Music in the Animated Cartoon

There were two Paul J. Smiths in the animation world. Both worked for Walt Disney. One later went on to animate at Warner Bros., then animate and direct at Walter Lantz (he also stopped at the John Sutherland studio). The other was a composer. You can read a nice biography about that Paul J. Smith HERE. He’s the one we’re going to talk about.

Music, in the early sound cartoons, gave an excuse for comical characters to sing and/or dance (such as Disney’s skeletons to the right, animated by Ub Iwerks). It set moods. It even provided gags. Many talented composers and arrangers worked well with cartoon directors. Smith was one of them.

Smith was a member of the American Society of Music Arrangers. He was asked to come up with a three-part series on writing music for cartoons in the Society’s newsletter, Score, starting in March 1944. Here’s what he had to say:

MUSIC IN THE ANIMATED CARTOON
By PAUL J. SMITH
As in live-action, cartoons are divided into sequences and scenes, but in this medium a further breakdown is accomplished by the animator who may draw a different picture for every frame of film, or in other words, 24 pictures a second.
Unless the picture is pre-scored, the musician receives a complete outline of the picture with the placement of scene cuts, dialogue, sound effects and action as drawn by the animator.
The animation has been set up into numbered measures (groupings of frames) of predetermined length in which the action is minutely described. Measures may have as few as 14 frames or as many as 40 or more. With the speed of film constant (24 frames per second), a "pulse" or "beat" is established for the measure. Measures of fewer frames will take less time than those of greater length, and consequently will have a faster beat.
The artist animates the point he wants musically emphasized at a position in the measure where the musical accent normally falls, or at a point where a syncopated thrust of the music will enhance his work. A 32-frame measure has, in cut time, a normal accent on the first and seventeenth frames and a secondary accent on the ninth and twenty-ninth frames, with syncopated beats almost anywhere ("Charleston" on the thirteenth frame). If the animator lacks musical knowledge, or if things go wrong (in 10,000 probable ways), the composer finds a series of unrelated, illogical points of emphasis that should be, but cannot be, pointed musically.
Here the musician must dip into his bag of tricks. He must use judgment as to what is important to point musically; knowledge of mathematics as to what can be emphasized without musical distortion; discretion as regards the general mood of the scene without undue emphasis on minor points of action. At times he finds that a tempo different from that the animator planned, will give better results, that is, animation planned for 24 frames per beat actually might be enhanced by music in a 22 beat.
Careful consideration must be given to the smooth connection of short musical sections of different tempos. Perhaps if a complete "take" is shifted forward or backward a few frames, the music will "jell" with the picture. The music is recorded to a beat loop* of the same tempo as the music written for the scene, and since the animation, the beat-loop and the recording film all move at the same rate of speed, the score, good or bad, ultimately fits the animation like a glove.
The above system is employed mainly in "shorts," and applies only partially to feature cartoon technique, in which the animator is allowed greater freedom of accent placement; thereby further complicating the musician's attempt to justify his own existence. * A beat-loop is a loop of sound film prepared for the purpose of projecting a regular metronomic beat through earphones to the conductor of the orchestra.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Writing music for cartoons is a highly technical development. Readers of THE SCORE will be interested to know how music and, the animated, cartoon are synchronized, Paul J. Smith, composer, arranger, and conductor at Disney Studio is in a position to discuss this subject. In his 11 years of association with the Disney Studio his screen credits include: "Snow White," "Pinocchio," "Bambi," "Saludos Amigos," "Three Caballeros," and numerous other short subjects.)

MUSIC IN THE ANIMATED CARTOON
By PAUL J. SMITH
The music of a cartoon follows in extreme detail the action on the screen, heightening its detail, keeping out of the way of dialogue, emphasizing the drama of the situation, and pointing the comedy, always keeping in step with the characters emotionally and rhythmically.
Cartoons tend to be violent—no attempt is made to be subtle—the characters are not human but have human characteristics, they are usually animals but wear clothes and well illustrate the foibles of human nature.
It is easy to write directly to the action, catching every detail of movement, every swagger, every eye blink, but you end up with a lot of notes and no music. The score has not enhanced the picture. Sound effects might have done as well or better. No matter how simple the emotional situation on the screen, music can help if it says at least as much as the screen says.

A melody by itself cannot successfully carry action. Its efficacy in a cartoon or in any picture is dependent on what surrounds it- how it is clothed. Since it must be clothed, why not dress it up so it makes the best appearance for itself and the picture.
Normally, the melody is but the unifying line of an orchestral structure. It is supported with rhythm and harmony, embellished with counter movements, strengthened by thousand and one devices the arranger knows so the full force of the arrangement can directed towards the needs of the picture through the dramatic as well as the timing standpoint so the net result will be a score good in itself and vitalizing what is seen on the screen.
The approach to music writing in a cartoon studio is often times a cold mathematical one with the musical idea held in the back of the mind for exact placement when the mathematical solution to the placement is found. Creation of the melodic material is the easiest part of cartoon writing. Its placement in the score, so the arrangement heightens the acting normally and naturally, without distorting the picture or itself is the greater problem, in other words, the picture dictates the strength and timing of the arrangement. Every orchestral movement must tie in with the picture.
In practice, the functions of the composer and arranger are generally combined in the cartoon studio. Colors of the orchestra, the amount of emphasis needed, the pointing to comedy, the placement of sound effects and dialogue, the desires of the story men and director— the need of close control over all these factors tend to combine the two functions.

MUSIC IN THE ANIMATED CARTOON
By PAUL J. SMITH
The sound track of all pictures contains a blend of dialogue, sound effects and music. Perhaps the most important is dialogue, for if words are spoken on-stage, they must be easily audible and understandable to the audience. Dialogue gives the story—tells the joke, and its necessity is the basic reason for the switch from silent to sound films.
Sound effects are used to give the impression of realism. In the normal picture every attempt is made to keep them unobtrusive, and as casual as the sounds we hear in normal living. No one actually pays attention to the sound of a door closing, but if it closes soundlessly, we are instantly aware of the fact. Our ears expect and demand the normal sounds of normal living.. Furthermore we edit all normal sounds. By this I mean we dismiss those sounds that are expected, such as the distant drone of a plane, or the squeak of a chair,—but are attracted by unexpected sounds of even lesser intensity. The boilermaker is used to the din of his work, so he hears the bird singing outside.
Cartoon sound effects oftentimes reach for the attention of the audience. Realism is not necessarily the goal, for comedy effects are desired. Anything tending to point the dramatic or comic situation on the screen is used.
Oftentimes the sound-effects track upon completion and before the musician starts his work, is found to be full of practically continuous sound, all of which is important to the director but something of a bother to the composer, for he knows that this results in a definite loss of the music value.
An attempt is thus made, in conference, to edit the effects. In the early stages of the picture, many effects are added simply to give the semblance of a sound track, but as time goes on the director is found to have fallen in love with those heretofore temporary sounds, and resists the effort of the musician to replace them with music. It is then up to the composer to prove that his music is of greater effect. Very much footage of a cartoon is accompanied by music and sound effects running concurrently. However, to achieve the best dramatic result, and to avoid burying one or the other, we must design our music so important sounds are exposed, and also spotted at logical places in the musical phrase. Perhaps a musical anticipation with a pause for the important effect will work, or if a series of effects is rhythmic in the slightest, we will shift our musical beat to a new spot, so as to incorporate the effect as part of the musical score. At times it approximates the handling of the orchestra in an operatic recitative.
Sound effects are generally recorded with a fairly close pickup, giving an on-stage feeling, and are dubbed in at a higher decibel level than music. Dialogue, of course, invariably has the greatest modulation in the final picture!
The least function of music is to act as a binder for sound effects and dialogue, disregarding its great dramatic, and, entertainment value.

