Race Riot (film)

Last updated

Race Riot
Title card of Race Riot.PNG
Title card
Directed by Walter Lantz
Story byWalter Lantz
Bill Nolan
Produced byWalter Lantz
StarringBill Nolan
Music byBert Fiske
Animation byWalter Lantz
Bill Nolan
Tom Palmer
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • September 2, 1929 (1929-09-02)
Running time
6:29
Language English

Race Riot is a 1929 animated short film which is presented by Carl Laemmle and was produced by Walter Lantz, [1] who would go on to produce and create the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker with his wife, [2] Gracie Lantz. [3] The film, which both its story and animation was composed by Walter Lantz, 'Bill' Nolan and Tom Palmer, [1] features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, [1] as he attempts to win a horse race with his horse. [1] The horse's coughs were done by Walter Lantz.

Contents

The film was recorded with Western Electric apparatus, [1] which was an early sound-on-film system. This sound system was used in another Oswald short film entitled Hurdy Gurdy , [4] which involves Oswald being substituted as a street performer's dancer after the original one was comically swallowed up by Oswald's chewing gum, or more specifically, bubblegum. [4] That film was released in the same year as this one, [5] albeit later. [5]

Copyrighted on July 26, 1929, [5] and released on September 2 that same year, [5] Race Riot was released by the film company Universal Pictures, [1] [5] and is part of the Universal series of Oswald short films. [1]

Plot

Oswald's horse is sleeping in a human bed. Oswald enters the room and wakes the horse with a scream, telling it the race is today. The horse, who does not want to participate in the race, feigns illness, with music from "Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning". Oswald attempts to give castor oil to the horse, but the horse dives through the wall and no longer pretends to be ill.

Oswald tries to weigh the horse with a scale, but he fails as the horse flattens it. Oswald whistles to a cigar-smoking, piano-playing dog to signal him to play a song. He plays while Oswald signals to the horse that he should do stretches. However, the poor execution of the stretches angers Oswald, who storms off. The horse goes up to the pianist and whispers that he should play something different. The horse dances to the new song; Oswald comes back and seeing the horse dancing he punches it in the gut, stopping it dancing. Oswald comments on the horse dancing rather than stretching.

Oswald realises the race is starting when he hears applause. He mounts the horse and quickly explains what is going on. The race begins without them, but the crowd clap as they start the race. As they reach their first opponent, Oswald uses his ear to burst the hippo that a dog is using for racing. The dog runs in place of the hippo, who is now tiny, and Oswald jumps over them on the horse to reach third place. As they get to the second-place racer, an elephant and a mouse, Oswald uses a match to burn up the elephant ending its life. The mouse attempts to run the rest of the race, but Oswald and the horse jump over the mouse to become second in the race that theme became dark moving on. Oswald gets to his final opponent and tries to tie their horse's legs into a knot. They pass the other racer to become the front runner, but Oswald's horse tires out and the racer they just passed overtakes them. Angry, Oswald yells at his horse with his early wooden whistle voices and feeds it a piece of fence to get over boulders ahead, but the horse swallows one of them, turns into a boulder, and flattens the opponent ahead. Oswald goes into the lead and runs the rest of the race himself to victory.

While Oswald is bowing and tipping his ears to the audience, his horse — still a boulder acting like a bouncing ball — flattens him, and tiny Oswalds and horses run around in different directions.

Reception

Race Riot was well received by the cinema magazines at that time. [6] [7] [8] Variety said that the film was "silly stuff, as usual", [7] and also said that the film would "make for a bright filler spot". [6]

The Motion Picture News said that film had "some highly amusing and clever cartoon work", [7] and also said that the film contained "plenty of fun" [7] and would "please anybody, anywhere, should he be man, beast or exhibitor". [7]

The Film Daily said that the film contained Good Cartoonantics, [8] and also said that the film is "excellent cartoon entertainment". [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oswald the Lucky Rabbit</span> Early animated Disney character

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is an animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1938. Twenty-seven animated Oswald shorts were produced at the Walt Disney Studio. After Universal took control of Oswald's character in 1928, Disney created a new character similar in appearance to Oswald as a replacement: Mickey Mouse, who went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Lantz Productions</span> American animation studio

Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody Woodpecker</span> Fictional cartoon character bird

Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and Universal Animation Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures since 1940. Woody's last Woody Woodpecker was produced by Walter Lantz in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Lantz</span> Italian American animator

Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.

Andy Panda is a cartoon character who starred in his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz. These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1947, and United Artists from 1948 to 1949. The title character is an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a cute panda. Andy became the second star of the Walter Lantz cartoons after Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He achieved considerable popularity until being eventually supplanted by Woody Woodpecker.

Thomas Augustin Palmer was an Italian-American animator, cartoon director, and U.S. training film supervisor. He was active in the animation industry throughout the 1920s and 1930s and was best known for his animation work at Walt Disney Productions. He spent a good chunk of his later career directing training films for the United States Army.

