Death of the Pincushion Man

Ub Iwerks’ cartoons could be really imaginative at times and one of them is that favourite of public domain cartoon DVDs—Balloon Land (1935). The concept of a land of living balloons in the sky is a good one.



This is not a cartoon comedy. There isn’t much humour in it, other than the opening balloon caricatures of Laurel and Hardy and Chaplin and the comic relief character with the gooney toothy face seen in a few other Iwerks cartoons. But the design of the villain, the Pincushion Man, is terrific, the backgrounds are imaginative and there’s a great climax where the balloon army fires the rubber that makes the balloons and sends him plunging to his death. So instead of the Pincushion Man killing the balloons, the balloons kill him. The sequence is heightened by a great dramatic score by Carl Stalling. I wonder if the background cue is by J.S. Zamecnik; his music is found in Stalling’s early cartoons at Warner Bros. just a year later.



The Pincushion Man, perfectly voiced by Billy Bletcher, tries grasping at the balloon flowers (which pop in his grip) and then at the edge of the balloon world to stop from falling. One last blast of rubber does him in. I love the change in perspective before the death drop scene.



It’s a shame the artists were never credited on this cartoon. We do know what the tune is over the opening scenes. It’s Buffoon, written by Zez Confrey (copyright Jan. 23 and 30, 1932). You can hear his version of it below.

Sorry for the oversaturated colours on the frame grabs. They’re the best I can find.

Tralfaz Sunday Theatre – The Romance of Transportation in Canada

Welcome to Tralfaz Sunday Theatre. This new programme on the Tralfaz blog will feature various short films from around the internet that may be fun, interesting or odd.

I’ve avoided doing this for the longest time because a) video links tend to die and I don’t want to deal with dead links and b) I really don’t have the time to hunt down material to maintain this feature indefinitely. But I have a few posts banked so it’ll continue for several weeks, which is longer than “Turn On” lasted on ABC.

Our premiere episode features an animated short from the National Film Board of Canada. Back when I was in elementary school, we’d periodically have stuff from the NFB screened in class. I don’t recall whether I saw this film way back then, but I wouldn’t be surprised. The NFB web site describes “The Romance of Transportation in Canada” thusly:

A light-hearted animated short about how Canada's vast distances and great obstacles were overcome by settlers. The story is told with a tongue-in-cheek seriousness and takes us from the intrepid trailblazers of long ago to the aircraft of today and tomorrow. A 1953 Cartoon Short Subject Oscar-nominee.

Because we’re into the ‘50s and because the NFB basically let creative people be creative, you won’t mistake this for a Disney cartoon. Robert Verrall’s designs are enjoyable. Eldon Rathburn’s jazzy score is a bonus, though it sounds like the mikes were placed in the back of the room at times.

The NFB site will let you view this in high-definition. You can choose the 1080p setting below.

Isaac Stern One-Liner Tops Jack Benny

If there was anything that delighted Jack Benny more than making people laugh, it was making them enjoy his gift of music.

There are varying reports about how good a violinist Benny really was. For the untrained, and even average, ear, he was likely more than good enough.

Benny loved playing the violin in concert with professional orchestras. Perhaps there was some psychological thing going on about compensating for disappointing his parents as a child by not becoming a classical musician. Whatever the reason, Benny did a tremendous amount of good for the music arts with his charity violin concerts, raising millions to keep orchestras and old concert halls/theatres in existence.

Just as he had played the pinnacle of the vaudeville venues, the Palace, in the 1920s and ‘30s, he appeared in the mecca of serious music—Carnegie Hall. The concert with Isaac Stern and others was taped and broadcast twice on CBS.

Here’s a short story from the Associated Press from April 4, 1961. I pass it on mainly because of the punch line at the end, which was cut by some papers for space. There’s no byline on this but I suspect it’s by Robert Holton, who wrote another story for the AP on the event with the same date and includes some of the same quotes. The photo is the best version I can find that accompanied the story. The cute headline comes from the Norwalk Hour version.

