Release Date:

April 10, 1937

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A satire on how movie theaters were in the 1930’s, including a newsreel, a sing-along, and the main feature starring caricatures of Leslie Howard and Bette Davis whose filming gets disrupted by a little goose screwing up the projector.

That’s Not All, Folks:

Other caricatures besides Leslie Howard and Bette Davis include Lowell Thomas (as “Dole Promise”), Eddie Cantor (as “Heddie Camphor”), Adolf Hitler, Lew Lehr (as “Who Dehr”), and Leopold Stokowski (as “Stickoutski”).

A parody of the MGM lion is seen at one point, but said lion crows like a rooster instead of roaring.

What I Like About This One:

Everyone randomly switching their seats at the start of the cartoon.

“Dole Promise” greeting himself to the audience, but can’t remember his name!

A newsreel showing the “Longest Liner” easily getting from New York to London by slightly moving back and forth.

One patron getting a poor view of the movie screen no matter where he sits.

An obese hippo annoying everyone by getting out of his seat, and then coming back after the next newsreel.

Another newsreel showing a bizarre town called “Boondoggle” where citizens act like dogs if they get bitten by a dog.

One of the dog-infected citizens biting “Who Dehr” when the newsreel ends.

A sing-along of the title song with the lyrics and images on the screen, with one wrong slide getting in by mistake so the whole audience sings, “Please do not spit on the floor!” as part of the song.

During the main feature, Leslie Howard hitchhikes by attaching his thumb to a railroad crossing wigwag.

A donkey in the audience deciding to annoy everyone by selling snacks and beverages for no reason whatsoever.

When Leslie Howard meets Bette Davis, he tries to impress her with poetry but is proven to be bad at it when he recites “Mary Had a Little Lamb” while talking spoonerisms.

The shots of the film being played at fast speed and then fast speed in reverse when the goose screws around with the projector.

The music that plays at the end when the goose gets his beak caught in the cogs of the projector and then getting tangled up in the film reel.

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½