Disclaimer: This cartoon contains racist content, stereotypes, caricatures, and imagery, presented for the purpose of historical and informational context. While I wholeheartedly condemn these ideas, I also understand that it's not my place to speak on what's racist or what's not. As such, I encourage you to speak up and let me know if I say something that is offensive or harmful. It is never my intent to do so and I want to take the appropriate accountability should that occur. Thank you.
Release Date: August 27th, 1938
Series: Merrie Melodies
Director: Cal Howard, Cal Dalton
Story: Dave Monahan
Animation: Volney White
Musical Direction: Carl Stalling
Starring: Danny Webb (Egghead, Vendor, Slap-Happy Boy), Mel Blanc (Sheik, Sultan, Slap-Happy Boy, Genie, Beggar) , Berneice Hansell (Princess)
Not only do Cal Howard and Cal Dalton make their third and final joint directorial effort, A-Lad-In Bagdad also marks the first effort where Egghead is handled by someone other than Tex Avery. His next (and final) cartoon, Count Me Out, would be under the Hardaway-Dalton unit. Two shorts with Avery, two shorts with Dalton.
Here, Egghead wins a genie's lamp as a prize from a claw machine, much to the chagrin of a vitriolic thief, who does everything in his power to retrieve the lamp.
No longer a cowboy or a hunter, Egghead is now cast as a peasant roaming the streets of Bagdad. In spite of stereotypes abound (such as a beggar on the streets moaning gibberish), the attitude of the short is swiftly constructed by Egghead's giant smile and curious stares at his surroundings. He doesn't say a word, but it's evident he's an incongruent asset to the streets he roams, and his eager impressionability will likely result in trouble.
As he meanders about, he stumbles upon a man harassing a claw machine right in the middle of the street--another contribution to the trend of modern technology absurdly inserted in ill fitting places.
Heart shakes and furious smacks directed at the claw machine speak for themselves.
Undeterred by the flaring tempers, Egghead uses this as an opportunity to get a front row seat.
While a bit unimaginative and rather straightforward in its timing, Egghead realizing he's not wanted (and the man consequently staring him down) is amusing in its own rite. The drawings of his nose sticking right up against the glass do a fine job of conveying his mindless, overbearing curiosity. Dalton and Howard understand that no dialogue is necessary to get the point across, and the sequence doesn't overstay its welcome. Had this been a Hardaway and Dalton effort instead, the sequence surely would have been twice as long and filled with corny dialogue. Subtlety is key.
The object of the man's frustrations is revealed to be a genie's lamp, a convenient prize in the claw machine. He manages to grab it...
...but no dice. Even spacing on both the claw machine and the man's reaction make for an underwhelming, floaty feeling of animation, but the point is clearly conveyed.
To compensate, the claw machine snaps its "fingers" in frustration. A quaint yet amusing gag that is nice and loose.
Carl Stalling's situational music score of "I Wanna Go Back to Bali" turns from foreboding to playful and sympathetic, transitioning to major key as the claw grabs a handful of jellybeans filling the bottom of the machine and tosses them into the chute.
The chipper, plucky string orchestration of the music is a humorous and effective contrast against the man's own attitude, who grabs his head and throws a fistful of jelly beans on the ground. Such happy music contrasted with such a sour attitude soften any warranted malice in his demeanor, instead devaluing him and making him look like a joke.
"Candy beans I get! BAH!"
Excellent acting by Blanc as the man bursts into nasally hysterics, stomping on the beans and sobbing on a nearby archway. In spite of the stereotypes (which are an unfortunate given in this cartoon), the drawings for this scene are rather appealing and rubbery, with some strong lines of action and silhouettes. If anything, the movement of the drawings itself is what falters, even spacing accounting for a lack of solid weight.
Egghead knows enough not to intrude--he merely tiptoes past the sobbing man.
Luck works in mysterious ways. Egghead approaches the claw machine and gives it for a whirl himself; he doesn't even touch the knob as the claw promptly grabs the lamp and dumps it in the prize chute.
Interestingly, the lamp glows for a few beats to highlight its presence and magical properties, as if it wasn't implied already. Due to the poor quality of the cartoon, the effect is made much less noticeable, but remains of interest nonetheless.
Just for us, Egghead boasts his smarts as he drawls in his Joe Penner-isms "Oh, boy, am I lucky! What a pu-retty sugar bowl!"
It's as though the lamp were made for him, aware of his smarts (or lack thereof). Directions are clearly engraved on the bottom, which Egghead mutters aloud.
Stalling's music score crescendos as Egghead dutifully follows the directions.
