Reviews of books that have held my interest. And things that happen along the way.
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robertrswwilliams@yahoo.com
And let's not forget my friends at the Public Libraries!Most of my selections come from the Libraries listed on my sidebar. They are a great resource and a wonderful use of our tax dollars.
Have you hugged a Librarian today?
Here's one of the old Popeye cartoons from the Max and Dave Fleischer Days. The animation is always fluid; or "trippy" as we used to say; in these cartoons. The story lines are kind of entertaining as well; especially if you listen to Popeye's muttering closely. He says some strange things at times.
This one is the usual fare; Olive and Popeye struggling against Brutus as they also struggle with the idiosyncrasies of a new car.
Someone recently pointed out to me that the video link to this cartoon had been compromised. I first ran it in January 2013. For those who have never seen it, share it with a Grandchild. It's not "Frozen" but it sure is a lot of fun!
Dave Fleischer really put a lot of effort and imagination
into this 1935 cartoon. I can almost hear the laughter of the audience watching
this just before the weekly “Flash Gordon” serial. The rocket ship is about the
same, but the cast of characters is straight out of Noah’s Ark!
The cartoon begins as all of the animals within hearing
distance strive to board the “Honeymoon Express”, as it prepares to take off
for a journey to the moon, and promises of connubial bliss. The only thing
which goes wrong is when the tom cat’s bride gets left behind. She is furious,
and he is “mooning” over her for the entire trip, even as the other guests
enjoy their “special” time with one another, far away from earthly woes. The
giraffes “necking” is one good example of the humor employed in this flight of
fancy.
The usual fluidity is readily apparent, and even without
the credits at the start, you’d have to be blind to not recognize this as a Max
and Dave Fleischer cartoon. The song “Dancing on the Moon” was written by
Charles Tobias and Murray Mencher; the song writing team who, along with Eddie
Cantor the comedian; wrote the Merrie Melodies theme song “Merrily We Roll
Along”. Mr. Tobias also penned the
popular hits “Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer”, the World War Two staple
“Don’t Sit under the Apple Tree”, and even the slightly annoying “A Hunting We
Will Go.” His collaborations with his brother, as well as other songwriters,
are too numerous to list here.
There’s a lot that went into these old cartoons, usually
with only about 6 people working on them. The Fleischer team was typical of the
era, employing less than 10 people even for a feature cartoon. Compared to
today’s technically proficient releases; which usually cap out at about 1,000
people taking part in the creative process; the most amazing thing about these
older gems are that they got made at all!
I hurt my hand and cannot blog for a few days - Please excuse me while I heal and enjoy a couple of my old favorites...
What could be more entertaining than a classic cartoon
featuring 2 of the most recognizable feature cartoon characters in it? In this
8 minute classic, Popeye the Sailor finds himself ashore after an ocean voyage.
He elects to take Olive Oyl to the Carnival with predictable results, as he and
Bluto compete in their never ending quest for her affections.
When the Hula Hula dancer (Betty Boop) makes her appearance
and Popeye jumps on stage to perform with her, Bluto sees his chance and takes
it; or rather, Olive; and kidnaps her with the intention of making her his wife
whether she likes it or not.
By the way, while Popeye is dancing, at about 5 minutes into
the cartoon, he encounters a snake on stage, and places his pipe under the
serpents nose, quickly neutralizing the snake and calling into question just
what was in that pipe? This is not the first time I have sensed that Popeye was
a “smoker.” In several other cartoons he uses his pipe as a blowtorch to open
the can and then inhales the “spinach” through the pipe.
Once Popeye realizes that Olive is gone and in danger, he
jumps into “high” gear; and the chase is on to save the woman of his dreams. As
in all of the old cartoons, everything works out in the end for Popeye and
Olive. This is a unique cartoon in that it is the first one for Popeye and the
only one in which he appears with Betty Boop. He also sings the entire theme
song, which was composed by Sammy Lerner in 1933 for this cartoon. It was also
a hit for Hoagy Carmichael, which I play in my car, much to most people’s
disbelief.
