117. Billboard Frolics (1935)

Release date: November 16th, 1935

Series: Merrie Melodies

Director: Friz Freleng

Starring: Buddy Doyle (Eddie Camphor, Police Announcer), Billy Bletcher (Rub-em-Off), Count Cutelli (Cat, Dog, Chicken), The Varsity Three (Chorus)

The first cartoon to use “Merrily We Roll Along”, which, fittingly enough, would become the theme song for the Merrie Melodies starting in 1936 and all the way through 1964. It wasn’t formally adopted as the theme song until 1936’s Boulevardier of the Bronx, but still worth noting. If my memory serves me correctly, this is also the first Merrie Melody whose title isn’t reflective of the song showcased in the cartoon. As always, billboard advertisements come to life, and trouble brews when a hungry cat preys upon a helpless little chick.

It’s night, and a grassy lot in the city is illuminated by a number of stray billboards. Focus on a billboard advertising old maid cleanser, some other menial posters, and finally a poster advertising Eddie Camphor and Rub-em-off  “and his wioleen”. An obvious reference to singer Eddie Cantor, a star who would find himself in many a Looney Tunes short. Rub-em-off is also a spoof on his violinist David Rubinoff.

Eddie does his signature cartoon “eye roll”, referenced in cartoons such as Shuffle off to Buffalo and Slap Happy Pappy to name a select few. Together they launch into “Merrily We Roll Along”, which cantor sang originally. The impression of Cantor is fun and lively, and Bletcher’s characterization as Rub-em-off is just as amusing. They don’t do much in terms of dance, but it still remains relatively lively.

Song number over, dance routine begins. A cocktail shaker in a poster shakes itself like maracas, accompanying a girl advertising all expense tours to Cuba. The animation feels looser than normal, but the dance remains fun and playful. Your stereotypical Freleng girl.

Some hot tamales lend their voices, strumming a fork like a guitar, reused from How Do I Know it’s Sunday, as is a sequence of clogging maids birthed from “Old Maid Cleanser” cans. Now a sequence with Russian rye bread dancing the hopak, their advertisement reading “Baked on the five year plan”—a reference to Stalin’s five year plan(s). Animation is fun for all of these sequences, but none too groundbreaking.

A more upbeat, amusing sequence as a line of penguins engage in a dance sequence, rolling on their mannequin feet like skates and intermittently quacking—because all penguins quack, right? A woman in an above advertisement rains powder below on the penguins to create the illusion of snow. One of the more entertaining dancing sequences in the cartoon, if not the most entertaining. The animation is smooth and flouncy.

The stars of The Girl at the Ironing Board make a comeback and reuse their dances from the aforementioned short. Two tapdancing pajamas do their thing, drumming their buttflaps on upturned wash tubs, while the main “woman” from the short (nothing more than an assortment of clothes) dances as well. Smooth animation, and the addition of color is a nice touch, but nothing extremely wow-worthy. Freleng’s knack for timing is not to be taken for granted, however.

Meanwhile, a hungry chick spots a worm writhing around in an apple. As all hungry, inquisitive chicks do, the little bird jabs its head inside the apple in an attempt to snag the poor worm. Reused from pop goes your heart, the worm crawls out of the other end of the apple and gives the chick a spanking, the chick leaping around in pain and clutching its derrière. Even more determined (especially after the worm mocks the chick), the bird tugs at the worm, the worm clutching desperately to a nearby twig for support. Just as the worm is about to be made into mush, it pushes against the apple, knocking the apple into the chick and sending the chick into a daze.

Enter a chase scene, the worm rolling around like a wheel while the bird nips at it from behind. Truthfully I forget which exact cartoon it was sourced from, Ain’t Nature Grand!? Regardless, the animation of the worm has DEFINITELY been reused in many a Harman-Ising cartoon. After 100+ cartoons, it gets harder to keep track, especially when those early cartoons are so barebones.

The bird chases the worm right into a junk pile, dragging out a long strand... which turns out to be an air pump. Knocking into a branch sends a propped up cellar door crashing straight on top of the pump. An amusing visual as the chick, connector still in its mouth, inflates like a balloon, even floating into the air and flopping to the ground.

Enter the same cat from It’s Got Me Now!, creeping along a fence. It passes by the moon, illuminating the cat’s innards like an x-ray, recycled from Sittin’ on a Backyard Fence. The food chain reminds us of its existence as the cat sees the chick, licking its lips. The cat pounces, providing a menacing meowl (animation of the closeup reused from My Green Fedora).

I LOVE this chick’s face. Full of personality, probably the most this cartoon has had so far. The chick provides a smug, guilty grin as it sways to and fro nervously. A cheeky grin as the bird bids goodbye with a wave, trotting away nonchalantly... and instantly picking up into a hurried run.

An advertisement of a bellhop, labeled “‘CALLING FOR PHILMORE’ CIGARETTES”, notices the chick’s peril and shouts “Calling all cars! Calling all cars!” Two police officers in a “police chief gasoline” ad (a reference to Texaco’s fire chief gasoline that was used until the 1970s) chase after the cat... figuratively. A fun visual as their car speeds along, a jaunty rendition of “Merrily We Roll Along” underscoring the scene, yet their car only speeds along inside their billboard. In reality, they’re merely suspended. One of the officers whips out a machine gun and shoots at the cat (lovely, huh?), the bullets actually breaking the barrier between realities.

An advertisement for “the electric hand” pokes the victor phonograph dog, alerting the dog to the trouble. The dog (fun fact: he actually has a name—Nipper) chases after the cat, running straight into a tube. The conniving cat turns the valves on the tube so as to trap the dog, the dog reduced to a mere barking bump thrashing around inside the metal pipe.

Back to the chick, who runs for its life after realizing the cat is free of distraction. Just as the cat has the poor bird cornered, the arm from the Arm and Hammer logo—this time parodied as “Ham & Armour” conks the cat right on the head with its signature hammer. The little bird perched itself on top of the dazed cat’s head, slapping its sides and crowing like a rooster (parallel to Country Boy). Iris out.

It’s unfair of me to deduct points for recycled animation, but I have a different perspective than a moviegoer in 1935, or even you reading this (unless you’re as much as a nut as I am and have actually taken my recommendations and watched these, to which I say thank you and hang in there). Watching all of these cartoons in rapid succession, you pick up on recycled animation much quicker, and so you can’t help but notice it. The average moviegoer isn’t going to say “Hey! That was used in The Girl at the Ironing Board, directed by Friz Freleng, released August 23rd, 1934 as a part of the Merrie Melodies series!” So, because of that, I won’t try to let that influence my opinion so much. But the retakes were rife in this one, and an indicator that they were either out of time, money, ideas, or all three.

The cartoon felt incoherent and not exactly sloppy, but extremely loose, the closeups of the cat meowing especially. All of the gags have lost their novelty (again speaking as someone who is watching these one after the other), and it’s hard not to say “I’ve seen this before, it’s getting old, it’s not funny.” It’s also difficult to come down from the high that was Gold Diggers of ‘49. Not at all Tex’s best, far from it, but from what we’ve seen so FAR it’s like a huge sigh of relief. And thus, going back to cartoons like these make for a harder transition.

This cartoon wasn’t THAT bad, though. The music was fun (how can you hate hearing the Merrie Melodies theme song, knowing it would be THE Merrie Melodies theme song?) and the Eddie Cantor caricature was highly amusing. Freleng’s musical timing saved a lot of visuals from being too dry and trite. But it just doesn’t have much going for it, it lacks coherence and confidence. It just feels like Friz’s heart wasn’t fully in it. So, I’d say skip it. Yet, as always...

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