A puff of smoke emerges in slow anticipation, complete with a drumroll courtesy of film editor Treg Brown...
POP! A crudely caricatured blackface genie bursts right in front of him.
In spite of the egregious caricature, the timing of his arrival warrants credit. Rather than having a stream of smoke slither out of the lamp and form the shape of the genie, the climax and anticipation of the arrival is prioritized--the burst in which the genie arrives, already standing at his feet, feels much more surprising and snappy. Such a straightforward execution works to this scene's benefit.
The following take as Egghead's turban unravels and rolls back up again is animated all on ones, yet the speediness in which the take is delivered contributes to the E.H's frenetic energy.
One particular point of interest is a brief static pose; Egghead maintains the pose for 3 frames, while the turban is animated on ones and continues to writhe above him. Rather than appearing amateurish, the timing and delivery of the entire scene feels caricatured in a sense, very graphically minded. While this is purely hazarding a guess, the eye take matches a number of similar eye takes animated by Volney White in Frank Tashlin's cartoons. I wouldn't be surprised if this were his handiwork, especially seeing how caricatured the motion is.
"POLICEMAAAAAN!" Danny Webb ropes Joe Penner-isms into his delivery as Egghead scrambles to escape from the genie.
"Half of Me Wants to Be Good" replaces Stalling's score of "I Wanna Go Back to Bali" as the genie reassures Egghead, grabbing him by the shirt as Egghead continues to cry "WOE IS ME!"
"Hey, wait a minute!" Blanc's stereotypical dialect for the genie almost sounds similar to his Foghorn Leghorn voice. "Wait a minute, you screwball! I ain't gonna hurt'cha!"
Genie explains that Egghead is the master of the magic lamp.
"Who?" Webb's line is almost too subtle, but its natural delivery does a great job of making Egghead sound like a dope.
"You." Blanc's voice is also subdued.
"Me?" Dopey hopefulness now. The light is beginning to flicker.
"Yeah!" The genie sounds like he's talking to an upset child instead of a grown adult. It's a dumb scene, but one that feels purposefully dumb and is executed naturally enough.
Now, the genie offers the lamp to Egghead, explaining that if he's ever needed, just rub the lamp.
In an opaque, brown puff of smoke, the genie thrusts himself into the lamp.
"Daydreaming" is the music of choice as Egghead racks his brain (singular) trying to think of a good first wish.
"I wish I... I wish I had some nice, new clothes!"
A few squeaky rubs...
A drumroll and puff of smoke...
POP! Egghead admires his new duds.
Blinks at the camera assert his satisfaction.
While he may be a dope, he is at least courteous. Egghead pops the lid off the lamp, telling it "Oh! Thank you!"
No problem at all; the genie gives him a honk on the nose a la Tex Avery. His tassel rising up in the air is a fun little touch. Note the genie's gloved hand, which was bare in the scene prior.
Our sore loser from before observes in contempt, the shadows an attempt to sell a more mysterious, sinister nature. "Ah! That should be my lamp!"
"And what's more, I shall get it!" Our antagonist glowers at the audience with a particularly round scowl.
Both characters are offensive racial stereotypes, and comparing who is "better" trivializes the harm they reap. With that said, creative execution will vary, and this is an analysis on comparing different artistic styles and interpretations, not a contest to see which racist caricature is more amusing. In any case, the antagonist here harkens back memories of the antagonist (Ali Mode) in Little Beau Porky, directed by Frank Tashlin. Tashlin's design of the character is much more innovative and stylized, with a strong vocal performance by Billy Bletcher.
Our own villain here is rather straightforward and literal in his design, voiced by Blanc. No further comment is needed on the talent that is Mel Blanc, as the praise he receives for his vocal talents are rightfully deserved. However, and it could indeed be purposeful, Blanc's vocals don't sound nearly as threatening as Bletcher's in comparison. When Blanc is funny, he is VERY funny, and his meltdown performed by the villain earlier was strong and amusing. However, since he was using such a comic voice, that ekes out in the villain's threats here, and make him seem a bit more comical than like a true threat. Bletcher's performance in Little Beau Porky is indeed amusing (particularly the sequence where he mimics Porky through the door, talking in a falsetto and even yodeling) but also threatening, and he feels like a convincing villain. That same threat isn't nearly as strong here.
Again, at the end of the day, both villains are weakened by their racial stereotypes today. It's merely an interesting point of comparison to see how different creative minds and people execute similar antagonist roles, and what leads to their successes and what doesn't.
