''The Romance of Betty Boop'' is a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

animated 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 ani ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

featuring Betty Boop that aired on March 20, 1985. The half-hour special was rebroadcast on CBS in December 1987.

Plot summary

The story is set in New York City in 1939, during the Great Depression. The film opens with a New York

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (Block B EP), 201 ...

, as a

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...

in mock period style introduces the story of "a romantic hardworking New Yorker, an independent girl who wants nothing more than to put her feet up and marry a handsome millionaire." Desirée Goyette sings "Just Give 'Em Your Boop-Oop-a-Doop" over the opening credits. Scraps of popular songs, especially "

I Only Have Eyes for You "I Only Have Eyes for You" is a romantic love song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written for the film ''Dames'' (1934) when Dick Powell introduced it. Several successful recordings of the song were made in 1934; later, there we ...

", appear throughout the film. Betty Boop is a girl who is adored by her neighborhood and courted by Freddie the iceman, but who dreams of moving in high society and achieving "personal greatness". Betty sells shoes by day and performs at Club Bubbles by night. Uncle Mischa Bubble, the Russian owner of the club, is threatened by mob boss Johnny Throat and his two henchmen because he cannot pay his debts. Seeing Betty perform on the stage, Throat decides to take over the club to force Betty to go out with him. Betty sings " I Wanna Be Loved By You" to attract the attention of Waldo Van Lavish, a millionaire playboy. Betty goes on a date with Waldo, during which he says he wants Betty to meet his parents, so she believes he wants to marry her. Later, on her way to meet him, Betty is kidnapped by Throat's henchmen and taken to his apartment. Uncle Mischa calls Freddie to rescue Betty, but Betty escapes on her own. She meets Waldo's aged parents and discovers that Waldo merely wants her to be a maid in his parents' house. At the end, Betty apologizes to Freddie for ignoring him and gives him a kiss. To Freddie's dismay, however, she then gets a call from Hollywood to do a

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a came ...

Cast

* Desirée Goyette as Betty Boop * Marsha Meyers as Beverly * John Stephenson as the Announcer *

Sandy Kenyon Sandy Kenyon (born Sanford Klein; August 5, 1922 – February 20, 2010) was an American actor of film and television. He appeared as a guest actor on numerous television series, including a recurring role on ''The Americans''. He was also the orig ...

as Uncle Mischa Bubbles * Sean Allan as Freddie * Frank W. Buxton as the Parrot *

Derek McGrath Derek McGrath (born June 4, 1951) is a Canadian actor and writer. Life and career McGrath was born in Timmins, Ontario. His career began as Linus in '' You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown''. He is known for his roles in ''Cheers'' as Andy Schroed ...

as Waldo Van Lavish * Robert Towers as Chuckles * George R. Wendt as Johnny Throat and Punchie * Ron Friedman as Ethnic Voices

Soundtrack

*"Just Give 'Em Your Boop-Oop-A-Doop" :Sung by Desiree Goyette *"Independent Girl" :Sung by Desiree Goyette *" Bei Mir Bist Du Shein" :Sung by Ron Friedman *"

I Can't Give You Anything But Love "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics). The song was introduced by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in January 1928 in Lew ...

"'' :Sung by Desiree Goyette *" I Wanna Be Loved by You" :Sung by Desirée Goyette *"

" :Sung by Desirée Goyette and Sean Allan

References

External links

*
The Romance of Betty Boop
at Bcdb 1985 animated films 1985 films 1985 in American television 1985 television specials Betty Boop cartoons CBS television specials Television shows directed by Bill Melendez Films set in 1939 Films set in New York (state) 1980s American animated films 1980s animated short films Films with screenplays by Ron Friedman 1980s English-language films {{BettyBoop-animation-film-stub