Until this cartoon’s release in 1933, Popeye had only been
in the funny papers since January of 1929, drawn by E.C. Segar for the Thimble
Theater series. Segar had been working with King Features Syndicate since 1919.
Riding the wave of success surrounding the Betty Boop cartoons, Max Fleischer
decided to animate the cartoon strip, He chose a Betty Boop cartoon to do it
in, figuring that if it failed to gain any traction, it wouldn’t be noticed for
long.
Of course, Betty Boop may have remained a staple in the world of classic
cartoons, but Popeye went on to greater success in the 1950’s when King
Features re-vitalized him in a new format featuring Brutus in Bluto’s place.
Those cartoons never did measure up to the “trippy” style which rolled out of
the studios during the 1930’s, making them a delight to watch even today, 80
years later.
Once again I am going to post a cartoon from Christmas past
in the final days leading up to the holiday. I always loved this old classic
cartoon in particular, and I posted it last year. I’m posting it again because
it’s a great example of the quality of the animation in the 1930's. And, Max
and Dave Fleischer were two of the best.
They often worked separately on
various projects, though their best works are probably the collaborations they
produced with the Popeye cartoons and Betty Boop series. They also made a
boatload of feature cartoons like this one, which is a wonderful little story about
an orphanage on Christmas morning. If you have seen this before, I hope that
you enjoy it again this year.
Note: A Very Happy Birthday to my friend Eddie Ray. He's the youngest person I know …
_____________________________
A Picture from Israel
This is a photo of the moon setting over Massada in Israel the other morning. It was taken by my daughter who is on a trip to the Holy Land. She's 26 years old, exactly the same age I was when I made my first "aliyah". Forgive me for being so proud of her...
One of the most remarkable things in this cartoon is the performance by Cab Calloway of “St. James Infirmary Blues.” The story is about
Betty; who finds herself having to deal with her evil step-mom, the Queen. The
Queen spends her time gazing into a looking glass, assuring herself that she is
the most beautiful woman around. That is, until Betty shows up.
When the Queen’s magic mirror, along with all of the
servants, declare that Betty is the “fairest in the land”, the Queen is
horrified and orders Betty put to death. But the royal subjects all have other
plans for Betty, and they fake her execution and burial, much to the delight of
the Queen. But where has Betty really gone?
With the help of the Queen’s knights, and even the tree to
which she is bound in a snowstorm, Betty is frozen into a block of ice and
placed in a coffin constructed by the Seven Dwarfs. But the Queen grows wise to
the deception and goes after the culprits, which now include her mirror, which
has turned against her. KoKo and Bimbo accompany her on her journey to
find Betty, and destroy her for good, to the tune of “St. James Infirmary”, swung
by Cab Calloway and his famous orchestra. (That's a pun, not a typo.)
A very imaginative cartoon like this, with a fantastic performance of
the old blues standard by one of the greatest jazz musicians of his time, make
this one worth watching; or even listening to; a real treat.
A very special hello to Aliyah and Trinity in Texas. This is an extremely funny cartoon which, in the end, pokes fun of it's own theme; keeping in style; when everybody takes Ms. Boop's advice to heart. The results are satirical as everyone from man to woman, and even beasts, attempt to "keep in style" with the latest whimsical fashion.
These old cartoons are so well made, and the messages in them still so applicable, making them all the more worth while watching. With the usual direction of Dave Fleischer and his team, the cartoon flows like no other cartoons; including Disney's "big screen" epics, ever have, or will.
With the usual combination of wit and art, along with a bit of song, Betty has everyone filling the movie house for the show; a one week engagement from May 31st through July 31st; and then afterward, trying to live out their fantasies through the "style" she has displayed. Gee, sounds like real life...
If you’re a baby-boomer, then you’ll remember this
adaptation of the classic Christmas tale of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". It
was done by Max Fleischer, with the help of Johnny Marks and Paul Wing, in
1944, but for some reason; perhaps the war; it seems to have been released in
1948. I don’t know the whole story behind that, but I’m looking…
Meantime, the story of Rudolph is familiar to us all, and if
you haven’t seen this one before, you’re missing out on a real treat. Share it
with the little ones in your life, or just watch it yourself. Rudolph gets to
save the day, and the story serves to remind us that we are all capable of
more. Sometimes we just need a reason.
