How to Meow in Cartoons

Photoplay magazine didn’t devote very much space to animated cartoons, what with all those stories it had to fit in about the “real” life of Hollywood’s stars. But I came across this one-page piece in the September 1930 edition. It doesn’t say an awful lot; the best part is the sixteen drawings of Krazy Kat that make up one foot of film. And no one familiar with old cartoon studios will be surprised to read Phil Scheib of Terry Toons talking about cost.



Watch ‘Em Move
A Short Biography of Krazy Kat and Some of His Goofy Friends
By Frances Kish
HAVEN'T you sat, fascinated, for the seven or eight minutes of an animated cartoon, wondering what makes the drawings move? And when talkies came along, weren't you surprised when they sang and played musical instruments, and out from the screen came the squeaky voice of Krazy Kat or the piping song of Mickey Mouse?
Most cartoons are planned out before ever pencil is put to paper. Let's sit in on a couple of conferences at the Winkler Pictures studios, where work is about to begin on a new adventure in the life of Krazy Kat.
The entire studio staff is present. Somebody has what he thinks is a clever idea. Changes and additions are suggested. Discussion is fast and furious. And a complete story is worked out.
Later, there is a “gag” conference. Perhaps there's a sequence in a subterranean room, down a long flight of stairs. “Well, stairs when picked up and juggled back and forth between the hands make a perfectly grand accordion,” suggests someone. And thus a gag is born. The musicians determine the type of music for each gag — whether the mood calls for “Hearts and Flowers,” jazz, a march or a swaying waltz. Tempo is measured accurately with a metronome, and exact length timed with a split-second watch.
The major animator begins the work. The thin white paper he uses for his drawings has holes punched at the top, like pages for a loose-leaf note-book. These holes fit over pegs, holding the paper firmly in position. Drawing is done on slanted glass boards, under which is an electric light bulb that shines through glass and paper and makes tracing easy.
The figures are about three inches high. Progressive drawings, each on a separate sheet, move the action slightly forward, backward, up, down or around.
Each drawing is traced with India ink on a piece of celluloid punched like the paper. Celluloid is used for the final drawings because of its lustre and transparency.
The drawings are photographed, one at a time, with a regular motion picture camera equipped with “stop motion.” The camera is suspended over a table, with special lamps to center the light on the celluloids.
Sixteen “frames”—sixteen separate exposures—make one foot of film.
Out at the studio where Terry-Toons are made I learned some of the troubles of a musical director of sound cartoons. Old, familiar tunes are frequently found to be all tied up with the red tape of the copyright law. Foreign rights are especially difficult to obtain. Fees paid for the use of musical compositions, often just a few bars at a time, run into enormous sums.
There are the most amusing “sound props.” At the proper moment in the recording, a resined string is pulled from a small, drum-like contraption, and the resulting sound is like the bark of a lusty dog. A big, bucket-like affair, on the same principle, produces a lion's roar.
WHEN the rooster crows, it's because someone blew into a thing that looks like a small watering can. A big wooden affair, notched like a modern skyscraper, makes a train whistle. There are ratchets that sound like the beat of tom-toms, wind whistles, etc.
One of the executives of the Terry-Toon Company is an expert “meower” and his services are much in demand on the days when recording is done!
There's a tremendous amount of labor and care involved in making animated sound cartoons. Thousands of drawings are made for one film—generally from five to seven or eight thousand separate drawings. And that means the same number of tracings, and the same number of photographic exposures, to say nothing of the intricate musical and sound score.
But don't get the idea that cartoon studios are stodgy places where laughter is a mere commercial commodity to be turned out by the foot. I found them so jolly and fascinating that I wanted to stay and join the gang. But I changed my mind when I learned that it takes about two years to develop a good animator, no matter how much talent and artistic training he has at the beginning.
So I decided to stick to reporting, where all one has to do is ask hard-working artists a lot of questions and then write down the answers.

Johnny Jet's Parentage

One of the unanswered questions of cartoons is—if Little Johnny Jet’s mother and father are propeller planes, how did his mother give birth to a jet?



Tex Avery’s animators in this one are Walt Clinton, Grant Simmons, Mike Lah and Bob Bentley, with Ray Patterson borrowed from the Hanna-Barbera unit.

Interestingly, the picture on the cereal box in the frame above is reminiscent of the background drawing of “silver spoon” kid in Avery’s earlier “Symphony in Slang,” which was designed by Tom Oreb, though Johnny Johnsen would have done the backgrounds in both.

