147. Little Beau Porky (1936)

Disclaimer: This cartoon contains racial stereotypes and caricatures. While perhaps not as extreme in depiction as other cartoons, the racism and stereotypes are still very much there and deserve addressing. I do not at all condone these depictions, I find them gross and wrong, but to gloss over them would be just as wrong. Thank you for understanding.

Release date: November 14th, 1936

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Frank Tashlin

Starring: Joe Dougherty (Porky), Billy Bletcher (Ali-Mode, Le Commandant)

Frank Tashlin’s second cartoon, and it’s yet another foreign legion short. Bosko had one, Buddy had one, and now Porky has one. Porky would have another legion short in 1940 with Bob Clampett’s Ali-Baba Bound. This time, a bumbling yet eager Porky is ready to go out and get the treacherous ali-mode. Unfortunately, his snobbish commandant dismisses him to camel scrubbing duties, deeming him incapable of the mission. But no matter—while holding up the fort, Porky receives an unexpected visitor.

The opening sequence is an impressive one at that. Essentially a montage of silhouettes at the foreign legion, the execution is very well done. A silhouette trumpets a fanfare, while another shot displays the shadow of a flag being raised, the shadow reflecting across both the floor and the wall. A legionnaire begins a drum march, and we get this lovely marching scene, the silhouettes weaving in and out as they travel across various walls, some receding into the distance, some not. All in all, a very impressive scene that displays Frank Tashlin’s eye for staging and cinematography. This right here is why he’s one of my favorite directors—his cartoons are so innovative in approach.

Next, we pan across a long wall, getting to a sign that reads LE COMMANDANT. The mystery of offscreen jangling is solved as Le Commandant himself pompously marches on screen, his plethora of medals clanging profusely against his giant chest with each step. Man, I would not want to animate that. (I find myself saying this often in some of Tashlin’s cartoons) the animation of the commandant turning around to face the audience isn’t as smooth, feeling a bit rough around the edges (maybe an assistant did it?) but the scene of him marching along is very strong and humorous.

Another rolling pan ot the legionnaires, all standing at attention. Though they vary in all shapes and sizes, their respect for the commandant is front and center. Each stiff as a board, going down the line... and then there’s Porky, slouched over asleep as he leans on the guy next to him. A lovely display of devotion and veneration. The commandant takes notice, barking “PORKY PIG! ATTENTION!” 

Porky snaps awake and dutifully stands at attention. In fact, he tries so hard to prove that he has been dutifully standing still the entire time that he kicks his leg out to snap it back in position, knocking over the entire line of legionnaires in the process like bowling pins. Another “ATTENTION!” reverses the bowling pin soldiers, who all pile up back into place, cleverly accompanied by the reverse sound effects of bowling pins being knocked over. 

The commandant calls for Porky once more, and there’s a long, drawn out, hilariously timed pause as Porky doesn’t move. One more “PORKY PIG!” snags his attention. Porky stutters profusely (more than usual), “Wh-wh-w-who-uh-wh-who-uh-who-uh-who-uh-wh-who, me-uh-m-mm-me-uh-me-mmm——me?” 

Great combination of sound effects as the commandant mocks Porky furiously, the angry jangle of his medals drowning out his retort as he stutters back “YE-YE-YE-YE-YE-YES Y-YO-YOU-UH... YES, YOU!!!” With a dutiful march forward, Porky arrives at the commandant’s side and gives a salute. “FORWARD MARCH!” 

The commandant turns around, his giant saber sheath knocking Porky to the ground. Porky recovers, and we get this wonderful scene of Porky mocking the commandant. He winks at the audience, shoving his hat forward on his face he and following in time with the commandant, swinging his belly around pompously and all, even popping one eye open at the audience as if to make sure they’re still watching. He gives another wink, completely oblivious that the commandant has stopped his march. Porky climbs up the saber sheath, bumping into the commandant’s arm and tumbling down to the ground. He recovers in no time with a dutiful salute.

“YOU, SCRUB MY CAMEL! AND BE CAREFUL YOU DO NOT HURT HIM!” the commandant orders. Porky makes his way towards the camel, situated by a wash tub and a ladder for convenience, giving a high pitched “Okey-dokey.”

Porky scrubs his brush against a bar of soap, whistling a jolly rendition of “Fella with the Fiddle”. He climbs the ladder and prepares to scrub the camel, when the camel lies down on the ground in protest. Porky shrugs, making his way back down to the ladder, the camel standing back up. Thinking for a moment, Porky winks at the audience and inconspicuously saunters to the ladder slowly, whistling nonchalantly, when he scrambles to the top of the ladder as fast as he could, just in time for the camel to duck again. What ensues is a great scene of Porky repeatedly climbing up and down the ladder, the camel standing and sitting when necessary. Combined with Carl Stalling’s score, the musical timing is excellent as both Porky and the camel rocket back and forth, the ladder eventually breaking under Porky’s weight, Porky flopping to the ground and glaring at the audience in exasperated defeat.

