''Bosko's Picture Show'' is a Warner Bros. ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

'' animated short directed by

Hugh Harman Hugh Harman (August 31, 1903 – November 25, 1982) was an American animator. He was known for creating the Warner Bros. Cartoons and MGM Cartoons and his collaboration with Rudolf Ising during the golden age of American animation. Career He ...

and

Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ' ...

. It was the last ''

Bosko Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko was the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series and was the star of 39 ''Looney Tunes'' shorts released by Warner Bros. H ...

cartoon produced by

and

Rudolf Ising Rudolf Carl Ising (August 7, 1903 – July 18, 1992) was an American animator best known for collaborating with Hugh Harman to establish the Warner Bros. and MGM Cartoon studios during the early years of the golden age of American animation. I ...

for

Leon Schlesinger Leon Schlesinger (May 20, 1884 – December 25, 1949) was an American film producer who founded Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the Golden Age of American animation. He was a distant r ...

and Warner Bros. The duo moved on to produce cartoons for MGM, the first of which were released in 1934. The music score was a work of Frank Marsales.

Director and production

While

is credited with directing the film, animation historians believe that

was his uncredited co-director. The attempt of Bosko to leap into a movie screen and into the film depicted on screen is a reference to the film '' Sherlock Jr.'' (1924). The short recycles certain scenes from earlier shorts: ''Bosko at the Beach'', ''Bosko's Dog Race'', ''Bosko in Person'', ''Bosko and Bruno'', and '' Box Car Blues''.

Plot

The film opens to an exterior shot of a

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

. The camera moves to the interior, where curtains and barn doors open to reveal a movie screen. The screen introduces the host of the movie show, Bosko, who is playing a "Furtilizer" organ. The term itself is a play on the name

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

, as Wurlitzer

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''rank ...

s were regularly used in theaters of the time. Bosko leads the audience in the song "

We're in the Money "The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)" is a song from the 1933 Warner Bros. film ''Gold Diggers of 1933'', sung in the opening sequence by Ginger Rogers and chorus. The entire song is never performed in the 1933 movie, though it introd ...

" (1933). The film then proceeds to parody

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...

s. The newsreel depicted is called ''Out-Of-Tone News'' and the accompanying tagline ''Sees All, Hears All, Smells All''. This was a reference to ''

Movietone News Movietone News is a newsreel that ran from 1928 to 1963 in the United States. Under the name British Movietone News, it also ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986, in France also produced by Fox-Europa, in Australia and New Zealand until 1970 ...

'', which had the slogan ''Sees all, Hears All, Knows All''. Various scenes of world news appear. The first of them takes place in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

, Switzerland, where a peace conference is supposedly taking place. Actually the attending world leaders are depicted engaging in

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range ( grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Hu ...

, while a

ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts, ...

gives a blow-by-blow description of the action. The following scene takes place in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Mali ...

. A title card reports that it is supposedly about the ''Sunkist Bathing Beauties'' enjoying the sunshine of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. The scene then contradicts the card by depicting a single, unattractive woman on a beach during a

snowstorm A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these storms are not necessar ...

. She is attempting to evade a

tidal wave Tidal wave may refer to: Seas and oceans * A tidal bore, which is a large movement of water formed by the funnelling of the incoming tide into a river or narrow bay * A storm surge, or tidal surge, which can cause waves that breach flood defence ...

. The next scene takes place in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

, where boxer "Jack Dumpsey" (

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 ...

) is reported training for a comeback. He is depicted as a withered old man with a cane. Followed by a scene taking place in "

Epsom Salts Magnesium sulfate or magnesium sulphate (in English-speaking countries other than the US) is a chemical compound, a salt with the formula , consisting of magnesium cations (20.19% by mass) and sulfate anions . It is a white crystalline solid, ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

", depicting a race among blue-blood dogs. The defending champion Bruno, Bosko's pet dog, is depicted sniffing around and trailing his competitors. Until he finds himself chased by the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AF ...

, equipped as dog catchers. The final scene of the newsreel takes place in " Pretzel,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

", where Fuehrer

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

is depicted pursuing

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs ...

with a meat cleaver or axe in hand. Hitler is depicted as a ruthless and violent

buffoon A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...

, wearing

lederhosen Lederhosen (; , ; singular in German usage: ''Lederhose'') are short or knee-length leather breeches that are worn as traditional garments in some regions of German-speaking countries. The longer ones are generally called ''Bundhosen'' or ''Kni ...

and an

armband An armband is a piece of material worn around the arm. They may be worn for pure ornamentation, or to mark the wearer as belonging to group, or as insignia having a certain rank, status, office or role, or being in a particular state or conditi ...

depicting a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. I ...