I enjoy music several ways in cartoons. In some cases, it’s for the actual music itself, such as Darrell Calker’s scores for the Walter Lantz Swing Symphonies. In others, it’s for how intricate the characters are choreographed to the score, such as in Friz Freleng’s “Pigs in a Polka” or the MGM Oscar-winning “Cat Concerto.” But most of the time, it’s for how the music matches the mood on the screen, augmenting when necessary and filling in elsewhere. And there aren’t too many other places besides cartoons where you’ll hear “Shuffle Off to Buffalo.”

Spinning Woody

Woody Woodpecker’s attention is arrested by a croaking owl saying “Who sez so?” These are consecutive frames as Woody turns 360 degrees. I imagine outlines are used to give the character less weight and make the spin look faster.



This is from Woody’s first starring cartoon in 1941 (his debut was in an Andy Panda cartoon). Alex Lovy and Les Kline get the animation credits. Woody is voiced by Mel Blanc and the owl is Danny Webb.

The Skeleton Violin

There’s really no excuse for putting skeletons in the story of Jack in the Beanstalk unless you’re writing for a New York cartoon studio in the early ‘30s. New York cartoons loved skeletons back then. Skeletons singing. Skeletons playing the piano. Skeletons crashing into each other. It’s all good fun.

“Beanstalk Jack” is a 1933 Terrytoons cartoon with a great little sequence of a skeleton transforming into a violin, then a piano, then a trombone, then a tuba (which swallows up Jack). That’s not all. It then becomes four dancing skeletons, with the bones transforming into two skeletons when necessary to fit the vocals of the giant song that takes up the scene.

Here are the skeleton-to-violin drawings. Note the shadow.



And for fans of those New York cartoons where characters’ mouths join together to form one mouth, that happens here, too.



My thanks to Devon Baxter for the very nice screen grabs of this scene, which he tells me was animated by Eddie Donnelly, according to Terry expert Milton Knight.

He's Worth $1,400 a Word

We haven’t said an awful lot about Mel Blanc on this blog because it’s been pretty much said elsewhere. He was the greatest cartoon voice actor ever. He amazingly survived a hellacious auto accident in the early ‘60s. He spent his later years encouraging sick kids at Shriners’ hospitals (Blanc was a Shriner) and appearing on talk shows where he gave the equivalent of fish stories—they grew with every telling.

Blanc wasn’t an A-lister in Hollywood so he wasn’t interviewed a lot (aside from when he had his own radio show in the mid-‘40s) until after his accident. But I’ve dug around and found this United Press piece from 1958. At the time, network radio was pretty much dead, so his career consisted of occasional appearances on the Jack Benny TV show, voice work on Warner Bros. cartoons and—most lucrative of them all—commercial voice-overs. He was still telling variations of some of these stories 20 years later.

CARTOON 'VOICE' has Netted $1,400 a Word
By JOE FINNIGAN
HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 19 (UPI)—Mel Blanc, who started out in Hollywood as a drunken bull, has graduated to roles that now pay the veteran voice mimic as much as $1,400 per word.
THE MOON-FACED Blanc has been dubbing voices for many of filmland's top animated cartoons for over 20 years and there's nobody in sight who will take over his chores.
"My first job, after coming here in 1937, was a drunken bull with a hiccough voice," he laughed? Since then, Blanc has been in almost 1,000 pictures.
"I've probably been in more pictures than any other actor," he said.
Blanc has been under contract to Warner Brothers studio for years and has done the majority of the voices for such cartoons as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.
"While at Warners, we won four or five Oscars for cartoons in which I've performed," he said.
"Many companies have quit making cartoons." he pointed out.
"At Warners we still make 30 a year, but we used to do 50."
WHILE HOLLYWOOD has been cutting down on animated cartoons, "the man with a thousand voices" has been finding plenty of work on television. An especially lucrative field for Blanc is commercials.
Blanc's fee for a fountain pen commercial was only $55 for the original recording but after the plug played throughout the nation for one year, he picked up $7,000 in residual payments.
And his task consisted of saying only five words!
The San Francisco-born Blanc, who was raised in Portland, Ore., credits his knack with voices to his ability to comprehend sounds.
"I attribute it all to having a good ear and hearing myself reproduce," he explained. "I don't like to copy a voice, I'd rather improvise."
ONE OF BLANC'S many voices will be heard on CBS' "Perry Mason" show when he does the voice of a parrot Dec. 20.
Even though his meal ticket is his voice, Blanc doesn't worry too much about it.
"A doctor told me I have tremendous neck muscles," he said. "But I don't exercise them or take any special medicines."
"I don't pamper them either," he concluded, "although I should. They've done an awful lot for me."

Blanc’s parrot voice had some longevity. He may not have originated it on the Jack Benny show, but he used it with some regularity there beginning in 1945 and a variation of it popped up as Salty on the Hanna-Barbera Sinbad cartoons of the mid-‘60s.

Considering all the cartoons I’ve watched over the years, I’d have to say Mel Blanc has given me more laughter than any other person on earth. I’ll bet there are a lot of others who can say the same thing.

Familiar Ending, Isn't it?

A dead umpire bids farewell to us to wrap up “Batty Baseball,” a 1944 Tex Avery cartoon. Tex ended “Lonesome Lenny” the same way the following year.

I suspect Rich Hogan is the uncredited writer. Ed Love, Ray Abrams and Preston Blair get the animation credits.

Today's Merrie Melodies Hidden Staff Reference

Warner Bros. cartoon staffers show up in the most unexpected places. Take, for example, “Yankee Dood It,” one of the Sloan Foundation free enterprise cartoons made by the studio that ended up in theatrical release. There’s one montage sequence which shows cheques signed by prospective investors in a business. About those names…



Emmet Simmons. Can’t find anything about him.



Don Foster was the guy who drew the lobby cards for Warners cartoons.



Veotis Richmond (note the spelling) was a cel washer for the studio when he got married in 1945. I don’t know what he was doing for Warners when this cartoon was made. He was a member of IATSE local 839 at the time of his death.



I won’t even take a guess on this name.



Hugo Henkel is another mystery. I found one who died in 1967; location unknown. As a young man, he had been a chemist in a paint factory in New York City in 1940.



Sid Farren was an assistant animator in the Freleng unit.



Russell Jones was the studio janitor. Chuck (no relation) Jones lauds him in Chuck Amuck.

You’ll notice the cheques are all dated 1957. The cartoon was released in 1956.

The Brief Tenor

Dennis Day is the singer just about anyone thinks of when Jack Benny’s name is brought up. He joined the Benny radio show in 1939 and remained with him to the end, even though he was a star in his own right by that time. And he continued to appear occasionally with Benny on television into the ‘60s.

On the flip side is the tenor who worked five weeks on the Benny show before walking out—Michael Bartlett.

It’s a little puzzling why Bartlett signed with Benny in the first place. He had appeared on film opposite Grace Moore, who had been assuring the public that Bartlett was screen star material. What would you choose—being a movie star or a supporting player on radio who sang one song and then kibbitzed with a character named Schlepperman?

Day was likely thankful Bartlett chose films. Although Bartlett’s movie career quickly washed out, he enjoyed quite a number of years on the stage, with a stint as a Captain in the Marines during World War Two in between.

Fan magazine Radio Mirror profiled Bartlett in its December 1935 edition. Cover date notwithstanding, Bartlett was gone from the show after October.

