Dave Tendlar
These 9 episodes are all "Screen Songs," made by Famous Studios in the mid 20th century. All are crisply and colorfully drawn, and are delightful, if one takes them in the context of the era, because they have many elements that are now considered "politically incorrect."
Professor Mad and his henchmen are gathering up all the rain clouds and taking them to his desert hideaway. The country is in a panic... not a drop of water.
James is a secret agent who is incredibly clumsy. Yet, no matter how many mistakes he makes in his efforts to capture the bad guy, he winds up bagging the criminal.
In the Old West, many towns were under the control of gunslingers. One such town was Untidy Gulch, under the control of "Blackmarket Bromide." It's overrun with outlaws who keep shooting their sheriffs. It puts an advertisement in a big-city Eastern newspaper asking for a clean-up man: "Wanted: Clean-living, clean-thinking, clean-acting man to clean up Untidy Gulch. Must be clean." Hector answers the call... he thinks it's just a dirty town that needs sweeping. He grabs his broom and applies for the job. Bromide and his gang are ready for the Eastern gunfighter.
Hector is working his crops. When a bird flies over, he gets a desire to fly, too. He finds an eagle's nest. As he is getting lessons from a baby eagle, the mother appears. She is not happy with Hector. Not to be outdone, Hector builds himself a flying machine. It doesn't fly. Then he ties himself to a kite and to a horse. He flies... right into a tree.
Hector Heathcote has his own Mississippi riverboat in the War of 1812. The Americans are running out of powder, and the British are winning the war. Hector is assigned to bring some ammunition by boat. When the ammunition runs loose, the Americans win the war. Hector goes down in history as an unsung hero.
Deputy Dawg is a dim witted Southern lawman, who, despite his own ineptitude, always manages to catch the bad guy.
Some thieves leave a chest of jewels in a cave. Sidney the Elephant is looking to get out of the rainstorm and goes into the cave.
Tired of being a vegetarian, Sidney goes after some "meat," but he finds out that he doesn't have the heart to kill his friends.
Heckle and Jeckle's New Year's resolution is to refrain from any more practical jokes, but their attempts at good deeds meet with more hostility than their annoying gags.
Foofle goes on a picnic and has a day governed by Murphy's Law: anything that can go wrong does.
Struggling blacksmith Hector Heathcote tries to get Paul Revere's horse ready for his midnight ride.
Heckle and Jeckle run a dilapidated old scow that they pass off a sport fishing boat to unsuspecting Dimwit. When things start falling apart, The dopey dog chases the merry birds around the tub until it sinks.
Sidney the Elephant wants to start a babysitting service, but his constant sneezing is causing a lot of problems.
Bumbling Hector Heathcoat joins the Minute Men during the American Revolution and promptly gets everything fouled up, but he becomes a hero when the scares away the attacking British Redcoats.
In this Terrytoon,Foofle goes on a tour-train guided-excursion. But, par for his usual course, he screws everything up from the schedule to the baggage.
The mice of Cheeseville, who are farmers, are having a Saturday night barn dance.
Grateful Gus, a happy-go-lucky panhandler, puts the touch on a bank executive who is hastily absconding with the bank's liquid assets. The banker gives Gus a ten-dollar bill, and Gus is so filled with gratitude that he sticks closer to the embezzler than glue, no matter where the robber goes. This eventually causes the apprehension of the worn-out robber. A policeman gives Gus a reward and Gus then turns his grateful attention to him.
The apartment house superintendent, Clint Clobber, a turkey if there ever was one, is constantly pestered by an old retired Army general, who keeps the tenants in a dither and uproar with his hard-nosed and disciplined military habits. Clint finally finds a way to rid the house of the undesirable tenant.
Herman and his little cousins gave to seek other housing arrangements as the building they live in is being torn down. After a long search, Herman finds a place behind some pipe in a new skyscraper being constructed. The only drawback is that Katnip has already taken up residence there.
Unaware that Katnip is the night watchman, Herman takes his three nephews to Paramount Pictures Studios on a sightseeing trip. They sneak in and find fake alligators and a fake King Kong, but a real live Katnip. Herman promises to make Katnip a movie star if he will let them go.
1957 Baby Huey is a big duck enrolled in kindergarten. Despite being big and clumsy, he attempts to fit in, causing havoc and getting expelled by the teacher. His mother then hires a private tutor, who is also tortured by Baby Huey's good intentioned efforts. The tutor winds up in the ocean but Huey saves his life from sharks and gets his diploma as a reward.
A hungry fox disguises himself as Santa Claus, and arms himself with deadly gifts, hoping to make a duck dinner out of Baby Huey.
Herman rescues Princess Genevieve, who has been captured by baron-robber Katnip. Good music score on this cartoon.
A musical story about a boy and his pet bull. They both grow up and must face each other in the arena.
Cousin Herman and his crew go mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps. Katnip follows, thinking that it'll be an easy meal.
