Taken For A (Blurry) Ride: Part 2

Continuing 'Taken For A Ride' (Krazy Kat, 1931) - Unfortunately the focus on the video camera starts struggling with the low light of this particular sequence. Too bad because it's one of the most atmospheric sequences I've ever seen in a 30's cartoon. At least equal to 'Swing You Sinners' which the Fleischer Studios had released a few months prior. I've tried to clean them up as much as possible and have put in captions to help clarify.

BTW - here are two indispensable posts on the Mintz Studio here and here

Top side, Krazy is nervously lurking in the cemetery. The gorilla bear (now resembling more of a gorilla) trails in grave costume.

He takes a shot.

As he turns, the tombstone on the costume whistles a funeral march with clasped skeleton hands. Yes, the costume is also alive.

He turns around and runs into a tree which pulls out two revolvers.

He turns from the tree into the site of a rifle barrel. 

The barrel (also alive) guides him toward a tombstone.

The tombstone grows a canon which licks it's rim pervertedly. Make your own joke.

He runs from the canon into a bunch of tree branches (?) each holding a revolver. 

He runs with costumed gorilla in hot pursuit.

The gorilla throws some dice ('rolls the bones') which morph into skull and crossbones. The crossbones grow into arms which reach out to touch Krazy's shoulders.

Trapped!

Part 3 (less blurry) Coming Soon!

Taken For A Ride

Continuing with the theme of Charles Mintz I'm posting today grabs from the Krazy Kat cartoon 'Taken For a Ride' which was released in January 1931. Then, as now, the series took the brunt of criticism for appropriating the name but none of the design or story elements of Herriman's classic strip. Like the best cartoons of the 30's, the Mintz Krazy Kats are not personality driven (as was the strip and, later, the animated films of the 40's) but instead driven by imaginative dream-like situations, wild mechanical and often sexually charged gags,  musical motifs, characters with adult fears and habits as well as design elements and animation which would influence the best cartoons a decade later before being excised in the name of efficiency and standardization. Flat was cheaper.  Anyway, I digress - I love this film and I hope you enjoy the grabs!

Opening titles - the film was never issued to 16mm for the home market. This version hails from a  hand-cam video taken inside an AFI screening room.

The film opens with an ambitious down shot. A cop leans against a lamp post while an organ grinder cranks his organ. The organ grinder monkey jumps around while figures sway back and forth on the sidewalk. This cartoon has fabulous backgrounds.

An elevator lift door opens in the roof of the foreground building.

Two bears (?) with tommy guns emerge opening fire on the crowd below when suddenly ...

The camera gives out!! Holy smokes - grab the battery! Call Batman!! What's happening! 

Suddenly we're back, with about a minute of missing time in which we now see what appears to be a gorilla cranking sausage 'gun belts' into a meat grinder from the back of a moving vehicle. The emerging 'bullets' are actually small sausages with dog faces which yelp accordingly. 

We now see that Krazy is in hot pursuit armed with fitz gun. He paralyzes the yelping sausage bullets mid-air. The mushrooms are now taking effect.

The bad guys (two bears and a gorilla? Three bears? Three gorillas?) make for their hideout - in this case a cemetery! 

Their 'inside man', a skeleton,  rises by elevator from one of the graves. Wait-a-second - is that a tail? Is one of them a monkey? The organ grinder's monkey perhaps?  At any rate now we have my three favorite things together in a cartoon: gorillas, gangsters and skeletons! 

Inside the hideout Kitty Kat (usually Krazy's girlfriend) anxiously awaits her piece of the loot. Our lead has now morphed into a gorilla bear in a derby hat. He still has his face bandage though!

I love Kitty's take here.

Show me with your mouth ...

Perverted 1930's walla.

Hark!

The gorilla bear whistles for help. The bandage has migrated to the other side of his face. This is to aid the audience in being able to identify the character as a gorilla bear. Notice the keg of hootch in the BG.

Another shorter gorilla bear enters. I guess they must have traded hats. A plan is hatched.

Dress up like a grave and investigate! 

PART 2 COMING SOON!