MEET MICHAEL BARTLETT
DO YOU KNOW JACK BENNY'S NEW TENOR COMEDIAN? YOU SHOULD BECAUSE HE'S HOLLYWOOD'S AND RADIO'S LATEST SINGING FIND!
By DAN WARREN
YOU should know Michael Bartlett.
Because he's the new tenor-comedian on the Jack Benny Sunday night radio programs.
Because he's Hollywood's newest, most exciting discovery who sang opposite Grace Moore in "Love Me Forever," who takes a prominent part in Claudette Colbert's "She Married Her Boss," and who is scheduled as Miss Moore's leading man in her next picture.
By rights Michael Bartlett today should be living in Massachusetts, a staid officer in a staid manufacturing company. His background of prominent New England ancestry called for that, but Michael had different ideas.
It all started his freshman year at Princeton, when he became one of the distinguished few to join the Triangle Club which has made itself famous lately by producing two songs: "Love and a Dime" and "East of the Sun and West of the Moon."
"That," Bartlett explained, "was my first taste of the stage and I vowed that it wouldn't be the last. The thrill of going on the road with the production sold me on the theater as a career. All day on the train we'd sit around in pajamas playing bridge and get dressed just in time to get off the pullman and around to the theater before the curtain went up."

He also learned that year how much freshmen can be imposed upon by seniors. He was the tenor of a trio and every night when the three walked out into the spotlight, it was his job to hold up his two companions. People might otherwise have thought they'd all been indulging.
For awhile it looked just as easy as that—he'd decided on the theater as his career, so the theater it would be. Then complications arose. First his father objected and tried, by cutting his allowance, to dissuade his son. Michael overcame that by hiring himself out as a choir singer in a church on 114th street in Manhattan. Salary, $80 a month. After that, his father admitted defeat and sent him abroad to continue his studies.
He's stubborn, this six-foot young man who looks like a new Englander softened by contact with the more volatile, sunny disposition of the Latin races. His family was the first to find this out. Broadway producers were the second.
After a few years in Italy as a student and later as a full fledged opera singer under the name of Eduardo Bartelli, Michael returned home. "To be best man at a friend's wedding." And he's stayed here ever since. He talks now with a gesture of hand and nimbleness of eyebrow that would do credit to any Roman singer.
In the beginning, Broadway failed to recognize in Michael the potentialities that have turned him overnight from a concert hall performer to a radio and screen star. Jerome Kern finally chose him to take one of the leads in his musical comedy, The Cat and the Fiddle," but not until he had hired another for the part. Michael got the job after waiting eight months.
"The trouble was," he said, "my background scared them. They didn't think that anyone who could sing in four languages and who had studied abroad could sing their popular melodies."
THIS fear in producers has plagued him ever since, until last spring. Michael wanted to get into the movies. About the time sound films were springing up like mushrooms after a heavy rain, he went to Hollywood and took a series of screen tests. Fox finally handed him a year's contract as a featured player. And then never cast him in a single picture, just paid him his salary.
He's tried radio too, before this fall. "I can't count all the times I've been called down to some studio and told to sing for a prospective sponsor. Naturally I always chose a piece I knew, light opera or a favorite aria, and the sponsor would just sit and shake his head. I hadn't sung 'Love in Bloom' so I couldn't be much good!"
The nearest he came was six months ago when he made an appearance over WOR, powerful local station in New Jersey. Stubbornly sticking to his guns, he chose for one of his numbers a melody he had heard in Paris. He sang it in French, by way of introducing it to American audiences.
No great rush of agents wanting to sign him soured Michael on radio and he went again to Hollywood, this time by request. Grace Moore wanted him for her picture. He determined to forget broadcasting.
Then this summer he had a phone call from an old school chum. "Come over and audition for the Jack Benny show," the friend said. Bartlett, in his own words, thought the friend was nuts, but he got an hour off from the lot where he was working and went to the radio studio, "Listen," the friend said, "I know you can sing, but you've got to do one popular number."
Bartlett nodded and rushed out to a music store, grabbed the first sheet music he saw and took it back with him. When he opened it up, he saw it was "Tell Me That You Love Me Tonight." When he hummed the tune he discovered it was the same little French melody he had introduced last spring!
Which all goes to prove that the right kind of stubbornness sometimes gets you places. It also explains why Michael Bartlett says he is glad of the chance to play comedy with Jack Benny, when another opera singer would snort and rear on his hind legs. He'll sing popular melodies from now on and like 'em.

Bartlett died February 3, 1978 in Webster, Massachusetts. You can read an excellent biography of him HERE, though I don’t believe it explains he changed his name to Michael when addressed that way by mistake by another new student while attending Hotchkiss Prep School (source, Grace Wilcox, Long Island Sunday Press, May 19, 1935.

It didn’t take long for Jack to find a replacement tenor. John Skinner’s column in the February 1936 edition of Radio Mirror states that Phil Regan was considered, but his price was too high. Benny then settled on the winner of Eddy Duchin’s Radio Open Tournament, who had appeared in the films "The World Moves On" and "George White's Scandals." Kenny Baker became the show’s tenor in November 1935. Skinner reveals that, like Dennis Day later, Baker didn’t use his natural speaking voice on the show; “It's all in fun,” reported the columnist. Baker stayed for two years until he, too, felt he could move on to bigger things than Benny, and really didn’t. Perhaps it was just as well, as many fans think Dennis Day was the best choice of all.

Snow White on the Move

Snow White, Snow White, Snow White. That seems to have been all the movie world was talking about in the middle of 1938. To be honest, something else far more interesting came out of the Disney studio during that time. It launched a campaign to let people vote on whether Donald Duck should be a star instead of Mickey Mouse. Even Disney was admitting that Mickey was passé and characters like Donald and Goofy were becoming more popular than the bland mouse.

There’s other interesting news from the middle three months of ’38. The Fleischers decided on their feature as they got set to move to Miami. Fred Quimby’s revolving door revolved some more at MGM. Uncle Walt lost Pinto Colvig but gained Alice in Wonderland. Ted Eshbaugh came up with the idea of a series of cartoons starring a panda. Walter Lantz ended up doing the same thing about a year and a half later; who knows if Eshbaugh’s series was ever made. And Leon Schlesinger announced he was promoting a fellow to a director’s job. You’ve probably heard of him.

Swing was the thing, too. A number of cartoon plots centred around it.

April 1, 1938
Paramount's 16 mm. Suit To Be Heard Today in Chi.
Federal Court in Chicago today is scheduled to hear Paramount's application for an injunction to restrain Exclusive Movie Studios from further reproducing 8 and 16 mm. versions of Popeye and Betty Boop cartoons. Case originally was slated for yesterday. Paramount charges violation of contract.

April 4, 1938
Fleischer to Make "Gulliver's Travels"?
Miami—Max Fleischer's first cartoon feature is understood to be "Gulliver's Travels," it was learned here Saturday. Rights to the story are said to have been cleared and production probably will get under way immediately at the New York studio. Paramount will distribute. Work on new studio here is progressing.
Efforts to confirm the Miami report that "Gulliver's Travels" would be the subject of Max Fleischer's first cartoon feature were unavailing Saturday.

"SNOW WHITE" MOVE-OVERS AT 25
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" has been "moved over" from one first-run house to another in 25 cities, a checkup with RKO revealed Saturday. In eight of the 25 cities, the picture has been shifted twice for continuous first-runs.
Cities in which "Snow White" has played in three first-run houses include Denver, Cleveland, Rochester, N. Y., Syracuse, Cincinnati, Oklahoma City, Roanoke, Va. and Philadelphia. In Detroit the Disney picture was booked day and date at the United Artists and Madison Theaters and is now in its fourth week at the latter house.
Pioneer cartoon feature is reported to have rolled up a total of 237½ weeks in 50 holdover engagements. Meanwhile, long runs are being established in many cities with five, six and seven weeks common in the major situations. A partial list of the long runs is as follows: Philadelphia—Now in fourth week at Stanley, then to Keith's for three and to follow at the Palace for indefinite run.
Chicago—Set for its fifth and sixth week at the Palace.
San Francisco—To go six weeks at the Golden Gate.
Portland, Ore.—Fifth week at the Orpheum.
Washington, D. C.—Seventh week at Keith's.
Montreal—Five weeks at the Palace, then to the Princess.
Baltimore—Booked for fourth week at the Auditorium after three weeks at the Hippodrome.
St. Louis—Second week at the Missouri after two weeks at the Ambassador.
Cleveland—Second week at the 105th Street, after three weeks at the Hippodrome and 11 days at the Allen.
Los Angeles—Now in its 15th week at the Carthay Circle.

