145. Boulevardier from the Bronx (1936)

Release date: October 10th, 1936

Series: Merrie Melodies

Director: Friz Freleng

Starring: Berneice Hansell (Emily), Tedd Pierce (Dizzy Dan), Jack Carr (Claude), Mel Blanc[?] (Turtle), Melvin Gibby[?] (Horse)

The first cartoon to use “Merrily We Roll Along” as the theme song for Merrie Melodies! Eventually, this would be the only indicator in discerning the difference between cartoons in the Looney Tunes series and cartoons in the Merrie Melodies. Even then, a few LT shorts have gotten a Blue Ribbon release, which uses the MM theme song, further skewing any difference. This would be the theme song for Merrie Melodies all the way until 1964. Quite a momentous occasion! 

Plot wise: Emily from Let It Be Me makes a reappearance, falling for star baseball pitcher Dizzy Dan (a play on star pitcher Dizzy Dean.) Her sweetie, Claude, (the pitcher for Hickville) is none too pleased, and seeks to settle the argument in a good old game of baseball.

An underscore of the title song opens the cartoon, accompanied by a cluster of banners and pennants. One in particular advertises an upcoming baseball game in Hickville, welcoming a rooster by the name of Dizzy Dan, who will be pitching for the Chicago Giants. The faraway drone of a train whistle serves as a signal to an expectant homecoming band, and they launch into an exuberant rendition of “It Looks Like a Big Night Tonight”. The train hurtles right past them, without taking any note—quite the impressive overlay of the train rushing past. A cloud of smoke fills the frame and the music halts.

The train is at a standstill, hissing and exuding black smoke just a bit ahead of the station. So, of course, the villagers push the train station along to the train ITSELF. Another impressive overlay, especially for 1936. Fanfare resumes, and we go inside the cabin to see Dizzy Dan gleefully looking out the window at his adoring fans. He swaggers along, posing at the end of the caboose, met with applause and cheers. Off to the side, Emily the hen and her (presumed) boyfriend admire the spectacle from afar. Emily is clearly smitten—“Isn’t he handsome?” Her boyfriend thinks otherwise, scoffing “Awww,” dismissively while she giggles.

Dizzy Dan asserts he has quite the inflated ego, turning around to show off the back of his jersey. “THE GREAT DIZZY DAN” blinks on and off in pompous neon lettering. With that, Dan orders “Okay, maestro! Strike up the band!” and launches into a talk-song rendition of “Boulevardier from the Bronx”, a song that would be used in a handful of Warner Bros cartoons. 

The animation is amusing, with interludes such as a man blowing into a trombone, his hat flying off in accompaniment, or the lettering on a drum bouncing off with each hit. Even more amusing is dan himself kicking at the ground and clucking like a feral rooster—in case you didn’t know what species he was! Emily swoons from the sidelines, her boyfriend shooting steely glares at her and Dizzy Dan. All in all, an amusing song number.

Finally, the fated event arrives as we fade in to the baseball field. A pig shouts through a megaphone “For today’s game, Giants vs. Hickville! Pitching for Hickville: Claude!” 

Claude, Emily’s gangly, hayseed, envious rooster boyfriend is met with a wave of noise... booing. A hilarious contrast as Claude rakes in the glory, shaking his hands until realizing the clamor isn’t a positive one. The pig announcer then introduces Dizzy Dan, whose status is so gilded and precious that his sacred pitching arm is safely propped up on a pillow, carried by a little duck assistant. “Play ball!” 

The diamond is filled as everyone assumes their positions, with dan contentedly tossing the baseball in his hand. Turning his hat around first, the catcher, a turtle (whose animation would be reused in Freleng’s Porky’s Baseball Broadcast) turns his shell around 180 degrees to substitute as protective padding, garbling a string of incomprehensible encouragements to Dan. 

A measly little Mr. Magoo type pig is up to bat. Dizzy assures his fans that he’ll “Strike em all out!”, and with that he goes for the pitch, whirling his arm at bewildering speeds (accompanied fittingly by the sound of a jet plane warming up). He throws the pitch, the catcher managing to catch it as he’s propelled into the backstop—a gag that would be reused to a much higher degree in Freleng’s classic hit Baseball Bugs. To remedy his throbbing, burning hand, the pitcher soaks his injury in a nearby bucket filled with water, steam hissing at the initial contact.

