The Tale of the Fox (1937)

Though Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is often times called the first animated feature, that statement is actually false. I am not saying this to deny the historical importance of Snow White as that film is still extremely important and an incredible movie, but rather to give attention to what has come before. The Tale of the Fox was the sixth animated feature film released and was released just eight months before Snow White. The animated features before Tale of the Fox were El Apostle, Without a Trace, The Adventures of Prince Achmed, Peludo City, The New Gulliver, and The Adventures of Pinocchio. Tale of the Fox was the first animated feature to come from France.

This film was directed by Ladislas Starevich and Irene Starevich. Ladislas Starevich was one of the greatest pioneers in animation history. He was one of the earliest directors to define animation as an art instead of just a novelty. He worked mostly in stop motion animation, creating such brilliant shorts as The Cameraman's Revenge, The Mascot, The Frogs Who Wanted a King and The Insects' Christmas. The Tale of the Fox is his only animated feature though he did direct a live action feature in 1912 called The Night Before Christmas. Irene Starevich was his wife. It is hard to say how much or what she contributed to this film because she worked on very few films and in all those films she worked with her husband. Other than this movie the other films she co-directed with her husband were The Mascot's Wedding and Fétiche en voyage de noces.

This was completed in 1930, but due to audio problems it would not be released until 1937.

The story of this film centers around a fox named Reynard that tricks other animals and then eats them. This causes the king (a lion obviously) to pass a law saying that animals can not eat other animals (making an exception for himself of course). Reynard does not listen to these orders and the king decides to have the fox arrested (something easier said then done).

This film is quite easily a masterpiece it has a brilliant and very funny sense of dark humor. The animation is downright incredible. It is amazing to think that this is the first feature film to be completely done in stop motion (The New Gulliver featured a mixture of live action and stop motion), because it is so incredibly well done here. The story is great. The pacing is fantastic. Most of all though these characters really come to life on the screen. This film is a great work of art and a fantastic beginning to French animated features.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used
http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/reynard-the-fox-in-animation/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021309/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt
Cartoons: One Hundred Years of Cinema Animation by Giannalberto Bendazzi

-Michael J. Ruhland


   

Meet The Baron (1933)

Like how today movies get made based off TV Shows, back in the 1930's there were movies based off of radio shows. Meet the Baron was based off a comedy radio show about the fictional Baron Munchausen. Jack Pearl, the radio actor for the character was hired here to play the Baron (or at least someone who is believed to be the Baron) for the screen.

This film would be directed by Walter Lang. Walter Lang is a director who is mostly associated with musical films like State Fair, The King and I (the 1956 live action version) There is No Business Like Show Business. One of the writers for this film was Herman Mankiewicz, who is known by film fans today for co-writing Citizen Kane (he was also the father of All About Eve director Joseph Mankiewicz and grandfather of TCM host Ben Mankiewicz). One interesting thing in here is that there is a mule named Rosebud in this. I am not saying this film would have inspired any of Citizen Kane, but it is still an interesting tidbit. On top of this the film has a great cast including Jimmy Durante, Edna May Oliver and Zasu Pitts. Even some great actors appeared in very small roles such as Lionel Barrymore and Leo White.

However what this film is most watched today for is that it includes a group soon to be known as The Three Stooges. At this time they were known as Ted Healy and his Stooges. Ted Healy was originally the boss and leader of the group, yet after some personal problems between them they would separate and the group would become The Three Stooges. Meet the Baron was the first feature film to feature Curly (although he had appeared in some shorts with this team before). Earlier Shemp would appear in these films with Moe, Larry and Ted. However Shemp was not happy with Ted and left the group. Shemp was replaced by his and Moe's younger brother, Curly. However when in 1946 Curly would have a stroke, he would be replaced again by Shemp, who now was willing to be part of the team since they were no longer working with Ted. In this film Curly was credited as Jerry Howard, as his real name was Jerome Howard. This is one of the very few times he would be credited as such.

