The Swank Quarterly

It's Summer. It's too hot. Like the rest of us, Hilary Swank is just trying to stay cool...

'Be Human' addresses animal cruelty with bluntness and humor

Be Human (1936)

Starring: Mae Questal (voice of Betty Boop) and Jack Mercer (voices of Grampy and Neighbor)

Directors: Dave Fleischer and Myron Waldman

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Outraged at the extreme abuse her neighbor heaps upon pets and farm animals alike, Betty (Questel) calls animal shelter operator and animal rights champion Professor Grampy, who knows exactly how to deal with such a human monster.

In 1935, the Motion Picture Production Code forced the Fleischer Studios to tone down the adult humor that once given their Betty Boop cartoons a sharp edge, and they subsequently became less popular with movie-goers. Naturally, steps were to reverse the downturn.  

As a character, Betty made made to leave her wild days behind and become a responsible career woman and/or a homemaker. As a commercial property, producer Max Fleischer tried to rekindle Betty's dwindling popularity by shifting her appeal to a younger audience. Despite everyone's best efforts, Betty's star continued to fade. I don't think there's a clearer sign of this than today's subject. As the instrumental version of Betty's long-time theme plays, viewers are shown a title card that reads "Grampy in Be Human" in large type and "A Betty Boop Cartoon" in a much smaller typeface that almost blends into a graphic element on the left side of the screen. Not only is Betty given less marquee space than a member of her supporting cast, but she is almost rendered invisible.

Once the cartoon really gets going, however, things are little different. Betty leads off singing a song that spells out the story's theme--be kind to animals. Her hateful neighbor then engages in a string of terrible acts of animal abuse, up to beating a chicken to death for not laying eggs on command. Betty is then the driving force in bringing Professor Grampy onto the scene... although it's all Grampy when it comes to making the animal abuser pay, all while harnessing the power of his punishment to make animals happy.

"Be Human" is squarely focused on a strong message opposing animal abuse, and it makes its points without subtlety. I suppose those who fear they may be "triggered" by cartoon scenes of animal abuse should give this film a pass, as should those who think animal abusers shouldn't just be rounded up and tossed in torture pits. Personally, I think the only ones who would take issue with this cartoon would be those who are prone to abuse helpless creatures... and there are apparently many people out there, since when the Betty Boop cartoons were syndicated to television in the mid-1950s, "Be Human" was pulled from rotation due to complaints that it encouraged vigilantism. 

Personally, I think any non-psychopath is going to get a kick out of Prof. Grampy's creative way of making Betty's nasty neighbor pay for his cruelty while generating a benefit for the animals housed at his sanctuary. Although Betty may have been in decline as a commercial property when "Be Human" was released, I think it ranks among the best in the series, and I highly recommend that you take a few minutes to check it out right now. 

Wonder Woman Wednesday

By Dick Giordano

On this Wonder Woman Wednesday, our favorite Amazon is hanging out with her Superfriends... and wondering if her new movie will ever make it to theaters?! (We're wondering, too... and hoping that it will!)

By Sebastien Dardenne

By Tim Levins

By Barry Kitson

On her birthday, we remember Ruby Keeler...

… and her life-long struggle with Cathedra-Caudexia, a condition that often goes undiagnosed even today. As a result, she was literally unable to fully comprehend how to use chairs, stools, or benches.

For reasons that are poorly understood, this ailment often afflicts those with a talent for activiities that involve music, such as singing, dancing, or playing instruments. Another famous sufferer of Cathedra-Caudexia was Ann Miller.

Musical Monday with Nickleback

It's the Canadian rock band that people love to hate... and they're bringing an amusing animated video for their cover of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"! (Check it out... and don't be startled by the splashes of color.)

... come to think of it, this is the third week in a row where the Musical Monday selection has included a little bit of color. Maybe we need to change to header to "A Place Where ALMOST Everything is in Black and White"?

Happy birthday, Barbara Eden!

Actress Barbara Eden turns 89 years old today. We hope she's having a ball!

'Bonnie Scotland' is a bit of a mess

Bonnie Scotland (aka "Heroes of the Regiment") (1935)
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, William Janney, June Lang, James Finlayson, Anne Grey, Vernon Steele, David Torrence, and Mary Gordon

Director: James Horne

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Stan and Ollie (Laurel & Hardy) accidentally join a Scottish regiment in the British military and are sent to India where they are assigned to a dangerous mission.

Although "Bonnie Scotland" is, in theory, a feature film, it feels more like two unrelated scripts for short films that were cobbled together with a romance plot but no one could be bothered to tie it together with a proper ending.

"Bonnie Scotland" starts with Laurel & Hardy arriving in Scotland to claim Stan's inheritance from his wealthy grandfather--which turns out to be far less than they were hoping for. Mishaps follow, and the pair end up joining the army, which leads to the second half of the film where they're in India for an adventure that mixes broad military humor with sinister local intrigues. 