Second pitch plays out the same as the first, reusing the animation. Strike two. This time, for the third pitch, the catcher holds a pipe bent in a U shape. The ball hurtles into one end and pops out of the other, landing right back in Dizzy Dan’s clutches as the third strike is made. A victorious, obnoxious rooster cackle from Dan. The Giants are beating Hickville (not by much), with one point per inning, the game in the second inning. What a riveting game! 

Now, hayseed Claude is up to pitch against the mean Giants, who are much more competent on the field than Hickville’s team. Claude pitches to a wiener dog, which contorts his body in a sideways U as the ball whizzes right past him, nearly taking him out. A ball—the batter isn’t too pleased, (no pun intended) barking “Hey! Be careful!” Another pitch, and the batter hits it.

There’s some nice, floaty animation as Claude runs backwards, repeatedly calling “I got it! I got it! I got it!” in a dopey, hayseed voice. Instead of one ball returning to the ground, a brief shower of baseballs rains on Claude. A bit of an incoherent gag, but coherent enough to get the general gist across. The wiener dog runs across the field, elongating his body and contracting it with each turn as his legs catch up to him. A home run, much to the befuddlement of Claude.

Elsewhere, Dizzy Dan is off to the side, flirting with Emily, stroking her chin and ogling at her while she giggles in the stands. He swaggers to the batting plate, posing nonchalantly and leaning against his bat, waiting for Claude to pitch. The ball whizzes by, right into the catcher’s mitt while Dan doesn’t move a muscle. Another ball whizzes by, another strike. 

Emily calls “Ooh, you better hit it!” from the stands, but Dan shrugs her off. “That’s alright! I only need one ball!” This time, he finally assumes the batting position, and most definitely hits the ball with the final pitch. The ball rockets straight into Claude, propelling him across the field, right into the backstop.

Dan has his own personal cheering section as Emily cries “Run! Run! Run!” Dan’s in no hurry. “I got lotsa time,” he drawls dismissively. Claude is positively fed up with Dan’s attitude, and throws the ball back to the catcher. An interesting layout as the ball flies IN from the audience and to the catcher, Dan zipping around the diamond like it’s nothing. Safe. Another victorious cackle.

What a high score. Just riveting! Neck and neck! At the final inning. The giants are in a staggering lead of 3-0. Claude is up to bat, glaring daggers against his cocky mortal foe. Dan reassures him “Now i’ll strike ya out so you can go home!” 

He gives his famous whirlwind pitch, and the ball soars right past dan, the impact causing a tremendous gust of wind to blow across the field. The next scene is wonderfully structured: “Now i’ll show ya my slow ball!” Carl Stalling’s score does wonders as a slow, slurred rendition of “Boulevardier of the Bronx” accompanies dan throwing his pitch in slow motion, the ball lazily floating through the air, creeping towards claude. Even greater is when Claude swings his bat wildly as the ball approaches, a flurry of activity contested with such a slow moving ball—and he still misses.

Stakes are high with the final pitch of the game. Dan anticipates and gives one final whirlwind throw... and Claude hits it. A jaunty accompaniment of “In the Stirrups” as Claude darts home, the crowd going wild. Final score: 3-4, Hickville. Claude is showered in hats being thrown off the field, with him waving his own as a dejected Dizzy Dan trudges up to him in defeat. The cartoon ends as Claude laughs in Dan’s face, doing the same obnoxious cackle that Dan had been taunting the entire short.

A decent cartoon, but not much above that. Freleng’s best baseball cartoon (and one of his best cartoons in general) would be Baseball Bugs, released 10 years later in 1946. There definitely are some similarities, such as the backstop gags, but Baseball Bugs certainly possesses a lot more energy and wit than this cartoon. With that said, though, this is a good cartoon for its time. Catchy music, decent animation, good voice acting, but it’s nothing particularly thrilling. Not bad, though! I’d maybe do a one-time watch. I don’t regret watching it, but I think this was enough for me.

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