Tex's Other Red

There’s a knock at the closet door. “Who’s there?” yells the detective.

The door opens. A skeleton steps out. “A skeleton,” it answers.



Another skeleton steps out.



The pun is so obvious here (except for people who have never heard of comedian Red Skelton), I don't need to mention it.

In the MGM cartoon Who Killed Who? (1942), Tex Avery and uncredited writer Rich Hogan have come up with a fine send-up of murder mysteries, making fun of a pile of movie clichés, with Scott Bradley adding a solo organ score like you might hear on a radio detective story.

There are no credited animators.

Setting the Mood For Chills

Light and shadow and effects open The Case of the Stuttering Pig, a 1937 Warners cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin.



Tashlin indulges himself with various camera angles looking up at the settings to create a mood of suspense.



Tashlin and writer Tubby Millar apparently did their jobs too well. A theatre manager in Ligonier, Indiana complained to the Motion Picture Herald that “this story is all too scary for the subject of a cartoon which is primarily made for children.” Leon Schlesinger admitted in a newspaper interview that one of his cartoons had a villain that was too frightening and that would be toned down in future cartoons.

Sorry, theatre manager, but Billy Bletcher is wonderfully menacing as the lawyer-turned-monster and the artwork fits the horror scenario (with a comic ending). Ya big softie!

Volney White is the credited animator.

20-Inch Snip Snip Snip

Censorship will be around as long people don’t want other people to see or hear something. In other words, it won’t be going away.

Back in the radio days, Fred Allen and Henry Morgan ridiculed censors. Allen pointed out in his book, “Treadmill to Oblivion,” some of the ridiculous bans he dealt with.

When network television and its 20-inch screens came along, the radio censors simply switched mediums and continued with the same old policies.

TV Guide examined the whole issue in its edition of February 26, 1954.



TABOO! What You Can’t See On TV
EVERY TV network has a Continuity Acceptance Department, which, in word of two syllables, means “Censor.” The reasons for a censor are rather obvious—among other things, no network wants to get involved in undue hasseling [sic] with viewers or the Federal Communications Commission. But when you add the items snipped out of shows by the censors to the stuff hacked by fussy advertising men, you get an impressive list of things that might, but never do, appear on television.
Ad men, always fearful that the name of a competitive product might sneak into the script, are apt to do some quick changing. The most famous recent example took place on the Danny Thomas show, sponsored by Lucky Strike, where Winston Churchill almost was mentioned as a Member of Parliament. (Parliament cigarets, get it?) This was changed to a Member of the House of Commons.
The network censors, on the other hand, work more quietly. Without setting themselves up as arbiters of what the public should and should not see, that’s exactly what they do. Their job is to prevent anything of obviously bad taste from reaching the air. They are firm about deleting passages in scripts that contain suggestive wording. They squelch lines or characterizations that might in any way reflect on a race, religion or nationality. They watch old movie film that’s to be shown on TV and snip material that easily slipped by the last two generations of movie censors.
Here, as an example, is a verbatim quote from NBC’s Continuity Acceptance Department’s seven-page report for January, 1954:
“There were numerous deletions in comedy films of men losing their pants and such items as dogs spitting, a fat woman doing a shake dance, kids sticking their tongues out at each other incessantly, an animated tuba spitting, a cruel portraiture of an Old Ladies Home and the inmates of an insane asylum, some scantily clad harem girls and two films replete with such remarks as ‘Who in the flaming hell do you think you are?’ and endless use of ‘For God’s sake.’ ”
Advertisers running amok is another problem for Continuity Acceptance. A cake flour company was vetoed when it wanted a commercial to show an inauguration cake topped by an American Flag.
A skin ointment company got the veto when it tried to submit a filmed commercial which showed cannibals refusing to eat an American girl because she had so many pimples.