Some of the best cartoons to come out of the 1930’s were
done by 2 of my favorite animators, Max and Dave Fleischer. Their cartoons have
fluency to them; the images seem to roll by like waves. They are really a joy
to watch. And, of course, the best ones were always the feature length cartoons
mimicking some literary character or story. Some of those cartoons are satire,
art and just plain old cartoons rolled into one. “Sinbad the Sailor” with Popeye
is one which immediately springs to mind in this regard. And so does this one, “Aladdin
and His Wonderful Lamp”, which is based upon the tale in “The Book of One
Thousand and One Arabian Nights”
Popeye, playing Aladdin, is in a struggle to obtain the hand
of a beautiful Princess, played by Olive Oyl; this is the basic plot of almost
every Popeye cartoon; and involves an evil sorcerer who lures our hero to a cave
in order to obtain a magic lamp. Popeye gets the lamp, but just as the evil
sorcerer is about to steal the lamp from him, trapping Popeye in the cave, he
drops the lamp.
Popeye rubs the lamp and the genie appears, granting him a
wish. Popeye wishes to get out of the cave and claim Olive Oyl as his true
love. But the sorcerer has other plans and kidnaps her, leaving Popeye in a
tight bind. When the sorcerer sends monsters to thwart the true love Popeye
feels for Olive Oyl, the game is on. And with a little luck, a genie, and a can
of Spinach to help him, the outcome is almost certain from the start.
In this 1936 Max Fleischer production Betty is invited to
Grampy's for a party. Joining Ms. Boop
are two workmen, a fireman and also a police officer, all of whom she attracts along
the way. After all, she was sort of a party girl.The results are exactly what you would expect; and along with some tongue in cheek visual humor,
and a bit of typical Max Fleischer ingenuity; the cartoon is a delight
and everything works out in the end.
Even though this cartoon is in black and white, you can tell by the fluidity of motion that this is a Max and Dave Fleischer production. This is one of the many Betty Boop cartoons which were banned for a time, due to perceived racial streotypes, as well as drug abuse. I don't really see it in this one, so maybe someone can point it out to me.
This is the 16 minute and 39 second Max Fleischer classic from 1936. In addition to the dialogue, the songs are pretty funny. And Popeye has never been in better form than he is here when vanquishing the two headed giant. My daughter Sarah and I used to watch this one on VCR, and it was always funny. It also features Popeye singing the entire theme song somewhere in the later part of the first half. This is a great cartoon, so enjoy it; with or without a child.
I'm considering posting an old classic cartoon each Saturday. The response to the Christmas related cartoons I posted was very positive, so I'm thinking of doing this regularly. It really serves two purposes; I get a day off, and the grandkids can enjoy some of the things I watched as a kid. If nothing else, it will at least expose them to the unique quality of these old classics.
This cartoon was released just in time for the World's Fair in 1939, which was held in Flushing, New York. That same site was later used for the World's Fair in 1964-65. Also of interest is that this is another solo effort on the part of Max Fleischer, who along with his brother Dave, produced the oldest, and still the best, of the Popeye features during the 1930's. Enjoy the cartoon; it's a nice break from reality; while I think of something to post tomorrow!
I just wanted to end the year out on a fun note, so here's Popeye going out to celebrate New Year's Eve with Olive's grandmother in tow. This is one of Max Fleischer's solo efforts, although his brother Dave did direct it. They are among the best of the Popeye cartoons, with their brief, but barbed statements, always delivered in such a tone as to make the viewer need listen more carefully, lest he miss the joke. Have a safe New Year's Eve, whatever you are doing. See you tomorrow, or next year, if you prefer!
I thought I would post a few cartoons from Christmas past in the weeks leading up to the holiday. I always loved these old classic cartoons, and this one is a great example of the quality of the animation being produced in the 1930's. Max and Dave Fleischer were two of the best. They often worked separately on various projects, though their best works are probably the collaborations they produced with the Popeye cartoons. But this is a wonderful little story about an orphanage on Christmas morning. I hope that you enjoy it.
