Page Miss Glory

[prohias]

Does anyone know if this cartoon is available for online viewing/download? Or the likeliness of being released on DVD?

If someone could post some still images from the Art Deco sequences that would be great.

[Sogturtle]

Does anyone know if this cartoon is available for online viewing/download? Or the likeliness of being released on DVD?

If someone could post some still images from the Art Deco sequences that would be great.

Prohias~

That cartoon (of varying title:p;)) is available on DVD... Our friend Jaime Weinman posted this some months ago...

Cartoons on Astaire/Rogers DVDs
Warner Home Video is releasing a bunch of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=57013), and as usual, they have some cartoons thrown in. Top Hat comes with "Miss Glory" -- an excellent choice, with the ultimate Art Deco movie paired with the ultimate Art Deco cartoon -- and their reunion movie The Barkleys of Broadway has a Droopy cartoon from the same year.


(*Note... My reference to "cartoon of varying title" is due to the confusion among cartoon fans over the years/decades as to whether this toon's title is "Page Miss Glory", "Miss Glory", or "Miss Glory Page":p

[RetroMan]

I have the Astaire & Rogers DVDs and besides the aforementioned cartoons it also includes "Toy Town Hall", "Let It Be Me" and "Bingo Crosbyana". They're all dubbed versions, but Page Miss Glory in particular looks pretty good except for some pretty evident scratches during a scene involving lifts.

[prohias]

thanks for the info. I'll probably take a look at the DVD's, but could someone please provide some screen shots from the following scenes:

- A shot of the three waiters singing
- A shot of the hands mixing a drink
- The shot of the line of waiters' hands popping the corks off of the champagne bottles
- A shot of the elevator blasting out of the roof of the hotel
- Anything else with cool looking deco designs

btw, does Page Miss Glory on the Fred Astaire DVD appear to be remastered?

[RetroMan]

Here you have 'em:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/awnuts39/PDVD_069T.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/awnuts39/PDVD_057T.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/awnuts39/PDVD_062T.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/awnuts39/PDVD_067T.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/awnuts39/PDVD_065T.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/awnuts39/PDVD_089T.jpg

I had to tweak them a bit just to brighten them up. Like I said, it's not exactly restored, but a dubbed version so the image quality is a bit duller than these screencaps

[prohias]

Thank you so much Retroman.

I haven't seen it for almost a year and the only stills I could find were of the opening credits, the lady dancing in her underwear, and the hillbilly town.

I sure hope it ends up restored in a Golden Collection (hopefully they won't overdo the colour contrast)

[frizfrelengfan]

A great cartoon (and great screen shots, Retroman). I would hope to see it on LTGC 4. I understand that Tex Avery didn't care for it, and I wonder if that's why his name was not on the credits. Other than the authors of the title song, and design by Leadora Congdon, there are no credits, which makes me wonder:

Who worked on the cartoon? (I would guess Jones and Clampett, who were in Avery's unit.) And especially, who did the music? This cartoon has one of the best soundtracks from the pre-Stalling era. And, who was Leadora Congdon anyway?

[Daffysleftfoot]

I know that Bob Clampett animated the old lady fan dancer. :)

[Sogturtle]

A great cartoon (and great screen shots, Retroman). I would hope to see it on LTGC 4. I understand that Tex Avery didn't care for it, and I wonder if that's why his name was not on the credits. Other than the authors of the title song, and design by Leadora Congdon, there are no credits, which makes me wonder:

Who worked on the cartoon? (I would guess Jones and Clampett, who were in Avery's unit.) And especially, who did the music? This cartoon has one of the best soundtracks from the pre-Stalling era. And, who was Leadora Congdon anyway?

Frizfrelengfan~

Okay let's see, where to start, where to start...??;)
Hmmmm... Unless something turns up in somewhere (like a trade mag or the like) then it's best to simply consider the musical score as being the work of Norman Spencer and/or Bernard Brown.

Secondly... Even though Tex would tell Joe Adamson to forget about it thirty-five years later, Avery himself back in 1935/'36 had no power whatsoever to affect let alone remove his name (or those of the others) from the credits. The studio heads opted to credit Leadora Congdon and the songwriters instead of Tex and the boys who really made it.

