I just watched a very enjoyable recording of Shamus Culhane at Sheridan College (via Reg Hartt), from sometime in the 1980s (not sure of the exact year, but it was after 1984, as Bob Clampett was mentioned as having passed on). Here’s one of the highlights. He’d probably be slaughtered in the press over saying something that hilarious today.

And here’s a Fleischer cartoon Culhane animated on, doing Betty’s dance towards the end of the picture. This is a nice looking copy that hasn’t been raped by DVNR.

Welcome to another edition of Your Saturday Bowl of WTF! Last week’s was a hoot, wasn’t it? This week, we have one of the best Terrytoons from the Gene Deitch era, Ernie Pintoff’s masterpiece, Flebus. I’m sure this one registered a ten on the WTF scale for every child who saw this mixed amongst the Mighty Mouse’s, Heckle & Jeckle’s, Terry Bears, and their ilk, randomly show up one day. I like the idea of giving fish as a friendly gesture. Believe it or not, Jim Tyer was the sole animator of this short.

All stories taken from Barnyard Comics #7 (December 1945). Only one guess who drew them. I like how they all end in jail.

It seems the only time I post a cartoon nowadays is for a WTF, so I’ll try remedying that. This is another one of the cartoons Bob Clampett (with help from Mike Maltese and Tedd Pierce) wrote for Screen Gems, Swiss Tease, directed by Sid Marcus, and it’s the best one. It’s a corny premise, but there’s a number of surprisingly well-timed gags throughout the short (the dog getting tricked into running off the mountain is Freleng level), and Darrell Calker’s score actually accentuates most of the action, which was a rarity in his arrangements for Screen Gems. The gag of the dog pleading for redemption (and its payoff) in pantomime was reused in a Marcus-directed Chilly Willy cartoon, Salmon Loafer (1963).

I have no idea who did the art or story of this primordial story. Being that this was Our Gang #1 (September-October 1942), Tuffy was named, and appeared, well before the first ‘Nibbles’ cartoon, The Milky Waif.