''The Hot Air Salesman'' is a 1937

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 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 starring

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 ...

and featuring Wiffle Piffle.

Synopsis

Wiffle Piffle is an annoying

door to door salesman Door-to-door is a canvassing technique that is generally used for sales, marketing, advertising, evangelism or Political campaign, campaigning, in which the person or persons walk from the door of one house to the door of another, trying to sel ...

, selling a variety of useless gadgets. As he cheerfully walks from house to house, both arms are continuously moving as if flapping in the breeze. As he stops at house after house, he is immediately turned away. Betty Boop is the first to listen to his sales pitch, where he promises such wonders as a "woolen hammer and rubber nails", a "sieve that never leaks" and some "brand new antiques". Betty politely tells him "Nothing today, kind sir". Apparently, this is the most favorable response he has gotten, so he goes around to the side door to try again. Betty is somewhat more insistent in telling him "Nothing today, kind sir". He tries again at the back door and this time Betty Boop agrees to let him show his wares. These include: * A mouse trap shaped like a wedge of cheese contains a mechanical cat that slugs the mouse with a

blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ...

. * A smaller home version of the "spot remover" first seen in ''

Betty Boop's Crazy Inventions ''Betty Boop's Crazy Inventions'' is a 1933 Fleischer Studios animated short film, featuring Betty Boop. This cartoon was first theatrically released with the Mae West film ''She Done Him Wrong''. Plot At the inventor's show, Betty, Bimbo, ...

'' (1933). * A rocket that does the laundry, first spinning the clothes around in the sink and then rocketing out the window to hang them out to dry. * A "superheterodyne vacuum cleaner" that is so powerful, that it pulls the whiskers off a portrait. The gag of an overly powerful vacuum had been used before, and the surprise in this cartoon occurs when it is switched to reverse. Wiffle Piffle loses control of the vacuum cleaner and its powerful exhaust wreaks havoc, knocking over the furniture and finally blasts a piano through the wall. Betty learns that she was better off to say "Nothing today, kind sir" and sends the salesman on his way. The unflappable Wiffle Piffle gathers his hat and sample case and continues on his way.

Notes and comments

Second of only two appearances of Wiffle Piffle in the Betty Boop series. He had previously appeared in 1937's '' Whoops! I'm a Cowboy''. Otherwise, Wiffle Piffle appeared only in the Screen Songs series. Wiffle Piffle is a well-dressed but odd-looking character. His short cartoon body is topped by an unusually long neck and a large circular head. He wears a suit with a vest and a black top hat. Wiffle Piffle later appears as a background character in '' Who Framed Roger Rabbit''.

References

External links

* ''The Hot Air Salesman'' o
Youtube
* 1937 short films Betty Boop cartoons 1930s American animated films American black-and-white films 1937 animated films Paramount Pictures short films Fleischer Studios short films Short films directed by Dave Fleischer 1930s English-language films American comedy short films American animated short films Films about salespeople {{BettyBoop-animation-film-stub