''Out of the Inkwell'' is a 1938

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...

live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

and

animated short Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

film. The title and concept for the film were a tribute to the ''

Out of the Inkwell ''Out of the Inkwell'' is an American major animated series of the silent era produced by Max Fleischer from 1918 to 1929. History The series was the result of three short experimental films that Max Fleischer independently produced from 191 ...

'' series of films that

had produced during the 1920s.

Synopsis

A live-action black janitor, played by

Oscar Polk Oscar Polk (December 25, 1899 – January 4, 1949) was an American actor. He portrayed the servant Pork in the film ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939). Career His most memorable scene in that film comes when Pork discloses to Scarlett O'Hara, portr ...

, best known for his portrayal as the servant "Pork" in the 1939 film ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Win ...

'', studies hypnotism from a book while cleaning Max Fleischer's desk at the Fleischer studio. He manages to conjure Max's pen into drawing Betty Boop. In a sequence of animation mixed with live-action, he uses his new powers to control the white animated Boop. She in turn is able to control a small dog. After waking from the spell, Betty manages to work a few more spells. Fraught with racial innuendo, one of her tricks includes turning the black man white for a split-second, after which he begins cleaning in overdrive. Before that, he was sleeping on his broom and sweeping dirt under the carpet. At the end, Betty Boop leaps into a bottle of black ink.

Reception

Boxoffice ''Boxoffice Pro'' is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by BoxOffice Media LP. History It started in 1920 as ''The Reel Journal'', taking the name ''Boxoffice'' in 1931 and still publishes today, with ...

'' (March 24, 1938): "Mostly juvenile appeal. That popular Max Fleischer animated stunt is used here, but their results are far from effective. There is a colored porter, who picks up hypnotism from a book lying on a cartoonist's desk. He brings the pen to life with an unaided drawing of Betty Boop. Betty watches the porter tire at his work and then hypnotized him into doing the work at a speedy clip." ''Motion Picture Exhibitor'' (May 1, 1938): "The Boops will not be distributed by Paramount next year. This entrant will do nothing to make any exhibitor regret the company's decision. It has novelty, true, but of the old days."

References

External links

*''Out of the Inkwell'' o
Youtube
* * ''Out of the Inkwell'' a
The Big Cartoon Database
1938 films 1930s American animated films Betty Boop cartoons 1938 animated films American black-and-white films Paramount Pictures short films Fleischer Studios short films Short films directed by Dave Fleischer Short films with live action and animation Films about hypnosis {{BettyBoop-animation-film-stub