Sunday, December 25, 2011

BoxOffice, December 25, 1943






Yowp / Fibber Fox has provided the following:

BOXOFFICE DEC. 25 1943


Pg. 42

20th-Fox Release Dates On 13 Short Subjects

New York—Titles and release dates of 13 short subjects to be released in the first quarter of 1944 were announced by Tom J. Connors, 20th-Fox vice-president of worldwide distribution. Three March of Time releases, untitled as yet, are included.

The complete list follows: “The Butcher of Seville,” Terrytoon,. January 7; “Leathernecks

on Parade,” “Movietone Adventure,” January 14; “The Heliocopter,” [sic] Terrytoon,

January 21; untitled March of Time, January 28; “Realm of Royalty,” Magic Carpet,

February 4; “The Wreck of the Hesperus,” Terrytoon, February 11; “Silver Wings,” Movietone Adventure, February 18; an untitled March of Time, February 25; “A Day in June,” Terrytoon, March 3; “Steamboat on the River,” Magic Carpet, March 10; “The Champion of Justice,” Terrytoon, March 17; untitled March of Time, March 24, and “Sails Aloft,” Movietone Adventure, March 31.


Pg. 59

Disney Making Films In Seven Languages

The Tower of Babel had little on the Walt Disney Studio. Taking advantage of the present market situation and looking ahead to the planting of the Allied flags on enemy-occupied countries, Disney’s foreign language department is working on Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Italian and French versions of a select list of pictures.

Prior to the war, Disney produced as many as ten foreign language versions of his releases. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” which RKO will release after the first of the year, had ten different language versions. The field is one that has been thoroughly explored by the studio and because there is no time limitation on its productions, the distribution residue offers tremendous possibilities. More than half the Disney revenue formerly came from the foreign market.

As production progresses on “The Three Caballeros,” the new musical feature now in work, Spanish and Portuguese scripts are being prepared, with Italian and French versions to follow.

The Russian-dubbed version of “Der Fuehrer’s Face” has been completed and attention now is being devoted to “Bambi,” which has been scheduled next for release in the Soviet Republic.

Saludos Amigos,” which has been issued in all the Latin-American republics, is to be dubbed in Swedish, Italian and French.

The Swedish language version of “Bambi” recently opened in Stockholm to the biggest business of any Disney feature since “Snow White.”

Two pictures in the “Goofy” series, “How to Play Football” and “Tiger Trouble,” are being readied for Spanish and Portuguese versions, as is “The Good Samaritan,” a special featuring Pluto, the Pup and Mammy.

Other productions will be added to the list as facilities permit.


Animated, Inc., to Produce Live-Action Film Inserts

Cartoon Producer Dave Fleischer and Walter Colmes, independent producer, have taken out articles of Incorporation for Animation, Inc., company which will produce animated inserts for live-action films. Fleischer is president, and Colmes vice-president of the new enterprise.


Pg. 60

STUDIO PERSONNELITIES

Briefies

GEORGE PAL has purchased an original story idea entitled “The Big Rock Candy Mountain,” from Jack Miller and assigned Miller to do the screenplay. Briefie, to be filmed in Technicolor, will star the Puppetoon character, “Rusty.”


Showmandiser, Pg. 5

Star-Giggle Revue Features Cartoons

Dallas—Theatres of the Interstate circuit, particularly neighborhood houses, have made sizeable records in the last two years by putting on advertised extra cartoon shows. In her regular bulletin, Shorts, Interstate’s shorts booker, Mrs. Besa Short, suggests copy for herald or lobby in playing up groups of cartoons instead of the feature picture.

Headed “Star and Giggle Revue Programme,” the cartoon titles and the performers, such as Red Hot Ridinghood, Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny, are listed in regular program form, underneath which are the words, “plus selected feature.”

Following this is copy, “It’s here at last. It’s the show you waited for. Original Hollywood studio cast, famous five stars, all in one big fun show. Blank Theatre, date.”

Friday, December 23, 2011

128 Baby Puss



Title: Baby Puss
Studio: MGM
Date: 12/25/43
Credits:
Directed by
William Hanna
and
Joseph Barbera
Animation
Kenneth Muse
Ray Patterson
Irven Spence
Pete Burness
Music
Scott Bradley
Produced by
Fred Quimby
Series: Tom and Jerry
Running time (of viewed version): 7:57
Commercial DVD Availability: TJSCv1d1

Synopsis: The humiliations of being a cat dressed as a baby.





















