But hey, this wouldn't be a Ramapith posting without a little homegrown history. We've just had a close Herbie encounter—but did you know the "Love Bug's" nickname came from a classic song that already had a Disney connection? Courtesy of the nearly all-encompassing British Pathe and WPA stock footage libraries, here's Aussie comic Albert Whelan in 1940, mimicking Ned Sparks and Gordon Harker on "You Can't Fool an Old Hoss Fly," Will Fyffe on "I Belong to Glasgow"—and our old pal Donald Duck, among others, on the original "Love Bug Will Bite You (If You Don't Watch Out!)"Haven't had enough yet? Oh, awright. I'm feeling generous, so here's "Hoss Fly" as rendered by the stellar 1920s team of Billy Jones and Ernest Hare...
...and a 1929 recording of Will Fyffe's original "I Belong to Glasgow."
I belong to Santa Barbara, but I left my heart in Copenhagen. And now I'm recommending you go to Anaheim...
3 comments:
Hello, David---I didn't know Pathe re-issued the ALICE cartoons--And re-named them as well!----Cole Johnson.
As far as I can tell, ALICE'S WONDERLAND was the only Alice Comedy that Pathe reissued/retitled.
The arrangement surely had something to do with Pictorial Clubs, the entity that acquired the Laugh-O-Gram fairy tales and (eventually) ALICE'S WONDERLAND from Laugh-O-Gram Films, Inc. and later Laugh-O-Gram's trustee. Pictorial was principally set up to be a non-theatrical distributor, so I can only imagine they sold Pathe the theatrical distribution rights to ALICE'S WONDERLAND. Pictorial certainly sold the Laugh-O-Gram fairy tales' rights elsewhere, albeit not to Pathe.
One of the other artists who gave a whirl at 'The Love Bug' was Mary Livingstone on the last Jack Benny show of the 1936-37 season.
And, just to tie in cartoons even further, at the end of the Benny show on Dec 3, 1939, Phil Harris' orchestra does a quick snippet of 'It's a Hap, Hap, Happy Day' at the end.
Post a Comment