70. Sittin' on a Backyard Fence (1933)

Release date: December 16th, 1933

Series: Merrie Melodies

Director: Earl Duvall

Starring: The Rhythmettes (Chorus), The Varsity Three (Chorus)

The last cartoon of 1933, and what a year it’s been! Bosko’s out, Buddy’s in. 1934 would mark the start of the Merrie Melodies going into color (via the cheaper two strip process, so lots of reds and greens), Friz Freleng would get his first directorial credit (which is actually our next review)... exciting stuff! Here, we end out the year with a Merrie Melody. Two alley cats fight for the affections of another.

A handful of gags involving sleeping inanimate objects opens the cartoon. An alarm clock, a telephone, a book, even dentures in a glass of water all asleep, along with their owner, an old man. We pan over to the window, where the man’s cat is perched on the window sill. She spots another cat, who sings (yowls) “Am I Blue?”, and eagerly she hops over to join him.

She seems to be quite the catch: multiple cats follow her as she trots along the fence in the night. I love the cartooniness of the cats. Surely there will be better cat designs as years go on, but these are a good start. Always refreshing to see something other than little clones of Mickey.

I love this gag! As the cats traipse past the moonlight, the moon acts as an x-ray and the insides of the cats are revealed. I’d hate to animate all those bones! 

Elsewhere, posters of some cows and a bull flirt with each other. Quite the flirtatious atmosphere! Together they launch into the eponymous “Sittin' on a Backyard Fence”. Vocals are lush and catchy and the atmosphere is fun and amusing, full of charisma. As the cows sing, there are some shots of pajamas hanging on laundry lines doing acrobatics.

The rest of the alley cats join in, using various scraps as musical instruments. Very catchy and fun, albeit a standard. Even the cat from the beginning and his sweetie yowl a few bars. The yowling is annoying, but would make for a good laugh, especially watching him play a gridiron as an instrument.

Elsewhere, there’s a scraggly cat lapping up a bottle of alcohol (labeled katnip) and becoming inebriated. I love his design, even though he isn’t too different from the other cats, the eyepatch indicates he knows his way around the alleys. He spots the girl cat on the fence and becomes enthralled. In an attempt to woo her, he places a record on the face of a clock in a scrap pile and saunters his way over.

I love this shot: three different archetypes of characters. The ruffian asks the sweetheart for a dance, and she happily obliges, much to the other cat’s chagrin. There’s an awkwardly long sequence as the cat jumps off the fence and peers into a hole below: it’s not THAT long, but there’s little weight to the animation, and feels as if he’s floating. Just a minor gripe, though. The animation has been improving and I really enjoy this cartoon so far.

A very fun dancing sequence ensues with the girl cat and the ruffian, as well as a group of kittens slapping their tails together to the beat of the music. Spirits are high and the atmosphere is present! There’s also a shot of two cats playing tic tac toe with some paint.

At last, the charmer cat allows his emotions to boil over and throws a brick at the ruffian. Cue a wonderful chase sequence! Well, soon to be wonderful. There are some awkward reuses of animation, one scene almost playing over 3 times in a row, and the cats have that weightless, indecisive feel to them.

Nevertheless, things get good once the two cats land on a mirror that spins them around. They chase each other up a telephone pole, sword fighting with their tails once they reach the top. Someone in one of the nearby buildings puts a stop to the clamor by throwing a rolling pin out the window. The rolling pin knocks the cats over, both of them holding on opposite sides with their tails.

Look at that animation and those camera angles! The perspective is fascinating to watch and keeps you on your toes.

Eventually, they get knocked off and plummet to the ground, where they tussle in a scrap pile. Covered in junk, the chase rages on as they chase each other into a shed.

Unlucky for them, a menacing bull dog was also in the shed. The bull dog bounds after them as enemies turn into teammates. There’s also a neat shot of the girl cat perched on a pole overlooking the scene and turning to the camera in awe.

The cats think they’ve chased the dog away, shutting a fence gate closed. Of course, this means that the dog is right behind him. He gives them a good pummeling and walks off, satisfied with his work.

Suddenly, the girl cat from before peers out from the gate and sees her lovers unconscious, smiling. The reason she’s so happy is that she’s found ANOTHER guy, and together they walk off arm in arm. I love twists like that! You come to expect them, but don’t at the same time. Finally beat, the two feuding felines shake hands once and for all, and we iris out as they flop back to the ground in exhaustion.

Wow, this is one of my favorites! The gags are funny, designs are appealing, sound effects not too obnoxious. The cats have personality, and the SETTING has personality. Very atmospheric. I always love my alley cat cartoons, not sure why. There would be a lot better entries into the alley cat genre—The Hep Cat comes very close to this one in terms of plot—, but it certainly isn’t bad by any means. A nice breath of creativity and imagination. It’s evident that Earl Duvall encourages innovation in his work, such as the rolling pin scene on the power line. I say: watch it! I don’t think it’ll disappoint at all! I really, really enjoyed it. Another favorite added to the pile.

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