Monday, July 09, 2007

Naughty But Mice - My Own Restoration

I seem to be posting nothing but lost Columbia cartoons during the past couple of months, so just to break the monotomy a little, here's my own restoration of the well-known PD cartoon Naughty But Mice, with one missing scene reinstated from an old NTA print (hence the lower quality). Please excuse the DVD "play" graphic at the start of the cartoon (I was unable to remove it):



As always, this video will be available for four weeks only.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

The Lost Columbia Cartoons - Patch Mah Britches

Patch Mah Britches (released 19th December 1935) is the second of the four Barney Google cartoons made by Screen Gems, and was directed by Sid Marcus.

This apparantly survives in the Columbia archive as a 16mm B&W print (whether this is a sound or silent print I'm unable to find out), but during my years of trading and collecting, I can only obtain a copy of a shortened home-movie silent print. A redrawn, colourised silent version (full-length) is also available in the collectors'/traders' circuit, which I also have in my collection.

It is from this sole home-movie print that I've made available to view on my blog. Like the first short, it's not particurly funny, but due to its rarity (King Features, at the time, insisted to movie studios that all films starring their characters - with the exception of the Popeye, Blondie, and Flash Gordon films - be destroyed after ten years), it's still an essential watch. Hope you enjoy this as much as the first one:



The cartoon will be available for four weeks only.

Saturday, July 07, 2007

The Lost Columbia Cartoons - River Ribber

This cartoon (released 4th October 1945) is a sequel to an earlier cartoon Professor Small & Mister Tall (26th March 1943), which does survive in its original (albeit re-released) condition. For those of you who haven't seen the first film, here's a very funny exerpt:



This sequel, however, is missing from the Columbia archives, but it does survive in the collectors'/traders' circuits as a 16mm B&W version, without any front and end titles.

Unlike the first film (which sport angular designs and stylistic backgrounds that would later be associated with Screen Gems's successor, UPA), this cartoon features more conventional animation and design, with the two principal characters being redesigned quite significantly (Prof. Small is now almost-bald and clean shaven). The cartoon was directed by Paul Sommer, who also co-directed the original with John Hubley.

The films features the main characters in charge of a steamboat on the Mississippi river, and is challenged by a familiar face to a boat race. This film is not as good as the original, but it does have some amusing moments.

This exerpt is taken from the start of the film.



River Ribber exerpt
Uploaded by ldglover

This video will be available for four weeks only.

Watch out for my next post, which will feature more Barney Google!