39-year-old Violinist Stars at Carnegie Hall
NEW YORK—(AP)-Jack Benny of the receding hairline and screeching fiddle plays a pretty good long-hair violin.
That's the opinion a Carnegie Hall audience of 2.700 expressed via applause last night after the comedian paused between witticisms and performed a duet with violinist Isaac Stern.
When the last strains of the first movement of Bach's Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins died away, the audience signaled its appreciation and Eugene Ormandy, conductor of the Philadelphia Symphony, shook Benny's hand.
To Benny, who has appeared in the tradition-steeped hall before, it was a special night.

The program, a fund-raiser-for Carnegie Hall Inc., was titled, "Carnegie Hall Salutes Jack Benny."
He was honored for his efforts in raising funds to support, symphony orchestras throughout the country and was described by Stern as "a man who has done much . . . in the cause of good music."
"This is the finest compliment I believe I have ever received in my life," Benny replied.
Benny's concerts in 18 cities have raised more than $2,000,000, with music and musicians the principal beneficiaries
. The performance last night, in which Roberta Peters, Van Cliburn, and Benny Goodman and his sextet also appeared, was video-taped for public viewing Sept. 27 over the CBS television network.
At a rehearsal earlier in the day, Benny and Stern engaged often in tongue-in-cheek palaver.
During a break in the music, Stern said to Benny: "I wish you'd play C-sharp."
"Where?" Benny asked, deadpan.
"Where it's written," Stern advised.

Maurice Noble Meets John of the Bon Ton

The changing look of animation in the 1950s was something that John Sutherland Productions adapted to very easily. Having big-moneyed corporate clients meant Sutherland could go out and hire the best designers available. The great Tom Oreb and Vic Haboush co-designed my favourite Sutherland short, Destination Earth. And, for a while, Sutherland had the services of Warner Bros.’ most adept layout man, Maurice Noble.

Noble was the art director for It's Everybody's Business, which told the story of American free enterprise and freedoms (as big business saw them) in 1954. Noble moved away from the Disney style of settings, just as he had been doing for Chuck Jones at Warners. An uncredited background artist worked up these scenes from Colonial times from Noble’s layouts. Forgive the poor quality; this is from a well-used print posted to archive.org.



The main character of the first portion of the cartoon, Jonathan, goes into the ladies hat business. “First, he had to advertise,” oozed narrator MacDonald Carey. Writer Bill Scott came up with an inverse of the famous Kent-Croome-Johnson Pepsi jingle of the 1940s that Jonathan (played by Herb Vigran) sings in the street, accompanied by a bell, to lure customers.

Shop at Bon Ton, it’s the spot
Twelve new hat styles, that’s a lot!
Ladies, get that new hat thrill.
30 days to pay your bills!



E.I. DuPont DeNemours and Company really pushed this cartoon. It was featured in a three-page spread, with frame grabs, in Business Screen magazine shortly after it was released. Sutherland had just won an award for its clever and attractive industrial A is For Atom and would do the same with this short. Business Screen reported (Vol. 16, No. 1):

Freedoms Foundation Honor Medal Award to "Everybody's Business"
It's Everybody's Business, an animated cartoon documentary of the American economy in Technicolor, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, has crowned its record first-run year in the field by winning the Freedoms Foundation gold honor medal award at ceremonies in Valley Forge. Pa. on Washington's Birthday.

In the eight-months' period the film has been in circulation, It's Everybody's Business has had more than 9,000 showings by local chambers of commerce, trade associations and business firms in addition to telecasts by 266 stations.
Chamber Vice-President Receives Medal
The Foundation's top motion picture prize was presented to Arch N. Booth, the Chamber's executive vice-president, in traditional Washington's Birthday ceremonies at Valley Forge, Pa.
It's Everybody's Business was sponsored by the U. S. Chamber in cooperation with E. I. duPont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington. Del., and was produced by John Sutherland Productions, Inc. of Hollywood. It's animated technique shows how the free enterprise system, based on a foundation of fundamental liberties and financed by individual savings, has made American business the most productive in the world.
Besides showings to business firms, fraternal and civic organizations, the film has gained audiences in junior and senior high school classes and adult education groups in hundreds of communities.
Running 22 minutes, It's Everybody's Business is available in 16mm or 35mm from state and local chambers of commerce or the Education Dept., Chamber of Commerce of the United States, 1615 H. St., N.W. Washington 6, D. C.

