Release Date:

May 27, 1939

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A group of hobos hop a train where they entertain each other with music and dancing. But the irate conductor throws them off, so they decide to enter an amateur radio contest. Although they win, they ditch the offer of a life of luxury and a radio contract for their old life as hobos.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. An instrumental of the “Junk Town Gadget Band” sequence played under the opening credits:

Supervision: Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton

Story: Jack Miller

Animation: Richard Bickenbach

Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling

The cartoon was originally titled “Hobo Heaven”.

Pinto Colvig (the original voice of Disney’s Goofy) voices the lead hobo.

In her autobiography, “Living Life Inside the Lines”, ink and paint artist Martha Sigall names this as her personal favorite of Hardaway and Dalton’s cartoons.

The sign advertising the amateur radio contest mentions that the auditions are held at “Powerful Little 3 Watter Down at Nosedale”, which is a reference to “Uncle Ezra’s Radio Station”.

This is the first cartoon to use the phrase “and all kinds of places like that there" (later cartoons would use “and all kinds of stuff like that there”).

What I Like About This One:

A frog jumping into the pond when he notices the camera.

The hobos living at a “Hobo Hotel” (“All Outside Rooms”).

The way the hobos shower is that they take water from a bucket and put it into a pipe where the water comes out of a tin can with several holes, although the hobo using it only takes two drips to put water over his eyes and to clean his ears.

After using the shower, the hobo takes out some “soda fizz” and puts it in a glass of water. It fizzes out a gush of water that shoots upward (animated by Gil Turner).

The cook hobo reaching into the “fridge” which is actually a door to the river where he catches some fish (animated by Turner).

A barber hobo giving another hobo a haircut but accidentally pulling it off revealing that his customer was actually wearing a wig.

Another hobo squirting pancakes onto a tin rack but and using the end of the rack to squirt an extra small one on there (animated by Rod Scribner).

When the hobo advertising the schedules for trains announces the all aboard for certain destinations, he starts to mention “San Quentin” before correcting himself to “San Diego” (animated by Turner).

The hobos having a makeshift slide that they use to board box cars, but one of them ends up hitting a tanker instead.

The lead hobo playing a lively rendition of “In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree” on his makeshift clarinet which the other hobos dance to (animated by Richard Bickenbach).

When the conductor finds out that he has stowaways on his train, he has the train come to a complete stop before pulling on a switch labeled “Hobo Eliminator” where the box cars toss out the hobos in the middle of the countryside (animated by Scribner).

The hobos entering the radio contest as the “Junk Town Gadget Band” where they perform a catchy song of the same name on makeshift instruments (Colvig particularly shines here when the lead hobo sings a solo of the first verse), which the announcer and everyone listening to the radio really enjoy (largely animated by Bickenbach).

The announcer offering them a radio contract and a life of luxury but the hobos immediately run out the door when they hear another train which they board (animated by Turner).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