Schlesinger Gremlins

I've always admired the Bob Clampett  cartoon Russian Rhapsody with it's comedy use of US propaganda back in World War II; and I just appreciate the bizarre humour that is in it. The cartoon is well known for it's use of references of the Leon Schlesinger staff in here. Of course Friz Freleng and Henry Binder got the honor of being mentioned in Hitler's speech; but what makes the cartoon really interesting is the gremlins attacking Hitler's plane are caricatured staff.

Many thanks to those who provided internet sources here; and also to Mark Kausler who provided the DVD commentary for this short I feel the need to post a few of the frames here and base about it. Of course; you might know that the designs of the staff were done by T. Hee who caricatured the staff in 1936 at a Christmas party and Bob Clampett used his designs for this short. It feels to me that Bob Clampett used the gremlin caricatures maybe because to show the staff are against of Nazi propaganda and to support the Soviet Union from being attacked from the Germans as they were defeated by the Soviet Union troops in 1941.

Drawing  courtesy of Michael Sporn Animation.

Here is the Xmas title card that I've found a copy from Michael Sporn's splog site; and thanks to him for sharing this with us. How many could you identify in the dark; I can spot Leon, Ray Katz, Henry Binder, Clampett, Ted Pierce, Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Tubby Millar, etc. - who can you find? ;-)

I'm going to start off with a few of those gremlin scenes from what is a matter of interest to me:

The first few Gremlins that are shown on Hitler's plane here are a bit of a mystery to me but as it's been identified; the gremlin with the huge hooter  and a  blue beard is a caricature of Ted Pierce who seems to be caricatured with a sharp face.

I'm unsure if that would've been Tom McKimson model sheets or even actually based on T. Hee's caricatures although Pierce was with the staff at the time the caricature would've been done. I'd say it's from the model sheets for this cartoon since it's different from the Xmas Christmas card from at the top. I wonder if the Ted Pierce nose joke was used here (since it's a sexual innuendo from the blue gremlin from top) since Pierce was a drunken womanizer. ;-)

There is a pretty well known frame that shows quite a bit of the crew. Henry Binder is recognizable her as he is seen trying to chew off parts of the plane as they caricatured him with the bushy hair that's like Groucho Marx. Mike Sasanoff who was Clampett's layout man at the time is the gremlin with the blue hair taking bits and pieces off. Friz Freleng is the little green gremlin with the torchlight; since he stood about 5 foot 2. Bob Clampett is the naked gremlin with the funny hairdo (like Elvis) holding the hammer. These are Mark Kausler's IDs but the green gremlin with the saw nose; I'm willing to think that this is probably a caricature of Rod Scribner. Although this is just me being uncertain because Greg Duffell told me that Scribner disliked being caricatured and never wanted anyone being caricatured so it could be someone else. I like the cycle animation here being shown.

This scene of the big gremlin trying to smash Freleng gremlin (well Mark Kausler says that it's Chuck Jones as the fat gremlin) although I recall reading an online source that said it was Lou Lily (who wrote the story for this short by coincidence). Since I've not seen any photos of Lily then I'm not willing to say it's him.

I'm going to go by with Mark's words in this caricature since Chuck Jones apparently used to be heavy back them but his hair and face look a little different; as he has the facial parts and hair shown on the cute, purple gremlin (that I haven't got pictured). What do YOU think?

Leon Sclesinger is even caricatured himself although he doesn't look too much like a gremlin other than a miniature version of himself. It's not like Roald Dahl's gremlin or the one in "Falling Hare" but Clampett got to at least have some fun. I do quite like that small scene in which Schlesinger hammers Ray Katz who is sitting on top.

The Schlesinger caricature would've been from the T. Hee caricature card on top that I've seen but I imagine that the Ray Katz caricatured was done by model sheets. In fact; I imagine that all of Hee's caricatures would've been redrawn in Clampett's style but also with influence from T. Hee's caricatures.

Friz Freleng pop up again and also the Henry Binder caricature. The caricature of the gremlin on the right screen grab is a mystery to me as it must have been a staff from Schlesingers; as it's caricatured with the glasses but I just can't say who the same is.

After the entire song has finished; we have seen much of the Gremlin staff - but there's still more to be seen. Mark Kausler has identified the gremlin with the pin on top of his head as Tubby Millar who wrote Tashlin's cartoons in that era.

I imagine that Clampett used that Millar caricature for the gremlin jumping trying to pin Hitler off his seat because of his weight and with the exhaustion that he suffers in which it does come to me that it looks like Tubby Millar. I like the detailed use of him here that works well.