Police Block "Snow White" Children's Show in Quebec
Hull, Que.—Provincial police, acting on orders from the attorney-general's department, Saturday blocked a special children's show of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at a local theater. Action was taken under the Quebec law forbidding attendance of children under 16 at film theaters. Approximately 1000 children received dime refunds.

Snow White Doubles Take
Omaha—A total of 102,000 persons saw "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in its three-week run at the Brandies Theater, according to Manager Will Singer. The "take" for the run was exactly double average gross for three weeks.

Circuit Takes "Snow White"
Atlanta, Ga.—The Publix Wilby Circuit in Alabama and Tennessee has closed for Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," with RKO Radio Pictures represented in the transaction by Cresson Smith, Western and Southern Sales Manager.

Release Date Shifted
Caravel has switched the release date of "Boy Meets Dog," the first of a series of sponsored Technicolor cartoons, from April 1 to April 15.

April 5, 1938
Jones Made a Director
Charles M. Jones, who has been an animator with Leon Schlesinger for five years, has been made a director and will direct a series of Merrie Melodies cartoons for the 1938-39 season.

April 15, 1938
"Snow White" Opens Today in B & K's Garrick, Chicago
Chicago — RKO has waived two weeks' protection to allow B & K to open "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at the Loop Garrick Theater today. RKO reports 353,000 attendance in six weeks at the Palace Theater with a cash gross of $173,000. Holy week theater grosses are reported 25 per cent under the same period last year.

"Snow White" 40% Ahead
Albuquerque, N. M. — "Snow White and Seven Dwarfs" gave the Sunshine Theater here a gain of 40 per cent in B.O. receipts above any previous picture. Cartoon has been "moved over" to the Mission Theater for two weeks. Col. Arthur Esberg, Manager of Albuquerque Theaters, Inc. arranged with teachers of the various schools to have those children who were unable to pay, attend special morning showings. Ushers, doormen, operators and other employes donated their services.

April 16, 1938
Phil M. Daly column

• • • IT'S A Gag . . . but a swell publicity stunt that all the newspapers will go for . . . the one being launched on behalf of Walt Disney and his two main stooges . . . Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck . . . the gag goes like this Mickey . . . is rated as the Number One star on the Disney lot . . . and now this li'l upstart, Donald Duck, comes along . . . and starts to take all the swell cartoon gags away from Mickey . . . Disney seems to feel that his animators and gag creators got so enthused over Donald, that they shoved Mickey in the background unintentionally . . . anyway, the public is going to be given a chance to record their votes . . . "Should Donald Duck take precedence over Mickey Mouse?" . . . that is the hot controversial question of the hour and the fans will probably record their preferences in letters by the million

Chicago "A" Houses Get "Snow White" on Apr. 29
Chicago — With "Snow White" opening yesterday at the Garrick, B & K's Loop house, releasing plans now call for the cartoon to go into "A" houses the week of April 29, with "B" houses getting the pix on May 28 and the "C" houses on June 5. Feature will go into the lower bracket situations the following week.

April 18, 1938
Fleischer 2-Reelers
Washington Bur., THE FILM DAILY
Washington—Max Fleischer is slated to make a two-reel Technicolor cartoon for Paramount's new season short subject program. It is understood that this will be in addition to the cartoon feature planned by Fleischer for Paramount release. It has been reported that Fleischer might produce a full-length cartoon feature for Paramount. "Gulliver's Travels" was mentioned as the subject.

Washington—A program of 58 features and 102 short subjects was announced Saturday for Paramount's 1938-39 season by Neil F. Agnew, vice-president in charge of distribution.
A new character, Sally Swing, joins the Paramount short subjects group, replacing Betty Boop in 12 cartoons. Popeye again will be featured in 12 cartoon subjects. In addition to these, there will be … six Color Classic cartoons.

April 21, 1938
Nazis Ban Popeye

The Nazis had Para. home office execs. guessing yesterday. Reason was Germany's action in banning "Popeye's Parrot" cartoon, which was distributed on this side as "Fowl Play." Para. execs, insisted there was nothing in the short that could possibly be considered anti-Reich.

April 23, 1938
Pathe Circuit of France Closes "Snow White" Deal
Deal has been closed between RKO Radio Pictures' execs, and the Pathe Circuit of Prance for the French version of Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," according to an announcement yesterday by Phil Reisman, foreign sales manager for RKO Radio. Distrib. was represented by General European Manager Reginald Armour, assisted by French Sales Manager Marcel Gentel. Cartoon opens May 6 at the Marignan Theater, Paris, for an indefinite run.

April 25, 1938
78 Holdovers in U.S.-Canada
On "Snow White" This Week "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is playing holdover engagements in 78 important situations in the U. S. and Canada, RKO announced over the week-end. In addition to domestic runs, the Disney cartoon is currently in its ninth week at the New Gallery, London; fourth week at the New Empire, Bombay; fourth week at the First Empire and New Empire, Calcutta, and fourth week at the Regal, Delhi.
Picture is now in its 20th and last week at the Carthay Circle, Los Angeles.

April 30, 1938
Milt Gross Heads M-G-M's Cartoon Story Department
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—Fred C. Quimby, head of the M-G-M cartoon department, has appointed Milt Gross to take charge of the department's story division. Gross succeeds Harry Hershfield who was transferred to the studio's general writing staff, but it is understood Hershfield has settled his contract with studio and will leave for the East.

May 6, 1938
Walt Disney Lifts Option On Donald's Three Nephews
So successful were Donald Duck's three little nephews in their debut picture, "Donald's Nephews," that the Walt Disney Studios are planning a series of short subjects in which Huey, Dewey and Louis will appear to further the already frustrated nature of their Uncle Donald.

May 9, 1938
Para and Exclusive Both Ordered to Submit Briefs

Chicago—Paramount and Exclusive Movie Studios, Inc., each has been ordered to submit briefs in the suit brought by the former which seeks to cancel its 16 MM. contract with Exclusive. Under an agreement, Exclusive had the sole rights to reproduce the Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons in 8 and 16 MM. versions. Paramount charges breach of contract.

May 10, 1938
Report Disney Will Spend $3,600,000 on 3 Cartoons
London (By Cable)—Roy Disney, who is winding up an extended European trip and plans to sail on the Queen Mary on May 18, says that Walt Disney's future cartoon features, now totaling three, will be distributed by RKO Radio despite reports to the contrary finding circulation here and in America.
Disney says that approximately $1,200,000 will be spent on each of the planned three features—"Pinocchio," "Bambi" and an untitled musical on which Leopold Stokowski will co-operate.
Disney has been in Europe in connection with dubbing and distribution of "Snow White." Walt Disney production plans, reported in early February, indicated that the third cartoon would be based on the exploits of "Ferdinand."

May 13, 1938
20th-Fox 1938-39 Shorts Sales Near Feature Total
Contracts have been closed so rapidly on the new 20th-Fox short subjects program that on a ratio basis, selling of the 52 single-reel lineup almost parallels that of 1938-39 features, a company executive told The Film Daily yesterday. At the present time, no change has been made in the original schedule which calls for Paul Terry to deliver six shorts in color among the 26 he will produce, but with completion of Terry's new studio in New Rochelle which has been completely equipped to make color pictures, it was said that he could increase the number of his color pictures at any time. Work was said to be progressing satisfactorily on the new building adjacent to the Movietone News offices, in which the shorts will be produced.

