Railroad Rhythm is a 1937 short animated film by Columbia Pictures starring the comic strip character Krazy Kat, and part of a long-running series of short films featuring the character.[2]
| Railroad Rhythm | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Manny Gould Ben Harrison |
| Story by | Manny Gould |
| Produced by | Charles Mintz |
| Starring | Mel Blanc Leone LeDoux Danny Webb[1] |
| Music by | Joe de Nat |
| Animation by | Allen Rose Jack Carr |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 5:50 |
| Language | English |
Plot
editKrazy is a train engineer, driving an old steam train. While Krazy enjoys himself and even sings I've Been Working on the Railroad, the passengers are disoriented by the coaches tilting back and forth. When the train stops at a local station, the passengers exit, and express their dislike of the ride, before boarding a more modern train at the place.
As Krazy continues to run his train, a villainous mutt, some miles ahead, ties a man and a woman, who are a couple, onto the track. Krazy, however, notices the restrained couple on time. Krazy dives his train into the ground, going under them, before getting back to the surface. Krazy comes out of the train to untie the couple. The man gives Krazy a sack of cash as a sign of gratitude.
Krazy uses the money he received from the man to purchase one of the modern trains. The man and the woman are onboard as passengers. But troubles are not over as the mutt returns in an airplane to drop bombs on the train. The couple, however, is not defenseless as the man uses a trumpet to summon an army tank to the scene. After firing several rounds, the airplane is eventually shot down.
Reception
editMotion Picture Exhibitor (Dec 1, 1937): "The cat is engineer of an old train. The passengers are sick from the constant rocking and ride the new streamlined train. The cat and the porter (mimic of Stephin Fetchit) save a band leader and his girlfriend from death, receive as reward enough cash to buy a streamlined train. The animation is good but the gags are a little weak. Fair."[3]
Selected Motion Pictures (Jan 1, 1938): "Krazy Kat rescues his sweetheart from the villain in an old-time melodrama with a modern ending. Clever and amusing cartoon."[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Ohmart, Ben (2012). Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-5939-3788-1. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 97–98. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ a b Sampson, Henry T. (1998). That's Enough, Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960. Scarecrow Press. pp. 200–201. ISBN 978-0810832503.