Bosko's Picture Show

[jeff_schiller]

I liked this cartoon. To me it had the beginnings of Looney Tune-ness in that you have one random gag after another and few of them are directly driven by Bosko's musical antics.

It's also the last WB Bosko cartoon before Harman & Ising went to MGM (personally it's the last time I feel Bosko appears as we know him except for that Tiny Toons episode that morphed him into a dog-like animal). I know there was a dispute between Harman & Ising over something, but I'm not clear on any of the details. Perhaps an expert can chime in here?

Some of the things I notice:

- there is the infamous "that dirty f***" line, which really does not sound like "fox" as some people say.

- there is an "Exit" sign prominently placed next to the organ that Bosko plays throughout the picture. I can't fathom why this would be in the shot so consistently and prominently.

- the studio that produced the "film" starring Honey is a parody of MGM, not WB (i.e. "Warmer Pictures" or something).

- I believe Laurel & Hardy were with MGM in '33 (or distributed through MGM).

- does the "We're In The Money" tune have any bearing here? Is this a subtle dig?

Anyone else care to comment? Am I just reading too much into it? ;)

Thanks,
Jeff

[Cartman]

- does the "We're In The Money" tune have any bearing here? Is this a subtle dig?

Anyone else care to comment? Am I just reading too much into it? ;)

Thanks,
Jeff
The only reason I can think of for the "We're in the Money" song is because the cartoon was made during the Depression.

[TnAdct1]

The only reason I can think of for the "We're in the Money" song is because the cartoon was made during the Depression.
That and the fact that during the 1930's, sing-alongs were part of the movie theater experience (along with the shorts and the newsreel).

[jeff_schiller]

Sure, but what was the timing of the events? Could it also be Harman & Ising saying: "We got a better contract at MGM" ?

[Nick]

Wasn't this the second-to-last Bosko cartoon at WB? "Bosko's Mechanical Man" (one of the best Bosko shorts, because it has some good gags and a decent plot) was the last, I think. :bosko:

[nakak]

I was wondering. Does anyone has a sound file of the infamous line in "Bosko's Picture Show" ("That Dirty ***k!!!")

[Philo & Gunge]

People, this was Harman & Ising's last WB cartoon.

[Nick]

People, this was Harman & Ising's last WB cartoon.
Yeah, you're right. The book "Looney Tunes And Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide To WB Cartoons" they list "Mechanical Man" as their last cartoon. On Dave Mackey's website (http://www.davemackey.com/animation/wb), however, "Picture Show" is listed as the last.

[JDWeil]

I liked this cartoon. To me it had the beginnings of Looney Tune-ness in that you have one random gag after another and few of them are directly driven by Bosko's musical antics.

It's also the last WB Bosko cartoon before Harman & Ising went to MGM (personally it's the last time I feel Bosko appears as we know him except for that Tiny Toons episode that morphed him into a dog-like animal). I know there was a dispute between Harman & Ising over something, but I'm not clear on any of the details. Perhaps an expert can chime in here?

Some of the things I notice:

- there is the infamous "that dirty f***" line, which really does not sound like "fox" as some people say.

- there is an "Exit" sign prominently placed next to the organ that Bosko plays throughout the picture. I can't fathom why this would be in the shot so consistently and prominently.

- the studio that produced the "film" starring Honey is a parody of MGM, not WB (i.e. "Warmer Pictures" or something).

- I believe Laurel & Hardy were with MGM in '33 (or distributed through MGM).

- does the "We're In The Money" tune have any bearing here? Is this a subtle dig?

Anyone else care to comment? Am I just reading too much into it? ;)

Thanks,
Jeff

Warner Bros. owns the Bosko films but the character is owned by Harman-Ising. Hugh Harman applied for copyright protection on Bosko in July 1928 while he and Ising were still slaving away on the Oswald shorts for Charlie Mintz.

One thing that struck me in Bosko's Picture Show was the newsreel segment of Hitler chasing Jimmy Durante. This was 1933 and the Nazis had just come to power and H-I already had him sized up as a potential bogeyman.

[jeff_schiller]

One thing that struck me in Bosko's Picture Show was the newsreel segment of Hitler chasing Jimmy Durante. This was 1933 and the Nazis had just come to power and H-I already had him sized up as a potential bogeyman.
That is fascinating. I missed that completely (I'm so used to thinking that all Hitler references are war-time ones).

[oldgreypole]

My guess for the reason why Harman and Ising left Warners is that they wanted to get paid more, but Leon refused to give them the extra money. I believe I read about this somewhere.

I have two recordings where Bosko says that certain "F" word: one from Nickelodeon (when they first aired the cartoon) and a copy of the cartoon from Kevin Wollenweber. The latter has the opening and closing titles.

I think Steve Schneider's "That's All Folks" book has the most accurate filmography for Warner Brothers cartoons. "Bosko's Picture Show" was the one listed as the last Bosko cartoon. Also, the Buddy and Bosko cartoons were not intermixed, either. Same goes with the pre- and post-1948 cartoons.

[Do-Do]

I liked this cartoon. To me it had the beginnings of Looney Tune-ness in that you have one random gag after another and few of them are directly driven by Bosko's musical antics.

It's also the last WB Bosko cartoon before Harman & Ising went to MGM (personally it's the last time I feel Bosko appears as we know him except for that Tiny Toons episode that morphed him into a dog-like animal). I know there was a dispute between Harman & Ising over something, but I'm not clear on any of the details. Perhaps an expert can chime in here?

Some of the things I notice:

- there is the infamous "that dirty f***" line, which really does not sound like "fox" as some people say.
He definately is saying an expletive, but the cartoon probably wasn't released that way.



- there is an "Exit" sign prominently placed next to the organ that Bosko plays throughout the picture. I can't fathom why this would be in the shot so consistently and prominently.
Hmm, go figure...can't really comment on this one.



- the studio that produced the "film" starring Honey is a parody of MGM, not WB (i.e. "Warmer Pictures" or something).
Well, it's easier to parody that roaring lion than WB!



- I believe Laurel & Hardy were with MGM in '33 (or distributed through MGM).
Yup. Hal Roach's films were distributed through MGM from 1927 until the Roach studio closed.



- does the "We're In The Money" tune have any bearing here? Is this a subtle dig?
If I'm not mistaken, that song had been featured promintly in Warner's Golddiggers Of 1933.



Anyone else care to comment? Am I just reading too much into it? ;)

Thanks,
Jeff
I haven't seen this one since Brian Cruz had it on his website, but I remember finding it very strange. The newsreel in particular stood out as being quite bizarre, and the narrator really hammed it up. And despite Maltin and Beck & Freidwald's filmographies, I'm pretty sure this was the last H-I/WB release.

[Davesnothere]

I might be in the minority, but I still believe Bosko's line "The dirty fox!" was cut off slightly, which came out "The dirty fawk" on film. Now, I could buy a story about the line being cut off intentionally so it sounded the way it did considering the situation, though. It just makes more sense to me that the line was innocent enough before some joker manipulated it to sound like Bosko said a word nobody would expect to hear in a theater. (Well, onscreen anyway!)

[Frizfrelengfan]

The only reason I can think of for the "We're in the Money" song is because the cartoon was made during the Depression."We're in the Money" was owned by Warner Bros. It's from the musical "42nd Street." It is used in many WB cartoons, including a jazzed-up version in "Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs." It's also the name of an early Harman-Ising Merrie Melody.