. Durante shouts the phrase ''"Am I mortified!''". (Aside from newsreels, this is argued to be the first depiction of Hitler in an American film,Birdwell (1999), p. 5-34Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 30Welky (2008), p. 41-42 although there is an earlier appearance in the August 1933 short ''Cubby's World Flight'' by the

Van Beuren Studios The Van Beuren Corporation was a New York City-based animation studio that produced theatrical cartoons as well as live-action short-subjects from the 1920s to 1936. History In 1920, the Keith-Albee organization formed Fables Pictures for the ...

; while flying over Germany, Cubby Bear receives smiles and waves from both

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Hitler and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...

.) The newsreel then ends with the tagline ''It Squeaks for Itself''. This a reference to another slogan of ''

'': ''It Speaks for Itself''. The newsreel is followed by a

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

parodying

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo ...

, who are called here "Haurel and Lardy", starring in "Spite of Everything". The two comedians are depicted finding a cooling pie on a window sill and stealing it. Then they argue over ownership of the pie. The pie switches hands many times, until Haurel ends their rivalry by

pieing Pieing or a pie attack is the act of throwing a pie at a person. In pieing, the goal is usually to humiliate the victim while avoiding actual injury. For this reason the pie is traditionally of the cream variety without a top crust, and is rarely ...

Lardy. In retaliation, Lardy uses a discarded pot to hit Haurel. The subject ends with Haurel crying. The last film of the show follows. It is a "TNT Pictures" production, its logo featuring a roaring (and burping) lion. This is a reference to Leo the Lion, the mascot of

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

. The film itself is a melodrama set in the 1890s, entitled "He Done Her Dirt (and How!)". Honey, Bosko's girlfriend, is depicted riding a bicycle. She is followed by the Marx Brothers, who sing

Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two) "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)" is a song written in 1892 by British songwriter Harry Dacre with the well-known chorus "Daisy, Daisy / Give me your answer, do. / I'm half crazy / all for the love of you", ending with the words "a bicycle b ...

(1892). Then a title card introduces the

villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

, "Dirty Dalton (The Cur!)". Dalton hides behind a tree and manages to ambush Honey, abducting her. He then "leaps off a cliff and onto a train passing underneath", ending with his victim on top of a runaway

railroad car A railroad car, railcar ( American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...

. Honey breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cent ...

by asking for assistance from the audience. Bosko volunteers to save her and leaps towards the screen. He fails to enter the world of the 1890s film and goes through the screen. But his efforts leave a hole where Dalton's head should be, disabling the villain and somehow rescuing Honey. Honey applauds, Bosko raises his hands in triumph, and the animated short ends.

Profanity

When the villain first appears onscreen, Bosko shouts what sounds like "The dirty fuck." The word is not clearly heard, due to a muffled vowel and it has been argued that a flaw in the soundtrack rendered profane a more "polite" phrase, such as "''dirty fox''" or "''dirty mug''". Animator Mark Kausler has studied the lip movements of the character and insisted that "''mug''" was the intended word.Cohen (2004), p. 15 He initially believed that the sound flaw only appeared on the

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It is ...

version, and tried to re-record the sound from a 35 mm,

nitrate film Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...

to correct this, leading to no better results, since listeners still heard the disputed word as "''fuck''". Animation historian

Jerry Beck Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer. Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including '' The 50 Greates ...

also had several people see the film, and they all concluded that Bosko did indeed call the film villain a "dirty fuck." According to the ''Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6'' DVD set the subtitles for that scene read, "The dirty

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

!", despite that "The dirty fuck!" can clearly be heard. Fans have theorized that the inclusion of a really nasty curse word was most likely a parting farewell shot by Harman and Ising to Warner Bros. animation head

with whom they disputed over various matters.

Home media

This cartoon was released on the '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6'' DVD set, uncut and digitally remastered.

Sources

* * * *

References

External links

* *
Toon Zone article
{{Friz Freleng 1933 short films 1933 animated films American black-and-white films Film controversies Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler Cultural depictions of Laurel & Hardy Cultural depictions of the Marx Brothers Cultural depictions of Jimmy Durante Films scored by Frank Marsales Films directed by Hugh Harman Bosko films Films set in the 1890s Films set in the 1930s Films set in a movie theatre Animated films set in England Films set in Germany Films set in Malibu, California Films set in Nevada Films set in Switzerland Looney Tunes shorts Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Rail transport films African-American animated films Short films directed by Friz Freleng 1930s Warner Bros. animated short films Obscenity controversies in animation Obscenity controversies in film Television censorship 1930s English-language films American animated short films Animated films set in California