Halloween: The Ghost Town Frolics

A bit rushed this week for posting but thought I should get up this little gem from the Lantz Studios: The Ghost Town Frolics (Released Sept.5, 1938). The period of Lantz during what freaks (like me) call the 'crappy Oswald' period has, to a certain degree, been over vilified by cartoon fans over the years. Sure, they're kinda floaty and a bit boring but this is the era when Lantz animation technically began to gell. They had a long way to go to get from the funky early 30's Lantz (my favorite period) to meet the polished animation demands of the 40's. I suspect Terry saw the writing on the wall too as the late 30's Terrytoons begin to predict their later style. This particular cartoon may suffer from somewhat weightless animation but is superbly handled in volume rotation and has many other aspects of interest. This not unlike the problem which occurred at Mintz years earlier although, by 1938, with the exception of a few of the Rhapsodies, that studio had pretty much flown off the guard rail.

a quickly cobbled together pan from the beginning (Click to enlarge). The ghosts are haunting a ghost town. If you are a ghost - follow the sign.

The ghosts are unemployed. Bummer.

They're bitter.

UPDATE: Gasmask Ted kean eyes have uncovered that the image of the ghost reading the 'How To Lose Friends and Scare People' is actually a parody of a November 1937 issue of Judge. Thanks Ted!

A few have dead end jobs.

These are the lucky ones...

The writer is asleep-naturally.

At least in this world of despair there is still booze.

Neat Efx animation, a cool dog design and a bunch of rubbery condom ghosts plus, as an added bonus, monkeys - what more could you ask for! We're three sheets in ... what?