The next scene focuses on the Johnny Burton caricature in which he has the snore and almost cuts off gremlin Henry Binder's hair off. The Johnny Burton caricature is heavily based from the T. Hee caricature from at the top since it shows the wide cheeks that Burton is caricatured as. The Johnny Burton caricature has been used again for the "A" card switch for Hitler's plane which is a funny, executed shot.

The next part with the tiny gremlin smashing up the speed limits and glasses with the mallet saying "I'm only three and a half years old". Kausler has identified that as Bobe Cannon. That is a great eye to identify that as a Cannon gremlin since it's such a caricature on Cannon's height; and the voice as well since he was a pretty quiet person from what I've heard. I love the circular eyes that are drawn on. Bobe Cannon was also caricatured as tiny in "Page Miss Glory" - as you've seen it from my review.

Following the scene of the Mike Sasanoff gremlin holding the box of termite (termiteskies - unless that's was a Russian word for termites - as make belief). I'm a little unsure about who the termite gremlin is but I think it could be Tom McKimson.

From the photos I've seen; it has the shaped head of Tom McKimson but I'm unsure if he had that few hair; but can anyone support me on that?

Okay; this is going to be the last screen grabs with the caricatures. The only two gremlins her that are  identifyed (and probably the only two caricatured here) are Henry Binder (as he's pretty easy to tell) and the green gremlin with the beard is Art Davis.

Art Davis evidently wasn't  at Schlesinger's in 1936 when the caricature was done so this was a caricature done by somebody else I presume. There's probably still loads of the gremlins unidentified but these are the ones that we know of and ones that I'm quite sure on.

I have left out the purple cute gremlin that we all think is Chuck Jones but I left it out since I went with Mark's words that the fat gremlin trying to smash Friz was Chuck; and I didn't want to repeat it with the purple gremlin to make it more confusing. So; I'll leave it to that. It feels to me as though Bob Clampett created this cartoon for his own amusement and probably US propaganda with the term "gremlins" wrecking planes in which the caricatured gremlins wreck Hitler's plane before reaching Moscow. I find this a fun idea to use them which makes the cartoon even more enjoyable to watch, but for someone watching this that doesn't even care who the director/animator/artist on Looney Tunes are won't understand they're caricatures and probably think they're doodles.

I hope you've enjoyed here what I've posted and I hope this wasn't so boring. I was just writing what I thought interested me.

135. Shanghaied Shipmates (1936)

Warner cartoon no. 134.
Release date: June 20, 1934.
Series: Looney Tunes.
Supervision: Jack King.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Billy Bletcher (Captain), Joe Dougherty (Porky Pig).
Musical Score: Norman Spencer.
Animation: Paul Smith and Joe D'Igalo.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Porky Pig and a group of drunkards are shanghaied by a tyrannical sea captain - and are met with harsh punishments at sea.


[REVISED: 13/11/2017].

Based on Warner Archive's exciting new release of the Porky Pig 101 set last month; I've experienced new insight and appreciation for the earliest Porky Pig cartoons. As the title promises, the set features the first 101 Porky Pig shorts - including every short of the character produced in black-and-white. For years, I've had colourised copies of several Porky shorts produced from that era, and the DVD set did justice to rekindle my interest and re-visit several cartoons.

One of those cartoons happen to be Shanghaied Shipmates - a very early Porky Pig, directed by James Patton King - otherwise better known as Jack King. King might not be a celebrated name in the Warner Bros. legacy in comparison to Chuck Jones or Tex Avery, but he certainly left a mark on its legacy - as he helped put Porky Pig in his place, alongside Tex and Friz Freleng.

By the time of the cartoon's release; the Beans gang were being quietly replaced, save one member, Porky. He had appeared in several independent cartoons directed by Tex Avery, namely Plane Dippy and The Blow Out. Whilst Porky was being "groomed" to become the studio's star - it was evident that the stuttering pig provided a lot more comic possibilities, that Beans or Oliver Owl couldn't do.

A number of Jack King's Warner cartoons were adventure-oriented, as he directed a handful like Buddy's Lost World or The Phantom Ship. This cartoon is also adventure-packed, as the characters sail at sea - under the scrutiny of a ruthless sea captain.

The premise of the short feels loosely inspired by MGM's 1935 historical hit, Mutiny on the Bounty - based on arguably the most well-known naval mutiny on the HMS Bounty in 1789. Charles Laughton's portrayal of Captain Bligh depicts a strict, tyrannical captain whose harsh punishments lead to the infamous mutiny. Although the film's portrayal of Bligh has been questioned historically - it worked fine from a cinematic story perspective.

