Speaking of the Weather
Speaking of the Weather
NR | 04 September 1937 (USA)
Speaking of the Weather Trailers

It's midnight at the bookstore and all the book and magazine characters are coming to life. When a bulldog from an adventure book uses a Boswell Sisters-like performance by girls in a travel magazine as a distraction to rob a bank, he is chased, caught, and sentenced to, of course "Life" (the magazine). But there's also a conveniently placed "Escape" magazine....

Reviews
Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action
Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation
Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film
Vimacone In the early years of the WB cartoon studio, the gimmick was popular music. The Looney Tunes featured a popular star and the Merrie Melodies plugged a pop tune from a WB musical.One of the genres that was introduced at the start of the Merrie Melodies series was the book come to life cartoons (or sometimes product labels). After closing, characters would come out of books to sing and dance. A villain would start trouble, only for the other characters to defeat him.Frank Tashlin started directing Merrie Melodies in 1937, starting with this title. He took inspiration from Harman-Ising's cartoons of this genre and would do a trilogy over the next year. The title song and most of the tunes featured on the soundtrack come from the WB musical GOLD DIGGERS OF 1937 (1936). One interesting thing about these cartoons, is that it offers a glimpse into popular American culture of the year the respective cartoon was released. In this case, popular celebrities, magazine covers, and music.Tashlin is known for bigger and better things, especially in animation, but this is a fairly good entry in his filmography. I've always loved the fast paced rendition of "All's Fair In Love And War" that plays while the convict is in hot pursuit.Tashlin's other entries in his trilogy are HAVE YOU GOT ANY CASTLES? and YOU'RE AN EDUCATION (both 1938), which also give some interesting glimpses into popular American culture of the late 1930's.
slymusic "Speaking of the Weather" is a very good Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin. Inside a closed-up drug store, all of the various characters pictured on the magazine covers come to life as they sing, dance, play instruments, etc. There actually is a plot, involving the apprehension of a criminal on the loose (well voiced by Billy Bletcher).My favorite scenes: In the beginning, a Will Rogers-type character plays a slide whistle, a Ned Sparks caricature claims (as always) that he's not having any fun, bandleader Ted Lewis plays clarinet while performing some gymnastic dance stunts, and a beaver plunks away at a double bass with his tail. A trio of girls sitting at a backwards piano sings the title song, aided by a few "tongue sandwiches". A garden hose behaves like a snake under the spell of a charmer's flute.Look for quite a few 1930s celebrity caricatures in "Speaking of the Weather". One in particular I find interesting is Hugh Herbert, the big-nosed, stocky guy who claps his hands with a high-pitched giggle. It was once written that Curly Howard of the Three Stooges adapted his famous "woo woo woo" from Hugh Herbert's high-pitched "hoo hoo hoo".
mrdonleone for some reason, this cartoon is special and unique, but I can't really say why (although my conscience knows it). actually, it's quite stupid. we see a lot of magazines coming to life in some art form that already is cliché. yes, I remember it from long ago when I was a kid, but way back then I didn't like it either. I guess it's just because it was as an extra on the DVD of 'Gold Diggers of 1937' that I saw it again, because it simply isn't interesting enough to watch otherwise. the title is the same as one of the songs used in that Gold Diggers movie, but it shows very little resemblance with how it was used in the film. in this cartoon, there are very little animations that have to do with the title. I guess the song was a success in the Thirties and that should be the reason for it's title. I won't forget it, but I certainly will not watch it again in a long time.
Lee Eisenberg One of the many Warner Bros. cartoons portraying inanimate objects coming to life (others include "Little Dutch Plate", "Have You Got Any Castles?" and "Book Revue"), "Speaking of the Weather" focuses on magazines putting on a most splendiferous show. But when a shady character starts committing crimes, everyone has to take charge.This genre reminds me just a little bit of Stephen King's novels (note: this is a VERY loose connection). As we see azoic objects coming to life and taking on their own personalities, Stephen King's novels often portrayed lifeless objects coming to life; think "The Shining" and "Christine".OK, so it's probably pretty ridiculous to suggest that a series of zany cartoons could have any true relationship to a series of horrific novels. I look for connections just about anywhere. Overall, I liked this cartoon both as a 1930s time capsule, and as entertainment. I recommend it.
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