The Flower of Gower Gulch

[happyheathen]

Hey Everybody! You can come out now!

Allee allee outsinfree!

anyway,

the title song appears in at least 2 'toons (Drip-Along Daffy and Nelly's Folly)
Q: Was this a real song, or somthing WB'ers made up?

(Gower Gulch is either:
a. a formation in Death Valley (not likely the reference)
- or -
b. the area in Hollywood around the intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Gower Ave (probably the reference))


COAL RULES;)

[laugh4me]

Originally posted by happyheathen
Hey Everybody! You can come out now!

Allee allee outsinfree!

anyway,

the title song appears in at least 2 'toons (Drip-Along Daffy and Nelly's Folly)
Q: Was this a real song, or somthing WB'ers made up?

(Gower Gulch is either:
a. a formation in Death Valley (not likely the reference)
- or -
b. the area in Hollywood around the intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Gower Ave (probably the reference))


I think that Michael Maltese wrote the song. I'm not 100% sure, but that's what I seem to remember from somewhere...

For the 2nd question, it's "b" alright. Here's a quote which explains "Gower Gulch".

From "Hollywood: Land and Legend" [Zelda Cini and Bob Crane]

"Pretty young girls and handsome young men elbowed each other out of the way at studio gates, pushing and shoving to be first at even the hint of a 'cattle call,' when a studio was open to casting extras and other minor roles. Hungry actors, many already costumed in western outfits, clustered hopefully at the corner of Gower Street and Sunset Boulevard in such numbers the corner itself came to be known as Gower Gulch, a name it still holds although the studios are long gone."

FWIW, "Gower Gulch" is also seen as a stop for the train (but not in a song) in "All A-Bir-r-r-d".

How'd I do? ;)

[happyheathen]

Originally posted by laugh4me


I think that Michael Maltese wrote the song. I'm not 100% sure, but that's what I seem to remember from somewhere...

For the 2nd question, it's "b" alright. Here's a quote which explains "Gower Gulch".

From "Hollywood: Land and Legend" [Zelda Cini and Bob Crane]

"Pretty young girls and handsome young men elbowed each other out of the way at studio gates, pushing and shoving to be first at even the hint of a 'cattle call,' when a studio was open to casting extras and other minor roles. Hungry actors, many already costumed in western outfits, clustered hopefully at the corner of Gower Street and Sunset Boulevard in such numbers the corner itself came to be known as Gower Gulch, a name it still holds although the studios are long gone."

FWIW, "Gower Gulch" is also seen as a stop for the train (but not in a song) in "All A-Bir-r-r-d".

How'd I do? ;)

OK, Sunset, not Hollywood - they all look the same...

Grade: B (citing a definitive source for the attribution to Maltese would have cinched it)

was this the same Bob Crane of 'Hogan's Heroes'?

[laugh4me]

No, it's a different Bob Crane.

[J Lee]

Paramount and RKO both had their lots right on Gower Street, so those likely were the studios that the extras were lining up for (the whole complex is still there, as Paramount bought the RKO lot from Lucille Ball in 1967 after she and Desi bought it from Howard Hughes about a decade earlier).

[Sveven Dvorking]

The title song is also used in the opening credits of My Little Duckaroo (1954).

[J Lee]

The title song is also used in the opening credits of My Little Duckaroo (1954).

While it would have been interesting to hear Daffy sing "Giddiyap, giddiyap Lazy Willie" to Leon in "You Ought To Be In Pictures," the cartoon you're thinking of that has the Gower Gulch mention is 1951's "Drip Along Daffy."

[Sveven Dvorking]

Originally posted by J Lee


While it would have been interesting to hear Daffy sing "Giddiyap, giddiyap Lazy Willie" to Leon in "You Ought To Be In Pictures," the cartoon you're thinking of that has the Gower Gulch mention is 1951's "Drip Along Daffy."

The opening credits in My Little Duckaroo definitely use that song! Porky Pig sings it during the opening credits.

What are you saying?:confused:

[Jack]

Nope, Porky sings "The Flower of Gower Gulch" in the opening of "Drip Along Daffy," he sings "Giddiyap, Giddiyap Lazy Willie" in the opening of "My Little Duckaroo."


Jack:D
She's the flower of Gower Gulch, A cowpuncher's sweethear tre-tre-tre-true
Her looks don't amount to much, 'cause one of her eyes is b-b-blue.

[J Lee]

She's got skin just like prairie dog leather
She cooks nothing but chuck wagon st-st-stew
And her name is Minerva Ulch
She's the flower of Gower Gulch

...you know, if Daffy had gone into Leon and started singing

Oh I've got a horse Lazy Wil, Lazy Will
When I want to ride he just stands still...

He might have gotten that contract he was shooting for ;)

[Sveven Dvorking]

Originally posted by J Lee
...you know, if Daffy had gone into Leon and started singing

Oh I've got a horse Lazy Wil, Lazy Will
When I want to ride he just stands still...

He might have gotten that contract he was shooting for ;)

Maybe, but he actually acted like a brat in the 1940 cartoon. I would assume You Ought to be in Pictures is the first appearance of the "greedy" Daffy, right?

[J Lee]

I would assume You Ought to be in Pictures is the first appearance of the "greedy" Daffy, right?

Yep. Friz did a major redesign on the duck, not as severe as what Avery did to the Charlie Thorsen Bugs' Bunny, but Freleng made Daffy more rounded and less gooney-looking (the "bowling pin" Daffy of the 1940s), slowed the pitch of Mel Blanc's voice down to its now-familiar speed and gave him a semi-rational mind for the first time (Freleng as much as Jones just wouldn't feel comfortable with the Avery-Clampett Daffy). Part of this may have been due to Friz' stay at MGM, which by 1939 was used to animating much more solid-looking characters than what Warners was turning out in the late 30s (they just had no idea most of the time what to do with them once they were animated).

The jealousy/greed personality Friz gave Daffy and his and sharpster/patsy relationship with Porky reportedly were based on the Clampett-Jones rivalry, but that may be after-the-fact speculation given their later problems.