Like the film, Porky and the shanghaied crew also overthrow the captain during its climax. It only alludes towards Mutiny in a small way. To begin with, the cartoon's villain is a standard villain - enhanced by Billy Bletcher's vocal performance.

Also, shanghai comedies weren't unheard of from that period. Laurel and Hardy appeared in one for the 1934 short, The Live Ghost - and Charlie Chaplin appeared some twenty years earlier in Shanghaied (1915) for Essanay Studios.

Jack King might not have inherited comedic traits like the freshly arrived Tex Avery, but there's no denying that he thought cinematically for his cartoons - whatever the results became. For the opening sequence, a mist effect is applied for the exterior scenes of a seaside town.

The effect is a little amateurish, as it looks like an overlay effect done by the camera department. It still remains a valiant effort of the restricted budgets King had to work under. The effect was used an effort to create a suspenseful atmosphere for the opening - and to introduce the sea captain.

We first see him pacing on deck; whilst his ship is docked. Norman Spencer provides a musical theme for the captain to capture his sinister nature - and it's heard frequently throughout the cartoon.  His assistant, Mr. Stew returns to captain, informing him frantically - "Aye side, captain! The crew's deserted the blinkin' ship!". 

And so, the pair decide to shanghai a group of drunken customers at the Ye Black Barnacle Tavern. Whilst, inside the tavern - King experiments, in one scene, a very unusual piece of staging that lasts a second on screen.

In one scene, the captain looks upwards at a drunken barfly - with his head facing backwards at the camera, and the camera panning vertically upwards to enhance the illusion. Frank Tashlin hadn't arrived yet at the studio, and it comes close to his unique ideas for composition. It's executed quite sloppily as far as continuity is concerned, but King deserves his dues for trying.

Once Tex Avery amazed and inspired the entire Schlesinger studio with his unique brand of humour and timing - it became clear Jack King couldn't match his originality and innovations that came pouring in. Jack King appears to try to keep up with Tex's style of humour that was gradually beginning to transform the cartoon studio.

Most of King's attempts however, end up being more conventional gags - that doesn't even match some of Tex's more weaker gags. In an earlier scene at the tavern, a goat uses a lot of his strength, by pulling a piece of rope from the table. The gag reveals that he's pulling a large pint of beer - which he consumes.

During the shanghai, the sea captain punches all of the barflies like cartwheels onto the ship. One barfly even grabs his hat, before he wheels away outside the tavern. Simple speedline effects are applied that was used more successfully in Avery's first WB short, Golddiggers of '49. Unfortunately, it's hampered by Jack King's lack of imagination and execution.

For the most part, a lot of the gags in this cartoon are relatively old-fashioned in concept. Whilst the crew are shanghaied at sea, Porky Pig is forced to scrub the deck; whilst the sea captain promenades along the deck. In an act of childish rebellion, Porky slides a bar of soap down the deck - causing the pompous captain to slip and hit the floor.

The timing and impact is very conservative as a gag; and King uses the captain's hat hitting his head as the only extra touch. Of course, cliched gags have been done endlessly afterwards - but in a more slicker and less conventional fashion. Jack King appears to be intimidated in experimenting.

Infuriated, the captain forces Porky to swallow the bar of soap as punishment! Porky begins hiccoughing bubbles in predictable fashion. He receives help from a shipmate; who pulls his tail, and releases the bar of soap like a catapult.

And so, the sea captain falls and slams, the same as the first time. Second time's a charm, I suppose. However, a shanghaied hippo laughs at the sea captain's humiliation. To indicate this review won't slate Jack King consistently - the hippo's punishment is more creative and amusing.

The captain has the shipmate's feet locked up in a pillory. He pours milked cream on both feet - and entices a black cat to torture the punished hippo, by licking the cream off its feet. Both characters laugh, but with different emotions! The captain's is more sinister, whilst the shipmate is laughing from his torture. The scene serves as an amusing and yet ironic take on the ruthless sea captain and his merciless torture devices.

For economic factors, Porky Pig's dialogue is kept to a minimal in this cartoon. For most of the cartoon, a lot of his appearances are served through pantomime - like Porky's little dancing scene at the tavern. Porky's lines are fairly straightforward, as he confronts the captains, and stutters: "Y-y-y-y-ou c-c-c-c-can't do this to me!", which is several times in the short. 