Animation credits went to Abe Levitow, Bill Melendez, Emery Hawkins and Bill Higgins, with music by Les Baxter and Gene Poddany. Ex MGM animator Carl Urbano was the director.

The Owl and the Woodpecker

Someone at the Lantz studio in the early ‘40s loved outline drawings of Woody Woodpecker. If nothing else, it made action a little faster. In his self-titled cartoon, Woody is threatened by a large owl (played by Danny Webb).



Woody twirls around. These are consecutive frames.



Woody is backed into a tree. Note the size of his head in the first drawing.



Woody becomes multiples as he tries to escape. These are consecutive frames.



Alex Lovy and Ray Fahringer receive screen credit for animation credit but logic dictates more people worked on this one, perhaps Les Kline and La Verne Harding.

Soggy Sylvester

Sylvester’s spraying all over the place in Hop, Look and Listen when he catches a mouse as he would a fish (with a rod, reel and net) and sees the rodent is under the limit. Is this Manny Gould’s animation?



Gould, Izzy Ellis and Chuck McKimson get screen credit in this 1948 debut of the “giant mouse.”

Fred the Schnauzer, Times Two

Newspaper columnists need time off, too, and an old gimmick they used to maintain their readership was to have celebrities fill in as guest columnists.

At least, they were advertised as the celebrities themselves. It’s easy to believe some of them simply got someone on their staff to pen 350 words in their name and send it off to a newspaper syndicate or wire service. Other methods could be used to fill space, too. An interesting case involves Richard Deacon of The Dick Van Dyke Show. A “written by” piece with his byline turned up on the Associated Press in 1964. Almost a month later, a lot of the same column ended up in a different column by Charles Witbeck of the King Features Syndicate, word-for-word in some spots.

It’s tempting to think Witbeck just ripped off the AP piece, but as he has quotes not printed elsewhere, it’s likely Deacon gave an interview to a bunch of reporters and it was crafted differently by the two services.

As redundant as this seems, we’ll print both for comparison’s sake. First is the longer of two versions sent out by the AP for papers of July 9, 1964.

Soliloquy of a Sourpuss
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Richard Deacon, In addition to playing sour-faced, sharp-tongued comedy foil Mel Cooley on CBS’ Dick Van Dyke Show,” is a participating student in Hollywood’s game of status symbols. Here he explains how trying to keep up with the Beverly Hills Jonses can make a fellow tear his hair—if he has any. He writes for Cynthia Lowry who is on vacation.)
By RICHARD DEACON
Written for Associated Press
HOLLYWOOD (AP)—I have the uneasy feeling that people think of me as the world's worst sourpuss.
It's no wonder. I used to be a pretty cheerful fellow. That was before I ran into the status symbol game.
It's the modern version of keeping up with the Joneses. It's guaranteed to make a nervous wreck out of anyone.
If you have the right status symbols, you worry for fear they'll go out of date before you can pay for them. If you have the wrong ones—well, look at me. I'm a nervous wreck.

I got the clue early on what to expect when I went out to buy a house.
"How old is it?" I asked the real estate salesman. "This was built by Shepperd Strudwick," he answered, as though that made the house a cut above a Frank Lloyd Wright.
"Oh," I said, "is he a well-known local architect? Turned out Strudwick is a fine actor, who I'm sure would rather be known for his work than for a house. But that's how it goes in Hollywood.
When I asked how much land went with the place, the salesman eagerly told me Ella Raines had owned the house next door. Had owned, get that? Not now.
When I finally did buy a house I got quite a bit of status because it used to belong to Cara Williams. And Natalie Wood lived on the corner.
Then Natalie Wood moved away and there wasn't anybody famous left in the neighborhood. I was just about thinking of moving myself when I was saved—Chris Noel moved in nearby. She's a cute blonde actress who gives me lot of status, neighbour-wise.
Animals are very important for status in Hollywood. French poodles used to be the thing.
Then the Group went to Schnauzers. I got in on the wave with a wonderful miniature Schnauzer named Fred.
But now it's chic to have a mongrel or a beagle—anything, really, with long ears. I still have my schnauzer because I love her (Fred is a lady schnauzer) very much. But I walk her only at night, when people won't see me.
It's most important to collect art and I do. But all the artists I collect are living, so I'm not quite in. I do have a little etching by Rembrandt and I carefully point it out to people.
They told me I'd have to have a pool in Hollywood, so I hurried to put one in. After hauling all the rock and arranging all the piping and getting it landscaped, I found out they meant a swimming pool — not a fish pool.
I don't know how much longer I can stay in the race. I have an old convertible, but for status, you need a new convertible.
I've ordered a new one but I'm afraid by the time I get it the mode will be back to old convertibles.
That's the trouble with the status race. You can never be sure whether you're ahead behind. I like to think I'm so far behind, people will really think I'm ahead.