The plot line that the two halves together involves Stan's half-sister, Lorna (June Lang), who's inherited the bulk of the estate, her romance with a law clerk (William Janney), and the scheming aunt (Anne Grey) who is trying to trick her into marrying her ward, Colonel MacGregor (Vernon Steele). As these romantic plots go, this one is well put together, with all the characters actually being interesting and ones the viewer cares about. They're even different from the stock figures you might expect, especially the two romantic male leads, with the main boyfriend not being the usual pretty face with no character, and the secondary one being a surprisingly decent and honorable man. Unfortunately, we don't get to see how it all ultimately turns out, because the film ends without this plot line even being close to a resolution.

"Bonnie Scotland" ends on an elaborate sequence and series of jokes and gags where Stan and Ollie narrowly avoiding execution at the hands of a local warlord. Literally. As the sequence is at its wildest, the film just ends. Not only is the romantic plot and the characters involved not brought to a conclusion, but we're even left in the dark about the fate of the characters who were taken prisoner with Stan and Ollie (one of whom is Lorna's love interest). If there ever was a film that needed another five or ten minutes of running-time--and a production team that cared about telling a coherent story--then this is it. (It's a doubly regretful that such a mess was made of the film's story, because all the characters in the romance story line are interesting.)

For fans of Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel, this film delivers. They play the characters we know and love, and they do the gags we're familiar with. They even work in a goofy dance routine. If you like films that poke fun at the military, you will also find something to like here. If you want a film that delivers a satisfying story, you might want to take a pass on this one, and instead turn to some of Laurel & Hardy's short films. They have all the humor but they typically deliver a more solid story. 

That said, I need to mention that "Bonnie Scotland" was a huge success when it was released in 1935; it was Laurel & Hardy's highest grossing picture. So, clearly, not everyone is annoyed by the sloppy story constructon... perhaps not anyone but me.

And speaking of 1935, I am posting this review on August 23, 2020, 85 years to the day after "Bonnie Scotland" debuted in theaters.

Saturday Serial: Jenna of the Jungle

Continuing Don Hudson's "Jenna of the Jungle" (and including a random bonus jungle girl afterwards). Click on any panel for a larger version, and come back next Saturday for Part Fifteen.


JENNA OF THE JUNGLE: PART FOURTEEN
By Don Hudson

To Be Continued...

Girls of the Jungle

By Paul Abrams

Firearms Friday with Clones?

We're spotlighting two actresses today who look so much alike that we were very careful about making sure they were indeed two different women. 

First, we have Corinne Le Poulaine, a French actress who was born in 1948. She was a popular television actress in her home country, holding starring and recurring roles in numerous series and appearing in more than a dozen made-for-TV movies from the late 1960s up until her retirement from acting in 2009. She passed away in 2015.

Next, we have Diane Baker, an American actress born ten years before Le Poulaine, in 1938. Beginning with "The Diary of Anne Frank" and through her retirement from show business in 2013, Baker worked steadily in a wide variety of supporting roles on television and in movies. Along the way, she branched out into producing, and she accumulated ten producer credits in addition to her 123 acting credits.

Do these two actresses look alike, or are we just really bad with faces? Is Corrine Le Poulaine a clone of Diane Baker? Do they share a common ancestor? Do all white women look alike? Or are we truly just bad with faces? Why don't you let us know in the comments?

Tom and Jerry meet 'Jolly Fish'

Jolly Fish (1932)

Starring: No one... this is almost a silent movie

Director: John Foster and George Stallings

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

While relaxing on the lake, Tom and Jerry observe the strange life of the creatures who dwell in the water... before they decide to do a little fishing.

"Jolly Fish" is five-and-half minutes of nonsense and non-stop gags. There is no plot to get in the way of the action, as we move rapidly through a series of loosely connected events and situations that could only occur in a bizarre cartoon world. 

I rank this among the best Tom & Jerry cartoons, because it, for the most part, is just pure, goofy fun. Although it's not the sort of mini-musical that some of my other favorites are, it's got a musical theme that carries through the whole cartoon and which you will probably find yourself humming afterwards. Also, the simple, mostly background-free animation works in this film's favor, because the curious setting for most of the action--under water--and because the characters are constantly moving and doing wacky things so our attention is always focus on them.

As for the details of those "wacky things", this is one those films where too much talk on my part will ruin the fun. I will mention, thought, that there's one rather disturbing bit where underwater parents are trying to teach their baby fish how to swim, and the worm on Jerry's fishing hook tries to lure it away with candy. It's a bit that feels out of place with the rest of the film--but I suppose it wouldn't be a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon if there wasn't some sort of screw-up or misstep somewhere in it.

"Jolly Fish" debuted in theaters on August 19, 1932, the 14th in the Tom & Jerry series. As this post goes live, it's exactly 88 years since movie-goers were first entertained by it. I think it's help up nicely, and I recommend you take a few minutes to check it out, right now, by clicking below.