Curly wasn't the only star to have Meet The Baron as a feature film debut. This was the film debut (not just feature) of  Lynn Bari, who would star in quite a few B-movies including Return of the Cisco Kid and Hotel For Women.

The story begins with the real Baron (played by Henry Koller)and his two assistants (played by Jack Pearl and Jimmy Durante) traveling through the jungle. The Baron discovers they are low on supplies and leaves his assistants out to die. At this time some explorers find the two assistants and mistake one for the Baron (Jack Pearl)and take him and his friend to the U.SA.. The phony Baron must keep up the facade and not be found out.

This film is very entertaining, it has a good sense of humor, a great cast and even a great musical number. Most of all though this film is just good corny, silly fun.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used
The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons by Michael Fleming

Below the Sea (1933)

One thing I love about film is that sometimes a film comes along that is just an unexpected gem. Below the Sea is a great example of this. It may be a cheesy little B movie, but it is definitely a lot of fun. This movie was directed by Albert Rogell, who specialized in directing B pictures. He also directed such films as The Black Cat, In Old Oklahoma, Hit Parade of 1943 and Heaven Only Knows. This film was also the first teaming of Fay Wray and Ralph Bellamy. They would later appear together in Woman in the Dark, Woman in the Shadows, Once to Every Woman and Roaming Lady. Below the Sea was released the same year as Fay Wray's most famous role in King Kong.

The story of this film involves a wealthy woman (played by Fay Wray) who decides to fund and join a sea expedition to search for marine life. However some of the crew has it's sites on a buried treasure. Because if how unprepared she is she gets on the nerves of sea diver McCreary (played by Ralph Bellamy). However the two soon form a romance.

While nothing strikingly original, this film is a lot of fun. The humor is quite good, the characters are very likable, Joseph Walker's cinematography is fantastic, and most of all it is a fast paced fun movie.

For one romantic scene, director Albert Rogell thought it would work better if there were seagulls in the background. Food was put on the ground to attract some. However the seagulls quickly grabbed the food and flew away before the camera stopped rolling. Rogell then got angry and shouted to make the birds fly through one at a time.

Supposedly color footage under the ocean was shot for the film, but it didn't wind up in the finished film for some unknown (at least to me) reason, the film instead is completely in black and white. Critics still praised the black and white undersea cinematography at the time. The movie also became a big box office hit.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Recourses Used
tcm.com/tcmdb/title/68452/Below-the-Sea/articles.html

Any Bonds Today (1942)

Happy Fourth of July everybody. What better way to celebrate the birthday of this great country than with cartoons, and what better cartoons to celebrate it with than Looney Tunes? That is why today we are going to take a look at a short staring Bugs Bunny and made to sell war bonds called Any Bonds Today.

During World War 2, Bugs Bunny was at the height of his popularity. Many historians have stated that they think this is hugely because of two reasons. One of them is that Bugs reflects how America viewed itself at this time. As a nation that didn't want war, but when you messed with it you'd better watch out. This outlook did of course reflect the country during this time as America did not want to enter World War 2, until Pearl Harbor happened. The other reason is that these were not sweet, cute little cartoons and the world was not sweet and cute at they time. I think it is safe to say that another reason was that Bugs Bunny cartoons were very good. Because of this it seemed natural that Bugs would become a symbol of the U.S.A., therefore he was a great candidate to promote war bonds.

Any Bonds Today was not released as a Looney Tunes or a Merrie Melodies short but rather as a stand alone short. The film was directed by Bob Clampett, who directed many fantastic Looney Tunes cartoons and created Tweety and Beaky Buzzard. The song that is sung in this cartoon was written by Irving Berlin, of God Bless America and White Christmas fame. I do not know who all the animators on this film are but the dancing scene was animated by Virgil Ross, and Bugs throwing out war bonds and doing his Al Jolson impression were animated by Robert McKimson.