Hot Dog

Cartoon studios of the late ‘20s and early ‘30s seemed to love hot dogs that were alive. Mickey Mouse coped with some in 1929’s “The Karnival Kid,” among others. Felix the Cat dealt with some in “April Maze” the following year. And Oswald the Rabbit has one in a scene in “Sky Scrappers” (1928), a silent made by Walt Disney.

The weiner comes alive and bathes its butt in mustard. The gag was re-used by Hugh Harman in “Ups 'N Downs,” a 1931 Bosko cartoon.



Then it curls the top of the bun on top of it and Oswald eats it. The fact it was living mere moments earlier doesn’t faze him.



No animators are credited.

More Great Old Cartoons Can Be Yours

Steve Stanchfield has done a great service for old cartoon fans through his Thunderbean Animation, finding the best prints of public domain obscurities and working technical magic to make them available on DVD to fans. The Snafu series his company released a few years ago is stunningly restored and historically important. His Van Beuren collections are appreciated by New York C-list studio fans everywhere and look pretty good, too.

Steve’s latest release features the work of Walter Lantz, both commercial and theatrical.

I’m a sucker for late ‘20s/early ‘30s shorts with characters that stretch all over the place, exchange body parts, turn into musical instruments and don’t have an awful lot of story to get in the way of the strangeness. The few early Lantz sound cartoons I’ve seen are a lot of fun. Steve’s managed to corral some of them and put them on DVD, along with some of Lantz’ silent efforts (Walter Lantz began his career in animation as a cel washer in 1916) and some of the commercials his studio made in the ‘50s.

Thunderbean has worked with Del Walker’s Retroflections on this over the last six years.

If you want to learn more, check out Steve’s post at the IAD Forum.

No, I am not Steve’s agent. I pass on the news simply as a fan of old cartoons and Thunderbean’s high-quality work.

Hans, Hitler and Ham

Many actors have been masters of accents but none gave more enthusiastic performances than Hans Conried.

Hans was no ham thespian, though. He may have been over the top when spouting silliness on radio or TV in one of many dialects, or as the declamatory Snidely Whiplash in cartoons, but he could easily tone it down in dramatic performances on shows like “Suspense” and “Lux Radio Theatre.” Conried performed Shakespeare on stage as well. But accomplished actor as he was, he ended up building his reputation with comedy. A lot of situation comedy in the glory days of radio makes me roll my eyes, but Hans Conried can always make me laugh emoting with some foreign tongue saying something ridiculous.

Hans was profiled in the entertainment column in the National Enterprise Association in 1960. It doesn’t mention his work at Disney (“Peter Pan”). Forgotten, and perhaps rightfully, is his starring role in “The Twonky,” which would have been a fine social satire if it had fired on all cylinders. This story appeared in papers starting January 3, 1960.

