010 Spinach Fer Britain

Title: Spinach Fer Britain
Studio: Famous
Date: 01/22/33
Credits:
Direction
I. Sparber
Animation:
Jim Tyer
Abner Kneitel
Story:
Carl Meyer
Series: Popeye
Running time (of viewed version): 6:17
Commercial DVD Availability: Popeye v3

Synopsis: Popeye is taking spinach to Britain on a wooden vessel, and encounters a u-boat problem.













Comments: That's a bold, memorable, Ed Roth-will-steal-it set of lettering on the word Popeye. Too bad the enemy isn't always Bluto; a uboat full of Blutos would be funny; that would have torched the character for their ability to use him in the future, or to ever make him not the worst possible guy for the duration of the war tho. Significant reuse of animation. simplified backgrounds, objects and characters. Lots of short musical phrases, mostly very similar, too much on the nose. This has none of the benefits of Famous or Fleischer cartoons; I think this is the first time in my blogging that I've actually been disappointed with a cartoon. Popeye looks terrible, the explosions look terrible, it doesn't feel very effective as propaganda.

009 The Vitamin G Man

Title: The Vitamin G-Man
Studio: Columbia
Date: 01/22/43 (2/5 in Boxoffice)
Credits:
Produced by Dave Fleischer
Direction
Paul Sommer
John Hubley
Story
Jack Cosgriff
Animation
Jim Armstrong
Music
Ed Kilfeather
Series: Phantasy
Running time (of viewed version): 6:26
Commercial DVD Availability: -

Synopsis: Detective school finals.














Comments: Title cel over the opening shot. Opens with a very long truck in, to a silhouette shot. Quite interesting. Tons of background imagery. The images are cartoony, in a "I couldn't quite tell you where from" sort of way; it occurs to me that this may simply be '43 era Columbia style, and I just haven't had enough familiarity to pigeon hole it before. Audio sounds oddly recorded. Test taker sounds like the pimply teen from the Simpsons. Reference to tires being hard to find may be the only war reference. This feels more manic and unplanned than Columbia's '39 output. Lots of bodies fall when doors open; it doesn't translate well to screencaps. There's a bad/confusing joke based on the text "when foul(fowl) play is suspected, look for the X", then finding the -eggs-. Characters and backgrounds are nice; shame about the story.

BoxOffice, January 16, 1943

You can do better than this garbled version at
http://www.boxofficemagazine.com/the_vault/page_thumbnails?issue_id=1943-1-16
Feel free to post better versions of the garbled text in the comments. Perhaps the garbling will guide you...
BoxOffice January 16, 1943

p19 "Columbia has 100 single reel subjects. 30 double reels and four serials. The singles are: America Sings. Kate Smith, 8: Dave Fleischer Color Rhapsodies, 16: Columbia Phantasies, cartoons, 16: Famous Bands."

(additional lists like this on this page)

p36

"Vastly Reduced Loss Shows In Disney Income Report

Income report
for
the
fiscal
Walt Disney Producyear ended Oct. 3."

"Walt Disney Produc


"Fantasia" and "Bambi" Russian Release Set Walt Disney has signed a deal with Amborg Trading Russian Corp., official agency, for the distribution in U.S.S.R. of his feature-length cartoons, "Fantasia" and "Bambi." G. Irsky negotiated for Amborg."

p41: Paul Terry, producer of Terrytoons, released by 20th-Fox, was a visitor to

the "Hello, Frisco, Hello"

set.

He

is

flanked by Jack Oakie and June Havoc."

p47
"Academy Releases the Shorts Award Rules

Producers and distributors of short subjects have been sent notification of rules governing short subjects competition for the fifteenth annual Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards. There will be three classifications: Cartoons and other animation photography of inanimate objects, whether in color or black and white; shorts of 1,000 feet length or less; shorts between 1,000 and 3,000 feet in length."

p47
"Johnston

Is

Elected

By

Publicity Directors

John LeRoy Johnston, publicity chief for Hunt Stromberg, was named chairman

of the publicity directors of the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers, at a luncheon meeting presided over by John C. Flinn, executive secretary of the organization. William Hebert. publicity head for Samuel Goldwyn, was elected vice-chairman, and Joe Reddy, of Walt Disney studios, secretary. "

p48
"Disney Report Shows

$202,176 Gain in '42

The annual report of Walt Disney Productions for the fiscal year ended Oct. 3. 1942, shows a profit, after all charges but before provision for losses on inventories, of $308,930.50. as compared with a profit of $210,702.94 in the preceding fiscal year. After providing $500,000 for loss on the company's inventories, the loss for the year amounted to $191,069.50. as compared with a loss of $789,297.06 after providing a $1,000,000 reserve in the preceding fiscal

year."

p48
"The Office and Cartoonists

Guilds Enter

The Screen
...

Office Employes Guild and the Screen Cartoonists Guild have affiliated themselves with the Los Angeles Central Labor Council as a result of the American Federation of Labor's apparent tabling of a request for establishment of a Hollywood AFL labor council. The SOEG delegates to the Los Angeles council have already been named, with the Cartoonists guild set to elect its representatives at its next general membership meeting."

p48
"New Puppetoon Stage

George Pal, producer of the Puppetoon shorts released by Paramount, has added another sound stage to his studio. Latest Technicolor Puppetoon to get under way is "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.""

after p48...
"You'll probably be hearing about a new dance called the "Saludos Samba." Based on the Brazilian dance in Walt Disney's "Saludos Amigos," it has already been officially

effectively used, houetted figure

ow

attaining

and shaddr am at ic

prominence.

adopted by N. Y. Society Teachers

for

local

of Dancing. May be a pointer theatre exploitation in this."


p95?
"Under the arrangement news follows the introductory frames, then follow a good musical cartoon, a war subject and an informative subject. The "finis" part of the reels is cut, leaving a momentary "blackout" between the subjects. At the end this is flashed on the screen: "The End Watch for Our Next Plaza Variety

. . .