This short doesn't really have much of a story. Bugs Bunny comes out and starts singing the title song. He is later joined by Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd. Bugs then dons blackface and does an imitation of Al Jolson.

This cartoon is excellent. The animation is great, the song is very catchy and the whole film just has a great energy.

One may notice that Elmer Fudd is designed quite different in this film. That is because during this brief period he was designed to look like Arthur Q. Brain, who provided his voice. He appeared in this design in four other cartoons, Wabbit Trouble, The Wabbit Who Came to Supper, Fresh Hare and The Wacky Wabbit, this design did not catch on the way the creative team thought it would and the character went back to looking how he did before.

After this cartoon the studio would receive a complimentary letter from Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau.  Later this same year Bugs would be made an honorary Sargent in the U.S. Marine Corps, for the ending in a cartoon called Super Rabbit.

Happy Fourth of July and Bye Bye and Buy Bonds.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Recourses Used
tralfaz.blogspot.com/2016/06/any-bonds-today.html

Emma (1932)

Having watched Marie Dressler as the star of the month on TCM, it amazes me that her and the films she appeared in are so forgotten today. From 1930 to her death in 1934, Marie was voted as the biggest box office drawl in Hollywood. She was not your typical Hollywood star, mostly because she was in her 60's at this time, but she was extremely popular with early 1930's audiences. One of her best performances was in the 1932 film Emma.

This film was directed by Clarence Brown, who had previously directed Marie in Anna Christie (Greta Garbo's first talkie). Brown was a big director of the silent era directing such films as Flesh and the Devil, Kiki, and The Trail of '98. He would continue to have a great career in the talkie era with The Yearling, National Velvet, and Conquest.

In this film Marie plays a nanny named Emma, who is essentially a mother in all but name of the children. After the children grow up she decides to take a trip to Niagara Falls. She is worried about leaving the family. The family's father (played by Jean Hersholt) decides to go with her, and ends up asking Emma to marry her. The father passes away and leaves the money to Emma. His children are angry and want to sue Emma over this money. The exception to this is Ronnie (played by Richard Cromwell) who has a stronger connection to her than the other children.

This film also featured Myrna Loy in her first role for MGM. She was also working on two other films at this time, and was very stressed. Marie told Myrna  "Get your chin up, kid. You've got the whole world ahead of you." Helping Loy to gain back her confidence and put on a great performance. Loy had nothing but nice things to say about Marie Dressler in her autobiography Being and Becoming. She would go on to a great career at MGM appearing in such films as The Best Years of our Lives and The Thin Man.

Emma is an amazing film. Marie Dressler's performance is near perfect, the script is great, the film is fantasticly directed, and everything just works. The story is sentimental, but is extremely effective and the sentiment never feels forced. This is a must watch movie for all lovers of classic film.

The movie was a big success at the box office and Marie Dressler was nominated for an academy award for this film (though she didn't win).

-Michael J. Ruhland

Recourses Used
tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1546/Emma/articles.html

The Adventures of the Roadrunner (1962)

No matter how many great cartoon series are made Looney Tunes will always be the greatest (or at least my favorite). These series not only contains many of the greatest cartoons ever made, but also some of the greatest films ever made. I am obviously not the only one to feel this way. These cartoons have found away into many of our subconscious minds. We can quote these cartoons without even thinking about it. The characters have become old friends and have been burned strongly into our minds for our whole lives. It may seem strange that I can talk about something Looney Tunes related on my Forgotten and Overlooked Films blog, but due to various reasons The Adventures of the Roadrunner has been unjustly forgotten.

In the late 1950's and early 1960's Looney Tunes were becoming not just big hits in movie theaters, but also had a huge television following thanks to The Bugs Bunny Show. It was because of this that Chuck Jones decided to make a TV series based off of his Coyote and Roadrunner characters. The result was this pilot episode. This episode was directed by Chuck Jones as well as by his current layout artist, Maurice Noble and one of his animators, Tom Ray. It would be animated by Chuck's usual team of animators (at this time) including Ken Harris, Dick Thompson, Ben Washam, Tom Ray and Bob Bransford. However for whatever reason, this pilot was not picked up by any TV networks. Because of this it would be released in theaters as a single near half an hour short film.