Elsewhere, an urgent legionnaire bounds through the desert on his camel. Animation is smooth and bouncy as the legionnaire bounces up and down on the camel, not unlike a similar gag in Porky in Egypt. A guard spots the legionnaire and pulls a lever to open the doors into the legion. Eventually, the legionnaire slides off of the camel’s neck, still galloping frantically. Grabbing a paper, he yells “Le Commandant, Le Commandant!”, tripping over a rock in the process. The paper flies over to the commandant, who glares at it with steely eyes as the paper floats around him like a paper airplane. Finally, the commandant uses his sharp, needle point beard to pierce the paper in place.

Another amusing facial hair gag as the commandant’s mustache furls into a pair of glasses. The animation is a little rough, but the joke is still there. The telegram (or, in this case, camelgram) alerts the commandant that Ali-Mode’s gang is on the attack, and that he must come at once. Great detail of the hole pierced through the paper from the commandant’s beard.

Next up is a lovely sequence of overlays. A legionnaire trumpets a fanfare, and images flash by one by one of the preparations. Legionnaires running through the barracks, shouting and yelling, grabbing their rifles, and embarking on their camels. Another great cinematographic trick of Tashlin’s that works in his favor, successfully adding moodiness and a sense of adventure.

All of the legionnaires stream out on camelback, with Porky not too far behind, jauntily making his way towards the exit. Now I know for certain this animation was reused in Porky in Egypt, or at the very least inspired from. Porky’s sense of nonchalant confidence is interrupted when the commandant yanks him back by the camel’s tail. We then get another Tashlin favorite, characters getting up close and personal to the screen. The commandant barks at the screen, “Where do you think YOU’RE going!?” Cut to a closeup of a tearful Porky lying on the ground. “We need MEN, not CAMEL SCRUBBERS!” 

With that, the commandant leaves on his camel, catching his hat that flew off his head with his saber. Porky grovels on top of a fitting accompaniment of “Am I Blue?”. “Shucks! So I’m a camel scrubber, huh? I’d rather be a camel scrubber than an old jingle bell general.” This is the most controlled delivery I’ve ever heard Joe Dougherty give, and probably the longest. He really does have talent, he can voice act, and he sounds good once he gets his stutter under control, but I think people are so put off by his stuttering that it’s easier to pity him than commend him. I’ve also seen all of this cartoons before, though, so maybe I’m used to it.

Pan to a threatening poster of Ali-Mode. WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE — “PREFERABLY DEAD”! Porky shuffles up to the poster, rambling about how he isn’t afraid of Ali. “I’d like to meet him face to face. I’d punch him in the jaw, the big sissy!” 

Caught up in moping, staring at the ground, Porky finally glances at the poster. His tough guy act is extinguished immediately as he screams and dashes to barricade the open door shut. Even better, Porky rushes back to the poster, dismissing it as “I wasn’t scared! I just felt a draft.”

Next cut reveals the legion being viewed by a pair of binoculars, belonging to none other than Ali-Mode himself. He whistles to signal for his gang to follow. There’s some wonderfully bouncy animation as Ali tiptoes to the door of the legion. As I mentioned in the disclaimer, the stereotyping is certainly there (and he’s also... inexplicably in blackface? The lips aren’t too noticeable, but when they are they are rather prominent), and I’m not defending his depiction, but in terms of technicalities he is a very good villain. Billy Bletcher’s vocal talents shine with this next scene, and his overall animation is very smooth, flouncy, and calculated. He isn’t as harshly caricatured as other depictions I’ve seen (but that’s not for me to decide in the first place), but it was enough that it turned me off from this cartoon for awhile, and I forgot how many good qualities this cartoon did have.

Ali knocks on the door, mimicking the sound of Porky, who’s nailing boards to the other side of the door. Porky shudders, tentatively hammering a few times, with Ali knocking right back. Porky looks at his camel and hilariously declares in a womanly falsetto, “It’s an echo!” Ali also mimics the falsetto, Bletcher just as entertaining as Dougherty. “It’s an echo!” 