In any case, Egghead blissfully surveys his new clothes and new lamp, his speech lost today due to the outdated Joe Penner references (but nevertheless amusing thanks to Danny Webb's performance): "What a wonderful lamp! Huh huh huh! I can't get over it, huh huh huh." Elmer (confusingly voiced by Webb and also adapting the same Penner-isms) said the same in Tex Avery's Cinderella Meets Fella just a month prior.
A crowd rushing by causes Egghead additional befuddlement. Dalton and Howard like their eye blinks; Egghead blinks twice (marked by woodblock sounds this time) as he stuffs the lamp in his sash and rushes to join the commotion.
Of course, he has a visitor behind him.
Our hero manages to weasel his way into the crowd as they part in a rather mechanical, synchronized motion. The art of swift camera movements still have yet to be figured out in the Warner cartoons, as the camera trucks in with some shaky movements to reveal the sign:
"I WANT YOU!
To the cleverest entertainer, I will give my daughter's hand in marriage!
-- The Sultan
ROYAL PALACE TODAY!"
A spirited, trumpet-blaring score of "The Wedding March" stresses the theme of marriage.
Egghead displays the powers of deductive reasoning with a grin as he proclaims "With my wonderful lamp, I will win the bee-YOO-tiful princess!"
Our antagonist attempts to make a move, stretching from behind the corner and reaching for the lamp in Egghead's sash.
Foiled again!
"I wish I had a magic carpet..."
POP! Modern meets antiquated as a magic carpet bursts into view, its magic stemming from the outboard motor puttering along at the end.
Horrified, the thief can only gawk as Egghead and his magical carpet speed out of view in a blur.
Egghead whirls around on his carpet in conjunction with a wonderfully jolly music score of "Something Tells Me", showing off as he loops around spires in the village. He whirls right in front of the audience, a refreshing, solid sense of weight present in the animation. Great timing, great spacing, great energy. Appropriate sounds of the engine follow the laws of the Doppler effect.
Perhaps a result of the jazzy music score or the engine sound effects, the animation of Egghead coming in for a landing, wobbling around on his carpet and doing a 360 rotation is similar in effect to Porky's unsteady flying in Porky's Hero Agency. The momentum slows down a little too much for its own good here, the spin of the rug awfully slow, but the poor landing and general gag are clear in their intent and politely amusing.
More "plink plink" blinks from Egghead to the audience as he recovers in a daze.
At the very least, his poor landing skills didn't extend to navigation. His crash landing comes to a halt right outside the royal palace.
Honing in on the talent scout aspect, Egghead is forced to wait in line behind all of the other contestants (one of whom is carrying a pig that looks awfully similar to Porky). Egghead does his best to get a good look inside.
Storylines about women being kidnapped or held against their will had dwindled in WB cartoons as the years went on, having extended their welcome. In any case, Dalton and Howard allude back to those days as the princess to be given away sobs into a pillow, a quick scene without a sense of irony.
Racial stereotypes continue to pile on top of each other as one assistant fans the sultan, another holding up a sign to the audience like a wrestling match. Act 4, as the sign introduces, belongs to Ali-Baabe Breen, Boy Wonder--a dig on child singer Bobby Breen, who would have been 12 at the cartoon's release.
Ali-Baabe Breen, on the other hand, has to be dragged in by chains, growling and spitting. Not the most humanizing of caricatures.
Momentum between the adjacent scenes is severed by poor composition--Breen is dragged right up in front of the sultan, where the next shot has him feet away from the sultan to account for a coming gag. As such, the cut between two scenes jump, and make for a briefly jarring flow. Breen's physique is comparatively smaller in the adjacent scene compared to what it was before.
Nevertheless, Breen's performance is a stark juxtaposition to his hulking physique. He attempts to recite "Mary Had a Little Lamb", his voice young and immature as he sways along to tinkly music, erupting in effeminate giggles before he can finish. Gags of a similar vein in previous cartoons have been executed more imaginatively, though I'm sure the association with Bobby Breen got bigger laughs out of an audience in 1938 than it does now.
The sultan knows when enough is enough.
Back to the line of contestants, Egghead is caught ogling at a contestant's banjo, who hides it defensively. The antagonist, hiding in a nearby pot, uses the distraction to his advantage.
His "shh!" to the audience unfortunately comes off as more trite and routine rather than humorous, like an obligatory piece of business rather than a gag.
Regardless, a close-up shot reveals his plan to steal the lamp. With utmost deftness, the thief snags Egghead's lamp from his sash and replaces it with a coffee pot.
