tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589696115267272664.post2081297870346417991..comments2024-03-06T00:01:06.897-08:00Comments on Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie: 142. At Your Service Madame (1936)Steven Hartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13825398324719609394noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589696115267272664.post-45539864956519979902016-08-24T20:44:59.114-07:002016-08-24T20:44:59.114-07:00This cartoon works well on two levels for me. Yes...This cartoon works well on two levels for me. Yes, it is a kind of tribute to the con man characters that W. C. Fields would play, even having the character dubbed W. C. Squeals shows that Freleng was inspired by the comedian's antics, whether the comedian himself was complemented or not. Hanna-Barbera would do something similar to this plot with a later CAPTAIN AND THE KIDS cartoon featuring John Silver, the red-nosed pirate in the Squeals role, with the kids finding out about Silver's scheme and devising a plan to send Silver flying like a firey rocket out of the house and back onto the raft from which he came. The cartoon is called "THE WINNING TICKET", and Silver finds out about the Captain's sudden wealth from lottery winnings and decides to dress in drag as a woman about to faint. The kids send Silver riding through the house via firecrackers tied to a plunger that Silver had to use as pegleg when a woodpecker destroyed his original wooden leg. As Silver whooshes through the house, he gets caught on the walls by the suction end of the plunger, a slightly similar bit to Squeals' nose being the body part that gets stuck as he is sent rolling and tumbling through the rooms. These two cartoons, one from Warner Brothers and the other from MGM in 1939, work well if shown on your own mini-marathon. This cartoon is a great debut for W. C. Squeals who would reappear in Frank Tashlin's "CRACKED ICE", a terrific title. It is a shame that both the Squeals and Hamhock Family characters would no longer appear, but I guess both would have been considered dated entertainment by the 1940's. The Hamhock Family reminded me of so many OUR GANG situations and neither OUR GANG or W. C. Fields were major contributors to films and shorts in the later 1940's. But that is why the 1930's were so, so vital. You had all these great physical comedians, including children who knew all about timing and pratfalls. Animated cartoonists ate this stuff up, and we love 'em for it.Kevin Wollenweberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08458065257912587522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589696115267272664.post-59832918521407227732013-09-29T02:22:05.322-07:002013-09-29T02:22:05.322-07:00I was really surprised when I encountered this par...I was really surprised when I encountered this particular cartoon. I was always a fan of PIGS IS PIGS -- from the moment first I saw Freiling's remake bake in the '60s. I never knew that there had been another cartoon featuring these characters. But the surprise was a good one. This film was made as a tip of the hat to W C Fields -- one of a number of WB toons featuring caricatures of him. This toon however, was clearly written as a tribute to him. The short portrays a story very much in line with his style of film humor; translated into Merrie Melodies style. It also served as an introduction to a set of characters who somehow upstaged the main character -- namely Mrs. Hamhock's children. Piggy here is shown to be sort of the major-domo of the children; a far different depiction from his latter appearance in PIGS IS PIGS. But this was enough to make WB revisit the characters. There would ultimately be only two WB toons that would touch on the subject of morality. The concept of bringing morality into the Merrie Melodies repertoire probably would have been not a good idea in the long run. But I still can't agree with your opinion that "the Hamhock family probably wouldn't be a great idea for recurring characters." Piggy would ultimately be reimaged into the character of Hampton Pig in TINY TOONS. Hampton, like Piggy, is both a glutton and a clean freak. I really would have liked to see the stories that the other children would have told. Mrs. Hamhock had seven children; that would have correlate with the concept of the seven vices and seven virtues. And the stories they would have to tell would have been interesting. The episode WHOLEY SMOKE, I believe, would have been the next in the series, but a decision was made to not to continue the Hamhock family and instead used Porky Pig. The vice in that toon was clearly pride.Hamhockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16163655302116087944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589696115267272664.post-6208448410169835572012-04-06T10:51:56.993-07:002012-04-06T10:51:56.993-07:00Thanks Yowp; I knew that W.C. Fields would've ...Thanks Yowp; I knew that W.C. Fields would've said that line as it had his accent but since I'm too young to know his films (or come across it) I had to assume it was from Fields.Steven Hartleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13825398324719609394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589696115267272664.post-4398995670696469332012-04-04T03:57:28.320-07:002012-04-04T03:57:28.320-07:00I can't remember if he said "My little ch...I can't remember if he said "My little chickadee" in 'It's a Gift," but he did in 'If I Had a Million' in 1932. It's the title of a movie co-starring Mae West released in 1940.Yowphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09264605351878574044noreply@blogger.com