Classic movie site with rare images, original ads, and behind-the-scenes photos, with informative and insightful commentary. We like to have fun with movies!
Archive and Links
grbrpix@aol.com
Search Index Here




Tuesday, September 10, 2013

A Walter Lantz Dose Of Native Americana


Boogie Woogie Sioux Drips 1942 Technicolor

How much heed did cartoon-makers pay to quality of output? Not enough, say investigators of Walter Lantz. He was most about finishing on time and doing so cheaply, that at least understandable in view of fact that Walt was independent producing his shorts for Universal release and they frowned on overruns. Any extravagance would be Lantz's cross to bear, as in money gone from his pocket. So how good was "good enough"? Film Daily trade-reviewed Boogie Woogie Sioux and liked it ("This short cleverly combines fun and music"). Seven minutes mattered less so long as it was colorful and loud, two elements Lantz flogged hard with his "Swing Symphony" series. These cartoons don't get seen a lot nowadays, a few are on Woody Woodpecker DVD sets from Universal, but content of others (racial, ethnic, what not) maintain quarantine for much of the lot. Lantz hired animators from all over into his wartime shop, thanks to the ruinous Disney strike (many had left WD) and stragglers off Warner assembly. These guys couldn't uplift Lantz, but he could sure drag them down.


Pretty soon a newcomer would understand that keeping within budget was Rule One and Only (Walt deplored spend-levels over $15K per reel). Swing Symphony formula was simple in the extreme: A problem would be introduced, then resolved in terms of jive, peppy music a cure to all ills. The set-up here is parched Indians seeking rain; can a hot band, Tommy Hawk and His Five Scalpers, come to rescue? Lantz staff knew the drill soon as the boss handed down framework ... desert gags, thirst jokes, redskinned laffs ... the situation was old as hills, but swing's tonic would soothe that. Technicolor as Lantz-rendered made it look like someone took brushes to the screen itself, being among most vivid hues laid down in the 40's. That legacy lasted thanks to Castle Films releasing Lantz cartoons to home use from the late 40's through the 60's. Prints were supplied by Technicolor in narrower format --- you could own Boogie Woogie Sioux in glorious 16mm three-strip --- and they'd not fade. Collectors rightfully prized these intact survivors from cartooning's Swingingest Era.

Ouch! Writer/Historian Scott MacGillivray Supplies a Glimpse of What Castle
8 and 16mm Prints Eventually Became When They Weren't On Technicolor Stock 

UPDATE: 9/10/13 --- 1:35 PM: Scott MacGillivray, expert in the area of Castle Films, and author of  a splendid book on the topic, sends along the following specifics of Walter Lantz cartoons on non-fading (or otherwise) 8 and 16mm stock:

Castle only issued Technicolor prints for a few years, ending in 1950. Castle's color releases were usually printed in Cinecolor (1941-51), Kodachrome, and Ansco, and ultimately in the cheaper and far less sturdy Eastmancolor (which is why there are so many faded Lantz cartoons these days).
 
The print I viewed of Boogie Woogie Sioux, belonging to a longtime film collector, turns out to have been one of those rare Techicolor prints that Castle sold prior to 1950, according to Scott's info. Wonder how many of these even exist now ...

Many Thanks to Scott MacGillivray for this fascinating info.

6 Comments:

Blogger John McElwee said...

Donald Benson speaks up for Walter Lantz and the Universal cartoon style:


Lantz was cheap, but from what I've read he was generally regarded as a nice guy (unlike Paul Terry, the other fabled cheapskate). And while the cartoons never threatened the other Walt, they weren't as gratingly childish as Terrytoons or post-Fleischer Paramounts.


You could make a case that Lantz cartoons were a perfect match, in tone and quality, for Universal B product of the same vintage. Looney Tunes were sharp and snappy like Warner gangster pics. Tom & Jerry, for all their violence, had a hint of MGM gloss. If you're there for "Cobra Woman" or Bud & Lou meeting another monster, Woody Woodpecker is a suitable appetizer.


That logo of Woody as a knight always intrigued me. I always thought that somewhere out there was a mini-franchise of Woody in that guise, like the Tom and Jerry as musketeers (besides the shorts there were comic book stories and Viewmaster slides, I recall).

7:43 PM  
Blogger Scott MacGillivray said...

Very astute observation about the Lantz cartoons being appropriate curtain-raisers for Universal features! The "Woody as a knight" logo is a visual pun: it's a LANCE cartoon.

12:10 AM  
Blogger Tom Ruegger said...

Every year that he was in business, Lantz made it easy for film critics to compile their "10 Worst Films of the Year" List. The ten worst of the year? Any and all films by Walter Lantz. His cartoons were THAT bad.

12:44 AM  
Blogger Michael J. Hayde said...

Ouch! A little harsh there, Tom, don'cha think? (Or don'cha?) Lantz's cartoons of the '30s and '40s had a lot of energy and, depending on the level of talent involved, some great humor. The Woody cartoons were fine up until the time Lantz's wife took over the vocals. Likewise just about everything else Lantz put out from the 1950s onward was indeed as bad as you suggest (the four Averys excepted, although not by much).

