Life, directed by Gordon. Someone came up with the idea of a bumbling centaur shoemaker (he’s supposed to be Greek, but says “Mama Mia!”) who wants to fly and Mercury, who wants his flying shoes fixed so he can go on a date. Add to the mix two comic relief ducks (with laurel wreaths on their heads), who made an appearance in Molly Moo-Cow and the Indians. In fact, the Italo-Greek shoemaker is played by the same guy who voiced the obsessive hunter in Molly Moo-Cow and the Butterflies (both 1935).

This is supposed to be a comedy, but darned if I can find anything funny.

Mercury threatens to twist the shoemaker’s head if the shoes aren’t fixed on time. The action is animated on ones.



The above drawing is held for eight frames, then the head twists back on ones.



I’ll take the Van Beuren Tom and Jerry turning into Swiss cheese, or Don and Waffles being threatened by the Sphinx over this any day.

No animators are credited, just director Gordon and musical maestro Win Sharples. The cartoons have been restored by Steve Stanchfield, so the colours will look excellent, certainly better than what you see in this post.

Van Beuren was on a bit of a wing-ding. The cartoon released before this one, Cupid Gets His Man, features winged cherubs in what looks like RCMP red serge.

The cartoon after this, Toonerville Picnic, was finished by August 27, 1936, according to the Film Daily of that date. With that, Amedee Van Beuren got out of the cartoon business and continued with his "World on Parade" travelogues for another year, leaving Felix Among the Royalty unproduced.

Warden's Coming

Prison inmate Spike hears the Warden’s footsteps in Cellbound, released by MGM on Nov. 25, 1955. There’s no huge-eyed take like everyone thinks of in a Tex Avery cartoon. Instead there are a few drawings which end with a two-frame shake-take, where a character become a vibrating version of himself for a number of frames.

These are all consecutive frames. Yes, Spike is so shocked, he loses an arm for a frame.



Here it is slowed down.



Avery had been gone from the studio for 2 1/2 years when this cartoon finally hit screens. Mike Lah took over the direction and handled the animation along with H-B unit members Ken Muse, Irv Spence and Ed Barge. Ed Benedict laid out the cartoon and Vera Ohman painted the backgrounds. Daily Variety reported on August 2, 1954: "Fred Quimby, MGM cartoon producer, has signed Paul Freese [sic] for the “voice” of “Cellbound.”"

A Funny Thing Happened On My Way To the Paramount

There were these two comedy writers, and one said to the other. . .

Well, that’s pretty much how Erskine Johnson’s Hollywood column read once. He didn’t do that much work. He let the writers fill it.

This gives you an idea of what the top-echelon radio comedy scribes on the West Coast thought was funny.

It appeared in papers starting around Feb. 6, 1950.