It was a decision also enforced by Tex Avery and Frank Tashlin, whilst Joe Dougherty provided Porky's voice. Recording sessions, in those days, were shot entirely on sound film - and Dougherty's uncontrollable stutter likely wasted a lot of valuable film. And not forgetting, lengthy recording sessions!

Potentially, it could've driven the cartoon budgets up, and likely their profits down! Unlike Porky's first appearance of a recital, heard in I Haven't Got a Hat, his dialogue was kept limited not long afterwards, until Mel Blanc became the most appropriate replacement for Dougherty.

During the mess hall sequence, King attempts to build suspense of the shipmates slowly reaching their breaking point - attributed by the captain's cruel nature. Whilst all the crew are seated; the gluttonous captain eats up all the juices of a chicken leg. He passes the bone over to the rest of the crew.

A few of them start to reach madness: one crew eats up his hat, whilst another slices the bone to pieces with his knife. The camera pans horizontally to each crew member - experiencing each of them suffer.

King's staging and camera work works well in observing the shipmates. The whole sequence is hampered by very weak drawing, and simplistic character animation that strikingly bears the work of Paul Smith.

Smith's work for Warner Bros. and Walter Lantz is very conservative and basic. His conception of movement is very simple, and a lot of his animation lacks subtleties - that esteemed animators like Bob McKimson or Virgil Ross were known for. Smith's animation during this sequence, results in a relatively straightforward sequence that doesn't bring richer qualities of the characters.

One week later, the crew grows more restless! They begin chanting and banging inside the mess halls - demanding food, after all their harsh treatment. The sea captain arrives, armed with pistols. And so, this results in a mutiny - as the crew fight the captain. 

Jack King applies a gag with a nice, subtle touch in a small scene. Porky is wrestling the captain's assistant, Mr. Stew. He points to his glasses, and takes them off - signalling "You wouldn't hit a little guy with glasses?"; and Porky resumes fighting. It's a nice gesture that sums up Mr. Stew's cowardice.

The action scenes for the mutiny are handled relatively well - with a great scene of Porky and his shipmates charging at the captain in perspective! The captain's attempt to hold off the crew with a cannon backfires, as he lands inside a gunpowder room. And so, the ship explodes into debris.

For the final scene, Porky and the crew finally have their way - as they sail on a raft. Porky is holding onto a whip; as a camera pan reveals the sea captain pulling the raft with a rope, as he swims!

Despite Jack King's lack of artistic innovations at Schlesinger's, I'd likely attribute that his efforts hadn't blossomed then. King had a more successful career as a director of Donald Duck cartoons at Disney - which he did well on! King was by no means a terrible director. He was certainly an ambitious one - as he took an adventurous perspective, and had an eye for unique composition. His timing and execution partly brings him down - especially by the arrival of Tex Avery, who represents such talents. As a standalone cartoon, it's fairly straightforward with an adventurous locale that would've been satisfying enough for 1936. Personally, I'd rather highlight King for his late 30s Donald Duck shorts. With Avery's rampant style taking the studio by storm; the cartoon begins to lose its place within the studio.

Rating: 2/5.

134. Bingo Crosbyana (1936)

Warner cartoon no. 133.
Release date: May 30, 1936.
Series: Merrie Melodies.
Supervision: Friz Freleng.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Billy Bletcher (Spider).
Musical Score: Norman Spencer.
Animation: Cal Dalton and Sandy Walker.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Flies dominate the kitchen for the night eating food; while the males get jealous of swooned females over Bing Crosby before a spider arrives to attack the females.

This is the cartoon that apparently Bing Crosby filed for lawsuit to sue Leon Schlesinger because he disliked the way he was caricatured in this short as a fly. Friz seemed to have had Bing Crosby on his mind in 1936 when he also made the caricatured Crosby in Let It Be Me which is more insulting than this short - although I think he sued Schlesinger for BOTH shorts. Crosby seemed to have disliked being caricatured as animals in shorts as he disliked the way he was caricatured in "Swooner Crooner".

Our cartoon begins with a kitchen table where it's laid out with a cloth and a plate of spaghetti in the middle of the table. Two bugs approach to the table as they fly in. They both find both ends of a spaghetti as they suck it into their stomachs as the amount of spaghetti shortens. After that; they're down to one last piece of spaghetti left in which they crash their heads into each other. Mmm; I wouldn't mind having some spaghetti right now in fact.

