Columbia’s Musical “Gems” – 1935-36

The 1935-36 season was good for Columbia Pictures. The features were holding up very nicely, Columbia not merely basking in the past honors of the Oscar for It Happened One Night. The budget Westerns were holding their own, and the two-reel comedy shorts were doing very well. One can only wonder what the exhibitors were saying about the cartoons, which also continued to improve in artistic skill, and were moving into three-strip Technicolor. Columbia even snagged a recognizable property from King Features for these shorts, though, thanks to contract provisions providing for the destruction of prints after their showings, we are not likely to see any of them with color or sound. The property was ‘Barney Google”, also featuring early appearances of the character who would essentially take over the popularity of the strip – Snuffy Smith. These prints exist only in black and white 16mm or 8mm home movie prints. We may never know for sure if the old song penned after the character ”Barney Google”, was actually used on the soundtracks. The proud lady had no reason to be ashamed of the best of these cartoons.

A Happy Family (9/27/35) – Krazy Kat gets a telegram stating that a bunch of kinfolk are coming over. They all arrive in the same car, which we would today call a clown car. Before KK knows it, there’s dozens if not scores of relatives, raising the very devil inside his house, and eventually burning it down. KK winds up trying to move into the doghouse, but the dog won’t “move it on over” and ejects Krazy from the domicile. She has enough problems, with an endless line of pups. Song: “A Happy Family”, a melody repeated from “The Peace Conference” with a somewhat different lyric than before.

Bon Bon Parade (10/10/35) – A waif, dressed up in hand-me-down clothing, looks longingly inside a confectionary shoppe, where all kinds of sweets are on display. A cupid tells the waif that he can grant him a wish, and the waif, after thinking a while, wishes to live in Candy Town forever. The cupid shrinks the waif down to appropriate size, and he is conveyed to Candy Town on a candy train with peppermint wheels and a soda fountain interior cab, where a pageant is being prepared for his viewing. Among the pageant’s participants are “Cupid’s stooges” – giving the animation department a chance to tip its hat to three knockabout entertainers who were taking the studio by storm – Larry, Moe, and Curley. Even Santa Claus gets into the act, looking like he’s made out of Jello. (Question: Does Santa Claus come in six delicious flavors?) The film ends with a fireworks free-for-all, that displays virtually every paint in the studio’s new radiant three-strip Technicolor palette, and even leaves the moon dizzy. Though obviously derivative of Disney’s prior film. “The Cookie Carnival”, thus nougat marked an impressive break from the mundane limitations of the two-strip color process, and demonstrated that Mintz was ready to battle his bigger rivals head-to-head. Songs: An entire suite of originals, including “Candy Town”, “The Peppermint Express”, “Bon Bons on Parade”. “We’re the Little Cupids”, and “We Are Cupid’s Stooges”. No known recordings, though if this cartoon had gotten later and better distribution, the songs might have made an interesting extended play EP 45.

Kannibal Kapers (12/27/35) – Delightful in its political incorrectness. Krazy Kat washes up on a cannibal island, full of genuine colored natives (accept no substitutes). Their native village includes a night club – the Cocoa Nut Grove. Lots of dancing and hot music. No sign of a cooking pot or a threatened missionary in sight. Ultimately, Krazy’s interference with the orchestra manages to get him ejected from the island as swiftly as he came in. Song: “Umbaa Umbaa”, an original hot scat piece sounding very much like some of the mock-trumpet work of the Mills Brothers. The piece was so good, De Nat would save it for reuse at an even hotter tempo in the later color masterpiece, Swing, Monkey, Swing.

Scrappy’s Boy Scouts (1/2/36) – Scrappy is leading a troop of boy scouts to a Jamboree, Oopie wants to join up, but is evaluated by Scrappy as not their type. Along comes a storm, and Oopie, leading his own brigade of alley cats, winds up saving the day. Oopie is rewarded by being allowed to join the troop, and ends the cartoon with a straight reading of the boy scout pledge. A prestige project for the studio, originally presented with the boy scout seal of approval on the credits in place of Scrappy’s face. Song: “Tramp Tramp Tramp”, presented with a new set of custom lyrics, probably by the writer of the cartoon.

