Credits:
Supervision by - Rudolf Ising
Drawn by - Isadore Freleng, Larry
Martin
Musical Score by - Frank Marsales
Summary:
Magazines come to
life.
Description:
It's the middle of
the night at a magazine shop, and the characters within are springing
to life. It all starts when a cowboy shoots his way out of Western
Thriller and persuades his friends to begin playing the title song.
The cowboy dances across the countertop and spins around. As he spins,
his spurs cut a hole in the counter and he falls into a perfume display.
He emerges transformed into an effeminate pansy -- even his guns shout
"rooty toot toot!". One of the other cowboys rides his accordion
like a bucking bronco, prompting a round of applause from all of the other
magazine characters. The cowboys begin to harmonize on the title song
now, with occasional interruptions from celebrities of the time. Ignacy
Paderewski appears at a piano in front of the headline "They Laughed
When I Sat Down to Play". Eddie Cantor pulls the fake beard off a
violinist and shouts "Look Jimmy, it's Rubinoff!". Will Rogers
puts a "no sale" tag on a business magazine dated Oct. 1929,
lamenting to the audience "All I know is what I read in the papers!".
After another round of applause from the tykes in Bigger and Better
Babies, an ice skater leaps off of Dance Magazine and begins
to skate on a mirror. One of the cowboys sprinkles talcum powder to create
snow as the she skates. We watch as a trio of white babies shake bells
in time with the music, while next to them two black babies flap their
lips. At the end of the dance, all the toys on the cover of Toy Magazine
applaud with delight. Next, an Hawaiian girl from a travel ad in National
Geographic does a hula dance, followed by a Swiss native from Travel
Magazine yodeling, and then a sexy co-ed from College Rumor
joining the yodeler in a reprise of the title song. "Ed Vinn"
makes a quick appearance as the "Vexaco Big Chief", after which
there is even more applause! Next, a gangster and his henchmen creep out
of Crime Stories, unaware that they are being pursued by Sherlock
Holmes and Mr. Watson from Detective Thriller. The ingenious gangster
creates a flame thrower from lighter fluid, a spray bottle, and a match,
and uses it to break open the cash register. As they shovel the money
out with a spoon, Edward G. Robinson comes out of Movie Magazine
and shouts "They can dish it out, but they can't take it", then
pulls out his guns and starts shooting at the criminals. The gangsters
shoot back with a machine gun, but soon all of the other magazines come
to life in order to stop them. A fleet of police cars zoom out of Police
Gazette, a group of Italian troops follow Mussolini's order to attack,
sailors use a typewriter to shoot gumballs at them, and pins are shot
out of a pencil sharpener and into their rears. The head gangster tries
to hide in Screen Play, but finds the giant ape Ping Pong inside!
The ape chases the gangster into a soda glass, where he then gives him
some "Razz Berries" from the tap. Applause breaks out yet again,
as the cartoon comes to an end.
Notes:
- Public domain cartoon
distributors renamed this cartoon "Magazine Rack".
- The animation of
the toys on the cover of Toy Magazine is reused from Red-Headed
Baby.
- The animation of
the hula-dancing girl is reused from
Pagan Moon.
- Obscure gags:
--Ignacy Paderewski was a world-renowned Polish pianist. "They
Laughed When I Sat Down to Play" is a reference to a famous advertising
slogan of the time. Click
here to go to a site with an original "They Laughed When I
Sat Down" ad, including the complete text and a reference to Paderewski
himself. [EOC]
--Rubinoff was the violinist on Eddie Cantor's radio program.
--Will Rogers was popular personality known for his observations on
American life. "All I know is what I read in the papers" was
one of his signature comments.
--"Ed Vinn" and "Vexaco Big Chief" are references
to Ed Wynn, who was the Texaco Fire Chief on radio.
--For more information on appearances by these men in WB cartoons, refer
to their entries in The
Warner Bros. Cartoon Companion.
Memorable
Scenes:
Video
Availability:
Laserdisc:
Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 5
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