In 1972, I saw AMERICAN GRAFFITI at Loew's Riverdale in the Bronx, and the program opened with one of the last BEARY FAMILY cartoons. I was astonished that 1) any theaters were still RUNNING cartoons by then; 2) Lantz was still MAKING them (although I later found out he'd just stopped); 3) a cartoon in the post-Bugs Bunny era could be so woefully unfunny.

9:00 AM  
Blogger Reg Hartt said...

Lantz's cartoons were not that bad (tho' at the end they certainly lived down to that label).

When DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID opened in Toronto it had a late Woody by Paul j. Smith in front of it.

The theater went wild. I turned to my friend and said, "In two minutes they will be shouting, 'Take it off!'"

In two minutes the audience was shouting, "Take it off!"

Had it been one of the earlier Woody that would not have happened. Had it been Shamus Culhane's THE BARBER OF SEVILLE the place would have gone wild.

The 4 Avery cartoons go over very well, Michael J. Hayde.

I think when Universal briefly pulled the plug on Lantz he lost his spark.

2:37 PM  
Blogger Ilove men ass said...

Won't anybody help me by posting Tommy Hawk and his 5 scalpers lyrics of the song he sings in the cartoon? Or send to me on my Instagram :paulinhateixeira5568

8:35 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

grbrpix@aol.com
  • December 2005
  • January 2006
  • February 2006
  • March 2006
  • April 2006
  • May 2006
  • June 2006
  • July 2006
  • August 2006
  • September 2006
  • October 2006
  • November 2006
  • December 2006
  • January 2007
  • February 2007
  • March 2007
  • April 2007
  • May 2007
  • June 2007
  • July 2007
  • August 2007
  • September 2007
  • October 2007
  • November 2007
  • December 2007
  • January 2008
  • February 2008
  • March 2008
  • April 2008
  • May 2008
  • June 2008
  • July 2008
  • August 2008
  • September 2008
  • October 2008
  • November 2008
  • December 2008
  • January 2009
  • February 2009
  • March 2009
  • April 2009
  • May 2009
  • June 2009
  • July 2009
  • August 2009
  • September 2009
  • October 2009
  • November 2009
  • December 2009
  • January 2010
  • February 2010
  • March 2010
  • April 2010
  • May 2010
  • June 2010
  • July 2010
  • August 2010
  • September 2010
  • October 2010
  • November 2010
  • December 2010
  • January 2011
  • February 2011
  • March 2011
  • April 2011
  • May 2011
  • June 2011
  • July 2011
  • August 2011
  • September 2011
  • October 2011
  • November 2011
  • December 2011
  • January 2012
  • February 2012
  • March 2012
  • April 2012
  • May 2012
  • June 2012
  • July 2012
  • August 2012
  • September 2012
  • October 2012
  • November 2012
  • December 2012
  • January 2013
  • February 2013
  • March 2013
  • April 2013
  • May 2013
  • June 2013
  • July 2013
  • August 2013
  • September 2013
  • October 2013
  • November 2013
  • December 2013
  • January 2014
  • February 2014
  • March 2014
  • April 2014
  • May 2014
  • June 2014
  • July 2014
  • August 2014
  • September 2014
  • October 2014
  • November 2014
  • December 2014
  • January 2015
  • February 2015
  • March 2015
  • April 2015
  • May 2015
  • June 2015
  • July 2015
  • August 2015
  • September 2015
  • October 2015
  • November 2015
  • December 2015
  • January 2016
  • February 2016
  • March 2016
  • April 2016
  • May 2016
  • June 2016
  • July 2016
  • August 2016
  • September 2016
  • October 2016
  • November 2016
  • December 2016
  • January 2017
  • February 2017
  • March 2017
  • April 2017
  • May 2017
  • June 2017
  • July 2017
  • August 2017
  • September 2017
  • October 2017
  • November 2017
  • December 2017
  • January 2018
  • February 2018
  • March 2018
  • April 2018
  • May 2018
  • June 2018
  • July 2018
  • August 2018
  • September 2018
  • October 2018
  • November 2018
  • December 2018
  • January 2019
  • February 2019
  • March 2019
  • April 2019
  • May 2019
  • June 2019
  • July 2019
  • August 2019
  • September 2019
  • October 2019
  • November 2019
  • December 2019
  • January 2020
  • February 2020
  • March 2020
  • April 2020
  • May 2020
  • June 2020
  • July 2020
  • August 2020
  • September 2020
  • October 2020
  • November 2020
  • December 2020
  • January 2021
  • February 2021
  • March 2021
  • April 2021
  • May 2021
  • June 2021
  • July 2021
  • August 2021
  • September 2021
  • October 2021
  • November 2021
  • December 2021
  • January 2022
  • February 2022
  • March 2022
  • April 2022
  • May 2022
  • June 2022
  • July 2022
  • August 2022
  • September 2022
  • October 2022
  • November 2022
  • December 2022
  • January 2023
  • February 2023
  • March 2023
  • April 2023
  • May 2023
  • June 2023
  • July 2023
  • August 2023
  • September 2023
  • October 2023
  • November 2023
  • December 2023
  • January 2024
  • February 2024
  • March 2024
  • April 2024
  • May 2024
  • June 2024
  • July 2024
  • August 2024
  • September 2024
  • October 2024