''Mysterious Mose'' is a 1930

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of i ...

animated short released through

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

as part of the ''

Talkartoons ''Talkartoons'' is a series of 42 animated cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1932. History For the Fleischer brothers, the transition to sound was relatively easy. With the new contract ...

'' series. This film contains an early version of Betty Boop and the studio's star,

Bimbo Bimbo is slang for a conventionally attractive, sexualized, naive, and unintelligent woman. The term was originally used in the United States as early as 1919 for an unintelligent or brutish man. As of the early 21st century, the "stereotypic ...

. "Mysterious Mose" is also the name of a popular song from 1930 (which is sung in the short).

Popular song

"Mysterious Mose" was a song from early 1930, written by Walter Doyle and first recorded by

Ted Weems Wilfred Theodore Wemyes, known professionally as Ted Weems (September 26, 1901 – May 6, 1963), was an American bandleader and musician. Weems's work in music was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Biography Born in Pitcair ...

and his Orchestra. In addition to its appearance in the short, there have been numerous recordings of the song, including

Harry Reser Harrison Franklin Reser (January 17, 1896 – September 27, 1965) was an American banjo player and bandleader. Born in Piqua, Ohio, Reser was best known as the leader of The Clicquot Club Eskimos. He was regarded by some as the best banjoist of ...

and his Radio All-star Novelty Orchestra, Cliff Perrine and his Orchestra, Karl Radlach and his Orchestra, Rube Bloom and his Bayou Boys, and R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders.

Synopsis

Betty is startled awake in her bed on a stormy night. She searches for the cause of the shock while she sings the song. Then, unexplainable phenomena start happening in the house. Mysterious Mose (Bimbo) appears, and sings part of the song. Bizarre cartoon creatures appear and, at first, sing and enhance Mose's "mysterious" image. Quickly, however, the antics become frightful even to Mose. The film escalates into chaos, which ends when Mose bursts, revealing him having been an

automaton An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...

(full of cogs and springs) the whole time.

In popular culture

''Graveyard Jamboree with Mysterious Mose'' is a short film made in 1998 by film makers Seamus Walsh and Mark Caballero of Screen Novelties. The film utilizes

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a perform ...

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

, and

silhouette animation Silhouette animation is animation in which the characters are only visible as black silhouettes. This is usually accomplished by backlighting articulated cardboard cut-outs, though other methods exist. It is partially inspired by, but for a ...

to tell the story of an otherworldly creature preparing a celebration in a cemetery. Walsh and Caballero used the song "Mysterious Mose", recorded in 1930 by

and his Radio All-star Novelty Orchestra.

References

External links

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''Mysterious Mose'' at IMDB
1930s English-language films 1930s American animated films 1930 animated films 1930 comedy films 1930 short films 1930s animated short films Betty Boop cartoons American black-and-white films Fleischer Studios short films Paramount Pictures short films Short films directed by Dave Fleischer American comedy short films American robot films Animated films about robots American animated short films Animated films about dogs {{BettyBoop-animation-film-stub