What’s good for kids is another problem. Nine o’clock at night is figured as a reasonable hour for kids to be in bed and any complaints about shows after that, as regarding children, are usually ignored. There are numerous taboos that hold for all shows. Suicide is never allowed as a justifiable out for a tread-upon individual. You can never see anyone struck with a blunt weapon or see a pistol fired and the bullet hit someone in the same picture. Such things as narcotics addiction, excessive drinking, etc., are carefully avoided. In most cases these restrictions are passed on to producers before they ever start, easing the censor’s work.
Which brings us to the matter of dress. The plunging neckline has pretty much gone out of style, except for guest hostesses on such programs as Your Show of Shows. The most famous incident on that show took place when Madge Evans had some difficulties with her gown which on TV made her look pretty much undressed. As the program progressed this was remedied in a sort of reverse strip-tease until she finally passed the censors. Such things as this and the ad lib which follows a flubbed line are not anticipated by censors and there’s no defense against them.
Then there are the pressure groups to contend with. The meat interests are frankly depressed with the way comics and others continually refer to the rising cost of living by talking about the cost of meat.
And now we get to the ad men. Madison Avenue, New York’s advertising row, is full of nervous men who can’t bear the thought of the names of competitors’ products appearing in any way on their shows. Thus, on Kraft TV Theater, a character’s name was changed at the last minute because it was Borden. On I Love Lucy, sponsored by Philip Morris, or on the Camel Caravan, no one is ever lucky.
No Kingdom For A Horse
Some years back, Richard Himber was signed by Studebaker and immediately had to purge his singer who had the misfortune to be named Joey Nash. Oscar Mayer’s meat packing firm in Chicago wouldn’t agree to sponsor a local Chicago show until the title was changed to Elmer the Elephant from Homer the Horse. And an adman rewrote one line in Rodgers and Hart’s “Blue Room” so that Chesterfield’s Perry Como could sing it. The offending line: “I can smoke my pipe away.”
Studio One, sponsored by Westinghouse, thought it appropriate to change the name of Rudyard Kipling’s “The Light That Failed” to “The Gathering Night.” Another Studio One script was turned down when an \adman found that the plot revolved around a leaky refrigerator.
The Plight That Flailed
As a closer, we offer you the plight of the announcer for the General Motors-sponsored college football telecasts, who while broadcasting a Pittsburgh University game, had to conceal his discomfort each time he mentioned the Pitt quarterback. It was a free commercial for a competitor whenever he handled the ball. His name was Henry Ford.

The “cake” censorship may seem odd today, but there was a time that the flag had to be treated with the utmost reverence and dignity, and a cake didn’t qualify. There was a flap on The Smothers Brothers Show in the late ‘60s when censors objected to a guest wearing an American flag shirt; today, doing that would be deemed super patriotic, not tacky. That’s because times change. In 1959, it was okay for Quick Draw McGraw to have a gun or Popeye’s mouth to be adorned with a pipe (which he never smoked) or an impolite cartoon tuba from the 1930s expectorating. Taking them away in later years seems, to me, as much as an overreaction as Oscar Meyer thinking someone will connect a horse with horse meat.

But then, I’m a product of my time. I will bet something we find innocuous and perfectly acceptable today will be deemed horrific and offensive 50, 60 years from now.

A Tale of Horror, Van Beuren-Style

Van Beuren goes in for some effects in its horror cartoon The Magic Mummy (1933).

There is silhouette animation in a couple of scenes.



A fight scene in a cave reveals moving sets of eyes and a few lines and stars.



Here are a couple of backgrounds, with varying shades of grey. The first one has some light shadows, the second goes for a light-into-the-crypt effect.



As you might expect in almost any Van Beuren cartoon, there are oodles of skeletons and piano playing. John Foster and George Stallings get a “by” credit.

The Nine Lives of Tom the Cat

Tom’s owner has the world’s most powerful vacuum in Fraidy Cat (MGM, 1942). As he grabs onto a bannister, his nine lives are sucked right out of him.



Life Number Nine, fearing the end, does something about it.



Tom races out of the room, pulling his lives out of the vacuum, including the hammy Life Number One, who's the only one not pertified by the whole thing.



Tom slams into a door. His lives go back into his body, but not before Mr. One congratulates himself for surviving.



Bill Hanna, Joe Barbera and Fred "I think I'll have a nap in my office" Quimby are the only people to get screen credit. The Hanna-Barbera unit was in the early days, so people like Jack Zander and Pete Burness likely animated on this cartoon.

Jack Doesn't Do Dallas

It was the show Jack Benny never gave.

Jack had signed to perform in Dallas on October 19, 1974 to raise money for the Southwestern Medical School at the University of Texas. Instead, his only appearance was in a hospital.

Nostalgia and fun memories always seemed to be stirred up in the press whenever Benny was coming to town. The Dallas show was no different. The Star-Telegram of Fort “We’re Not Dallas” Worth had this reminiscence in Elston Brooks’ column of August 30, 1974.