May 16, 1938

Fleischer Miami Studio May Be Ready by Aug. 1
Work on Max Fleischer's new studio in Miami is progressing so rapidly that it is expected to be opened August 1, far ahead of the date originally planned. Equipment will be shipped immediately so that operations can begin as soon as the studio buildings are completed.

May 20, 1938
"Snow White" is Exempted from French Dubbing Rule
Paris (By Cable)—Current run of Walt Disney's full length cartoon feature, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," which opened at the 3,000-seat Marignan Theater on May 6, has brought to the fore an interesting operative provision of the law being enforced here by the French Government with respect to the granting of distribution licenses to dubbed films.
For some months past, U. S. distributors have been experiencing a license "famine," due to the fact that a limited number of such authorizations are available annually, and the brisk demand had wiped out the supply numerically fixed by law. Hence, pictures of U. S. origin, as well as those emanating from other foreign countries, for which dubbing permits were sought, found that the dubbing could be executed, but that the films could not be released until licensed.
Disney's "Snow White," however, was permitted prompt release because it is essentially an animated cartoon, and is exempt from the dubbed film license ruling which effects living-actor productions. A further point of interest issues from the fact that the Disney opus was dubbed into the French language in Hollywood, and required no treatment here.

London (By Cable)—Roy Disney, general manager of Walt Disney Productions, sailed from Southampton on Wednesday aboard the Queen Mary for New York, where he arrives on Monday. During his extended visit to European countries, he made arrangements for the dubbing of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" into several continental languages, and effectuated deals for release of the picture.

May 23, 1938
"Alice in Wonderland" Rights Sold to Disney
London (By Cable)—The Daily Telegraph reports the purchase by Walt Disney of rights to the "Alice in Wonderland" books from Lewis Carroll's publishers the MacMillan Co. Deal, it is asserted, includes the rights to reproduce the Tennial illustrations on the screen. It is understood that Disney contemplates "Alice" as a cartoon feature.

Phil M. Daly column
Animation School has been opened in the Gaiety building by Charles B. Hastings, former animator with Fleischer and Jam Handy . . . students work at professional illuminated drawing boards.

May 24, 1938
"Snow White" German Deal Hanging Fire, Says Disney
Productions costs for "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", including the dubbing of foreign versions amounted to $1,700,000, Roy Disney stated yesterday upon his arrival from Europe on the Queen Mary.
Disney said that he set deals for "Snow White" in all European countries with the exception of Germany where dubbing has been held up until assurances can be had that RKO will be able to take money out of the country. The cartoon feature is now in its 12th week in London and still going strong. Picture opened in Paris on May 6 with a Hollywood-style premiere, Disney said. It opened in Brussels last Thursday and in Geneva on Friday.
Disney said that work on two other feature cartoons is well along, one of which is "Bambi" which started in January, 1937.

May 26, 1938
Swiss Color Film Co.
Montreux (By Cable) — Montreux-Colorfilms, S. A., has been formed here with a registered capital of 50,000 francs for the purpose of opening one or more laboratories for the production of animated cartoons and short subjects in color. M. Blanc-Catti, the painter, is technical and artistic director.

May 31, 1938
Cartoons Films In Deal
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — Officials of Cartoon films, Ltd., are negotiating with a major company for the release of a new series of cartoons. Carto[o]n Films is also producing a series based on Lawson Wood's character, "Gran' pop," which is being distributed by the British Independent Exhibitors-Distributors association.

June 8, 1938
Fleischer to Start Work on Cartoon Feature Here
Max Fleischer's first feature-length cartoon for Paramount release, "Gulliver's Travels," gets under way immediately in New York but a greater part of it will be made at the new Miami studios, Fleischer announced yesterday. Picture will require about 18 months to complete and will be released on Paramount's 1929-40 program.
Fleischer said yesterday that he expected to have his new plant in operation early in September.

June 13, 1938
16 Cartoons in Production
Hitting a new high in cartoon production, Leon Schlesinger, producer of "Merrie Melodies" and "Looney Tunes" for Warners, announces 16 cartoons are already in production on his 1938-39 program, and has only five more subjects to deliver to complete the 1937-38 schedule, which will be ready for shipment early next month. Producer's program for next year calls for 42 cartoons.

June 16, 1938
Schlesinger Signs Colvig
Leon Schlesinger has engaged Pinto Colvig to work in his story department, and he will also be heard as a voice in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. Pinto was with Disney for six years, he was the voice of Pluto, and also of Grumpy in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

INDUSTRY'S FAIR ROLE BEFORE MPPDA BOARD
Details of the film industry's participation in the forthcoming New York World's Fair, and several proposals involving such participation, were discussed by MPPDA's directorate at yesterday afternoon's meeting, held at the association's headquarters, 28 West 44th St.
At the conclave, Paul Terry, as an individual, and Terrytoon Cartoons, as a company, were elected to membership in the Hays Office.

June 20, 1938
Robin-Rainger to Write "Gulliver's Travels" Score
The song-writing team of Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger, has been signed by Max Fleischer to prepare the original score for his forthcoming feature length Technicolor production of "Gulliver's Travels". Robin and Rainger are expected in New York shortly.

June 21, 1938
Paul Terry Entertains 20th-Fox Foreign Execs.
Members of the foreign department of 20th-Fox and executives of the Terrytoon staff were guests of Paul Terry yesterday at his New Rochelle studio for a luncheon and inspection of the new plant. The guests were Walter J. Hutchinson, 20th-Fox director of foreign distribution; E. F. Lomba, assistant to Hutchinson; Irving Maas, foreign service manager; Leslie F. Whalen, manager of foreign publicity; Ramon Garcia, manager for Cuba; E. L. Rutledge, managing director for New Zealand, R. A. Krier, assistant manager for continental Europe and Harvey Day, Terry's business manager, and William Weiss, foreign representative for Terrytoons.

June 23, 1938
Fleischer Miami Plant to Start In September
Miami, Pla.—Production at the Max Fleischer motion picture studios will start in September, according to latest reports. This is somewhat earlier than was first announced. Engineers and technical men arrive this week; a $100,000 sound truck and other equipment are also expected. It is estimated that the Miami studio will employ 350 persons, according to Max Fleischer.

June 27, 1938
"Snow White" Holdovers Setting Foreign Records
Foreign holdovers and moveovers on "Snow White And the Seven Dwarfs" are giving the Disney classic an enviable number of new records for engagements, RKO Radio home office said over the week-end. The pix has just completed its 17th week at the New Gallery theater, in London, with other long holdovers reported in Great Britain. Hong Kong, 6 weeks, Geneva, 5 weeks, and a list of other cities report similar holdovers. In some cities, popularity of the film is said to have necessitated revised schedules, allowing additional showings. Cartoon feature is showing in 12 foreign countries.

Terrytoon Reel Produced With Spanish Sound Track
Marking a new trend in production for Terrytoons, it was learned over the weekend that Terry has produced "Robison Caruso's Broadcast," a new Terrytoon reel, on a Spanish dialect sound track. This reel is said to be the first one that Terry has produced with a foreign sound track being used directly, a departure from the customary practice of dubbing. Home Office executives of Terrytoons and 20th-Fox, distributors of the Terry product, are said to be so enthusiastic about the results that subsequent issues of this reel are scheduled to be produced the same way. The film is aimed at all the Spanish speaking territories the company services.