The Bird Stuffer (2/1/36) – Krazy Kat is a taxidermist, who has a store complete with samples of his work. A tough yegg of a cat comes in, wanting Krazy to stuff a fish and make it look like a bird, threatening Krazy with pulverization if he doesn’t have the job done within ten minutes. Krazy’s dog grabs the fish, and a chase ensues. Krazy gets conked on the noggin, and dreams that he is being placed on trial by the animals he has stuffed. The tough yegg is the judge, and tells the other animals to give him “da voiks.” Another chase ensues before we can find out anything about what “da woiks” is, and we never do, as Krazy wakes up, and gives the tough yegg his fish back – in his face. The yegg leaves, slamming the front door, which causes glass that had shattered in an earlier slam to pop back up into place. Songs: “I Stuff, Stuff, Stuff”, an original, and “I Ain’t Gonna Stuff No More”, a new lyric set to “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo’‘.

Doctor Bluebird (2/5/36) – This cartoon has the makings of one of those cloying, saccharine episodes which Disney could handle with class but which always came out looking so fake from any other producer. However, the saccharine stuff is mitigated by an emphasis on gags. Scrappy (a rare color appearance) is weeping, and almost gives out with a couple of sneezes, laid up in the house with a busted leg instead of getting out to enjoy the beautiful spring day. The bluebirds have migrated back for spring, and decide to administer to Scrappy various treatments, primarily with cheer-up entertainment, but also including their own version of ultraviolet-ray therapy. It seems to work, and Scrappy is able to free himself of a crutch, and to go out and play. Songs: one whose first line is “The Bluebirds Are Happy and Gay” (Don’t get any ideas,) The other tune is “Spread a Little Sunshine”, which sounds like they could have made a stab at trying to make it a popular hit, though as usual no recordings are known.

Scrappy’s Pony (2/27/36) – Scrappy and Oopie are playing cowboys and Ondians in the living room. Oopie’s arrow shot causes Scrappy to stumble, busting a broomstick he has converted into use as a fake hobby horse, and depriving Scrappy of his mount. However, the situation seems to be instantly remedied by a delivery of a large package addressed to Scrappy in Hollywood, California (presumably a gift from his fan club?) The crate includes a real live pony. Scrappy jumps into the saddle, telling Oopie that now he’ll see some real fancy riding. However, the pony won’t sit for having Scrappy in the saddle, and throws him. Oopie discovers the pony’s weakness – a hankering for sugar cubes – and is accepted willingly as a rider by the pony in return for the favor. Scrappy tries again himself, but is still thrown, until he catches on, and loads his sombrero with sugar cubes. Both kids are finally accepted as riders, and name their pet “Sugar”, for obvious reasons. They take their pony to bed at night, but the pony pushes both of them off the sides of the bed, hogging the mattress for himself and pulling up the covers, ending the cartoon with a wink to the audience. Song: “Sugar, Sugar” – not to be confused with anything sung by Ron Dante (lead singer of The Archies), sung in cutesie manner by the kids and the Rhythmettes as they name the steed.

L’il Ainjil (3/19/36) – This cartoon was an attempt to do Krazy Kat in the manor of George Herriman. It must have puzzled a lot of folks that were unfamiliar by this time with the look of the original comic strip, including many exhibitors. Offissa Pupp and Mrs. Kwakk Wakk encounter Ignatz Mouse in his usual favorite activity – tricking Krazy to insert her head through a hole, where Ignatz has a carnival booth set up to toss bricks at her, including a rapid-fire automatic brick launcher. When Pupp comes around the front of the booth, Ignatz has restacked his brick supply into the shape of a Christmas chimney, and wears a fake Santa beard and hat, posing as accepting donations for an Xmas fund. Gullible Pupp tosses a donation into the chimney before finally catching on. Ignatz is led away and locked in the Kokonino jail, but with the help of tools provided by Krazy through the window, attempts to execute a jail break. He causes major damage to the jailhouse, releasing another convict from his cell below. The convict accosts Mrs. Kwakk Wakk, but Ignatz becomes a hero, using his automatic brick launcher to instantly build a new jail around the culprit. Pupp releases Ignatz from his cell and shakes hands with him, but Ignatz can’t resist the old urge of tossing a brick at Krazy, and the chase from Pupp is on again. Song: “Kokonino”, an original sung by Pupp and Kwakk Wakk, with Pupp given a sort of Popeye voice for his low-register notes.

NEXT TIME: More from 1936.