The film begins with a theme song written by Looney Tunes composer Milt Franklin. After that it starts as your normal Roadrunner cartoon as the Coyote tries many ways to catch the Roadrunner and of course constantly fails. However this time Wile E. Coyote speaks directly to the audience about his plans. He had spoken before in some Bugs Bunny cartoons, but this is the first time the character talked in a Roadrunner cartoon. Then we see the characters are been watched on TV by Looney Tunes character Ralph Philips and his brother. Ralph admits sometimes he thinks he is the Roadrunner. Ralph's brother decides (since he wants to be a psychiatrist) to psychologically look at the root of Ralph's problem. This leads to the classic Ralph Philips cartoon From A to ZZZZZ. Then we see more of the Coyote's failed attempts to catch the Roadrunner. Ralph then asks his brother why the Coyote would want to eat the Roadrunner. Wile E. Coyote breaks the fourth wall and explains to the kids about all the delicious foods, roadrunners are made of.

This is a very funny short with much of the charms of the best Roadrunner cartoons. The timing is perfect, the animation great, and the humor is fantastic. This definitely needs to be watched by all Looney Tunes fans.

Because of it's length this film was cut into two shorts for TV, Road Runner A Go Go and Zip Zip Hooray. Some of the jokes from this film were reused in the theatrical cartoon To Beep or Not to Beep released the next year. The Adventures of the Roadrunner is available as a bonus feature on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Recourses Used
Toonheads: The Lost Cartoons (TV documentary)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154117/?ref_=rvi_tt

Reducing (1931)

If you are like me, you having probably also been extremely enjoying having Marie Dressler as the star of the month on TCM. It is fantastic to look at the career of this fantastic comedic actress. Having been watch TCM on Monday nights recently I have been constantly delighted in the talent of this woman.  So today we are going to look at a delightful, but sadly overlooked comedy staring her and Polly Moran called Reducing.

Though she is forgotten today Marie Dressler was a huge movie star in the 1930's. Though she started her film career in 1914 in Tillie's Punctured Romance (the first feature length comedian). Though that film was a hit her film career never really took off in the silent era. However in the early 1930's her career really took off. She was not your average Hollwood star. She did not look like Hollywood's traditional leading ladies. She was also not esspically young at this time. However her popularity was inmatched. She was in fact even a bigger star then Greta Garbo, and in 1930 she won an academy award for her performance in Min and Bill (she was 60 years old at the time). She passed away in 1934 but left behind her a fantastic film legacy.

This film was directed by Charles F. Reisner. Reisner had been the associate director on the Charlie Chaplin films The Kid, The Pilgrim, and The Gold Rush. You can also see him on camera playing the bully in Charlie Chaplin's The Kid. He also directed Buster Keaton's Steam Boat Bill Jr.. He would also later direct Lost in a Harem (with Abbott and Costello) and The Big Store (with the Marx Brothers). 

The film's story begins as Polly (played by Polly Moran) invites her sister to ask her sister Marie (played by Marie Dressler) to live with her after she discovers Marie has money problems. Marie's daughter Vivian (played by Anita Page) begins to fall for the boyfriend of Polly's daughter Joyce (played by Sally Eilers) making a fight rose up in the family.

This film is a simple but delightful comedy. The jokes are quite funny, the characters very likable, the cast is great and the whole film is just pleasant to watch. It is interesting to note that this movie followed Marie Dressler's academy award winning performance in Min and Bill. Even though this is a more lightweight film she turns out just as good of a performance here. In fact all the performances in this movie are great.

This film was not popular with critics, but audiences loved it. MGM soon put Marie Dressler and Polly Moran in another film. This film would be called politics and would also be directed by Charles F, Reisner.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2155/Reducing/articles.html