June 29, 1938
SIX SPECIALS LISTED ON DISNEY'S PROGRAM
Six of the 18 Walt Disney shorts scheduled for the RKO program have been selected as "specials" because of their reported superior value and the exploitation possibilities they offer, it was stated yesterday at a press conference with Disney in the RKO Bldg. These six will not be sold apart from the regular program but will have special press books. The selected six will be released at periods of the year that will be most advantageous to the exhibitors, it was said.
Disney has four feature length cartoons in preparation, one of which, "Pinnaccio," is already in the animation stage. Others are "Bambi," "Alice in Wonderland" and "Cinderella." The latter two are being analyzed and studied situation by situation, Disney said. He added that eventually he hoped to deliver one feature length cartoon a year.
Having outgrown his present stu[d]ios, Disney said that his organization is planning to build a new plant in Hollywood which will cost between $1,500,000 and $2,000,000.
Release dates on all Disney shorts for the 1938-39 season have been set. Cartoons for the balance of this year will be released as follows: Sept. 23, "Brave Little Tailor"; Oct. 14, "Farmyard Symphony"; Nov. 4, "Donalds Golf Game"; Nov. 23, "Ferdinand the Bull"; Dec. 9, "Little Mermaids"; Dec. 23, "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood." In 1939, the scheduled lineup is as follows: Jan. 13, "Donald's Lucky Day"; Feb. 3, "Society Dog Show"; Feb. 24, "The Practical Pig"; March 17, "The Hockey Champ"; April 7, "The Ugly Duckling"; April 28, "Goofy and Wilbur"; May 19, "Donald's Cousin Gus"; June 9, "The Beach Picnic"; June 30, "Sea Scouts"; July 21, "The Autograph Hound"; Aug. 11, "Donald's Penguin," and Sept. 1, "The Pointer."
The specials include "Brave Little Tailor," "Ferdinand the Bull," "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood," "The Practical Pig," "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Autograph Hound."

Report Disney Employes To Share "Snow" Profits
West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — It is reported here that Walt Disney plans to give 20 p.c. of profits on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to his employes now numbering almost eight hundred. It is estimated that world revenue will be $9,500,000 with a profit of $5,375,000 and even with taxes and other charges against this amount, it is thought that between $800,000 and $1,000,000 will be split by Disney's employes.

June 30, 1938
Eshbaugh Planning 12 Cartoons In Technicolor
Production of a series of 12 cartoons in Technicolor was announced yesterday by Ted Eshbaugh Studios, Inc. Ted Eshbaugh will produce the shorts, which will have a character called Peter Panda, similar to Asiatic Panda's recently imported from China for several zoos. It was stated that a major company release for the shorts had been closed, but name of the company was not divulged. First release will be in September.

Disney's Seasonal Budget, $3,000,000
Walt Disney's 18 shorts for the 1938-39 season will cost between $50,000 and $80,000 each, with an expenditure of $3,000,000 budgetd for the season's activities, Disnet stated yesterday.
The latter figure includes work on shorts, one feature and the preparation necessary on others. "Pinocchio," feature length cartoon now in animation stage, may be ready for release next Spring.

"Snow White" Draw Double That of Town's Population
Red Deer, Alta.—A final check-up by Beatty and Johnston, owners of the 450-seat Crescent Theater here, reveal that Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" played to more than twice the population of the town. Red Deer's population is 2,377 while 5,276 persons attended in four days of run.

REVIEWS


April 7, 1938
"Thanks for the Memory" (Screen Song Series)
Paramount 7 mins. Fair Musical Number
The song, "Thanks for the Memory," is a delightful piece of music, but it has been spoiled by the addition of a lot of jumbled ideas that purportedly are funny. The reel opens with a series of gags about trailers and their owners, and then swings into the tune that gives it its name. Bert Block and his orchestra provide a tuneful interpretation of the song. Bill Johnson, singer with the band, handles the vocal part neatly. The bouncing ball appears to lead the audiences in singing with the orchestra. Too much trailer and too little attention to a swell musical number sums it up.

"Honest and True" (Betty Boop)
Paramount 7 mins. Amusing Cartoon
This cartoon is an amusing take-off on the mustachioed villain era of the gay 90's, with a whip-cracking villain. Our heroine, Betty, is a poor but honest actress. Hungry and cold, she gets a job as a singer in a dance hall. The villainous owner annoys her and slaps her around a little until our hero arrives, a neat young man in mounties' clothing. The villain flees with Betty in his dog sled, drawn by a dachshund. The hero dons his skis and after a wild chase Betty is rescued and the villain is laid low, never again to worry innocent young ladies. Max Fleischer produced.

"Blue Monday" (Captain and the Kids Comic)
M-G-M 8 mins. Funny Housekeepers
This cartoon is from the comic trip of the Captain and the Kids, with the Captain taking over the running of the house when the regular housekeeper gets sore and walks out. His pal, the old man with the whiskers gets himself all tangled up in the vacuum cleaner, which chases him all over the room. Then the Captain finds himself in a battle with the electric washer. Between the two contrivances, the lady of the house comes back to find the home a wreck, and the two smart alecks thoroughly licked by the home situation.

"Donald's Nephews" (Disney Cartoon)
RKO Radio 8 mins. A Grand Howl

A grand satire on the child psychologists who tell us how to raise our children. The cartoon also introduces three new Disney creations, being the mischievous nephews of Donald who pay him a visit. The kids arrive on their tricycles and dressed in polo costumes. They immediately start a rough-house polo game right in the living room. As the place is being wrecked, the host frantically grabs a book on Child Training, and starts to apply the various lessons on his nephews. First, music, which is supposed to soothe savage little breasts. When they quarrel, the book tells him they are only hungry and should be fed. Finally, the psychologist writes: "When all else fails, try Sympathy." So Uncle Don tries to get the little brats to feel sorry for him as he starts to cry. The kids feed him a pie filled with hot mustard, and escape from the house. This subject is one of the funniest in the Donald Duck series.

April 13, 1938
"The Penguin Parade" (Merrie Melody)
Vitaphone 7 mins. Lively Animated
This cartoon has the penguin motif, in a special nite club right at the North Pole. Done in Technicolor, the penguins put on a regular stage show, featuring variety of acts, and a funny lineup of little chorus gals. The acts and dances culminate in the Penguin Swing Band getting so hot that the nite club burns down. Produced by Leon Schlesinger. Supervised by Fred Avery. Story by Ben Hardaway. Animation by Paul Smith. Musical direction by Carl Stalling.

April 20, 1938
"Big Chief Ugh-Amugh-Ugh" (Popeye)
Paramount 7 mins. Exciting Fun

Popeye is again the hero in the eyes of Olive Oyl. While Popeye and his sweetie are wandering over the plains, a band of Indians appears, and the chief wants to take Olive for his squaw. But Popeye takes on all the tribe in feats of skill and tests of strength, and licks 'em all. Then he tackles the chief, and conquers him in a battle that is a wow for laughs. So Popeye and Olive become the heads of the tribe.

April 21, 1938
"Robinson Crusoe's Broadcast" (Terry-Toons)
Educational 7 mins. Laugh Novelty
A swell novelty cartoon with plenty of laughs. A radio station presents Robinson Crusoe, a tough old salt, to tell his adventures. Crusoe speaks throughout in a rich Irish brogue, and his comments are as funny as the action. The tough Irish sailor is seen being washed ashore after the vessel is wrecked on the desert island. The vessel has sailed upside down around the world.

"A Mountain Romance" (Terry-Toons)
Educational 7 mins. Lively Cartoon
The hillbillies are in a long feud, with the Calhouns and the McCoys taking pot shots at each other every time they meet. But Juliet McCoy goes for Romeo Calhoun in a big way, and Romeo likes her too, and says so as he courts her with his guitar. But that starts the feud going worse than ever, till all the combatants are blown out of the valley, leaving the sweethearts to sing their love songs together. Produced by Paul Terry. Scored by Phillip A. Scheib.

April 27, 1938

"Poultry Pirates" (The Captain and the Kids)
M-G-M 9 mins. Garden Adventure
In this cartoon from the newspaper strip, the Captain is having trouble keeping the poultry out of his garden. After getting rid of the chicks who are destroying his crop, the Captain falls asleep and has a terrific nightmare, in which a gigantice hen battles him and leaves him a wreck. He awakes from his bad dream very relieved to find it is but a dream, and then discovers that while he slept the little chicks have practically destroyed his garden.