Howard and Dalton display more trouble with hook-ups and jump cuts; the thief doesn't even back out of frame all the way before the scene cuts back to the "referee" in the palace. Holding out the thief's pose or having Stalling hold out a singular note would have helped to bridge the flow, if even just the slightest bit, but that unfortunately isn't the case. In any case, it doesn't detract from anything substantial, but does remain the slightest bit disarming and surprising.
We jump from act 4 to act 6, indicating another act has performed (and failed) as the thief nabbed Egghead's lamp.
Introducing the Slap Happy Boys, a riff on vaudeville entertainers Billy Jones and Ernie Hare (also known as "The Happiness Boys"). Previously caricatured in Tashlin's The Woods are Full of Cuckoos, they, as they did then, sing a jaunty rendition of "On the Rude de la Paix" (sung as "How Do You Do And How Are You?", a riff on their song "How Do You Do?" that you can listen to here. Warning for some racist stereotypes peppered in the middle.)
Their performance, though brief, is probably the most memorable--and humorous--aspect of the cartoon. They both sing the duet, which is quick and spirited, as one hammers on the piano and the other gestures wildly.
The sultan is not pleased, and is quick to pull the trap door open. There's a violent crash...
...and the music starts right back up, muffled this time, a little bit off key but just as spirited. Their performance is genuinely exhilarating.
Taking matters into his own hands, the sultan unearths a pistol and shoots into the bottomless chasm.
It works. Blanc's vocals drop out as the remaining Slap Happy Boy (who doesn't sound like Blanc, but whose vocals I can't place) STILL carries on, singing the harmony. The piano grows more discordant, more out of tune, and the remaining Boy sounds genuinely terrified as he gasps for breath, straining and still singing.
Another gunshot, which hits just as the singer starts another verse--extra gruesome and extra funny. He, too, stops singing, and the piano music ends.
Pleased with his double murder, the sultan nods his head. A great gag that relies on a number of aspects to work successfully: strong vocals, an ability to play music out of key while still sounding close to the source material, and the comedic sensibility to know that having the harmonizing piano player as the remainder (for a short while) heightens the upset, disrupted balance. All of these gimmicks pay off.
Time for another musical number with less irony, but still some. At last, Egghead's turn is up.
Egghead guffaws as he approaches the sultan before promptly getting startled by him... and then notices something in the distance.
Love at first sight--and reciprocated at that! Egghead is smitten for the princess. The glowing heart effects are whimsical and unique.
Cue a nasally chorus of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" by Egghead, brilliantly performed by Danny Webb. Egghead's dancing animation is no stranger to WB cartoons--first appearing in My Green Fedora (another song number in the vein of Joe Penner), it has also been reused in Toy Town Hall and The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos--a span of 4 years in a row!
Webb's vocals are nasally, grating, with nonsense falsettos of "bootchiebootchieboo!" interspersed through the stanzas. Penner-esque sobs are also included throughout, while the princess observes in ecstasy, the sultan in impatient contempt. Though Joe Penner has fallen into obscurity through the sands of time, Webb's performance remains humorous to this day. There are certainly worse numbers to sit through.
Egghead can't end his song number soon enough for the sultan, who shows little hesitation in grabbing the Lever of Doom. On the other hand, Egghead does a rather unceremonious hat take (his fez itself growing long) as he wails "Wait a minute, wait a minute, don't ever doooooo that!"
A beacon of intelligence, he goes to retrieve his coffee pot. "I got my magic lamp," he concludes, as though that immediately clears things up.
Ever the performer, humble Egghead tilts the pot upside down and displays his empty sleeve to demonstrate his act is all authentic.
A few squeaky rubs...
Stalling's music score halting during the pause is a great touch.
Egghead, who doesn't seem to realize he's holding a carafe, gives a few more desperate rubs with a frown.
No dice. Another take of "excitement marks" for good measure.
"This thing's cuh-RAAAAAAY-zy!"
If anything, Egghead is certainly determined as he works up a sweat rubbing his coffee pot. One almost feels sympathy for him... almost.
Nevertheless, the trap door routine is put into place, and Egghead is sent flying through a chute (where are the dead bodies disposed of then?) and onto the ground outside the palace.
A gag even antiquated by 1938 ensues. Musical timing makes it slightly more of interest.
No real harm is done anyhow, as Egghead manages to unearth himself from the depths of his fez. A scowl indicates he's ready to get down to business.
Conveniently placed pots outside allow for a handy vantage point, and he ascends the pottery to get a good look at the subsequent acts inside.