JACK BENNY'S RETURN TRIGGERS OLD TALES
Jack Benny has been signed to return to Dallas Oct. 19 as the star of Neiman-Marcus’ Japanese Fortnight in the Fairmont Hotel.
And since Gisele MacKenzie, his co-star on a celebrated 1954 show over there, is currently in town, and so is Charlie Meeker, who produced that Dallas show 20 years ago, this seems like a good time to relate a funny story that concerned all three of them.
Meeker, who now runs Fort Worth's Charlie's Place, recalls he was producing the State Fair Musicals more than 20 years ago when he suddenly got the idea to star Benny in "The Seven Year Itch" over there.
"I phoned Jack and almost sold him on the idea of the role being a departure from the Benny image," Meeker said, "but Jack had misgivings about playing a show like that in the cavernous Music Hall.
"I'd phone him continually, thinking I was about to convince him but then he'd back away again. Finally, his agent phoned me one day and said, ‘Jack wants you to quit calling him. He just doesn't know how to tell you no.’ "
FERRER'S AID DOESN'T HELP
Meeker had one more inspiration. He phoned Benny again, saying, "Look, I know Jose Ferrer lives a couple of doors from you. Jose just finished playing the Hall. Phone him, and get his opinion."
Charlie phoned Ferrer and asked what he had told Benny. Ferrer reported he told Jack that the first time you step on that sprawling stage you're scared to death, really frightened. But, after 24 hours, you get used to it and things are fine.
It didn't work. Benny didn't sign. But, flashing forward, Meeker was able to entice Benny to the same hall in 1954 to do the show with Gisele and the Will Mastin Trio, which was Sammy Davis, Jr., his father and his uncle.
"I flew out to Jack's home to sign the contract," Meeker continued. "We were having breakfast in his Beverly Hills house, and I was prompted to ask him why he hadn't signed for that first show."
Meeker went into his Jack Benny voice to give Benny's reply:
"WELL it's this way, Charlie. I called Joe Ferrer and he said it was a frightening place, but you got used to it after 24 hours. But the more I thought about it, Charlie. I figured, why, with my money and at MY AGE, why should I be FRIGHTened for 24 hours?"
AND NOW ONE FROM THE 'BENNY-FIT'
Gisele laughed when she heard the story. "It's so like him," she said. "He's such a wonderful man."
"I've got a story that goes along with it," I volunteered.
Mine occurred in 1966 when Benny had come to Fort Worth as guest violinist with the Fort Worth Symphony. It was called a "Benny-Fit," and the $100 tickets were marked down to $99.95 The $3 seats were going for $2.99. Riding in with him from the airport, we talked about that 1954 show he had done in Dallas with Gisele and Sammy Davis Jr.
"You know what?” Benny asked me. "As big as he is now, Sam said he'd play the show again with me for the same dough."
"What did you tell him?" I asked.
"I said it wasn't quite fair. The last time I got his father and uncle, too!"

This column is about all the comedy from Benny the locals got. The Associated Press sent out a story on Oct. 19 saying “Benny was in his dressing room at the Fairmont Hotel when a hotel employe found him ‘in extreme pain.’ Three doctors from the audience advised him not to perform.” Because he was at a benefit for a medical school, the audience was filled with doctors.

A later dispatch from the wire service reported Jack was in his stateroom off the main stage at the hotel “complaining of numbness in his arms and hands,” and that an employee “gave him some ice and took him to his room. Thirty minutes later he was rushed to the hospital.”

The AP quoted someone at the hospital saying Jack was supposed to remain for a few days to determine what was wrong, but was instead flown to Los Angeles and admitted to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital that day.

United Press International noted conflicting opinions in one of its stories. “Benny was examined by two doctors at his hotel room and ordered hospitalized over his protests,” it reported. “They said he had suffered a mild stroke. However, doctors at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, where Benny was taken in a private car, said Benny was suffering from an unconfirmed illness, ‘definitely not a stroke.’”

Hundreds of newspapers in the U.S. picked up the story, some putting it on their front page. It wasn’t relegated to the entertainment section.

Jack walked out hospital on Thursday, and was greeted by reporters. He said he had spent Saturday in Dallas walking and felt fine, then had “a terrible stomach ache” before the show. He went on that he told doctors he “could talk and play the fiddle,” but they insisted he go to the emergency ward. He joked he hadn’t seen the hospital bill “but when I do, I’ll then ache.”