This is the version which appeared in the TV Keynotes column on August 6th.

Deacon's Bedeviled By Status Stardust
By CHARLES WITBECK
Hollywood—The straight man for baldness and stupid boss jokes is the mournful looking Richard Deacon on the Dick Van Dyke series.
Richard is permitted very few witty replies to barbs by Morey Amsterdam on the series, and it's really about time this new season that he be allowed to defend himself.
Being labeled an idiot sourpuss who got his job because he's a relative of the star may not do things for Deacon's ego, but it fattens the old checkbook.
Richard is now climbing up the success ladder and has been foolish enough to look for a house.
"In Hollywood you're measured not just by your current neighbors," says Deacon, "but by who used to be your neighbors."
DEACON TOOK the tour with a real estate salesman and he found a whole new world of status and rank.
The first house on the tour was built by Shepperd Strudwick, and judging from the salesman's tone of voice, Deacon figured he must be a very prominent architect. Strudwich turned out to be an actor, but the name meant more to the salesman than Frank Lloyd Wright.
Then Richard inquired about the backyard footage. The salesman countered brightly with the fact Ella Raines had owned the house next door. This was supposed to mean a lot.
Deacon went home, rested a few weeks and then took another tour and ended up buying one which used to belong to Cara Williams. An added inducement was the fact Natalie Wood lived on the corner.
Then Natalie Wood moved out and the whole block lost face until a starlet by the name of Chris Noel moved in.
With the house under his belt, Deacon then went shopping for furnishings and antiques, and quickly learned he should only buy in Beverly Hills or Bel Air.
• • •

BEING in the correct shopping area, Deacon began browsing and soon found a copper kettle he admired. He asked cautiously if it leaked. The saleslady gave him a look and said, "That came from an estate in which Mary Pickford had an interest." Perhaps before antiques on the status board is the selection of the right kind of dog. French poodles are out, so Deacon found a miniature schnauzer named Fred. A schnauzer is in between, and he is being pressed in the popularity race by mongrels, sheepdogs and others with long ears. Richard is sensitive about this and feels his dog knows too, so he only walks Fred at night.
With the right house, the correct kind of antiques and an almost correct dog, Richard is on pretty solid ground, particularly because people see him every week on TV. You can be "out" if you're working weekly, but people will give you a second chance.
• • •
HOWEVER, Richard says actors are also checked out on their art collection, their swimming pools and apparel. “I have a tendency to be too neat,” he says. "And that isn't good you know. The best known actors always wear tennis shoes, white sox and chino pants these days. A shirt worn outside is very smart, too.
"And let me tell you about my art collection. I collect living artists, so I'm not quite in, but it shows I'm daring."
Does Deacon have any real weaknesses in the status game?
"It might as well come on," he says. "My pool is a fish pool. And my car is an old convertible and it can't compete with the Lincolns or sports cars."
Adding it all up, Deacon doesn't know whether he's "in" or halfway "out." "Out here you never know whether you're ahead or behind," he says. "I like to think I'm so far behind, people will really think I’m ahead."

Did any papers publish both stories? It’s altogether possible. The AP is the premiere wire service in the U.S. and I assume the vast majority of dailies were subscribers. I don’t know how many papers picked up the TV Keynotes feature from KFS. A brief hunt on-line hasn’t revealed whether a paper ran both. Considering the vast array of newspaper columnists, wire services, syndicators, radio and TV outlets and magazines all publishing entertainment-related news, one wonders if a reader would even notice.