Released by Warner Brothers | Directed By Hugh Harman Bosko’s Picture Show: A Day At the Movies “Bosko’s Picture Show” is one of the most dense cartoons I’ve seen, a whirlwind skewering of the 1930s theatrical experience. Anyone who wants to get a feel for what it was like to Read more
Released by MGM | Directed By Ub Iwerks The Bully: The Ol’ One-Two Flip the Frog is a footnote in the cartoon industry. Like Bosko or Betty Boop’s many sidekicks, you probably have to have had a serious side education in early cartoons to know his name. MGM, looking to Read more
Released by Paramount | Directed By Dave Fleischer Old Man of the Mountain: On Top of Old Fogey “Whatcha gonna do now?” “I’m gonna do the best I can.” Cab Calloway’s third appearance in a Betty Boop cartoon sees him as a white haired, white skinned crazy magic mountain hermit Read more
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 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 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