A Musical Up-Roar 1940-41

During the 1940-41 season, the MGM cartoon units celebrated a match made in cartoon heaven – the teaming of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Hanna had been with MGM since at least 1935, where his best-known work seems to have been writing lyrics for original songs for cartoons. Barbera had come from the East, emigrating from Terrytoons. Paired on Puss Gets the Boot, their cartoons quickly established a certain zing that was not normally associated with MGM product. Their shorts had a small dose of what producer Fred Quimby might later classify as “That Warner Brothers’ rowdyism.” They seemed to like a faster pace that the cutesie Happy Harmonies of a few years earlier. And this was even before Tex Avery came on board. Their influence was quick to spill over to other animators in the studio, providing an overall lift to the product.

Papa Gets The Bird (9/7/41) – Papa Bear is enjoying himself immensely, sleeping in his hammock once again. Mama realizes he hasn’t given their pet canary a bath, so Pop gets saddled with the chore. Pop spends the whole cartoon chasing after the bird, who doesn’t want to bathe, and half the film getting repeatedly dunked himself from falling in the well. Little Wilbur has the last word, asking Mama to clarify an earlier comment: “Mama, what’s an ‘incompoop?” Pap can only find peace by jumping back into the well. Songs: a return for “Sleepy Head”, and an original, “Chirp Chirp, Tweet Tweet”, for Mama’s never-ending sing-song.

Gallopin’ Gals (10/26/41) – Although Hanna and Barbera had already anonymously directed Tom and Jerry’s debut, this film may mark the first time the directorial duo would receive on-screen credit (at least based upon reissue prints, though it is unknown if this was the case in the original copies). It is derby day, and all the fillies are preparing for the big race, including Maggie, a nag that has spirit, determination – and hay fever. A highly stereotypical portrayal of the fillies has them gossiping among themselves, in the manner most males would associate with conversation at a “hen party”. One gorse is voiced in a Mae West impression, while a “Dark Horse” shows up in the middle of the race with southern accent (sounds like Lillian Randolph). Maggie winds up moving from last place to the winner’s cirrcle when a photo finish is called – as the only horse without an ego, while all the others strike their best poses or fuss about their make-up.

Songs: a return for “Camptown Races”. “Blue Moon”, a Rogers and Hart song which kicked around a while before clicking, is also featured It had been intended for Hollywood Party under the title “Prayer”, but was cut. Then, with a new lyric, it was scheduled for Manhattan Melodrama as a title tune, but its lyric was cut again. As “The Bad In Every Man”, it was ultimately performed by Shirley Ross in the film with its third lyric, but went nowhere. Finally, it was released as a pop tune, and became a hit with its fourth lyric. It was recorded by Frank Trumbauer on Victor, Benny Goodman and his orchestra on royal blue Columbia, Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra for Decca, and Coleman Hawkins with Michel Warlop’s Orchestra on HMV (with Django Reinhardt on guitar). Other band versions include Tommy Dorsey on Victor in 1939, and Artie Shaw on Bluebird from the same year. Vocal versions include Frank Parker on royal blue Columbia, Connee Boswell on Brunswick, and Al Bowlly in a New York session on Victor. In later years, there would be a version by Elvis Presley on RCA Victor, and the Marcels giving it the neo-doo-wop treatment on Colpix (a record that inspired Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil to write and perform “Who Put the Bomp in the Bomp Bomp Bomp?”). “Deep Purple”, also included, was originally presented as a concert piece at extended length by Paul Whiteman on a 12′ Victor. Larry Clinton and his Orchestra would score a hit with a vocal rendition of the piece at shorter length by Bea Wain. Jimmy Dorsey covered it on Decca. Dick Todd had a vocal version on Bluebird. The original crooner Bing Crosby kept up, with his own version on Decca. Art Tatum would perform a notable piano solo on Decca. The same label issued a band version by Jan Savitt and his Top Hatters. Ambrose got it on English Decca. Victor Sylvester gave it the strict tempo treatment on Parlophone. Turner Layton (co-writer of “After You’ve Gone”) recorded a vocal on British Columbia. Glenn Miller’s Army Air Corps Band would issue a V-Disc. An organ solo issued on Columbia by Don Baker. The Ravens would give it R&B style on National. The Three Suns performed it for RCA Victor. Ben Light also performed it on Tempo Les Brown issued a 50’s version on Coral. Paul Weston revived it on Capitol. Billy Ward and his Dominos also revived it on Liberty. Finally, a rock and roll hit was scored by April Stevens and Nino Tempo on Atco.