All Entertainment Media Is Home For Hans Conried
By ERSKINE JOHNSON
NEA Staff Correspondent
HOLLYWOOD—(NEA)—When two generations of fans think of Hans Conried, the wild-haired, owlish-eyed fellow who looks like two profiles pasted together, chances are they will laugh over some unexpected grimaces or a wayout dialect—or both.
Radio fans remember Hans as Schultz on “Life With Luigi” and as Professor Kropotkin in “My Friend Irma.”
Movie fans recall him in “Bus Stop” and “Never Too Young.” Broadway stage fans remember him as the wacky Bulgarian sculptor in “Can Can” and the college professor in “Tall Story.”
TV fans know him as Uncle Tonoose on the Danny Thomas show, for his slick acting in all kinds of roles on other shows, and as himself, contributing to the nation's humor and insomnia, as a frequent Jack Paar guest.
But an old friend from his early (1936) days as a Hollywood radio actor remembers him for a quite different reason.
Mel Blanc, the actor with the trick voice (Bugs Bunny, Jack Benny's parrot) remembers him as an intense, dedicated Shakespearean actor. “Hans was so serious about acting,” says Mel, “that he cracked me up. I thought he was the funniest man I had ever met.”
Mel said the words when Hans, as a radio actor, was playing so many Nazi “heavies,” between Shakespearean chores, that Hans still laughs, “Hitler kept me alive until Uncle Sam put me in uniform and started feeding me.”
Well, when friend Mel Blanc found himself starred in a radio series after the war, he called in just-out-of-the-service Hans and have him the humorous character of a fellow who operated a Mr. Fix-it shop. That was the beginning of Hans Conried's fortune as a dialectian, and as stooge for every famous comedian on radio, as he rushed to and from as many as 20 different radio shows in one week.
Today Hans is still rushing — between Hollywood and New York for stage and TV appearances and telefilms — to recording studios for platter gems like “Peter Meets the Wolf in Dixieland”—to the St. Louis Municipal Opera stage in the summer for such musical dramas as “Lady In the Dark,” “Rosalinda,” and “Song of Norway.”
Home today for Hans Conried, a Baltimore, Md., lad, is a big Spanish stucco mansion on a hilltop overlooking Lake Hollywood where there is a Mrs. Conried, four little Conrieds and a rare collection of Oriental art objects. But he is home, with that rare flair for off-and on-beat comedy characters, in all entertainment mediums.
There's always talk of Hans Conried having a TV show of his own.
Fox has an option on his services in the series, “Mr. Belvedere,” when and if it is sold.
“But,” says Hans, “I'm not sure I want a show of my own. I'm the happiest when I'm doing something different every week.”
There's a strange oddity about Hans. He was never given a typical Hollywood publicity build-up and he hasn't ever sought the spotlight to become what Hollywood likes to call a “personality.”
But since his many TV panel-show appearances in New York and his stardom there in two Broadway shows, the usual Hollywood-New York pattern of fame has been reversed for him.
“Here in Hollywood,” he says, “I'm known as an actor. In New York—and I must say I blush about it—I'm considered to be a personality. But really, in 25 years of acting I've never worried much about whether I was known as an actor or as a personality. I just want to stay alive.”
One movie, “The 5,000 Fingers of Doctor T,” gave Hans his only starring film role. But today he can still laugh about the film. "It was the outstanding money-loser of all time.
“One critic called it the worst waste of film in history. But at the same time the film made the ‘current & choice’ list in a national magazine. It was a strange movie—a fantasy—but no one ever saw it.”
Of course, Hans Conried is his real name.
“I would have changed it to Hans Conried?” he deadpans.

This story came out a year and a bit before Hans was hired by Jay Ward to channel John Barrymore (who could register high on the ham meter) as Snidely Whiplash. Ward later put him on camera as the host of “Fractured Flickers,” a short-lived syndicated show from 1963 featuring satiric voice tracks played over top of old silent films and bogus interviews with guests. Here’s one with the lovely Barbara Eden. The laughter and applause is more intrusive than helpful, but the premise is clever.

Whoa, Camel

You know the routine. It’s a Friz-Foster Favourite!



In “Sahara Hare,” we only get to see Sam clobber the camel to get it to go, not to stop. The scene is focused on Bugs Bunny, we hear the impact, then the scene cuts to Sam and the bopped camel.

Ted Bonnicksen worked on this cartoon in his brief spell as a Freleng animator, along with Gerry Chiniquy and Art Davis.

Smiling Exit

Cute gag in “Casanova Cat” (1951) where Tom gets a rival cat out of the scene so he can make time with Toodles.

He ties a flagpole to the end of the black cat’s tail.



Then the pole pulls the cat out of the room, briefly leaving its smile behind.



The usual Hanna-Barbera unit animators get credited: Ken Muse, Ed Barge, Ray Patterson and Irv Spence.

Before Jack Benny Sold Canada Dry

We’ve spoken before on this blog that it’s pure bunk that Jack Benny made his radio debut, as he long stated, on the Ed Sullivan radio show on March 29, 1932. You can read about a 1931 broadcast here and a 1929 programme here.

But before Jack’s Sullivan appearance morphed into a legend, there was another claim of a “first” Benny appearance. It was published in the Pittsburgh Press of June 16, 1937 and related a broadcast on an unspecified date in 1931. Considering how meticulously planned the Benny shows were in later years, reading this account is somewhat surprising.