"Snowtime" (Color Rhapsody)
Columbia 7 mins. Animal Fantasy
A lecture by Professor Owl to the other animals. As the Prof. starts to explain how the north wind blows and the snow comes, the scene shifts to the North Pole. Here at work are seen the little dwarfs as they manufacture the cold wind with blocks of ice and wind machines, and the snow is turned out by clever mechanical devices. Produced by Charles Mintz, in Technicolor. Directed by Ub Iwerks.

May 6, 1938
"Wynken, Blynken and Nod" (Disney Cartoon)
RKO Radio 8 mins. Beautiful Fantasy

Delightful dream fantasy, with the little boy going to sleep in his crib, and finding himself afloat in the sky with two other little companions. His crib has been turned into a sailboat in the form of a wooden shoe. The fantasy is based on Eugene Field's poem of the same name as the title. They have all sorts of adventures, striking a heavy cloud and running aground. They get out and push it off into space again. Then they fish for the beautiful starfish with candy hooks on their poles. Then a comet starts to chase them, and is finally caught in their net, and thus imprisoned to the boat, whisks them at terrific speed through the sky. They run plunk into a storm cloud that makes faces at them and blows them almost to pieces, but a friendly moonbeam intervenes, and slides the boat gently back to the earth and the child's home.

"Devil of the Deep" (Terry-Toon)
Educational 7 mins. Very Funny Adventure
Another in the good comedy series of the old sailor, this time lecturing before an audience of scientists on his capture of the great sea monster that looks like any animal that you want to mention. The stuffed monster is brought up on the platform as the sailor in his rich Irish brogue describes the adventure. Then into the cartoon proper, and we see the sailor aboard a warship that is aiding him to capture the sea monster. The sailor is lowered in a special deep sea diving apparatus that is nothing but a telephone booth. Arrived at the bottom of the sea, the sailor kills a fish accidentally, is arrested by the octopus and taken to the prison which is a derelict ship. There the judge is found to be Davy Jones himself. But the sea monster enters the hold of the ship and chases them out. The sailor tries to get back to the surface in his telephone booth, but the sea devil swallows the entire apparatus. Thus they are hauled to the surface by the warship's crew, and so the hero captures the terrible monster of the deep. The narration is in the Irish brogue, and the talk is very funny, and fits in perfectly with the clever comedy action. Produced by Paul Terry.

"Mickey's Trailer" (Disney Cartoon)

RKO Radio 8 mins. Exciting Adventure
Mickey starts off on a trailer trip with the Goof driving, and Donald Duck as his companion. Some tricky stuff, as Mickey secures a pail of water from a waterfall in passing along the highway, also he picks some corn from the growing stalks, and gets his milk supply from a passing cow. The excitement starts when the trailer is disconnected from the car, and goes rushing down the mountainside at terrific speed. As the trailer plunges over an embankment, all hands are saved as it miraculously is again hooked onto the car.

"Hold It" (A Color Classic)
Paramount 7 mins. Weak Cartoon
The adventures of a number of stray cats late at night provides the subject for this number, but it fails to have anything novel or very amusing. The leader of the cats assembles his yowling cohorts and leads them in a song called "Hold It." The song causes numerous things to happen, it shakes apples off a tree that wake up Bowser the hound, and also wakes up the neighborhood. The dog chases the cats and the cats practically annihilate him, but they are chased to cover by a barrage of missiles hurled by irate dwellers.

"Out of the Inkwell" (Betty Boop Cartoon)
Paramount 7 mins. Clever Animation
Betty Boop falls flat in the latest of her inkwell comedies. A porter cleaning up a studio stumbles on a book dealing with hypnotism. He makes a pen come to life and the pen brings Betty into the picture. Betty hypnotizes the porter after he teases her. The porter becomes a veritable buzz saw at his work and Betty takes a dive back into the inkwell. The animation is clever. Short was made by Max Fleischer.

May 12, 1938
"Tail End" (Oswald Cartoon)
Universal 7 mins. Good Dog Comedy
The story of the outcast dogs who symbolize the Dead End kids of the East Side. They live in the dog slums, and are trying to get some of the bones the fat bulldog has piled up in his yard. But the bulldog is too watchful. Along comes a little snooty aristocrat, Clarence, a lap dog, who wants to pal with them. They give him the cold shoulder, till he shows them a trick for getting bones from the bulldog. In fact, he gets all the bones from the other. Then the two outcasts recognize the fact that Clarence is a genius and a born leader and accept him as such.

May 13, 1938
"The Problem Child" (Oswald Cartoon)
Universal 7 mins. Lively Skit
The story of the problem child, Wildcat Willie, who lives in the woods with his mother, and rebels at eating mush. He runs away, and arrives at a nice home run by a kind old man who lives alone with his dog. So Willie pretends to be a lost orphan when he sees the doughnuts being made by the old man, and is brought inside to rest. But the dog soon gets Willie's number, and realizes he is a little faker. The dog and the visitor battle, mess the place up, and the old man is finally glad to get rid of the problem child, who trudges back home and is contented to eat the mush after all.

May 25, 1938
"Krazy's Magic" (Krazy Kat Cartoon)
Columbia 7 mins. Fair Cartoon
Krazy Kat and Kitty, traveling in a trailer, are caught in a thunderstorm when the car breaks down. They enter an abandoned house to get out of the storm. A mad magician owns the house and appears after they enter. After some hair-raising experiences they escape. Charles Mintz produced.

"The Big Birdcast" A Color Rhapsody
Columbia 7 mins. Fair Color Short
Starting out in an interesting fashion this short soon lapses into the familiar and boring, and seemingly standard pattern, imitations of well known personalities. Using birds in this instance, instead of cats or dogs, the community sing of the birds soon starts the imitations. The Technicolor is good. Charles Mintz produced.

"I Am Love Sick" (Popeye)
Paramount 7 mins. Funny Antics

When Popeye makes a social call on Olive, she ignores him as she reads her love story. Popeye finally pretends to be awfully sick, and throws fits on the floor to attract Olive's attention. He is more than successful. She sends for an ambulance, and he is carted off to the operating room. Here many exciting things take place as the surgeons and internes try to work on him, but Popeye eludes their efforts. Finally, he laughingly admits to Olive that he only wanted to test her love for him. Olive starts to work on him, and when she gets through, he is really ready for the hospital and the operating table. Produced by Max Fleischer.

May 26, 1938
"Polar Trappers" (Disney Cartoon)
RKO Radio 8 Mins. Funny Adventure

Donald Duck and Goofy, his dog pal, are discovered in the Arctic where they have established a trapping company. Donald gets so fed up on canned beans that he starts looking around for some meat. He sees a cute little penguin, and to him that spells "chicken." So he goes after it. He lures the penguin to a chopping block and gets ready to swing the axe, but the victim escapes. Later Donald runs into a whole colony of penguins, and hits on the Pied Piper idea of luring them with music. He plays his fife, and the penguins all march in single file in back of him, as he leads the way to his cabin. But a little penguin starts crying, its tears turn to ice, and a snowball soon forms and gets mountainous in proportions, till it overwhelms Donald as the penguins cleverly duck into the snow to dodge the calamity. So Donald and Goofy have to go back to their canned beans diet.

"Porky's Party" (Looney Tune)
Vitaphone 7 Mins. Amusing Cartoon
Porky has a birthday party. One of his presents is a silk worm from Uncle Louie in China, with instructions to tell the worm to sew when he needs something. The silkworm gets into the ice cream by mistake and when several so so's have been said the ice cream begins to produce amazing articles. Porky's dog gets shaving cream on his face and the guests believe he is mad, with much resulting confusion that is good for laughs. Everything is peaceful when the shaving cream gag is uncovered, and then the silk worm starts to work again. Leon Schlesinger produced.

