''I've Got to Sing a Torch Song'' is a 1933

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Merrie Melodies animated short film, directed by Tom Palmer. The short was released on September 23, 1933. The animation was supervised by Jack King and produced by Leon Schlesinger. The musical score was composed by Bernard B. Brown and Norman Spencer. It premiered on September 23, 1933. The cartoon features the song, "I've Got To Sing A Torch Song," written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin. "I've Got To Sing A Torch Song" had been recorded by many artists, including Bing Crosby,

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type. Early life Hubert Prior Vall ...

, and

Al Bowlly Albert Allick Bowlly (7 January 1898 – 17 April 1941) was a Mozambican-born South African– British vocalist and jazz guitarist, who was popular during the 1930s in Britain. He recorded more than 1,000 songs. His most popular songs includ ...

. Dick Powell sang the song "

Gold Diggers of 1933 ''Gold Diggers of 1933'' is a pre-Code Warner Bros. musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics), staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It stars Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline M ...

" in the film.

Plot

The cartoon is a series of gags featuring characters all singing and dancing to the song "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song" and/or reacting to radio broadcasts. Some scenes are set in stereotypical portrayals of China,

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Some characters are caricatures of celebrities of the 1930s, including: Benito Mussolini,

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...

(doing a running gag with 8:00AM), Bing Crosby (identified as ''Cros Bingsby'' on the door of his office), James Cagney and

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...

Ben Bernie Benjamin Anzelwitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 23, 1943),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...

Guy Kibbee Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882 – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early years Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas. His father was editor of the ''El Paso Herald-Post'' newspaper, and Kibbee learned how to set type at age ...

Wheeler and Woolsey Wheeler & Woolsey were an American vaudeville comedy double act who performed together in comedy films from the late 1920s. The team comprised Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) of New Jersey and Robert Woolsey (1888–1938) of Illinois. Collaboration ...

, the Boswell Sisters,

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...

Zasu Pitts Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...

and

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

. In one gag, a sultan is shown listening to the ''

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...

'' radio show. Another gag features the Statue of Liberty singing the title track, while ending with the line "Ha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha", in reference to Jimmy Durante. Garbo, Pitts, and West then play a short tune from

The Girl I Left Behind Me "The Girl I Left Behind", also known as "The Girl I Left Behind Me", is an English folk song dating back to the Elizabethan era. It is said to have been played when soldiers left for war or a naval vessel set sail. According to other sources ...

. Then Ed Wynn returns to the microphone for one more running gag with a cannon, but it misfires and sends him flying back into his home through the sunroof and landing on a bed with a wife and children who are all wearing firemen's hats; they utter the catch phrase, "Sooo...", with Ed Wynn chortling as the sequence ends. Garbo concludes the cartoon by saying ''That's all, folks!''.

Sources

External links

* 1933 films 1933 animated films American black-and-white films Animation based on real people Cultural depictions of Bing Crosby Cultural depictions of Benito Mussolini Cultural depictions of Greta Garbo Cultural depictions of George Bernard Shaw Cultural depictions of Mae West Cultural depictions of James Cagney Cultural depictions of Jimmy Durante Films about radio Films scored by Bernard B. Brown Films scored by Norman Spencer (composer) Films directed by Tom Palmer (animator) Films set in Africa Films set in the Arctic Films set in China Films set in the Middle East Films set in New York City Merrie Melodies short films Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films 1930s Warner Bros. animated short films {{MerrieMelodies-stub