Comments: Silhouette title card. Headless girl. Baby Snooks style kinda sorta? Tom speaks (in deep manly baby talk). Jerry speaks in more of a baby baby talk. Cross dressing burlesque Jerry. Should've been titled "Quimby is Burning." Deals with masculinity and tranvestism and infantilism. Little cat ends up dressed in a Carmen Miranda outfit as well. Off screen butt stabbing. Goldfish in the pants. Too close in time to be a Cleo/Figaro reference. South American style song. Jerry gets castor oiled too, so it's mutually assured destruction all around, which is funnier than one sided destruction. Jerry as a woman bather.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

127 Eggs Don't Bounce


Title: Eggs Don't Bounce
Studio: Famous
Date: 12/24/43
Credits:
by Marge
from
The Saturday Evening Post
Direction
I. Sparber
Story by
Carl Meyer
Jack Mercer
Jack Ward
Aniation
Nick Tafuri
Joe Oriolo
Tom Golden
John Walworth
Musical Arrangement
Sammy Timberg
Scenics
Robert Little
Series: Little Lulu
Running time (of viewed version): 8:52
Commercial DVD Availability: -

Synopsis: Adventures in egg obtaining.


















Comments: Extensive credits, but tv versions. To cover the theme song I guess. Eyes to mouth. Very unfortunate mammy in this, with retro inverse-Homer muzzle. Late in the game for such a throwback design. Due to Marge's own character designs? Bunch of tandom (ed.: I think I meant random, not tandem) opening gags. Then the egg section. I think Lulu does not look as good as Little Audrey. Kinda like Olive Oyl and Charlie Brown's kid. Interesting surreal section. Santa appearance. Lulu does in fact speak. Very long, without much content. Very late Chaplin reference. Little Lulu in black face (and ethnic accent). Oof. Lulu seems like she has no emotions most of the time. Blank eyes and usually no mouth. Eggs apparently came in a sack in 1943. I thought people used baskets. Egg based Veronica Lake caricature. Devil eggs as a visual pun?

Monday, December 19, 2011

126 Little Red Riding Rabbit



Title: Little Red Riding Rabbit
Studio: WB
Date: 12/18/43 (see issues below)
Credits:
Supervision
I. Freleng
Animation
Manuel Perez
Story
Michael Maltese
Voice Characterization
Mel Blanc
Musical Direction
Carl W. Stalling
Series: Merrie Melodies / Bugs Bunny
Running time (of viewed version): 7:04
Commercial DVD Availability: LTGCv2d1

Synopsis: Red Riding Hood story ends up turning against an odd Red.















Comments: Why does the FBI warning on LTGCv1 look they ripped it off from from a public access channel? I've always liked the song ("The 5 o'clock whistle is on the blink, the whistle won't blow and waddya think, my papa's still in the factory, cause he don't know what time it happens to be"). Red comes from the Tina Fey/Sarah Palin phenotype. Her clothing comes from the Superman collection. Bea voice again. That's a green housecoat. Grandma appears to live in Knight's Steakhouse. Knight's Steakhouse, serving Ann Arbor since some fool time in the past. Odd thing about Red's hood; to accommodate her hairstyle, it's a separate cap in this cartoon. Grim faces carved into the woodwork. Jumpy fire like in Puss n' Booty. Bugs silhouette in wolf's frock, followed by wolf silhouette. Everyone's teeth keep sticking out in this cartoon. Wolf and Bugs dislike Red. Red's happy song belies a pretty grim forest. Bugs doesn't seem like he should have a reason to hate Red, but then again he _is_ being delivered in a food basket by her. Big ears is followed by French. A specific Frenchmen with big ears being referenced? Charles Boyer? Breaking the last straw joke for the Red interruption is good because it avoids both an obvious joke and a pun.

This was not originally on my list; it shows up in LTMM as 1/4/44. I'm erring on the side of caution by including it here with its OMAM and (at least some) BoxOffice date. This is the last WB cartoon for the year. Unless it's actually in the next year. Then it was either Puss N Booty or Rumors, and it's unclear exactly what day Rumors came out. And of course there could always be some other issue that hasn't come out to me regarding dates. But in the general count, this is the last WB cartoon I'm covering right now for '43.

edit: Yowp provided the following image of a newspaper ad from December 23, 1943 from Hamilton, Ohio (for a Xmas and following showing) on Facebook. Thanks, Yowp.