Baby Huey sees some little ducks playing pirate and wants to join in, but when he jumps on their raft, he sends them flying into the hungry fox's frying pan. Huey accidentally frees them when he jumps onto the fox in his enthusiasm to join them. The fox decides he'd rather pursue the gigantic Huey than the tiny ducklings, and when he overhears Huey wishing he could play pirate, the fox dresses as a pirate aboard a convenient nearby replica pirate ship.
Moe the Hare (aka The Rapid-and-sometimes Rabid Rabbit)breaks out of jail so he can hustle down the road and marry his sweetheart. But, Tommy the Tortoise, an officer of the law who is a stickler that thinks jail-prisoners should remain in jail, turtles down the road after Moe. And he dogs after Moe, in his own fashion, until he returns Moe to jail...and winds up with Moe's girlfriend in the process.
Herman battles Katnip in a costume epic satirizing the Robin Hood story. Katnip is the offical tax collector. Taxes have gone up 100%. The first place that Katnip hits is Povertyville. No money there... only Robin Hood Herman. Herman follows Katnip back to the castle and recovers the money for the mice after a battle. Katnip gets sliced clean down the middle with a fancy medieval executioner's axe!
A Paramount Noveltoon (production number P14-6) which finds Waxey the Weasel invading a chicken-coop where a chicken named Wishbone has just been hatched. Waxey the Weasel takes off after Wishbone but the chick manages to outwit the weasel. Wishbone pleads that he is innocent and helpless as he leads Waxey into the clutches of a sinister, weasel-hating guard dog.
It's the night of the Big Fight between Tommy Tortoise and Michael "Moe" Hare. Tommy takes a beating at first and "Moe" knocks him through the "screen" onto the the animator's table, where Tommy learns what strategy and weapons "Moe" will be using in the fight. Since his shell is good protection, Tommy produces two more shells and "Moe" is soon confused by having to play the old shell game. The hare then stuffs horseshoe into his gloves, but the tortoise reacts by pushing a magnet for the rabbit's throat. The rabbit is soon punching himself.
Snardley, a crooked butler, learns that the only thing between him and a fortune is a little cat, Kitty Kuddles, to whom a wealthy spinster has willed her estate. The butler tries to kill the wealthy cat.
The over-sized Baby Huey wants to join the little ducks in their cowboy game but they don't want him. A fox comes along and the ducklings flee and leave Huey to fight the enemy. The fox uses an exploding-cigar, a shotgun and dynamite against him but Huey is too tough and the fox winds up being the pursued.
Set in a nightclub in Sugarland---not the one in Texas---the bon-bons, lollipops, taffy and other sweet-and-sticky citizens perform in a musical show. The grand finale features the Sugar Lump Orchestra playing "Ain't She Sweet" while the bouncing-ball leads the theatre audience in a sing-along.
"Hoiman" and his ratty mice cousins, to escape the winter cold in Brooklyn, hop a streamliner going to Florida. Katnip is also on board and chases the mice from the baggage compartment to the mail car. Herman utilizes very mechanical device available to derail Katnip, and finally uses some war-surplus equipment to shoot Katnip out in space. He lands at the North Pole and is freezing while the mice are living it up on a Miami beach.
A band of little mice have come out to play and to enjoy the pleasures offered at the seashore. But, just as sure as this is a Noveltoon, the villainous Katnip the Kat shows up with intent of making certain no mouse, mice or meece in the area enjoys anything. Where, or where, is Herman the Mouse when he is needed? Could that be him coming up the beach? It could.
In the deserted ice-cream parlor, the thirsty mice are never able to drink their concoctions because Katnip the Kat keeps them running for their little mice-lives. But Herman, the brother mouse, arrives with his bag of tricks. Herman tricks Katnip into swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills and, while Katnip snores, the mice enjoy their sodas.
Herman, the city-slicker mouse (looking like a cross between James Cagney and Lee Tracy) visits his barn-mice cousins in the country.
A wealthy eccentric owns a talking mongrel dog, and the dog, deciding to upgrade his pedigree, decides he is a born watch-dog. The owner puts on a mask with the intention of breaking into his own house and testing the dog's abilities. But, before he breaks in, a real burglar does so, and has taken over the house and the self-proclaimed self-made protector.
Popeye's on a battleship, on which he's banished to the boiler room. A Japanese sub comes along. Can Popeye save his ship from the enemy?
Popeye and Bluto are on leave in the South Seas when Princess Alona (Olive) comes surfing by in her Sarong, a bird perched on her knee. The boys are smitten, and chase after her. The bird warns our boys that any harm to the princess will result in death from the local volcano.
Olive Oyl's screenplay for an Aladdin movie comes to life and Popeye battles for control of a genie, in the last of the three Popeye color specials
A spider runs a hotel for flies where he keeps his guests captive. A pair of fly newlyweds arrive and check in. Fortunately, the husband is "flyweight champion". After a pitched battle featuring arrows (fountain pen nibs) and a machine-gun (aspirins shot from a perfume atomizer), the spider winds up in a bottle of library paste.
Greedy Humpty Dumpty's wall of gold is not enough. He wants all the gold in the sun, too.