Subsequent acts include the thief, possessing the real magic lamp. He executes the act of Egghead's dreams, rubbing the lamp and summoning a glittering pile of gold. The gold pile itself is a painting, with glittering animation over top--the pompousness of the gag is well delivered in the decision to have the pile be painted, rather than inked and painted with opaque cel paint.
"Marvelous... stupendous!" The sultan is pleased, despite awkward voice direction leading to rather subdued and underplayed vocals from Blanc. "LET THE WEDDING BEGIN! SOUND THE TRUMPETS!"
Egghead to the rescue as he slams the door shut on one of the sultan's guards. Webb's delivery of "STAWP! I'VE BEEN SUH-WIN-DLEEEeeeed!" is memorably over the top and funny more than it is awkward.
Confrontation with the thief is short and sweet. Egghead settles his words by punching the thief right in the jaw, who is sent rocketing out of frame. Some nice, quick, malleable drawings in the scene.
The lamp that rains down from the impact isn't the only thing Egghead collects--he's quick to grab the princess' arm and drag her out of the palace. Her father barely has time to look on.
Placing both the princess and lamp onto the magic carpet waiting dutifully outside the palace, Egghead hops onto his steed and races off. The angry mob is just a little too late.
One whizz over the heads of the mob to rub the escape right in their faces.
Both Egghead and the princess soar through the skies of Bagdad, whizzing through an arch in a building and streaming past the architecture. While nothing crazy, the slanted perspective and speed-lines painted on the backgrounds sell the speed of the carpet, as do the poses of Egghead and the princess hunched over on the carpet. Diagonal, streamlined angles convey motion, and it pays off here.
With a triumphant trumpet fanfare, the two lovebirds rise above a pillow clouds, out of the reach of the mob and free to live together in harmony. They whirl into the horizon as we crossfade to a glimpse of their domestic married life.
Married life, as it turns out, isn't all its cracked up to be. The princess seems to have caught on to Egghead's true personality--as he heaves a lovestruck sigh, Berneice Hansell's distinctive squeaky voice rings through the air (despite no lip-sync on the animation of the princess itself): "I've been swindled!"
A few rubs of the lamp prompt a caricature of actor Robert Taylor to appear right at her feet, in all of his uncanny glory.
Egghead is not happy. He can only glower as the two get sucked into the genie's lamp, their romance left up to the audience's interpretation.
Perhaps things can be talked out. Egghead takes off the lid of the lamp...
...and is met with another honk on his bulbous nose.
Iris out as he blinks one final time at the camera.
Gross racial stereotypes and caricatures are not the only weakness this short has to offer. While there are indeed scenes of merit, many faults from the cartoon come from a lack of creativity and imaginative execution. Some pieces of animation are spaced evenly and feel mechanical and uniform as a result, the designs are very straightforward and lack caricature that isn't racially motivated, and there tends to be a crutch on certain gags, particularly Egghead's befuddled blinks at the camera.
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| Cal Dalton in a Warner Bros. gag reel, 1939. |
In spite of that, this cartoon has its share of moments. The Slap Happy Brothers sequence is easily the most memorable takeaway offered by the cartoon, spirited in its demonstration and gruesome in its payoff. Despite the racism flaunted by the genie, his and Egghead's little altercation is amusing and has some nice dialogue deliveries (particularly the "Who?" "You." "Me?" "Yeah!" sequence). Furthermore, while Joe Penner has fallen to obscurity, Danny Webb's vocal performance as Egghead remains humorous, regardless of background knowledge on its source. Blanc has his funny moments (The Slap Happy Boys, the meltdown by the thief at the beginning), but is criminally underutilized and his strengths aren't played to his advantage.
And, as it always is, Carl Stalling's music score is a blessing in disguise. Even in subpar or mediocre shorts such as this one, the enjoyment can be elevated by a snappy music score by Stalling, as is the case here. His scores of "I Wanna Go Back to Bali" and "Something Tells Me" are particularly catchy, as well as the entire "How Do You Do and How Are You?" scene--it takes talent to play a tune off-key while having it remain recognizable and distinct. Either way, the cartoon ranges from underwhelming to wholly uncomfortable as a result of racial stereotypes.
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| Cal Howard to the left of Tex Avery at Universal Cartoon Studios. |
I can't say I personally recommend this cartoon, for the reasons listed above. The short suffers from more weaknesses aside from racism. I do believe that the Slap Happy Boys sequence is worth scoping out, and perhaps a listen to Webb's performance singing "Bei Mir Bist du Schoen". Other than that, not much is lost by skipping the short.
Regardless, here's a link! View with discretion on account of the stereotypes.