Another group of flies then grab out a piece of macaroni from the cupboard as they find an orange fruit. They use the macaroni as a straw to suck the juicy parts inside their bodies but since their bodies are small - they turn fat from the food before they need to digest. Eating gags here are being presented in this short but at least I can say it makes the cartoon charming overall; since Freleng has his own humor of gags although so far this just feels like one of his 1935 shorts.

There are two bugs that are playing sports with one bug using a safety pin and tooth picks for a bow and arrow and the other bug with a garden pea on top of his head. The bug starts to lose focus on his ability in which his eyes start to turn weary. The point of view shot of the bug with a pea on top of his head turns all blurry which is a good effect.

The bug starts to lose his patience in which he almost shoots with the tooth pick not aiming at the pea in which the bug runs off with the bug rather confused. The bug returns with a huge pumpkin on his head rather convinced he won't get jabbed by the tooth pick but the bug loses focus and accidentally shoots it at the bug in which he flies out of the scene. Now that is a rather funny gag since he thinks he will aim at the pumpkin easily. The fly has it's wings stuck to the wall; luckily it wasn't his stomach or any parts of the body. Some rather neat effects on the blur shown here; although watching this cartoon again it feels like another remake of The Lady in Red but instead it just shows bugs, and no civilization, Spanish cockroaches or even a parrot.

We view to a group of teapots on top of a pantry where teapots are stored there are a group of female bugs that are swooned by the silhouetted bug of Bing Crosby. All of the ladies are admiring his singing. There is a lady bug in some type of box of matches attached to a wall or something but gets dragged inside by the mother who thinks of Crosby as a bad influence I imagine. The mother bug then pours a cup of water all over the Crosby bug. Maybe that's what probably got the real Bing Crosby insulted by. I wouldn't understand why Bing would be insulted by the flattery here since it doesn't seem harmful at all; at least before the mother approaches the scene.

The women bugs are then singing the title song I imagine (although I'm not too sure of the song they are singing) in which there is a male bug standing by a water bottle trying to get attention from the bugs as well as a few other bugs.

The Bing Crosby bug is in a part of which I guess you can call - the dressing area. The Bing Crosby bug then places a Mexican hat on top of him and grabs out some perfume spray to spray on his face. He walks off in a pose to woo the women again. The character design is appealing but it doesn't look like Bing Crosby that much although maybe it's the modest attitude I guess.

The Bing Crosby bug then walks up to the lady bugs in which he swings his hat around his body in a greeting pose. All of the girls then start to giggle with admiration as the Crosby bug starts to go into song as he picks his guitar up. Although I must say; why does the guitar he has only got one string?! Did he keep on tuning the guitar wrongly in which the strings broke?

The Bring Crosby fly then starts to go into song as he sings the title song Bingo Crosbyana. I really dislike on why the guitar only has one string; and HOW are you going to get rhythm to the song he's playing with only one string? The lady bugs are also singing with Bing Crosby bug as well that sing the title song along with him as well.

After the song has completed the Bing Crosby bug then starts to demonstrate on what he can do (to probably woo the ladies even more I guess). He says; "You ain't seen nothin' yet" as he throws his guitar inside a pot as he is about to prepare himself. He runs down the table in which he starts to fly with his wings out like an airplane.

The Bing Crosby fly then flies down the table in which he flies through the holes of the cheese that is laid out on the table. Wouldn't it have been more impressive if the fly could even eat the cheese rather than flying through the holes as it's just boring to look at?

The Bingo Crosby bug then flies past the men bugs on top of the table as they duck their heads. The boyfriend bugs then step back up as they shake their fists with jealousy and rage. As a cuckoo comes out of a clock; it jumps with fright as the Bing Crosby bug flies past it removing all of the feathers.

The Crosby fly then flies down an armchair in which it grabs out a pin from a pin cushion. All of the children bugs look past the bug with amazement as though it's something incredible that they have seen; although I don't know what the fuss is about. The Crosby fly even zooms past the children with the shorts they're wearing fall down as they cover themselves with embarrassment.

As the fly has the buttons by the thread; he lights a match on an attached metal match box in which he starts to write in smoke. He writes up in the air "How'm I doin'" until he flies down the table with a bumpy stop. The animation timing of the bumpy stop is pretty impressive to look at. At the fly has finished the lady bugs all go up to him admiringly as he is the man of the hour (well; he could be the man of the hour forever).

All of the ladies go up to him as he's won the hearts of them. The male bugs then look at each other enviously in which they crowd together to think of a plan. As Bing Crosby looks at the ladies; he picks one in which he chooses to dance with. The dance sequence then begins with Bing Crosby bug and the woman bug dance to the title song sung by an off-screen chorus.

