The Old Man of the Mountain (film)

Last updated
The Old Man of the Mountain
Opening title card for 'The Old Man of the Mountain'.PNG
Directed by Dave Fleischer
Produced by Max Fleischer
Starring Cab Calloway
Bonnie Poe
(all uncredited)
Music by Cab Calloway and his Orchestra
Animation by Bernard Wolf
Thomas Johnson
Color process Black and white
Color (1972 redrawn color edition)
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • August 4, 1933 (1933-08-04)
Running time
6:57
5:45 (1972 redrawn color edition with titles, live-action footage and credits cut)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Old Man of the Mountain is a 1933 American pre-Code live-action/animated short in the Betty Boop series, produced by Fleischer Studios. [1] Featuring music by Cab Calloway and his Orchestra (as with Minnie the Moocher ), the short was originally released to theaters on August 4, 1933 by Paramount Pictures. Calloway voices all of the characters in the cartoon save for Betty herself (voiced by Bonnie Poe, her singing voice provided by Mae Questel). Calloway and his orchestra also perform all of the music in the cartoon, including two songs Calloway co-wrote.

Contents

Plot

The short begins with a live-action introduction of Calloway and his orchestra, who perform a short chorus of "Minnie the Moocher" (written by Cab Calloway, Clarence Gaskill and Irving Mills) before performing a vamp of the title song, "The Old Man of the Mountain" (Billy Hill [aka George Brown] and Victor Young).

As the cartoon proper begins, a lion on roller skates (made of rabbits) rushes from his guard post atop a mountain, racing into a nearby village shouting "Look out! The Old Man of the Mountain!" The lion's warning sparks a mass exodus of the other animals who pack up their things and start to flee as the lion continues to warn "Look out! The Old Man of the Mountain!"

In time, Betty Boop emerges from a guest house in order to find out what is going on. She confronts a passing owl, who in song describes the Old Man of the Mountain, a predatory hermit who threatens the livelihood of the villagers, particularly the women. Despite the owl's warnings, Betty is curious and declares, "I'm going up to see that old man of the mountain." and starts a trek up the mountainside. She passes several people fleeing from the Old Man, including a woman pushing a carriage with her triplets—who look suspiciously like the Old Man of the Mountain.

When Betty gets to the top of the mountain, the Old Man of the Mountain emerges from behind a rock. Over twice as tall as Betty, the Old Man backs the girl into his cave and, as Betty fights off his advances, begins to sing with her a duet of "You Gotta Ho-De-Ho (To Get Along with Me)" (Billy Hill [aka George Brown] and J. Russel Robinson). Betty loosens up and joins in, and the two begin to flirt with each other. After his first verse, the Old Man looms menacingly over Betty. When Betty asks what he's going to do, he says he's "gonna do the best I can" before launching into a jazzy dance routine. The Old Man and Betty continue to dance together, but when the song is over, the Old Man makes a lustful grab for Betty, who runs for her life back down the mountainside.

The Old Man gives chase, and grabs Betty just long enough to catch hold of her dress, which Betty jumps out of. As Betty finds refuge behind a large tree in her underwear, her dress comes to life and slaps the Old Man before running back to its owner. Betty climbs the tree to apparent safety, but as the Old Man comes over and attempts to coax her down with "The Scat Song" (C. Calloway, Frank Perkins and Mitchell Parish), he picks the tree up and bounces it on the ground, causing Betty to slide down.

Before he can have his way with her, however, the animals from the village rally to Betty's aid and surround the Old Man, tying his arms and legs together by a tree. They then proceed to beat him up, tickle and humiliate him, thus exacting revenge for all the times he had made their lives a misery, with Betty watching with glee.

Cast

Controversy

The original rare end card for this cartoon, cut off from the film negative in the fifties. Original end card for 'The Old Man of the Mountain'.PNG
The original rare end card for this cartoon, cut off from the film negative in the fifties.

According to film historian Christopher Lehman, the sexually suggestive nature of this film caused "some Americans at the time, especially Catholics," to complain to exhibitors who then pressured Paramount Studios (distributor of the Betty Boop series) to tone down the Betty Boop character, which subsequently pressured Fleischer Studios to do the same thing. This can be seen when an old man sees Betty and acts crazy, a fish starts to follow her before getting hit by his wife, and Betty's dress even is removed in one scene. [2]

Reception

The Film Daily wrote on July 24, 1933, "To the tune of Cab Calloway's music and vocalizing, this Max Fleischer animated unreels some amusing antics having to do with the kidnapping of Betty Boop by the old man of the mountain and her rescue by the forest animals. A nice subject of its kind, the Calloway musical background being distinctive and the cartoon stuff amusing." [3]

