Sunday, July 31, 2011

BoxOffice July 31, 1943

p41

""Walt Disney's film animation of Major Alexander de Seversky's widely-read book. 'Victory Through Air Power,' is an unusual document. More vivid than any text could be, it projects us through present history into a future where warfare has risen completely from the land and sea to make its Major de final decisions in the air alone. Seversky has no time to bother with

P. de Seversky. avi-

ation expert; Dr. Joaquim Pedro Salgado, minister of aeronautics of Braand Walter Gould. UA foreign zil, manager, at a private screening of Walt Disney's "Victory Through Air Poiver" in New York.

HARnisBURG, Pa. Walt Disney's "Victory Through Air Power" was shown Wednesday night at the executive mansion with Gov. Edward Martin and Mrs. Martin as

hosts.
"

p46
"Goeroge Pal Paramount

has purchased Dr. Seuss' book, That I Saw It on Mulberry Street," as one of his Puppetoon productions on the 1943-44 schedule."


p80?
"other exchanges of the country. He ranked second for the country in Disney cartoon bookings and tenth in short subject bookings."

p82
"clude different rides and other novelties and appeals to parents to bring the children. Mention is always made of the cartoon."

p(showmandiser)
"In his promotion of

—Walt Disney

Productions

attractive window displays secured in the luindow of Scribner's, New York, during the run of Walt Disney's current United Artists release, "Victory Through Air Power" at the Globe Theatre. Books about aviation. especially military, featured the display."

Saturday, July 30, 2011

080 Secret Agent



Title: Secret Agent
Studio: Famous
Date: 07/30/43
Credits:
Direction:
Seymour Kneitel
Animation:
Steve Muffati
Otto Feuer
Story:
Carl Meyer
Musical Arrangement:
Sammy Timberg
Series: Superman
Running time (of viewed version): 7:38
Commercial DVD Availability: Image Superman, official DVD, etc.

Synopsis: Superman and a cute blonde spy do their thing.






















Comments: The last Superman cartoon (from Famous, at least). Lightning and surf he may be stronger than, but not production costs and a shifting production house. Clark goes into a building with Drugs in huge letters 2X on it. Structural blonde hair. Fat Hitler? In Metropolis? There's more animation in this than in most of the other Superman cartoons; possibly more than in all the other '43 Superman cartoons combined. Bunch of people being shot. Less impressive backgrounds and designs tho. Car crash is nicely animated. Nice gams on the spy, too. Salute and a flag, and the series is done. Simplified looks, but they can actually show people doing things a bunch of the time. Superman is barely in the cartoon. And he looks all gumpy and weird when he does show. May be in this more than in some other cartoons tho.

Friday, July 29, 2011

079 Victory Vehicles



Title: Victory Vehicles
Studio: Disney
Date: 07/30/43
Credits:
Series:
Running time (of viewed version): 8:05
Commercial DVD Availability: OTFL, Goofy

Synopsis: Pogo sticks replace cars for wartime conservation purposes.




















Comments: Hop on your pogo stick. As with Ration Bored's title card (4 days earlier), the car in the title card has a bunch of stickers. The print on OTFL still cuts off A in the travel exhibit, even on a computer screen. Seems odd. For some reason, an inventor from Breakneck, Long Island is in front of a house with a Spanish tile roof. Basically a blackout gag cartoon. A shop that says "Securities" on it? Some kind of boiler room, I expect. Terrible voices. Exercycle apparently had not been a thig yet. Odd that the people are all Goofy. Not Goofy types; they all seem to be exactly Goofy in different outfits, which is not the case in at least some of the other Goofy cartoons. (This changes once the inventor section is over.) The individuals speaking is possibly pointless; they may only detract. Like a Columbia cartoon. It just kinda ends. The Times Squareish place is cool at the end.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

078 Keep 'Em Growing



Title: Keep 'Em Growing
Studio: Terry
Date: 07/28/43
Credits:
Story by
John Foster
Directed by
Mannie Davis
Music by
Philip A. Scheib
Series:
Running time (of viewed version): 6:30
Commercial DVD Availability: -

Synopsis: The animals keep the farm going instead of making their break for freedom.

























Comments: Some sort of new pro war tune over the credits, as was common for Terry. Cartoon addresses the labor shortage; with so many young men overseas, there weren't enough around to do the local work (in a non-farm context, this led to Rosie the Riveter and such). The cartoon posits that the farm animals can do the farm work. Which I'm sure that pig who will certainly be made into bacon should be happy to do... It's kinda like Slaughterhouse 5 that way; if they work in the fortified syrup factory, they might be able to steal enough to keep themselves alive. Chicken conga. Caterpillar making holes (maybe that's a screw worm?). Cutting corners on the maturing produce animation. Is that a bear or a dog? Still can't show udders, tho they're implied behind a wall. There's a clothed pig, but naked piglets; which is kinda weird. Those are some spaced out chickens being cheered to (they're a background level, but c'mon). The dirty goat plow. Hard to believe this is the same year as the WB cartoons of this year. Little black ducks eating watermelon; racial or no? One shot of the bull has a weird baby face. I would suspect this is a remake; I have trouble believing there aren't a ton of Terrytoons with the animals doing the farming.