Convict Concerto | |
---|---|
Directed by | Don Patterson (uncredited) |
Story by | Hugh Harmon |
Produced by | Walter Lantz |
Starring | Dal McKennon Daws Butler Grace Stafford (all uncredited) |
Music by | Clarence Wheeler Piano Player: Raymond Turner |
Animation by | Ray Abrams Don Patterson Herman Cohen |
Backgrounds by | Raymond Jacobs Art Landy |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Universal International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 6:11 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Convict Concerto is a 1954 Woody Woodpecker cartoon directed by Don Patterson. Released theatrically on November 22, 1954, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal International. [1] [2]
Woody is a shy piano tuner who is held at gunpoint by a bank robber named Mugsy who is a fugitive. Mugsy hides out inside the grand piano Woody is tuning, and directs him to start playing immediately. Mugsy plays part of Frédéric Chopin's Funeral March to threaten Woody, who replies with a rousing rendition of Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2". He manages to play the entire piece while being harassed by the gun-wielding Mugsy as well as a bricks-for-brains policeman hot on the trail of the stolen loot.
In Convict Concerto, the familiar red wood plank backdrop featured in the opening theme of Woody Woodpecker, where he bursts through a hole while announcing "Guess who?", is replaced by a light gray-colored wood backdrop. Notably, Woody appears noticeably smaller in this particular intro. This lighter background remained in use until 1970 when the series reverted to the red wood plank backdrop, albeit with the smaller Woody animation retained.
Veteran animator Hugh Harman is attributed with the story for this installment. He and Lantz had previously collaborated on the Oswald The Lucky Rabbit series during its production under Charles Mintz. [3]
A reference to Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff occurs when Mugsy quips to Woody, "Keep up the good work, Rachmaninoff!"
Convict Concerto marked Don Patterson's final contribution as director on a Woody Woodpecker short, although he continued to work as an animator at Lantz until Heap Big Hepcat in 1960. Patterson was not credited as a director for this short.
Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio that was active from 1928 to 1949 and then from 1950 to 1972. It was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Pictures.
Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon 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 theatrical cartoon was produced by Walter Lantz in 1972.
Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.
Knock Knock is an animated Andy Panda short film, produced by Walter Lantz. The cartoon is noted for being the first appearance of Woody Woodpecker, and was released by Universal Pictures on November 25, 1940.
Rhapsody Rabbit is a 1946 American animated comedy short film in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Friz Freleng and featuring Bugs Bunny. The movie was originally released to theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on November 9, 1946. This short is a follow-up of sorts to Freleng's 1941 Academy Award-nominated Rhapsody in Rivets, which featured the "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" by Franz Liszt. The "instrument" used to perform the "Hungarian Rhapsody" in Rhapsody in Rivets is a skyscraper under construction, while this short features Bugs playing the piece at a piano while being pestered by a mouse.
Chilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive penguin. He was created by director Paul Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953, and developed further by Tex Avery in the two subsequent films following Smith's debut entry. The character soon became the second most popular Lantz/Universal character, behind Woody Woodpecker. Fifty Chilly Willy cartoons were produced between 1953 and 1972.
The Woody Woodpecker Show is an American television series mainly composed of the animated cartoon shorts of Woody Woodpecker and other Walter Lantz characters including Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, The Beary Family and Inspector Willoughby all released by Walter Lantz Productions. The series was revived and reformatted several times, but remained popular for nearly four decades and allowed the studio to continue making theatrical cartoons until 1972 when it shut down. It also kept the Walter Lantz/Universal "cartunes" made during the Golden Age of American animation a part of the American consciousness. The Woody Woodpecker Show was named the 88th best animated series by IGN.
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.
Pantry Panic is the third animated cartoon short in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on November 24, 1941, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. This is one of the very few cartoons where Woody doesn't say "Guess Who?" in the opening titles, although his trademark laugh in the cartoon itself is still present.
This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 202 cartoons during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Productions, and were distributed by Universal Pictures, United Artists and Universal International. Also listed are miscellaneous cartoons that feature Woody but are not a part of the main short series.
Buzz Buzzard is an animated character who appeared in several Woody Woodpecker films produced by Walter Lantz Productions.
This is a list of Walter Lantz "Cartunes" featuring Wally Walrus. Most are entries in Lantz's Woody Woodpecker, but Wally has also appeared in The Overture to William Tell, Dog Tax Dodgers, Kiddie Koncert, Clash and Carry, and Tricky Trout, which are Musical Miniatures, Andy Panda and Chilly Willy cartunes.
The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection: Volume 2 is a three-disc DVD collection of theatrical cartoons starring Woody Woodpecker and the other Lantz characters, produced by Walter Lantz Productions for Universal Pictures between 1932 and 1965. The set was released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on April 15, 2008. Included in the set are seventy-five cartoon shorts, including the next forty-five Woody Woodpecker cartoons, continuing the production order from Volume 1. The other thirty cartoons include five Andy Panda shorts, five Chilly Willy shorts, five Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts, five Musical Favorites, and ten Cartune Classics.
Hypnotic Hick is a 1953 Woody Woodpecker cartoon supervised by Don Patterson. The film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and released on September 26, 1953 by Universal International.
Wet Blanket Policy is a 1948 Woody Woodpecker "cartune" directed by Dick Lundy. Released theatrically on August 27, 1948, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by United Artists. The film would later be reissued by Universal International, Lantz's former distributor.
Don Patterson was an American producer, animator, and director who worked at various studios during the Golden age of American animation, including Disney, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, Walter Lantz Productions, Grantray-Lawrence Animation, and Hanna-Barbera. He was the older brother of animator Ray Patterson.
Ace in the Hole is the fifth animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures, the short was released theatrically on June 22, 1942. Like many other animation and film studios in the 1940s, Walter Lantz Productions through its iconic character, Woody Woodpecker, became part of the war effort.
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.
Homer Pigeon is an animated character created by Walter Lantz, who made his first appearance in the cartoon "Pigeon Patrol" in 1942. His final appearance was in 1964, in The Woody Woodpecker Show episode "Spook-A-Nanny".
Musical Moments from Chopin is a Musical Miniatures cartoon, co-starring Andy Panda and Woody Woodpecker. It was directed by Dick Lundy and released on February 25, 1946.