102. Along Flirtation Walk (1935)

Release date: April 20th, 1935

Series: Merrie Melodies

Director: Friz Freleng

Starring: The Varsity Three (Chorus), Tedd Pierce (Coach)

Another “college football” short—various residents of Plymouth Rock College flirt with each other. Elsewhere, the college tackles on the Rhode Island Reds at the football game, and it seems the Reds have a few tricks up their sleeves.

A moonlit night, and the halls of Plymouth Rock College are bursting with music and dance. Some nice shots of the windows outside, looking into the college, silhouette shots of chickens and ducks dancing with each other. A sign outside advertises “TONITE — DANCE and RALLY for BIG GAME TOMORROW — BOOST YOUR TEAM”. Inside the dance rages on, the array of poultry giving the band an applause.

Time for the spotlight number. Four ducks line up, all wearing lettered sweaters. After some miscommunication, they scramble in order to spell out “GLEE CLUB”, singing “Along Flirtation Walk” through their megaphones.

Sure enough, outside the campus is a sign tacked to a tree: “FLIRTATION WALK”, decorated with a few hearts pierced by arrows. Two turkeys flirt, until the girlfriend spots the audience. The boyfriend glares and drags her close, fanning his feathers so we can’t see their affections. The boyfriend pops back up, waggling his tongue—accentuated with the Orlando Martin trombone gobble.

Meanwhile, two ducks flirt in a fountain. They give a lovestruck sigh, as does a lonely chicken, observing from afar on a bench. The ducks realize they’re being watched and dive into the water, popping out at the top of the fountain, cartoon hearts aplenty. Very amusing silent interaction between the ducks and the chicken as the singers continue to warble their song.

The next day, game day. Fans pour into the bustling stadium. Some interesting animation as the band blares on, the stands completely symmetrical as each half bobs in and out of each other.

Neat little milestone—as the Plymouth Rock College chickens stream out onto the field, the underscore that plays so triumphantly is “Frat”. Frat would be a Looney Tunes staple, kind of like Powerhouse in its own way. Elsewhere, the opposing team, the Rhode Island Reds, also stride confidently onto the team.

The chickens are all getting limbered you for the big game. The umpire eyes his pocket watch, tweeting on his whistle to signal the start of the game. Some nice visuals as his face turns green, his feathers thin and his glasses fly off as he exerts so much effort to blow on the whistle.

Both teams of chickens line up at individual boxes lined with straw. Each box has a metal pipe below, some troughs situated in front of the pipes. A few calls and they’re off... to lay eggs. I love it! I was kinda dreading this one. I suspected it would be another Freddy the Freshman or Bosko the Drawback, both relatively mediocre football cartoons. Though this isn’t the most exciting, it is a funny concept and mixed up the monotony of the football genre.

Duck cheerleaders for the Reds cheer on the chickens, drastically improving their egg production. The Reds rocket ahead, their 41 looming over the measly 26 held by Plymouth Rock.

The Plymouth Rock coach is rightfully distressed, pacing left and right while chuffing on a cigar. A chicken sits on the sideline, the same one from the beginning who was sidelined from the romantic ducks. The chicken hurriedly clucks to the coach, presumably asking if he should play. The duck just terrorizes him and sneers “NYEEEEEEHHHHH!!” (which is great), effectively shutting the poor chicken up.

Our first half draws to a close. Plymouth Rock 30, Rhode Island Reds 75. I love the difference in attitude and walk cycles as the respective teams go to the locker rooms. The Reds jog away merrily, chests puffed out proudly while Plymouth Rock sulks. A nice contrast in moods as the Plymouth Rock coach chews out the time, whereas the Reds are celebrating their staggering lead.

What is the secret to the Reds’ success? Billiard balls. The coach tosses billiard balls into the gullets of each chicken lined up, giving them extra support to push out. Sneaky! Yet creative nonetheless. The Reds march out of their locker room as the second half begins, stomachs jostling with billiard balls.

With a few calls from the Reds, the game is off and running once more. The Reds pop out their flow of eggs, all appropriately colored and numbered like billiard balls. Of course, no suspicions arise... except for the players on Plymouth Rock's team. Poor guys! One of the players received a penalty when baby chicks pour out the chute instead of eggs. The umpire docks 15 points of the team, sinking them back from 55 to 40.

Back to the anxious, cigar smoking coach, who still refuses to listen to the poor sidelined chicken. Nevertheless, he has no choice BUT to listen. 5 minutes are left in the game, the score a whopping 40 to 98. Begrudgingly, the coach allows the chicken into the game, who’s absolutely ecstatic.

The chicken hops into its nest, and then we’re met with a crowd scene. After the crowd scene follows a shot of the scoreboard, and a TON of eggs rolling down the chute in Plymouth Rock’s side, the score rocketing upwards. The score is now 99 to 100.

We cut back to two chickens on Plymouth Rock’s team glancing at the board, the main chicken now wearing a girdle. It looks as though the teammates plopped a girdle on the chicken and pulled, squeezing out the eggs. This all happened offscreen, but it feels rather accidental and not deliberate. It reduces the flow of the scene and is a bit jarring, like hey, where did that come from? Nevertheless. The two ducks whack the chicken on the head with mallets, and two eggs come rolling out, topping off the score at 101 to 100. Plymouth Rock wins! 

A happy end as the poor chicken who had wanted to be in the game for so long is now tossed into the air, surrounded by an armada of fans. Iris out.

I actually enjoyed this cartoon, and I didn’t think I would! It reminded me a lot of Freddy the Freshman, which I didn’t particularly love (nor hate). I’m glad to see I was wrong. Granted, it’s not Friz’s best work. It becomes slightly repetitive and the novelty of the egg laying wears off after awhile, but it’s still an entertaining concept to think about. The characters are likable enough, shallow as they are—especially the Plymouth Rock coach. I loved the distinct personalities between the two teams, the confidence of the Reds and the sorrow of Plymouth Rock. This falls into the above mediocre category for me, worth a “one and done” watch just because the concept is entertaining.

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