Jack Benny’s Radio Debut Is Recalled In Cincinnati
Newspaperman Who ‘Interviewed’ Clown Hasn’t Recovered From Seeing Carefully Penned Script Snubbed
By BOB RICHARDS
Jack Benny’s first appearance before a microphone was a riotous, ad lib affair on Cincinnati’s WFBE (now WCPO) with Frank Aston, managing editor of The Post, as his ‘straight’ man.
Few people know that the memorable day in 1931 that Benny had the engineers and announcers of WFBE rolling on the new studio rugs, and radio fans throughout the city in tear-jerking hilarity, marked the famed comedian’s initial broadcast.
Jack was appearing in Cincinnati at the time with Earl Carroll’s Vanities, playing the Shubert. Frank Aston, then drama critic on The Post, was to interview the vaudeville headliner on WFBE. After a weary afternoon at the typewriter, trying laboriously to be as funny as Benny, Mr. Aston finished the script for the broadcast.
Makes No Carbon Copies
Benny appeared at WFBE five minutes before time for the interview to go on the air. As was the custom of that early day in radio, only one script had been prepared. (Incidentally, Jack makes no carbon copies of his program to this day).
Mr. Aston handed his brainchild to Mr. Benny with the comment: “Here’s the script we’re going to use.”
“Ummmmm,” said Mr. Benny. “Ahhhhhh,” as he preceded the critic to the studio. Two minutes to go before broadcast time. Benny still pursued [sic] the script. Frank was getting fidgety. One minute. A green warning light appeared above the studio door.
“We’re on in one minute,” the nervous Mr. Aston hissed.
“Yeah,” said Benny, still studying the lines.
The red light flashed. Aston and Benny were on the air and Aston still couldn’t see the script to read his opening lines.
Aston Up to Occasion
“I guess we can get along without this,” the comedian said, and forthwith hurled the Aston interview over his shoulder, scattering its many pages about the studio.
Mr. Aston’s spirit sank with the falling pages. But he was up to the occasion. He gave the trooper [sic] an extemporaneous introduction. John Koepf, promotion editor of The Post, who was standing in the WFBE control room watching the broadcast, can carry on from there:
“Benny took the ball after Frank’s introduction, and did he carry it! It was the best program I have ever heard out of the fellow and I don’t miss many of them. Frank made the perfect straight man, too. I’m still surprised that Benny didn’t sign him up on the spot.”
Mr. Koepf, following the program, rode down on the Hotel Sinton elevator with the vaudeville headliner. They paused for a moment in the lobby to converse before parting.
“Do you know,” said Benny, “that was the first time I ever did a radio program.”
Recognizes Mike’s Might
“Benny went on to discuss his plans in radio,” Mr. Koepf recalled. “He said he recognized the might of the microphone and saw in it a possibility to get even further on the stage.”
Jack told John that he planned to approach radio in a business-like fashion. “As soon as I get a few ideas glued together, I’m going in for this radio stuff,” he said.

Benny celebrated his 10th anniversary in radio on his broadcast of May 4, 1941, with Don Wilson stating that the actual ten-year mark was May 9th. The rest of the show had a made-up scenario about Jack’s debut for a buggy whip company.

A huge gala took place at the Biltmore Bowl in Los Angeles. But a story about the anniversary in the May 4th edition of the Kingsport Times reads in part:

But radio didn’t want Jack Benny until one night in 1932 when Broadway Columnist Ed Sullivan presented the jester as a guest over a New York Station.

No matter how you do the math, you can’t get ten years between 1932 and 1941. Certainly people must have been able to add back then and see that something wasn’t right. Jack never mentioned the Cincinnati show in any interviews that I’ve found. He always gave credit to his buddy Sullivan, originally for giving him a spotlight that helped him land the M.C. job on Canada Dry programme (debuting May 2, 1932) which then evolved into a tale of his “radio debut.” So what “debut” was he celebrating in 1941? We may never really know.

Cartoonland 1929: Mickey and Bonzo

A headline in The Film Daily said it all: “Flood of talker shorts with fewer silent in prospect.” By 1929, movie theatres had begun making the inevitable transition to sound to try to keep up with the competition.

And so had cartoon studios. Credit Walt Disney and the wonderful synchronisation of music to action in “Steamboat Willie,” released in November 1928. Granted, the Fables studio was the first to take advantage of the talkie craze with “Dinner Time” several months earlier, and Universal announced in mid-November of ’28 that all of the Oswalds produced by Winkler Productions would be in sound. But “Dinner Time” is a mere curiosity and the speaking Oswald never grabbed the public’s attention as Steamboat Mickey Mouse did. So the tale of cartoon studios in the first half of 1929 is that of sound.

Let’s leaf through some cartoon news and reviews for that period. There’s actually very little news. Much of it deals with Pat Powers, who had jumped into the sound game by pitching his Cinephone system to compete with RCA Photophone. Disney signed with Powers to distribute his cartoons and supply him with sound equipment. Until the equipment arrived in Los Angeles, Disney had to record his cartoons in New York City. It’s interesting to note that Bill Garity was originally with Powers; in fact, he’s partly credited with developing Cinephone. Garity would later be employed by the Disney studio and then move on to work for Walter Lantz (he died in 1971).