Gagsters Tell of Best Laughs
By ERSKINE JOHNSON
NEA Staff Correspondent
HOLLYWOOD—I was on my way to Paramount to talk to Alan Ladd when I bumped into Al Schwartz and Marvin Fisher who write jokes for Bob Hope.
The conversation, naturally, swung toward gags and I asked the boys about the biggest laugh Hope garnered during the past radio season. After due mulling and consideration, they came up with this one. In one of his monologues, Hope said:
"I've got one of those teeny television sets and my cat loves it. He drags it over to a mouse-hole and turns on the cheese commercials."
Holding my sides, which I thought would split, I quickly jotted down the quip, thanked Al and Marvin, and continued on what I thought was my way to Paramount.
But a block later, while crossing the street against a red light, I was almost hit by a car which turned out to contain four Jack Benny gagmen. Remembering my good luck with Hope's writers, I asked the Bennymen what they considered their best recent gag.
The boys (Sam Perrin, Milt Josefberg [sic], George Balzer and Jack Tackaberry) put their collective funnybones together and finally agreed on the following:
Jack was in England trying to exchange money with his hotel clerk. "Deflation or no deflation," said the thrifty Benny, "I want more for my money." The clerk replied:
"Begging your pardon, sir, but it's hard to believe that you and the Marshall Plan come from the same country."
* * *
By the time I had written down the jest and said goodby, it was too late to keep my date at Paramount. So I decided to drop In at Lucey's, where the stars and the gossip hang out. But no sooner had I landed safely on the opposite side of the street than I collided with a lad named Paul Henning, who writes the Burns and Allen show.
I asked Paul about his best recent gag. He said the biggest laugh on that program never got on the air. It happened while one of the shows was being taped for a later airing.
Seems that Gracie was at a costumers looking for a couple of outfits she and George could wear to a masquerade party. The dialog:
Gracie: "Say, that cowboy suit hanging there might look good on George."
Clerk: "That's from the picture 'The Outlaw' and I can give you the costume Jane Russell wore."
Gracie: "Oh, no, thank you. I could never fill her shoes."
Well, said Paul, the laugh was so big it was snipped from the tape for fear the censors would complain.
It was too late to collect movie gossip so I went to a phone and called all the radio gagmen I know and some I don't know.
Hugh Wedlock Jr. and Howard Snyder who write Edgar Bergen's show contributed this:
Dick Powell was a guest on the Bergen show and was playing the role of a private eye. In his narration, Dick said: "The blonde threw her arms around my neck. This came as a big surprise to me as she was standing 10 feet away at the time."
* * *
From Ray Singer and Dick Chevillat, who write the Phil Harris-Alice Faye show:
Alice was laughing at Phil because he wanted to be an inventor. "Go ahead and laugh at me," said Phil. "People always laugh at genius. They laughed at Edison. They thought he was crazy. They thought Fulton was crazy. Thy thought Marconi was crazy."
"Yeah," interruped Frankie Remley, "they even thought Sam Fromkiss was crazy."
"Who was Sam Fromkiss?" asked Phil.
"My uncle," said Frank. "He WAS crazy."
From Norman Paul of Jimmy Durante's writing staff:
Durante was describing the celebrities at the opening of the opera in New York. “Lady Mendl wore a diamond tiara in her hair, Mrs. Vanderbilt a ruby tiara, but all eyes were on me,” boasted Durante.
"What did you have on your head?" asked Don Ameche.
"Popcorn," said Jimmy. "Some guy in the balcony had a leaky bag."
Charlie Isaacs, who knocks out the zanies for Martin and Lewis:
They were doing the life story of Dean and Jerry, starting with the time the two met as little boys. "What's your name?" asked Dean. "Jerome Levitch," answered Jerry. "What's yours?" "Paul Crossetti," replied Dean. "Gee," said Jerry, "I can just see our names up in lights—Martin and Lewis."
All of which just shows you what can happen to me when I'm on my way to Paramount to talk to Alan Ladd.

More than 75 years after Erskine Johnson let the writers write his column, we have done the same. Which way to the Paramount studios?

Cingalli Circle

Big-Hearted Bosko (March 1932) has an odd error toward the end, at least in the version in circulation.

The cartoon is fairly routine, with the first half taken up with Bosko and Bruno skating on a pond. They find a baby in a basket and take him home.

The second half shows Bosko and Bruno failing to stop the child from crying until the dog puts on a lamp shade as a hula skirt and starts wiggling. All three of them start swinging to Richard Whiting’s “Cingalli.”

For four frames, a circle flashes on the screen. What’s it supposed to be?



Oh, well. It doesn’t stop them from dancing. A roast duck makes a cameo appearance.

Friz Freleng and Ham Hamilton are the credited animators.

Crying Eyes of the Walrus

Walter Lantz’s Musical Miniature series holds its own with any cartoons produced in Hollywood at the time.

Kiddie Koncert (released by United Artists, Apr. 2, 1948) puts Wally Walrus front and centre as a conductor, with some fine animation by Ed Love. He’s responsible for a good portion of the cartoon, including a cute gag timed to a movement in Von Suppe’s “Morning Noon and Night in Vienna.”

The audience starts crying during a violin and harp passage, tears from the audience overflowing the small schoolhouse where the concert is taking place. There’s a cut to Wally conducting while wiping his nose. Director Dick Lundy comes in for a close-up, then cuts to Wally’s eyes. They fill up, and the pupils swim to safety. You can see some frames below. I like how the pupils congratulate each other, then go back to where they started.



Alas, only one other Musical Miniature followed, Pixie Picnic, released May 28, 1948. Lantz' deal with U.A. started to sour, and to save money, he virtually shut down his studio. Lundy, Love and musical director Darrell Calker did not return when the studio re-opened in 1951.

Here’s what Boxoffice had to say about the cartoon on Apr. 17, 1948.

Kiddy Concert [sic]
United Artists (Lantz Cartune) 7 Mins.
Very good. Wally Walrus conducts the school orchestra in a concert. The orchestra is composed of chickens, penguins, pigs, turtles, seals, a bloodhound and a skunk, who plays a trumpet outside the window. All the performances are novel. A centipede plays five violins, while the dog drummer beats out the rhythm with a pair of knitting needles. A pig trumpet player runs into trouble when he attempts to chew bubblegum and play his instrument at the same time. The musical score is excellent.

The ad to the right is for a theatre in Houston on the day of release.