Porky (poorly) yodels, eagerly awaiting a response. Ali yodels right back with an impressive, jazzy twist. I’m not sure if that’s Bletcher doing the entire thing or not, but kudos to him if so! Porky, thinking it’s himself, announces to the camel “Pretty good, huh?” Ali mocks porky’s stutter, answering “Pr-pr-pre-pre-pretty g-g-g-good, huh?” Finally, his egotism gets to him. “HECK! That’s PERFECT!” 

Now realizing he’s most definitely not conversing with an echo, a timid Porky dives under his camel for safety and asks “Who’s there?” Ali puts on his womanly falsetto. “I’m a poor little sheik with no place to sleep. Won’t you please let me in?” 

Sound familiar? It should—it was used in Disney’s The Three Little Pigs in 1933, with “sheep” in place of “sheik”. Bletcher, as you may recall, voiced the wolf in that same short. Funnily enough, Frank Tashlin would head to Disney in 1938 after leaving Schlesinger’s. Porky checks to see who’s outside, and recognizes the man plucking his machete as Ali-Mode. 

Ali demands to be let in, slamming on the door repeatedly as Porky refuses. Porky insists “No, no, a thousand times no!”, a short-lived catchphrase of his. Tashlin’s next cartoon, Porky in the North Woods, would have Porky nailing a ton of signs that day “NO” on a bunch of trees, eventually ending with a giant sign that reads “A THOUSAND TIMES NO!” 

Ali-Mode speaks in pig latin to his followers, eventually yelling “AMSCRAY!” His followers dig in the ground, making it to the inside of the legion. Porky hacks away at a palm tree, which falls and konks all of the enemies on the head in succession, sending them flying back outside.

The climax fires at rapid pace, almost too rapid for coherency. I’d rather take too fast than too slow, though, and it isn’t TOO detrimental to the cartoon. It adds a sense of urgency and exhilaration, and forces you to be captivated so you don’t miss any details. A gunman fires his machine gun at Porky  who’s running up a tower. The stairs disintegrate beneath him from the shower of bullets. Porky reaches his own machine gun and fires back from his respective tower, the bullets breaking the gunman’s perch and sending him toppling into a water well. He lands in the bucket, causing the handle on the well to spin repeatedly and smack the guy firing next to the well.

Ali-Mode is making his way up towards the tower, poking his head out of the floor hatch. Porky stomps down on the hatch, which sends Ali flying down his ladder and down to the ground. This charade is repeated again, as is the handle smacking gag as another gunman falls into the bucket and smacks the bystander. When Porky goes to squash ali a third time, he misses the door and falls right down with Ali. Ali flops onto Porky’s camel, who beats him senseless with its humps. Very amusing, quick animation. Porky whistles for the camel, and the camel bucks Ali into an open barrel of syrup. With that, Ali-Mode is taken care of, the camel repeatedly licking his face.

Iris in to the familiar jangling of the commandant’s medals. In fact, it’s a different commandant: a smaller, piggy, stuttering commandant, marching along with his medals twice as long as his body width. Porky whistles for his camel, and even his camel struts out, his humps decorated and his tail high in the air. Iris out.

Not Porly’s best cartoon ever, but this is a VERY good entry, especially for the Dougherty era. Maybe the best one yet. The stereotyping is not nearly as abundant as I remembered it to be, but they’re still very much there and deserve addressing. With that said, though, and I’m not defending the depiction, Ali-Mode is a good villain. Billy Bletcher’s vocals are absolutely phenomenal, whether it be voicing the commandant or Ali. Lots of falsettos, lots of yelling, even yodeling. That, combined with the amusing character acting where Ali tricks Porky into thinking he’s an echo at the door, makes for some amusing entertainment. 

Also, Porky was full of personality in this one, probably the most we’ve seen thus far. I’ve noticed that Tashlin’s Porky is a lot more personal than Tex’s at this time, Ub Iwerks’, and Bob Clampett’s in 1937. Lots of winking towards the audience or talking to the audience. There’s a scene in Porky’s Railroad where Porky has a closeup on the ground, straight up lamenting towards the audience. Tex Avery was, of course, the fourth wall master (as we’ll soon see in The Village Smithy), but Tashlin harnesses a much more personal feeling that is still sardonic and amusing.

The pacing of this cartoon seems to be at opposite ends: it’s a rather lengthy cartoon, running over 8 minutes. The beginning seems a bit too slow, and the end too fast, but in all it’s a highly entertaining cartoon that’s worth of watch. Again, there are stereotypes and caricatures, so view with discretion. I don’t try to be like “This short is racist. Watch it!” (though I know that’s what I sound like), but I do think it’s worth at least a one time watch. There’s a lot to absorb and learn from this one: voice acting, character acting, camera angles, silhouettes, overlays, etc. It’s worth a watch.

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