The interesting news squibs include the distribution of a series of cartoons from England starring Bonzo, the short-lived Kolortone cartoons in Brewster Color, a sound cartoon featuring Mutt and Jeff (a deal in the ‘30s saw sound added to silent Mutt and Jeffs) and the arrival of Les Kline to work for Walter Lantz on Oswald cartoons. Kline’s last credit on a Lantz cartoon was in 1971; he was 90 when he died in 1997. But there’s more to the story than this. Film Daily neglects to mention Lantz was now supervising because Universal had dropped the Winkler studio and its ex-Disney animators like Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising, who now had to find work. And there’s one lonely item about Felix the Cat, but not involving Felix cartoons per se. Educational Pictures had dropped the distribution rights to them in 1928.

You’ll notice not all cartoon series are reviewed; I haven’t a clue why that was.

January 3, 1929
Interchangeability of Cinephone Again Shown
Another demonstration of the interchangeability of a subject recorded by Cinephone, over Western Electric equipment is being given this week at the Strand, New York, with "The Galloping Gaucho," one of the Micky Mouse sound cartoons created by Walt Disney, being shown.

January 11, 1929
First Oswald Ready in Sound
"Hen Fruit," first of the synchronized Oswald comedies, is set for release Feb. 4. Prints are now being sent to Universal exchanges.

January 23, 1929
Roseland Handling Cartoons
Roseland Pictures Corp., New York, is distributing on a state right basis, a series of 26 one reel "Bonzo" cartoon featurettes, the creation of the English artists, G. E. Studdy, which long has been a supplement of Saturday and Sunday feature pages. The first three of the series titled "Bonzolina,” "Detective Bonzo" and "Spooks Bonzo" are ready for release.

February 3, 1929
Walt Disney in New York
Walt Disney creator of the "Micky Mouse" sound cartoons, is in New York from Hollywood with two new subjects in the "Micky Mouse" series, and the first print of a new series of novelty sound cartoons. The Disney pictures are made for sound synchronization, recorded by the Powers Cinephone system of sound-on-film.

February 19, 1929
First Powers Cinephone On Way to West Coast
First Powers Cinephone sound-on-film recording equipment to be installed on the coast and made available to the western producing companies will reach Los Angeles the end of this week. The equipment is on its way west in charge of Walt Disney whose "Mickey Mouse" sound cartoons are synchronized by the Powers Cinephone system. This installation is a portable equipment which may be used for location work as well as studio recording. It will be followed by several other outfits to be mounted in a fleet of Powers Cinephone sound trucks which will the at the service of all producers.

Walt Disney Returning West
Walt Disney, creator of the "Mickey Mouse" sound cartoons, is en route to Hollywood after completing the sound synchronization of "The Opry House." While in New York, Disney also made the sound synchronization of the first of a new series of novelty pen and ink comedies, on the Powers Cinephone system of sound-on-film.

March 7, 1929
Powers Cinephone Studio Planned at Los Angeles
Negotiations are under way for site for a Power's [sic] Cinephone studio at Los Angeles. William N. Garity, chief engineer, leaves New York for Los Angeles March 15 to supervise installation of recording apparatus and to act as technical advisor to Walt Disney who will install a Powers Cinephone recorder in his animated cartoon studio under a license signed last week. In addition to stationary recorders, the new Powers Cinephone studio will have a number of portable equipments mounted in a fleet of sound trucks which will be used for silent studios and location work.

March 13, 1929
Metropolitan Studios, Fort Lee's active studio, has finished scoring "Simba," camera record of the African open spaces. Fifty-two cartoon shorts are now being scored.

March 14, 1929
Publix Students to Visit Studio
John Barry, head of the Publix Managerial School, and 28 of his students will visit the studios of Aesop's Film Fables this afternoon to study the making of animated cartoons. Paul Terry and his staff will give demonstrations for the embryo managers.

March 27, 1929
Cinephone Equipment on Coast
Arrival of the first Powers Cinephone recording apparatus at the Disney studios also marked the occasion of the first sound recording by this method of the initial subject of the Silly Symphonies series titled "The Skeleton Dance."

March 31, 1929
FLOOD OF TALKER SHORTS WITH FEWER SILENTS IN PROSPECT
. . . Fox's step in abandoning all silent production is being followed to great extent by short subject producers. Paramount, with the Christie talkers and the many sound shorts being made at the Long Island studio which will number 100 within a few months, only has the Krazy Kat cartoons decided upon for silent product next year. . .