The AP quoted him that doctors kept examining him and couldn’t find anything wrong. He wrote it off as stomach trouble.

But it wasn’t. He had cancer of the pancreas. Doctors couldn’t find it. The pains came back. Almost two months later, Jack Benny was dead.

Plugging Cartoons

The best newspaper ads for cartoons in theatres way-back-when are the ones featuring drawings of the characters in them. Some of the artwork was supplied by the studios, in familiar poses in some cases. Others seem to have been traced (sometimes very poorly) by an artist working for the paper.

To the right you see an ad for a kids show with a number of cartoons; I’ve seen some ads promising 20 of them (Capitol Theatre, Hazelton, Pa., Dec. 1952). The “Lion and Mouse” cartoon was a 1943 Terrytoon. And the ad copy butchers the Woody Woodpecker short The Barber of Seville. (Note: It didn't dawn on me this was the 1944 Terry cartoon called The Butcher of Seville because I don't remember seeing it before. Thanks, S.P. for the info).

Here are a few more random ads. One theatre seems to be warning children it will be showing Good Night Elmer.



Here’s a neat piece of artwork from the December 6, 1941 edition of the “Showmen’s Trade Review.” It tried to help theatres along with suggested promotional gimmicks, things like displays, ad slogans and, in this case, newspaper ad layouts. They’re pretty attractive but I don’t believe I’ve seen these used in any newspapers. Andy Panda looks more like his dad in the drawing below. “Old Doc Layout,” writer of the article, is a pseudonym for Hank Harold.

Play Up the Fun-makers Who Star in Cartoons
These Layouts Prove It’s Practical and Profitable to Headline Short Subjects
For that "kid" appeal which should be an important consideration of every showman's show building as well as exploitation, there's no surer way to inject the necessary element in the newspaper ads than to give a "play" to cartoon characters you may be presenting in a short. Consequently, Old Doc is back with some more suggestions for layouts you will find practical from a standpoint of utilizing all your available space without handicapping the "punch" selling of your ad — which, of course, must always be your top feature's title, stars and catchlines.
You will note that the layouts below concentrate on the cartoon characters. You will also recall that every survey of reader-interest shows that cartoons have the ace pulling power of all elements editors can put into their newspaper pages. The comic strips top all in reader interest. If they can do that — you are hitching your wagon to a real star when you inject the likeness of some cartoon character in your ads. So try some of these suggestions.



Someone at MGM finally realised there was money to be made in Saturday matinee showings of cartoons, so it cobbled together a bunch of used shorts, connected them together and sent The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Festival to exchanges to be booked as one complete show.

There’s something different about seeing a cartoon on a theatre screen than on a computer or TV at home. The first time I saw Tex Avery’s Magical Maestro was in a theatre. The perspective of the magician’s rabbits jumping from the sides of the frame into the middle isn’t the same as watching it on home video; in the theatre, it caught me completely by surprise. And I think people laugh at cartoons more when they’re in a theatre with a group of people.

The days of a theatre programme with a feature, cartoon and newsreel are long gone. But there are still animation festivals here and there, screening cartoons old and new. So long as there’s an audience, and people interested in putting together a programme, cartoons will appear on the big screen.

Car Bites Car

Hugh Harman’s writers were no doubt sitting around, pondering. They had put Bosko in an auto race cartoon against a Pegleg Pete-style, cheating villain. It’s the climax scene. Bosko’s little car can’t get past the Champion’s. What to do? How is Bosko going to win the race?

The solution? Bosko’s putt-putt model develops a face and bites the villain’s car, which also develops a face, in the trunk.



The villain’s car leaps into the air in pain. Bosko’s car scoots under it for the win and Bosko is crowned Speed King.



Hmm. If this is a Bosko cartoon, there must be a piano somewhere, right?



Why, yes there is!

I can’t believe the only versions available on-line of some of these Bosko (and Buddy) cartoons are overly-pixilated ones that come from a poorly-tracked VHS recording of a TV cable channel. Granted, this isn’t a great cartoon, but Bosko deserves a lot better.

Frank Marsales’ soundtrack include Warren-Dubin’s “Young and Healthy,” the old Billy Murray favourite “In My Merry Oldsmobile,” and Mel Kaufman’s cat-drowning song “Me-Ow” that Carl Stalling was putting in Warners’ cartoon scores into the 1950s. Listen to a pie-anny version below.



Friz Freleng and Paul J. Smith are the credited animators.