Release Date:

September 4, 1937

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

It’s midnight in a drug store, and all the characters on magazines come to life. After a few musical numbers, a crook is arrested for trying to rob a safe on “The Magazine of Wall Street”. He is sentenced to “Life” but escapes via “Liberty”. All of the characters team up to get him back into prison.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. When it was restored for the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 DVD set in 2005, the original titles were put back in (although the end music is incorrect due to the 1995 Turner dubbed version being the source of the soundtrack).

This is Tashlin’s first cartoon in color.

This is the first of Tashlin’s trilogy of books coming to life. The other two were “Have You Got Any Castles” and “You’re an Education” (both released in 1938).

The cartoon reuses animation from several earlier cartoons including “The Coo Coo Nut Grove” (the caricatures of Ned Sparks, Hugh Herbert, and Tarzan), “The Miller’s Daughter” (the literally whistling kettle and the waltzing dancers), “Those Were Wonderful Days” (the waltzing boxers), “Flowers for Madame” (the dancing flowers), “Toy Town Hall” (the cheering toys), “I’ve Got to Sing a Torch Song” (the Boswell Sisters), “Buddy’s Beer Garden” (the tongue sandwiches), “How Do I Know It’s Sunday” (the rhumba-dancing lobster), “Mr. and Mrs. is the Name” (the castanet-like oysters), “Porky in the North Woods” (the running animals), “Buddy of the Apes” (the African natives running), “Buddy the Gob” (the Navy ships heading towards the camera), “Ride Him Bosko” (the cowboys), and “Sunday Go to Meetin’ Time” (the pinball machine gag). I look at all of these and am like, “Wow, look at how far we’ve come!”

Caricatures include Bob Burns (as “Bob Boins”), Ted Lewis, Ned Sparks, Hugh Herbert, Leopold Stokowski (as “Stickoutski”), the Boswell Sisters, Lydia Pinkham (“Lydia Punkham”), Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Charlie Chan (as “Cholly Jam”), Walter Winchell (as “Walter Snitchall”), Johnny Weismuller (Tarzan), and William Powell (the Thin Man).

There are several in-jokes to staff members which include a sports review on the newspaper written by Ray Katz (who was one of Leon Schlesinger’s assistants), the cover of “Detective Fiction Weekly” mentioning storyman Melvin Millar, Friz Freleng, animator Volney White, and storyman Ralph Wolfe, animator Joe D’Igalo’s name appearing on “Life”, and storyman Cal Howard’s name appearing on another cowboy magazine.

What I Like About This One:

The cartoon’s score is a real treat.

Bob Boins having trouble playing his “bazooka” like his “Uncle Fud back in Van Buren” (which might be a reference to the Van Buren studio where Tashlin worked at for a short while).

When Ted Lewis asks, “Is everybody happy?”, Ned Sparks grouchily replies, “No”.

Ted Lewis’ clarinet solo.

A beaver playing a bass with his tail on the cover of “Music Master”.

A snake charmer charming a hose.

Stokowski conducting the Storm from the William Tell Overture before scatting the title tune.

The Boswell Sisters’ rendition of the title tune.

Greta Garbo rocking on her enormous foot.

The crook delivering a “True Confession”.

Walter “Snitchall” watching the crook sneak away from prison via “Look” (peering through the keyhole in a doorknob).

When the Thin Man and his dog Asta go on search for the crook (who is hiding in a carriage disguised as a “Better Baby”), the Thin Man blindfolds Asta when they go past the “Saturday Evening Post” (a reference to the “dogs like trees” gag).

Santa getting involved in the act of helping to catch the crook by dropping toys on him.

After the crook lands in the book, “Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing”, he gets annoyed at Hugh Herbert’s laugh and throws a globe on Herbert’s head, giving him a lump. The crook then does his own Herbert laugh as the cartoon irises-out.

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