This is certainly some dance routine that is being shown so I can't imagine it being boring at all. It's lively and at least the off-screen chorus show some spirit here. The movement is done pretty well but I wonder if any live-action was used for the animators here or if this was all done by scratch?

Meanwhile there is a  bug that is itching but then uses a match box to scratch it's behind but at least there is some clever ideas used for the bug to go into rhythm while scratching. A good idea but it doesn't  make the rhythm vey catchy or appealing to me; the dance is more appealing to look at.

The female lady singers are still going into song while the Bing Crosby bug and the lucky woman bug are still dancing to the spiritual song. After the song has finished - all of the ladies appaer to be very satisfied - but not the men bugs who are groaning with jealousy.

Meanwhile up in the shelf by the ceiling lives a spider who looks pretty evil and the type of spider that would eat bugs and flies. The spider then starts to slide down the spider web in which he plans to kidnap the lady bug. The spider then starts to approach until the lady screams.

The Bing Crosby bug then turns around in which he starts to turn yellow with fright - only the colors change - nothing really expressive animation wise. The spider then starts to try and kidnap the lady bug but fails to do so in which he keeps on trying to grab her with his arms and hands. Is it he or is the animation of the spider there just really sloppy when you look at the movement and it's very unrealistic with unrelated poses. The lady bug then starts to run off in which the chase sequence begins as it appears to be Friz Freleng is back to his old formula that he loved to use back in 1934.

The females then start to run off in which the spider is attempting to chase after them. The animation again in this part is also sloppy animation since the arm movements are juts bad posing with lots of volume changing. I wish that  there were better assistant work shown here. This reminds me of very early 1930s Disney work from the Silly Symphonies that had sloppy animation like "King Neptune" except probably not as bad if you look at the mermaid fight.

The girls then start to hide in a piece of wax paper so that the spider won't be able to get through. The Bing Crosby bug then steps out of the teacup in which he steps inside the wax paper but only to be pushing the women bugs out because of not much room. Which means that the ladies are in trouble since Bing Crosby bug is acting all cowardly - probably why the real Bing Crosby didn't like it.

The spider then starts to plop his head inside the wax paper and as for the male bugs it's up to them to save the day. The boyfriends then start to grab out a type of kitchen utensil with an electric whisk at the end of it.

One of the bugs hold onto the reel in which the whisk spins around as the spider gets the horrible feeling of it on his behind which even looks painful as it's presented. The spider then steps out with an aching behind until he spots a bug in which he starts to chase after him since he was part of the whisk scenario.

The bug then starts to run to a champaigne bottle in which he lets go of the cork with the spider landing onto an electric socket. The bug turns on the switch in which the electric socket goes off with the spider acting all spasticated with the socket flying around. The timing is okay; but this is not even as impressive as Hitler being electrocuted from the socket in "Russian Rhapsody".

The spider then starts to land after the electrocution from the socket but his luck runs out since he lands onto a piece of flypaper on the table which means he's stuck and has no chance of escaping. At least that was a wise idea to have the spider trapped by a piece of flypaper since he now has no chance of escaping and at least the women are impressed with what's happening.

The Bingo Crosby bug then steps out of the wax paper rollup to look outside to see what has happened since he missed the scene. What a cowardly act he performed - and would have no chance of scoring with the ladies again.

The Bing Crosby bug then walks over standing on a spoon looking at the spider stuck on flypaper. The Bing Crosby says in an arrogant tone, "Well we certainly got him this time" in which the male bug has had enough of him and stands on the edge end of the spoon catapulting him in which he lands onto a cup of tea. I wonder if THAT also annoyed Bing Crosby when he saw that cartoon? The Bing Crosby bug looks over rather confused at to what had happened.

Overall comments: I would understand why maybe Bing Crosby would've hated his appearance on "Let it Be Me" but this cartoon isn't even as harmful as the earlier short. I guess Crosby hated it because of the modesty of the character in here and considering that he's only popular with the lady bugs and disliked by the males; and Bing didn't want to be thought that way. I don't know if this was true but I'm only going to say that this is a theory. This short appears to steal ideas from Friz's earlier cartoons like the Let it Be Me idea of the swooned females; or the bug concept in "Let it Be Me". The animation was good on some parts but sloppy on the other with the spider chasing after the female being one. I should point out that the backgrounds for this cartoon were done from photography by the studio in which the reason why the backgrounds rather real looking; thanks Carl Howard for the information.