April 15, 1929
Lester Kline, commercial artist and cartoonist, has been added to the staff of "Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit," according to Walter Lantz, production supervisor. The first of the series entitled "Ozzie of the Circus," in complete sound is ready for release, and work on the second, "The Permanent Wave" has already started.

May 1, 1929
WILLIAM J. GARITY, sound engineer for P. A. Powers, who is making a tour of the west coast, has been supervising the recording of Walt Disney's animated cartoons. Disney has now completed his first Mickey Mouse sound opus recording here. In the past it has been added in New York. Seven of the series are ready for release.

May 3, 1929
"Felix" In Song
Educational is popularizing its screen character, "Felix the Cat," through a song by that title, published by the Sam Fox Publishing Co.

May 20, 1929
Van Beuren Sound Shorts Now Recorded on Discs
Van Beuren sound shorts distributed by Pathe are now available on discs as well as on films. Subjects covered are "Topics of the Day," "Aesop's Sound Fables" and "Sportlight."

May 23, 1929
Six Cartoons With Sound Produced By Kolortone
Kolortone Prod. has been formed by Leo F. Britten, formerly with Paramount and Universal, and George S. Jeffrey, formerly with Paramount and Harold Lloyd. The company has produced a series of six all-talking and synchronized Kolortone Kartoons.
The subjects are: "An Egyptian Gyp," "Boney's Boner," "Hectic Hector, "Wanderin's," "A Pikin' Pirate" and "Kriss Krosses." The Brewster color process is used. Scoring of the shorts is by David Broeckman, who has been associated with First National, Columbia and other major companies.
Disc recording is used. The series, available for distribution. Kolortone is opening offices at 236 West 55th St.

June 16, 1929
Kolortone Plans Six More
Kolortone Prod., headed by George Jeffrey and Leo Britton, will make six more cartoons in color and with sound. The first series of six has been completed and is ready for marketing.

June 25, 1929
Mintz Placing Krazy Kat Series Through Columbia
Columbia is slated to handle a series of 26 Krazy Kat cartoons in sound for next season, it is understood. Contracts are now being drawn between Charles B. Mintz, representing Winkler Prod, and Jack Cohn, representing Columbia.

CARTOON REVIEWS

January 6, 1929
SOUND
"The Gallopin' Gaucho"—Walt Disney—Powers Cinephone
Great Burlesque
Type of production . . . . 1 reel cartoon
This features Mickey Mouse, the demon hero who has his ups and downs trying to rescue his sweetie who has been kidnapped by the villain Cat. In this one he takes a regular Doug Fairbanks part as a hard riding gaucho of the South American pampas. It is good burlesquing all the way, and the cartoon work of Walt Disney is clever in the extreme. It has some neat comedy effects through the addition of sound, which make the film far more enjoyable and laughable than it could possibly be in silent form.

January 13, 1929
SILENT
"Hold ‘Em Ozzie"—Oswald
Universal
Gridiron Fun
Type of production..1 reel cartoon
Oswald the funny rabbit does his bit as the hero on the football team. He gets a great hand from his admirers in the grandstand, where are to be found all the animals rooting for him. Of course Oswald wins the game by scoring the deciding touchdown. He does it by converting his ears into a propeller and flying down the field to the goal. It is cleverly animated in the usual peppy style of this series.

January 27, 1929
"Sweet Adeline"
Fables—Pathe
The Usual
Type of production..1 reel animated
This follows the usual line of Fables, with Milton Mouse and his sweetie who are on the vaudeville bill at the neighborhood playhouse. After the show the villain cat kidnaps the heroine, is chased up and down skyscrapers, and finally the hero catches the cat and rescues his sweetie. It's about time the artist on this cartoon dug up a new idea that gets away from this continuous kidnapping stunt. We have seen it in at least a dozen Fables lately.

February 17, 1929
SOUND
"The Barn Dance"—Walt Disney
Powers Cinephone
Mouse Comics
Type of production. . .1 reel animated
This is another of the adventure of Mickey Mouse and his sweetie. The villain cat tries to take the gal driving in his auto, which is wrecked. So she goes to the barn dance with Mickey who is driving his carriage drawn by the old plug. This horse is one of the funniest cartoon characters seen in the animateds. Later at the dance the cat shows up and tries to take the gal away again, but Mickey fools him. The sound effects are funny, and this number enhances the usual cartoon subject easily 100 per cent.

