1943 Number: 051
Title: Greetings Bait
Studio: Warner Bros.
Date: 05/15/43
Credits:
Series: Merrie Melodies (on a Blue Ribbon rerelease)
Running time (of viewed version): 6:55
Commercial DVD Availability: Action In the North Atlantic DVD (Humphrey Bogart: The Signature Collection, Vol. 2)
Synopsis: Man's worm goes deep, ends up with a crab issue.
Comments: Man hands. On a man; to be fair, the worm also has fairly manny hands for a worm. And an ethnicity in voice and facial hair. Throwback to Goofy and Wilbur, amongst other worm's eye view cartoons (including the 1939 Scrappy cartoon "Worm's Eye View"). There's a dopey fish that looks alot like Lantz's Sugarfoot. The worm adds insult to injury. Worm in mermaid drag. Crab eyes on stalks are exotic for cartoons. The shot with the two different eye views is a cool idea. Water FX overlays frequently. I'm fairly sure the man is a specific caricature, along with the "Ah yes" tagline. Background item behind mermaid worm looks like a breast.
That wrinkled drawing always stood out when watching this cartoon. Are there any other examples of WB cartoons with an object physically altered like this?
ReplyDeleteThe man is indeed a specific caricature: the comedian Jerry Colonna, who was known primarily for his long association with Bob Hope including his USO shows until about 1965. Ah yes was one of his catch phrases as was "Greetings Gate..." followed by some line that rhymed with "gate." Facially Colonna was known for his big eyes and his huge mustache. The worm is also a Colonna caricature.
ReplyDeletejoecab, the technique was the use of a "ripple glass" placed in front of the lens. Disney had one made a great expense for "Pinnochio". WB seems to have gone a cheaper route for shorts like this one (and "Hare Ribbin'"), apparently just smearing a gel or clear epoxy on an ordinary pane of glass.
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