<i>Oswald the Lucky Rabbit</i> filmography

The following is a complete list of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit's appearances in cartoons, films, video games, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Mouse</span> Comic book character

The first Space Mouse is a comic book character published from 1953 to around 1956 by Avon Publications. Space Mouse is also the name of a 1959 Universal Studios cartoon featuring two mice and a cat named Hickory, Dickory, and Doc. A second Space Mouse character was published by Dell Comics from 1960 to around 1965. The Dell Comics version was also featured in a 1960 cartoon produced by Walter Lantz, entitled The Secret Weapon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meany, Miny, and Moe</span> Fictional character

Meany, Miny, and Moe are animated characters created by Walter Lantz, who made their first appearance in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon Monkey Wretches (1935). Their final animated appearance was in 1937 in The Air Express.

<i>The Shriek</i> 1933 film

The Shriek is a 1933 animated short film produced by Walter Lantz Productions as part of the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series. The cartoon's title is a parody of the 1921 Paramount film The Sheik.

<i>Carnival Capers</i> 1932 film

Carnival Capers is a 1932 animated short film featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It is the 65th Oswald cartoon by Walter Lantz Productions and the 117th in the entire series.

Puppet Show is a 1936 short film from Walter Lantz Productions and stars Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Unlike most shorts made by the studio, the film employs both animation and live-action.

The hurdy-gurdy is a musical instrument.

<i>Swing Symphony</i> Film series

Swing Symphony is an American animated musical short film series produced by Walter Lantz Productions from 1941 to 1945. The shorts were a more contemporary pastiche on Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies, and often featured top boogie-woogie musicians of the era. While the first cartoon include the characters Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda, it mainly features a variety of different characters created exclusively for the series, with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit making an appearance in one cartoon.

<i>The Cactus Kid</i> (1930 film) 1930 Mickey Mouse cartoon

The Cactus Kid is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on May 10, 1930, as part of the Mickey Mouse film series. It was the eighteenth Mickey Mouse short to be produced, the third of that year.

<i>Circus Capers</i> 1930 animated film

Circus Capers is a 1930 animated short film made by The Van Beuren Corporation and distributed by Pathé Exchange. The film, which featured the characters Milton Mouse and Rita, is part of the early sound cartoon series entitled Aesop's Sound Fables, though it is not based on an Aesop fable.

<i>College Capers</i> 1931 animated film

College Capers is a 1931 animated short film produced by The Van Beuren Corporation and released by the film distributor Pathé.

<i>Permanent Wave</i> (film) 1929 animated film

Permanent Wave is a 1929 animated film which is presented by Carl Laemmle and is produced by Walter Lantz. The film, which was written and animated by Walter Lantz, Bill Nolan and Tom Palmer, features Oswald rescuing a mermaid, whom he has fallen in love with, from his captain on the ship that Oswald is controlling during the film.

<i>Hurdy Gurdy</i> (film) 1929 film

Hurdy Gurdy is a 1929 animated short film which is presented by Carl Laemmle and was produced by Walter Lantz, who he and his wife would go on to make Woody Woodpecker. The film, which is animated by R.C. Hamilton, Bill Nolan and Tom Palmer, features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who is substituted for the organ grinder's dancer, after the original one is comically swallowed up by Oswald's bubblegum.

<i>Chilly Con Carmen</i> 1930 animated film

Chilly Con Carmen is a 1930 animated short film which was presented by Carl Laemmle and was produced by Walter Lantz, who would go on to produce Woody Woodpecker with his wife, Gracie Lantz. The film, which was animated by R. C. Hamilton, Tom Palmer and 'Bill' Nolan, features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, as he attempts to engage in a game of bullfighting in order to charm a Mexican girl over his other girlfriend, Miss Hippo.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Walter's Lance (July 19, 2016), RACE RIOT (1929) , retrieved July 12, 2018
  2. ↑ "Gracie Lantz, 88, Dies; Cartoon Figure's Voice". Associated Press. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  3. ↑ FOLKART, BURT A. (March 19, 1992). "Gracie Lantz Dies; Invented Woody Woodpecker". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Walter's Lance (July 21, 2016), HURDY GURDY (1929) , retrieved July 12, 2018
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Bradley, Edwin M. (April 27, 2009). The First Hollywood Sound Shorts, 1926–1931. McFarland. ISBN   9781476606842.
  6. 1 2 Variety (1929). Variety (July 1929). Media History Digital Library Media History Digital Library. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Motion Picture News (1929). Motion Picture News (Jul - Sep 1929). New York The Museum of Modern Art Library. New York, Motion Picture News.
  8. 1 2 3 New York, Wid's Films and Film Folks (1929). The Film Daily (Jul-Dec 1929). Media History Digital Library. New York, Wid's Films and Film Folks, Inc.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.