{"id":68078,"date":"2021-10-26T00:01:21","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T07:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/?p=68078"},"modified":"2021-10-26T18:22:53","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T01:22:53","slug":"1931-32-talkartoons-give-us-more-betty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/1931-32-talkartoons-give-us-more-betty\/","title":{"rendered":"1931-32 Talkartoons: Give Us More Betty!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Small change of plans. We\u2019ll hold off on the last Screen Songs<\/em> of the season until after dealing with the Talkartoons, then find an appropriate place to drop them in. Well into the 1931-32 season, it was becoming clear that Betty Boop was the star of the Talkartoon series, I wonder how much of a surprise this was to Max and Dave. I\u2019d like to imagine that they were not displeased. But te past was notentirely abandoned, with Koko appearing occasionally as a sidekick, and Bimbo continuing toappear semi-rehularly, although also generally reduced from star to sidekick status. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We begin with an advertising film, for which I am unaware of a precise release date. Step On It<\/strong> (circa 1031) appears to be its original title from trades, although some sources now refer to it as Hurry, Doctor<\/em>. Paramount pictures was quite willing to let Fleischer take commercial gigs. He did two films for Texaco Oil, of which this is one (the other may not have turned up), and earlier had produces Finding His Voice<\/em> for Western Electric, and In My Merry Oldsmobile<\/em> for Oldsmobile Motors. Texaco was well on its way to becoming a national brand, and would be even more well known the next year, when it began sponsoring broadcasts on NBC Red Network, featuring Ed Wynn as the Fire Chief. Our film protagonist (using an early design for Bimbo, also seen in The Robot<\/em>, discussed below) does not want to get out of bed in the morning. His cuckoo clock and his cat are telling him he\u2019s going to be late. His date is sitting on her stoop, wondering where he is. When he finally arouses, he tries to get his car started, but every time he winds the crank, the car deflates completely. Bimbo kicks Lizzie around, and Lizzie begins crying and acting quite ill. Bimbo calls a doctor and says that Lizzie is dyung. The doctor hurries out to see his sick \u201cpatient\u201d. Once the doc realizes what is happening, he gives Lizzie an elixir that gives her a new-found pep. Advertising hard sell is trimmed out of existing prints, so that we arenot told what the elixir was (although one would suspect it to be either Fire Chief gas, Havoline motor oil, or some gasoline additive). The hero finally meets his girl (possibly after taking a swig of the elixir himself, and they go out riding. Songs include \u201cOh, How I Hate to Ger Up in the Morning\u201d; \u201cFuneral March for a Marionette\u201d (which would become the theme for the Alfred Hitchcock show), recorded in early versions by the Vienna Quartet for Victor in 1910, and Columbia Symphony Orcestra in the late teens; \u201cA Peach of a Pair\u201d, best known from versions by Gus Arnheim with Russ Colombo vocal for Victor, and by Fred Rich on Okeh et al. with Smith Ballew vocal and Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang on guitar.<\/p>\n