“Bosko in Person” Looney Tunes (Bosko title #2) Released: February 11, 1933 Length: 7:29 Starring: Bosko and Honey

Credits:

Supervision by – Hugh Harman / Isadore Freleng
Drawn by – Rollin Hamilton, Bob McKimson
Musical Score by – Frank Marsales

Summary:

Bosko and Honey perform their vaudeville act.

Description:

An asbestos curtain burns away revealing Bosko on stage playing the piano. The tune Bosko plays is the Looney Tunes theme song at that time, “Whistle and Blow Your Blues Away”. “Howdy folks!” he shouts, after which Honey comes on stage and begins dancing. The greet each other in song, and then perform a tap dance routine together. “Gee Bosko, you’re swell!” shouts Honey, prompting Bosko to step into the spotlight and profess his love for her in song. Honey returns the affection, after which they exit the stage. Bosko returns and continues playing the piano with the help of one of his gloves, which leaves his hand and runs to the end of the piano and back twice. The glove sits on Bosko’s knee, prompting Bosko to ask “Well, what can you do?”. “I don’t know” says the glove in a squeaky violin voice. “C’mon, do something.” “I don’t wanna”. “Oh, come on”. “I don’t wanna!”. “Oh, please?”. “I don’t wanna!”. “Now say Mary Had a Little Lamb”. The glove shyly recites the nursery rhyme, giggles, and then leaps back onto to Bosko’s hand. Next, Bosko taps across the stage, but he trips and falls, much to the audiences’ delight. What works once must work twice, so Bosko repeats the dance and fall. Honey now skips on stage and does an impression of Tess Gardella as Aunt Jemima [LT&MM], asking the musical question “Was that the human thing to do?”. She next does an impression of Greta Garbo, giant shoes and all. Bosko then goes into his impression of Maurice Chevalier, sticking out his lower lip and singing “Whistle and Blow Your Blues Away”. He then inflates a long balloon and attaches it to his nose, instantly becoming Jimmy Durante. “I know I’m not good-looking folks, but what’s one opinion against a million?. The audience boos, prompting Bosko-turned-Jimmy to shout “Am I mortified!”. Bosko now goes into a has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed routine in which he plays a half-a-dozen instruments to the tune of “Sweet Georgia Brown”, while Honey gyrates on stage as the lights flash. Bosko bounces all over the stage as he plays various instruments, and eventually falls into a drum and emerges as Jimmy Durante, once again saying “Am I Mortified!”. Bosko returns to the stage and asks “Is everybody happy?”. Next to him, the image of President Franklin Roosevelt on a bass drum pulls out a mug of beer and shouts “Whoopee!”. Bosko picks up the drum and plays it as he walks offstage to the tune of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”, as Roosevelt waves his mug of beer and Honey follows behind waving an American flag.

Notes:

• This is one of a handful of 1933 cartoons in which it is believed that Friz Freleng performed some, if not all, of the actual directing duties. The others are Bosko in Dutch, Beau Bosko, Shuffle Off to Buffalo, and Bosko’s Picture Show. [AoFF]

• This cartoon was screened by Babs Bunny in the Tiny Toon Adventures episode “Fields of Honey”. The cartoon was recreated; none of the original animation was used.

Obscure gags:

• Asbestos curtains were widely used in the 1930s due to their fire resistant qualities. This was decades before it was discovered that inhaling asbestos particles could cause cancer.

• Bosko’s routine with his glove resembles the act of Senor Wences. [LT&MM]

• “Is Everybody Happy?” (spoken by Bosko at the end) was a phrase used by bandleader Ted Lewis. [JB]

• The ending with President Roosevelt with the mug of beer is a reference to the end of prohibition.

• For more on appearances by Jimmy Durante in WB cartoons, refer to his entry in The Warner Bros. Cartoon Companion.

Memorable Scenes:

Video Availability:

None