SILENT
"Grandma's House"—Fables
Pathe
Mouse Antics
Type of production. . 1 reel animated
This is just a cartoon version of the Little Red Riding Hood fable with Little Rita the Mouse substituted for Red Riding Hood. The bad cat plays the part of the wolf and poses in bed as grandma when Riding Hood comes to the cabin in the woods. She is saved from the crafty cat by the arrival of her sweetie, Milt. Up to the standard.

March 10, 1929
SOUND
"Alpine Antics"—Oswald
Universal
Snappy
Type of production. . .1 reel animated
The usual line of Oswald antics, pepped up with funny sounds that help this type of short subject immensely. Oswald starts out to rescue his gal who sends an S O S by a big St. Bernard. So Oswald rides on the dog's back to rescue his sweetie. The cartoon gags are very ingenious and comical, showing how the funny rabbit helps the poor exhausted dog to complete his record making run to save the girl. The synchronized animal noises will make the kids laugh.

"Old Black Joe"
Paramount Sound Novelty
Diverting
Type of production . . cartoon
We get a kick out of the Inkwell cartoons. Everybody, of course, knows the strains of "Old Black Joe" if not the words. This cartoon supplies the words and invites you to sing them while the unseen, mechanical orchestra plays. This subject is best when the cartoon master of ceremonies, so to speak, does his funny antics and drops when the words only appear on the screen. Diverting. Time, 6 mins.

March 10, 1929
"The Suicide Sheik"
Oswald Cartoon
Universal
Okay
Type of production.. 1 reel animated
Oswald, the funny rabbit gets turned down by his gal and steps out to commit suicide. The tale recounts his various efforts, trying to get himself bumped off by a falling safe, and then a cannon. But the cannon shoots him back to the gal's house which has caught on fire. He is just in time to save her, and she falls in love with him all over again.

March 24, 1929
"Plane Crazy"—Walt Disney
Powers Cinephone
Clever
Type of production. . . .Animated cartoon
Mickey Mouse does his animal antics in the latest mode via aeroplane. The cartoonist has employed his usual ingenuity to extract a volume of laughs that are by no means confined to the juveniles. The sound effects are particularly appropriate on this type of film, and certainly add greatly to the comedy angle with the absurd squeaks, yawps and goofy noises.

March 31, 1929
"Fishing Fools"
Oswald Novelty—Universal
Clever Antics
Type of production...1 reel cartoon
This is a fish story, with Oswald as the fisherman who falls asleep, what ensues is a fish dream. The fish relish his bait but not his hook so finally he uses a stork for a fish-catching device. Later he tries to lure the innocent fish through phonograph music and nearly lands a small member of the family when along comes papa (or maybe, mama) fish and ruins his plans. Finally when he does catch a fish, a thief steals it for the fadeout. This is a fine piece of cartoonist ingenuity, with the sound effects helping a lot.

"Presto Chango"
Aesop—Pathe
Type of production . . . Animated comedy
Paul Terry and Frank Moser combined their cartoon talents in turning out a clever animated that is placed definitely in the real laugh numbers by the comedy sound effects. Hero Cat takes his gal for an auto ride, and finally lands up in a Chinese joint. Here the chinks get busy and kidnap the gal, and after some hair-raising adventures the hero succeeds in vanquishing the horde of pig-tailed villains single handed. A good laugh number for grown-ups as well as the kids. Time, 8 mins.

April 7, 1929
SOUND
Mutt and Jeff in "Ghosts"
Fox Movietone
Very Amusing
Type of production . . . Cartoon
The famous cartoon characters take animated form, aided by clever sound effects and a smattering of dialogue to help along. This is what is found here. To begin with a well-executed cartoon with amusing gags. Secondly, music and sound effects applied with a discerning hand. The result is a sound short that never causes outbursts of laughter but induces chuckles in more than sufficient number to slide it over.

April 14, 1929
SOUND
"Stage Stunts"
Oswald—Universal
Original
Type of production. .1 reel animated
Pepped up with some clever cartoon ideas, and the sound effects are goofy and funny. Oswald, the lucky rabbit, turns actor and does a snake charmer trick with a cat's tail as the snake and the cat concealed in a jar. Then Oswald gets a skinny horse for a xylophone and plays on the animal's ribs till the horse swallows a bomb that somebody throws. Then the usual wild chase and unexpected finish. Directed by Hugh Harman.