Mrs. Ladybug (12/21/41) – The title character is very much like the old woman in the shoe – the mother of dozens. The family attracts the attention of a spider, who decides to tog up in African-American drag and play the part of a maid. This allows for a gag that plays off the awarding of the Oscar to Hattie McDaniels for “Gone With the Wind”, and perhaps the first use of an Oscar statuette as a prop in a cartoon – which the spider flashes as his credentials for the maid job. Needless to say, the spider does not wind up with baby ladybugs for dinner. Songs: “Old Black Joe”, and an original, “Mrs. Ladybug”, used as exposition and performed by the Rhythmettes.

Abdul the Bulbul Ameer (2/22/41) – A cartoon based on an 1855-era song, about two warriors, one from the Ottoman empire and one from the Russian forces of the Czar. Dutifully, Ivan Scavinski Scavar goes downtown, and treads upon the toe of Abdul. They fight with swords, knives, scimitars, and in the original song wind up quite severely dead. The cartoon takes a different approach, aiming for broad, zany humor, and reducing the combatants to an extended hand-to-hand combat as if in the fight ring. The action gets zanier with the introduction of three roving reporters to cover the fight. One is a dead ringer for Groucho Marx, another seems to resemble Harry Ritz. The third is a question mark – does anyone know who might be being portrayed? A stray bomb placed into a fight whirlwind by Ivan’s Russian comrade sends the two warriors skyward, then down through the ice – where they are frozen inside a resulting wave into an ice monument, commemorating their epic battle. Songs: “Dark Eyes”, a signature song for Russian settings, the most popular vocal version being by Pola Negri on HMV, also released here on Victor. The A&P Gypsies issued a version on Brunswick. Al Bowlly performed an HMV version. Maxine Sullivan gave it a swing vocal with Claude Thornehill’s Orchestra on Vocalion. Jack Teagarden did it for Decca. Tommy Dorsey had his own trombone on Victor (embed below). It was parodied by Spike Jones as “Hotcha Cornia” on Bluebird. The Les Paul Trio would issue a 40’s version on Decca, and also the Gene Kripa Trio would do it on Columbia. Gordon Jenkins received it on Decca. Harry Horlick for MGM. A Liberace version would be sourced from Columbia master, widely distributed as a bank promotional disc. Jan August got it on Diamond. The Ventures modified it to the “Dark Eyes Twist” for Liberty. The cartoon score also includes a motif from the “1812 Overture”. The title song, original called “Abdul Abulbul Ameer”, was popularized by Frank Crumit on Victor. He would re-record the piece for Decca in 1934. He also recorded several sequels, some of which were not released in the United States. These included “The Grandson of Abdul Abulbul Ameer”, released on Victor in 1929, in which the descendants of the combatants meet on the golf course, and “Minnie Scavinski Scavar” released in England on HMV.

The Rookie Bear (5/17/41) – This cartoon starts out in newsreel style, relating to the draft (which was just getting started not long before this film was released). We get to meet the first victim of the draft – the fish who used to live in the fishbowl they now use to draw the numbers. Mr. Bear in the Big North Woods is selected for service, but lured into thinking he has won a vacation. He finds that it’s not a pleasure trip, when he discovers the roar of cannon practice directly over his head. At least he gets his teeth worked on, and his flat feet pumped up like tires with similar apparatus. He receives his uniform, a gun, and a gas mask which is thoroughly tested (by placing a skunk under his nose). It’s a good thing he got his feet worked on, as his first duty is marching. His dogs become hot dogs, and his corns pop like a theater popcorn machine. At this point, Barney awakens from what turns out to be a dream, as a flying fireplace ember burns him through his blanket in bed. However, there is a knock on the door. Another letter from Uncle Sam, this time simply stating, “You’re in”, but adding a post-script: “And thus time, it ain’t no dream.” Songs: “Sleep” written by a certain “Geibel”, but credited as “Lebieg” – Geibel spelled backwards. This became theme song for Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians on Victor, recorded both acoustically and electrically, though the electrical version wasn’t issued until the late 1960’s. Bennie Krueger’s Orchestra covered it on Brunswick. Count Basie revived it in 1945 on Columbia, and Earl Bostic in 1950 on King. In 1960, Little Willie John (who originated the song “Fever”) had a vocal version on King. Also included in the score are the old chestnuts, “You’re In the Army Now”, and “Mess Call”

Dance of the Weed. (6/7/41) – No pop songs, but an original score that was said to be Scott Bradley’s favorite, as it was his instance of laying out a cartoon in the manner Carl Stalling did for original Silly Symphonies – setting up the music first, then timing the action of the cartoon around it. A young male anthropomorphic weed attempts to woo a ballerina flower, in an elaborate ballet in the marshlands. A windstorm blows away the ballerina’s fine petals, and a villain raises its many heads in the form of a snap-dragon. The weed’s intervention saves the sweet young damsel, and she accepts the unattractive weed as her hero and love, as the two are seen only indirectly in the reflections of a pool, in a fond embrace.

