Released by Paramount | Directed By Dave Fleischer Mother Goose Land: Hating Spiders and Snakes Kid’s stories are dark, man. You’ve noticed that, right? Hansel and Gretel ends with a witch being immolated, three blind mice lose their tails, the Pied Piper commits a widespread (and unpunished) kidnapping, the little Read more…
Released by Paramount | Directed By Dave Fleischer I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead: Et Al The Betty Boop cartoons that Dave Fleischer put out are kind of a weird rarity. Besides the occasional Jewish in-joke originating from its director, they often showcased African-American singers and acts who were rarely Read more…
Released by MGM | Directed By Jules White Show Business: Nothing Like It “Say, you don’t need to get so high hat. Your ancestors swung through trees too.” Of all the Zasu Pitts/Thelma Todd shorts I’ve watched, “Show Business” is the one with the most screen time devoted to getting Read more…
Released by MGM | Directed By Gus Meins Asleep in the Feet: 10 Cents a Dunce “Nautical, but nice!” For this go-around, Zasu and Thelma are a poor pair of working girls who decide to help out a friend by making the $20 of back rent she owes down at Read more…
Released by MGM | Directed By Morley Lightfoot and Gilbert Pratt Seal Skins: House of Whosits “A seal for sale– cheap!” For this installment, Thelma’s a newspaper stenographer who yearns to beat one of the female reporters at her game. A mix up in search of a stolen Siberian seal Read more…
Released by MGM | Directed By Hal Roach On the Loose: Loosely Done “And those two Cornell freshman. Were they fresh!” “On the Loose” probably isn’t going to convert many people who haven’t seen any of the other Todd & Pitts shorts that I’ve been working through this week. Besides Read more…
Released by MGM | Directed By Hal Roach The Pajama Party: Or Less “And one to grow on!” Watch enough Todd and Pitts short films and a pattern emerges. At some point, Zasu Pitts will be forcibly addressed. Men will literally chase after Thelma Todd. Zasu’s romantic flirtations will never Read more…
Released by MGM | Directed By George Marshall The Soilers: Working Their Way Through “The Soilers” is a bit of a letdown. This one finds Zasu and Thelma out in the suburbs trying to sell magazine subscriptions to help themselves “work their way through college.” This is patently unsuccessful since Read more…
Released by MGM | Directed By George Marshall Alum and Eve: Tripping the Light Fantastic “And I suppose when the doctor comes in he’ll take out my other appendix!” “Alum and Eve” is one of the most surreal of the non-Betty Boop shorts I’ve sat through, a short where a Read more…
Released by MGM | Directed By Charley Chase Bargain of the Century: Hell. Yes. “Say, is that palooka is trying to flirt with me?” There are a lot of reasons I wish time travel was possible. I’m sure this doesn’t surprise you (I run a damn classic movie blog, after Read more…