SILENT [sic]
"Lumberjack"
Oswald—Universal
Clicks
Type of production. .1 reel animated
Oswald the funny little rabbit, gets a job as a lumberjack, and when he chops down a big tree discovers a bag of gold. But the villain bear grabs it, and Oswald starts hotfoot after him. The bear escapes in a canoe, so Oswald gets two logs and rides them down the stream. Good gags are worked by having the hero use his tail as a wind-propeller and then as an outboard motor. Finally Oswald has passed the bear, and diverts the stream over a cliff. As the bear passes they go into a clinch, with Oswald victorious. The sound effects are ridiculously funny, and will certainly amuse the kids. Directed by Ben Clopton.

May 5, 1929
"The Faithful Pup"—Aesop
Pathe
Okay
Type of production.. 1 reel animated
Old Al Falfa and his dog Danny start off on a hunting expedition to Africa. There things start to happen fast and plenty to poor Al, and sometimes the bow-wow helps him, but more often he makes matters worse. All the wild animals of the jungle take turns giving Al the time of his life, but all ends happily. The sound effects are funny, and build up the comedy highlights of the reel immensely.

May 12, 1929
SILENT
"Stripes and Stars"
Oswald—Universal
Clever
Type of production. . .1 reel animated
Oswald is the porter in the police station when all the cops are murdered by the gangster Bear. So the captain appoints him a special officer to round up the terror, which he does after some very clever work on the part of the animator. But they really should be told (whoever is responsible) that there is nothing funny for intelligent patrons, even if they are kids, in having shots of the Bear sentenced to do porter work, swabbing up the expectorations of the Captain behind the desk. This may be a big laugh-producer in Poland. But this picture was presumably made for American audiences. Outside of that it's good. Walter Lantz did the cartoon work.

May 19, 1929
SOUND
"Screen Songs"
Max Fleischer—Paramount
Novelty Cartoon
Type of production . .Animated song
Max Fleischer gets a big break on the sound angle, for it gives him a chance to show something in the way of a real novelty with his clever cartoon stuff. He has a college cheer leader putting his gang through some of the old tunes. Then the words are flashed on the screen, with a variety of comedy manipulations of the letters and animated figures such as autos, dancing balls and college boys sliding over the letters in harmony with the tune. A fine male quartet is used on the one number, and the popular melodies had a Broadway audience humming out loud—which is quite a record in itself. Will click in any type of house. Time, 9 mins.

"Concentrate"—Aesop
Pathe
Funny
Type of production..1 reel animated
Farmer Al Falfa and the animals go in for the study of concentration. They work it on an old hen to increase its egg laying, with very funny and disastrous results. Then the other animals start studying the book on concentration, and before the reel is over the cartoonist has succeeded in developing some really comic situations that will get laughs without any trouble.

June 9, 1929
"Daisy Bells"
Paramount Screen Song
Very Clever
In the days of B. S.—before sound—Max Fleischer's song cartoons always provided diversion. Now that the ear hears while the eye sees, the entertainment qualities of this series is considerably enhanced. The cartoon work is clever and the sound effects fine. Sure-fire for any type of audience. Time, about 6 mins.

June 9, 1929
"Chinatown"
Fleischer Cartoon—Paramount
Great Fun
Proof that it isn't so much what you do as how you do it. The melody of "Chinatown" can trace its beginnings a number of years. Certainly there is little distinction about the song, yet Max Fleischer so cleverly handles his animation and so adroitly injects novelty into his treatment that the result is a corking piece of entertainment. Difficult to see how it can miss anyway. Time, 5 mins.

June 30, 1929
SILENT
"April Showers"
Aesop Fables—Pathe
Has A Kick
Al Falfa has his troubles when a violent rainstorm starts. He tries to salvage some of his household effects and drive off in a wagon. But he loses everything when crossing a stream—everything but the fish bowl with one gold fish. The animal antics are amusing, the cartoon work clever, and the idea very well worked out for the laughs, which the kids especially will enjoy.

Slap Happy Boo

Tex Avery goes on a safari over some familiar ground in “Slap Happy Lion.” A lion can’t escape his tormenter, exploding in a huge take before rushing off on the next futile escape attempt, as Avery sees how many different ways he can do the same routine.

Here are just two of them; I’m only posting a few of the drawings. The lion’s hiding in a tree. The mouse goes “Boo!” The lion’s pupils turn toward the mouse. Take.



And here’s the boo-ing mouse with the lion hiding in a bed.



Bob Bentley, Ray Abrams and Walt Clinton are the credited animators.