The Alley Cat (7/5/41) – A butler is delivering dinner to a pure-bred, pampered pussycat. She has no particular appetite this evening, as it becomes apparent she would prefer to fraternize with some of the local alley cats on the backyard fence. The film is a primer for the introduction of several characters who would later become recurring visitors to the Tom and Jerry world, introducing Toodles (the pampered cat), Butch (the alley cat who woos her), and Spike the bulldog, all in their first appearances. There are some differences, however, as Butch is given a yowling voice that sounds like the studio’s best impression of Donald Duck crossed with Little Quacker. The encounter between the two felines leads to an elaborate chase through the alleys and into the swank apartment where Toodles lives, with both the bulldog and butler in pursuit of the low-class intruder. There is also a Spanish-dance sequence between the cats to the music of a radio, which likely provided inspiration for the Scat Cat dance sequence in Disney’s “The Aristocats”. The apartment is left a shambles, but Toodles and Butch refer to it as “a lovely evening”.

Songs: A return for “La Cucaracha”. “Goodnight My Love”, a pop hit of a few years before, was given by Victor gave it to Benny Goodman, and there are two distinctly different recordings of it. The first borrowed Ella Fitzgerald from Chick Webb’s band. Decca records objected, claiming they had Ella under contract, leading to the issue of a re-recording substituting Frances Hunt for vocal. Both record labels have the anonymous credit, “With Vocal Refrain”. Eventually, peace terms were somehow managed, and the Ella version resurfaced in LP issue. A Victor vocal version went to Jerry Cooper, a Crosby emulator. Brunswick gave it to Hal Kemp, and also issued a vocal version by Alice Faye. Melotone and Perfect had Larry Kent, a West Coast sweet band. There were also British versions by Harry Roy on Parlophone, and Joe Loss on Regal Zonophone.

“That Old Feeling”, from the United Artists picture Vogues of 1938, was recorded by Guy Lombardo on Victor, Shep Fields on Bluebird, Lennie Hayton on Decca, Connee Boswell in a standout vocal on Decca, Dick MacDonough and his Orchestra on Melotone, Perfect, et al., Harry Roy on English Parlophone, Adelaide Hall with Fats Waller on HMV, Roy Fox on HMV, Turner Layton on British Columbia, and later by Peggy Lee on V-Disc, and Count Basie on Columbia, The Capitol Jazzmen (an all-star group) gave it a ride on Capitol, Ella Fitzgerald provided a late vocal on Decca, as did Don Cornell for RCA Victor, Frank Sinatra on Columbia, Vic Damone on Mercury, Eddie Fisher on RCA Victor, and Kurt Taylor on East/West. Artie Shaw did it in a late date on the budget label Bell.

Finally, “Thank You For a Lovely Evening” was recorded by Don Bestor on Victor, Ted Fio Rito on Brunswick, and Joe Reichman on Melotone, Perfect, et al.

The Midnight Snack (Tom and Jerry, 7/19/41) – Our friend the mouse (to be dubbed Jerry) is trying to bring home a wedge of cheese. This attracts the attention of Tom (or is it Thomas) and Mammy Two-Shoes, who winds up in the inevitable position when she sees Jerry, of standing atop a stool and screaming her bloody head off. The chase goes all over the kitchen, leading to a flood of broken crockery, as Jerry sets up a gamut for Tom to run in a slide down an ironing board, and straight into the refrigerator, leaving him appearing to be the one who raided the icebox. Songs: “Sing Before Breakfast”, introduced in Broadway Melody of 1936 by Eleanor Powell and Buddy Ebsen (wearing his Mickey Mouse sweater, embed below). The song seems to have had no recording history in the U.S. (though being briefly adopted as an incidental theme on a Buddy Clark transcribed radio show), but was popular in Europe, versions including Len Bermon (vocalist) on Parlophone, Dino Oliveri on Italian HMV. Larry Adler in a medley from Broadway Melody of 1936 on English Rex, and Goldene Sieben on Electrola. This film would mark Scott Bradley’s first use of this tune when dealing with a combination of Tom, Jerry, and food. It would become a staple he would fall back upon again and again in later episodes of the series.

More 1941, and possibly 1942, next time.