Hour.""

"How TO FIsh
Disney
Good. Any Disney subject has a follow and this one no doubt will be well received. An off-stage narrator puts Goofy through the throes of a desire to go fishing and he tries to test the directions he finds in a book. The scenes shift from the book to crazy fishing stunts. He sneaks up on the fish by falling into the lake: gets tangled in his line and an outdoor motor and loses his clothes: does a La Conga with fish. and finally gets mixed up with a tree.

for a spring release when anglers are beginning to test their reels in anticipation of the season's opening."

"Pluto at the Zoo

Bellboy Donald

RKO

Excellent.

RKO

7



(Disney)

8

Mins.


(Disney)

Mins.

Donald Duck always hand with an audience before he

gets a starts

Mirthful. Pluto spots a bone in a lion's cage and goes in after it. He digs his way out and finds himself in a kangaroo's cage. From there he escapes to an ape's en-"

1943 Cartoon Showing (Willoughby's Magic Hat). Detroit

January 28 and 29, the Redford Theatre in Detroit is showing Arsenic and Old Lace. They are also advertising that they are showing Willoughby's Magic Hat, which will come up at numbered entry 45 in this blog. So you might want to go see it. I likely will not have time, unfortunately.

http://redfordtheatre.com/movie/

008 Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs

Title: Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs
Studio: Warner Bros.
Date: 01/16/43
Credits:
Supervision
RObert Clampett
Story by ....
Warren Foster
Animation
Rod Scribner
Musical Direction
Carl W. Stalling
Series: Merrie Melodies
Running time (of viewed version): 7:34
Commercial DVD Availability: -

Synopsis: The story of Snow White is retold with an all black cast on a wartime footing.






























Comments: Traditionally, Coal Black is thought of as a lightning rod cartoon, due to it probably being the best made cartoon of WB's Censored 11, and it being full of racial caricature, leading to the censoring. But really, in the 15 days preceding it, Jasper and the Choo Choo and Cow Cow Boogie both came out, with similarly offensive racial caricatures, along with three extremely war based xenophobic Disney cartoons. "Let's slaughter some Germans" and additional racial caricatures (including a cartoon based on dice) from the time certainly lessen the shock the cartoon might offer if played only with your Bugs Bunny favorites. I think there's a good chance the missing Terrytoon Somewhere in the Pacific is missing for Censored 11 type reasons, just regarding the Japanese, but Terry or CBS ended up doing a much more effective job in destroying the work than WB did with this cartoon.

Open with a kerchiefed mammy and a young pigtailed child, both standard Hollywood depictions of blacks, but a little dated for Hollywood by the time, as I understand it. Mammy Two Shoes was still in Tom and Jerry, but the type was on the outs, certainly in a kerchief, in live action. The animation is also strangely realistic. The rich queen has treasure, but also tires, sugar and coffee. The Japanese had cut off American access to natural rubber, which was the source of tires at the time, making tires a valuable commodity. Gasoline rationing was supposedly intended actually to conserve rubber/tires, not gasoline. I'm not sure of the reasons behind sugar and coffee rationing off hand. The queen's symbol is two crossed razor blades with dice on either side; not exactly progressive, but then she is an evil queen. Queen might be Mel Blanc. The prince's musical horn plays "Who's A Horse's Ass". Tire scarcity is brought up in the tire made of shoes on the prince's car. Dice show up again in his teeth.

Remember, the lead's actual name is So White. She sings a bit of Blues in the Night. The song was popular enough they sung it consistently on Jack Benny for awhile; I took to singing it for a time as I kept being exposed to it while listening to those Bennys a few years ago. I ended up getting a bad sunburn on my legs; it eventually began to peel; I began to sing it as "My momma done tol' me, when I was in skin pants"; and now that lyric has a chance to repeat itself in your head whenever you hear the song. Good luck with that.

In addition to the racial caricatures, the cartoon is notable for a sexy main character, who has done a lot of influencing of cartoon girl designs in the last few years, at least in some circles. There's an anti Japanese bit, making this less free of the war based ethnic hating than Sufferin' Cats or Jasper and the Choo Choo. Some in front of the moon silhouettes. She "kissed" her way out of death, which, to be fair, is probably how Snow White saved her life off screen in the feature. The dwarfs have a razor at the end of their bayonet. The dwarfs have black face designs, but do not largely conform to the standard black character types of the time. So White doesn't even have black face, and does not conform to the tragic mulatto or mammy types identified by Donald Bogle (who recently provided remarks for a showing of this cartoon and others from the Censored 11; I'd like to see his remarks if they are out there; please leave a note in the comments if you have a link). Big Citizen Kane "Rosebud" reference. As the queen's possible boyfriend, isn't he kind of like So White's stepfather? The prince arrives in a purple car; like the artist currently known as Prince would. In spite of swallowing the whole apple, a core is next to her.
---
You may want to read my On Race post in the '39 blog. The lay of the land is a little different here, four years on, but it may generally address some concerns some readers may have.

You may also want to read the following for a fairly unemotional argument for the Censored 11 to become available:
http://www.theroot.com/views/free-black-looney-tunes?page=0,0&wpisrc=xs_wp_0005