Notes

Related Research Articles

<i>Snow-White</i> (1933 film) 1933 film

Snow-White is a 1933 American animated short in the Betty Boop series from Max Fleischer's Fleischer Studios. Dave Fleischer was credited as director, although virtually all the animation was done by Roland Crandall, who received the opportunity to make Snow-White on his own as a reward for his several years of devotion to the Fleischer studio. The resulting film, which took six months to complete, is considered both Crandall's masterwork and an important milestone of the Golden age of American animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cab Calloway</span> American jazz singer (1907–1994)

Cabell Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the swing era. His niche of mixing jazz and vaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleischer Studios</span> American animation studio

Fleischer Studios was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of its films. In its prime, Fleischer Studios was a premier producer of animated cartoons for theaters, with Walt Disney Productions being its chief competitor in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Boop</span> Animated cartoon character

Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character designed by Grim Natwick at the request of Max Fleischer. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She was featured in 90 theatrical cartoons between 1930 and 1939. She has also been featured in comic strips and mass merchandising.

<i>Talkartoons</i> Series of animated cartoons

Talkartoons is a series of 42 animated cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1932.

"Minnie the Moocher" is a jazz-scat song first recorded in 1931 by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, selling over a million copies. "Minnie the Moocher" is most famous for its nonsensical ad libbed ("scat") lyrics. In performances, Calloway would have the audience and the band members participate by repeating each scat phrase in a form of call and response, eventually making it too fast and complicated for the audience to replicate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mae Questel</span> American actress (1908–1998)

Mae Questel was an American actress. She was best known for providing the voices for the animated characters Betty Boop, Olive Oyl and numerous others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bimbo (Fleischer Studios)</span> 1930s cartoon dog, companion of Betty Boop

Bimbo is a fat, black and white cartoon pup created by Fleischer Studios. He is most well known for his role in the Betty Boop cartoon series, where he featured as Betty's main love interest. A precursor design of Bimbo, originally named Fitz, first appeared in the Out of the Inkwell series.

HaroldSeeger was an American animated cartoon producer and director who owned his own studio, the Hal Seeger Studio. He is most famous as the creator of the 1960s animated series Batfink, Milton the Monster and Fearless Fly. During the 1930s and 1940s he was also active as a comics writer and artist, most famously for the Betty Boop comic strip and Leave It to Binky.

<i>Popeye the Sailor</i> (film) 1933 American film

Popeye the Sailor is a 1933 animated short produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Publix Corporation. While billed as a Betty Boop cartoon, it was produced as a vehicle for Popeye in his debut animated appearance.

Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle is a 1932 Fleischer Studios Betty Boop animated short, directed by Dave Fleischer.

Pudgy Takes a Bow-Wow is a 1937 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop and Pudgy the Pup. It was directed by Dave Fleischer and produced by Max Fleischer.

Out of the Inkwell is a 1938 Max Fleischer/Betty Boop live-action and animated short film. The title and concept for the film were a tribute to the Out of the Inkwell series of films that Max Fleischer had produced during the 1920s.

Betty Boop's Rise to Fame is a 1934 Fleischer Studios animated short film, starring Betty Boop.

Betty Boop, M.D. is a 1932 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop, and featuring Koko the Clown and Bimbo. The animated short is certainly one of the more surreal entries in the Betty Boop filmography.

Barnacle Bill is a 1930 Fleischer Studios animated short film. It is part of the Talkartoons series, and featured Betty Boop and Bimbo.

Willard Gustav Bowsky was an American animator best known for his work at Fleischer Studios in New York City and Miami, Florida, where he worked on cartoons featuring Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor, and Superman, in addition to two feature-length animated films. Fellow Fleischer animator Shamus Culhane described Bowsky as "what one might call a pre-McCarthy, gung ho, all-American Babbitt." He was described as being outspoken with anti-Semitic remarks, but skilled at animating complicated perspective shots and directing many of the jazz-influenced cartoons produced by the studio.

Sally Swing is a 1938 Fleischer Studios animated short film in Max Fleischer's Betty Boop series. The short features the voice talents of Rose Marie as Sally Swing and Margie Hines as Betty Boop.

The Old Mill Pond is a 1936 American animated short film in the Happy Harmonies series, directed by Hugh Harman for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio.

<i>Minnie the Moocher</i> (film) 1932 film

Minnie the Moocher is a 1932 Betty Boop cartoon produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures.

References

  1. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 54–56. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. ↑ Christopher P. Lehman, The Colored Cartoon: Black Representation in American Animated Short Films, 1907-1954 (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press) 32-36.
  3. ↑ Sampson, Henry T. (1998). That's Enough, Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960. Scarecrow Press. p. 193. ISBN   978-0810832503.
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.