Box Car Blues

Box Car Blues
Title card
Directed by	Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising
Produced by	Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising
Starring	Bernard B. Brown (uncredited)
Music by	Frank Marsales
Animation by	Rollin Hamilton Max Maxwell
Color process	Black-and-white
Production company	Harman-Ising Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	October 18, 1930 (1930-10-18) [1] (earliest known date)
Running time	6:45
Country	United States
Language	English

Box Car Blues is a 1930 American animated comedy short film. It is the fifth film in the Looney Tunes series featuring Bosko. ^{[2] [3]} It was released as early as October 18, 1930. ^{[1] [a]}

Plot

The film

Bosko sings and dances with a banjo playing pig in the furthest boxcar of a train. They are quite jolly until Bosko starts a mournful rendition of Cryin' for the Carolines , at which the pig starts to cry. The train proceeds to go up an absurdly steep anthropomorphic mountain, knocking the pig out cold as they lose balance. The train reveals the mountain's buttocks, whose furious reaction of obscuring the area enables the train to climb to its peak and continue its journey. The boxcar with Bosko and the pig in it is left behind, leaving Bosko temporarily decapitated as he calls for help. The train passes through a dark tunnel and is repeatedly sliced open as it passes through tracks varying in width. He is knocked onto the top of tunnels, rolling into a running cow chased by the boxcar and eventually on the boxcar itself. Holding onto the boxcar, he slides down a steep slope while being hit by multiple obstacles. The boxcar eventually rams into a tree, flattening the cow while the boxcar's parts rain from the sky. The pig wakes up and shields himself and Bosko with an umbrella, only to be hit by his banjo in particularly painful fashion. Bosko comforts him and plays the banjo as they restart their journey as if nothing ever happened.

Notes

1. Archived from an October 24 article, this is based on the fact that new cartoon shorts would premiere in theaters on Saturdays.

References

1. "Box Cart Blues - Earliest Known Date". The Morning Call. October 24, 1930. p. 22. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
2. Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 12. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
3. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons . Checkmark Books. pp.  57-58. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved June 6, 2020.

External links

• Box Car Blues at IMDb
• Box Car Blues on YouTube