"Katnip Kollege" (Merrie Melody)
Vitaphone 7 Mins. Amusing Cartoon
The action of this animated cartoon takes place in Katnip Kollege where the students are instructed in the art of swing. Johnny can't swing, and has to wear a dunce cap and stay after school. That night the students are swinging on the campus and Johnny gets his inspiration from the music. He joins the others and proves to be a sensation. Leon Schlesinger produced. Film is in Technicolor.

June 1, 1938
"Nellie, the Indian Chief's Daughter" (An Oswald Cartoon)
Universal 7¼ mins. Amusing Cartoon
Nellie Sparkling Water, lovely daughter of the chief of the Hotfoot Tribe, is loved by Bennie Big Wind Goodskin, but Rudolph Ratbone, the renegade, kidnaps her. Bennie is off in a flash to rescue when a radio flash comes in and informs him of the base villainy of Rudolph. Rudolph ambushes Bennie and beats him to within a sixteenth of an inch of his life, but Bennie comes back and wallops Rudolph plenty, wins Nellie and returns to playing swing music on his piccolo.

June 2, 1938
"You Leave Me Breathless" (Screen Songs)
Paramount 8 mins. Novelty
A combination of cartoon skits and actual photography, showing Jimmy Dorsey and his ork. The idea is to show what the television sets of the future will display. The cartoon skits cover some gags such as a shower-bath type street cleaning apparatus, a fountain of youth operating in Turkey, chill-proof overcoats for Eskimos, football player harnessed up with a stove, invention for a cow to mow a lawn and feed at the same time. Then the television set brings in Jimmy Dorsey and his band. Bob Eberle is the vocalist, singing the theme song, "You Leave Me Breathless." The film finishes with another cartoon skit, presenting the modern trend in caring for infants by mechanical contraptions.

June 3, 1938

"Swing School" (Betty Boop Cartoon)
Paramount 7 mins. Musical Animated
A day at the school for pets conducted by Betty Boop. She is conducting the class of animals in a singing lesson, but Pudgy, the little pup, always hits a sour note, and spoils the harmony. Finally, the teacher is forced to send him up on the dunce's chair, where his little sweetie comes to console him. As the cutie puppy kisses him, Pudgy gets a new slant on life, and music. He jumps to the platform and leads the class in a swing rendition of Betty Boop's song, and they all go to town with the number.

"Plumbing Is a Pipe" (Max Fleischer Cartoon)
Paramount 7 mins. Lively Cartoon
A Popeye cartoon, with the sailor visiting Olive to find she is struggling with a broken water pipe in the kitchen. While waiting for the plumber, Popeye goes to work. The more Popeye works, the more pipes burst. Finally, he gets mad, eats his can of spinach and ties the pipes up in knots. The plumber arrives after it is all over. As Popeye is bragging to Olive over his work, the pipes burst in fresh places and the flood is worse than ever.

June 13, 1938
"Have You Got Any Castles?" (Merrie Melody)
Vitaphone 7 mins. Fine Fantasy
The story takes place in a library, with all the characters coming to life from well known works of fiction, both classical and modern. Rip Van Winkle is the center of interest, as he cannot continue sleeping with the noise. Finally he gets "The Hurricane" to blow all the noise-makers back into the covers of their books again, and he goes peacefully to sleep. The final title shows the pop book, "Gone With the Wind." Produced by Leon Schlesinger. Story by Jack Miller. Animation by Ken Harris. In Technicolor.

June 16, 1938
"Good Scouts" (Disney Cartoons)
RKO 8 mins. Laugh Riot

The antics of Donald Duck and his three nephews on a camping expedition provide a steady stream of laughs in this new Disney release. Donald takes the boys to Yellowstone National Park. He starts out to show them how things should be done and he tries to chop down a petrified tree with highly amusing results. His attempts to put up the tent end disastrously and he winds up on top of a geyser that shoots him in the air and keeps him there. The nephews helpfully throw stones into the geyser to plug it up and the stones bounce up under Donald with great force. A bear chases him when he is shot to the top of a cliff and Donald is still being chased by the bear when the nephews say good night.

"The Fox Hunt" (Disney Cartoon)
RKO 8 mins. Swell Cartoon
Donald Duck goes fox hunting with highly amusing results in this number. Our old friend, Goofy, is one of the huntsmen and Donald leads the field with his hounds raring to go. Tally Ho and they are off after the fox, with Donald dragged behind as he tries to hold onto the dogs' leashes. Goofy has a little trouble with his horse, which won't jump, but after getting off and showing the horse how it should be done he has better luck. Donald is trampled by the horses, bumped into trees by the dogs and takes a beating generally. He tops off his day by reaching into a hollow tree and bringing out a skunk instead of the fox.

"Porky the Fireman" (Looney Tune)
Vitaphone 6 mins. Funny Antics
There is a fire in the theatrical boarding house, and all the various boarders go into their specialties to save themselves. Porky arrives as a member of the fire department, and has trouble as he starts up the ladder with the hose, as the man at the pump doesn't cooperate in turning the water on properly. After many difficulties, Porky and his mates get the fire under control after it has burned the house to the ground. Produced by Leon Schlesinger. Animation by Robert Bentley.

"Window Shopping" (A Color Rhapsody)
Columbia 6½ mins. Amusing Cartoon
Six little mice appear from their manhole retreat when the clock strikes 12, and start on a window shopping expedition. They sing a ditty called "Let's Go Window Shopping" and amble along the streets. Finally they spot a delicatessen store that tempts them and they sneak in. After cleaning out the store they pack up everything they can carry and beat a hasty retreat before the clerks arrive to open for the day.

"Travel Squawks" (Krazy Kat)
Columbia 6½ mins. Not So Good
Krazy Kat invites the audience to accompany him on a tour of the world on his magic flying carpet. Taking off, the first stop is the North Pole, where the penguins and seals are holding forth. From there he jumps to Holland with usual scenes of dykes, wooden shoes, etc. Last stop is in Africa where Krazy lands among a tribe of cannibals who almost catch him as he flees for his life. Not so good.

June 17, 1938
"Happy Scouts" (Oswald the Rabbit)
Universal 7 Mins. Fun In Camp
Oswald as scoutmaster takes his gang of ducks on a camping trip. The youngest member, a black duckling, gets into trouble with a mischievous beaver, who keeps putting out the camp fire the duckling is trying to light. Then as the duckling chases the beaver, he runs into an alligator, who decides that his dinner has arrived. After some hair-raising adventures, the poor duckling finally gets to shore as Oswald comes to his rescue by feeding the alligator a mechanical duck that almost ruins the villain's digestion as it starts to unwind inside him. A Walter Lantz production.

June 20, 1938
"The Cheese Nappers" (Oswald the Rabbit)
Universal 7 Mins. Ratty Adventure
Gangdom in the cartoons as Public Rat Number One takes along little Baby Face Rat to rob the icebox of cheese. The dishes in the kitchen become animated, and chase the marauders, capturing the youngster as the old gangster escapes. He is brought before Policeman Sugar Bowl and given the third degree. He manages to escape after being chased by the frankfurter bloodhounds. Arriving back in the hole, he beats up the big rat for leading him astray, and turns him over to the police. Baby Rat then broadcasts on the radio that crime does not pay.

"Voodoo In Harlem" (Oswald the Rabbit)
Universal 7 Mins. Nice Fantasy
Cartoonist's fantasy. The animator leaves his work room, and a storm comes up and blows his drawing paper around, and overturns the inkwell. Big blotches of ink fall on the sheets of paper, and become wild African warriors and Harlem jitterbugs who go into weird dances as the storm howls outside. As dawn comes, the storm subsides, and the inky figures go back into the inkwell again, as the maid comes in to clean up the room, and finds nothing but ink smudges on the scattered papers. A Walter Lantz production.