Thirdly... With his name, and those of the animators slashed from the credits, Tex went the subversive route (BOY what a surprise:p) and had one of the scenes sporting caricatures of ALMOST all the principals involved... In that one brief scene we see caricatures of...
1. Tex Avery himself
2. Melvin "Tubby" Millar (writer, presumably representing several)
3. Chuck Jones, animator
4. Bob Clampett, animator
5. Virgil Ross, animator (a little difficult due to a hat being worn)
6. Sid Sutherland, animator (again, a little difficult due to a hat)
7.Bob Cannon, assistant animator

I said "ALMOST all the principals" for the good reason that the Avery Termite Terrace unit regularly consisted of five full animators (the fifth at this point was USUALLY Avery's former Universal colleague Cecil Surry). Why Surry isn't in the picture is debatable... The chaueffer of their stretch limo is PROBABLY just a convention/invention of what a chaueffer would look like, but you never can be sure.

l to r...Ross, Millar, Cannon, Clampett, Tex Avery, Sutherland, Jones (photos swiped from "The Looney Tunes Hidden Gags" site:D, thanks Greg)


http://members.tripod.com/gregbrian/hidden/images/pagemissglory0.jpg



http://members.tripod.com/gregbrian/hidden/images/pagemissglory3.jpg

[Studio Toledo]

Who worked on the cartoon? (I would guess Jones and Clampett, who were in Avery's unit.) And especially, who did the music? This cartoon has one of the best soundtracks from the pre-Stalling era. And, who was Leadora Congdon anyway?


That was a question I had as well, especially about this Leadora Congdon.

From what I know understand thanks to someone who told me, Leadora Congdon was some girl Schlesinger knew who did some of these s modern-style artwork that enticed Leon to eventually ask his men to incorporate into a cartoon and had her name credited as a nice gesture. I think at the time he hoped it woulid help further her career, but apparently it failed to really do much more than just be a little novelty on the big screen. Just became one of those little unsolved mysteries that lingered on for decades as this cartoon eventually hit the TV airwaves for the remainder of the century.

[J Lee]

Also, remember this was the Avery unit's first color cartoon, in a period when cartoons in color still really were something special, and after Tex's group had done all of (depending on where you put the release dates) two or three black & white cartoons.

Leon (or Ray Katz or Henry Bender) obviously saw something in the Avery group that made him (them) decide to jump Tex's crew over the Jack King unit into the No. 2 spot on Sunset Boulevard, and on a cartoon that called for a far more precise drawing style than anything the studio had attempted before that (the closest parallel would be the 1890's style attempted in 1934's "Those Were Wonderful Days" -- everything else the studio had done before that pretty much came off Friz Freleng's standard layout designs).

So moving up so fast within the studio may have offset the lack of credits on the main title page a bit, even if getting credit for animating the Art Deco characters would have been nice (I just wish Clampett had filmed the Termile Terrace crew acting out this cartoon with his home movie camera, the way he did the Avery unit's next color short, "I'd Love to Take Orders from You." Especially the scene with the martini-drinking waiters. ;))

[Sogturtle]

Also, remember this was the Avery unit's first color cartoon, in a period when cartoons in color still really were something special, and after Tex's group had done all of (depending on where you put the release dates) two or three black & white cartoons.

Leon (or Ray Katz or Henry Bender) obviously saw something in the Avery group that made him (them) decide to jump Tex's crew over the Jack King unit into the No. 2 spot on Sunset Boulevard, and on a cartoon that called for a far more precise drawing style than anything the studio had attempted before that (the closest parallel would be the 1890's style attempted in 1934's "Those Were Wonderful Days" -- everything else the studio had done before that pretty much came off Friz Freleng's standard layout designs).

So moving up so fast within the studio may have offset the lack of credits on the main title page a bit, even if getting credit for animating the Art Deco characters would have been nice (I just wish Clampett had filmed the Termile Terrace crew acting out this cartoon with his home movie camera, the way he did the Avery unit's next color short, "I'd Love to Take Orders from You." Especially the scene with the martini-drinking waiters. ;))

John~

Pretty good points:)... Though the release dates that I found (long ago) for "Page Miss Glory" and "The Blow Out" were spaced a month apart with "Page..." being on March 7 and the other on April 4, 1936. And though I'm pretty certain that "Page..." was indeed made and completed first, the copyright dates for the cartoons in this period are weird and out of sequence...

And I did point out in my post up above that Tex meticulously inserted a scene with caricatures of nearly all the Avery unit personnel as an obvious way of making up for no credits for himself or the boys... (Makes you wonder if the adult Miss Glory was a caricature of Leadora Congdon;) ).

And it certainly didn't necessitate Schlesinger getting Werner Von Braun:D to figure out in 1935 that Tex Avery was a FAR better director than Jack King, even Tex's first two Looney Tunes bore that out in comparison to King's final LT's...

And it isn't just that Tex leapfrogged past King with this color cartoon, King had been slogging it out there since the beginning. But that Tex's load of cartoons suddenly shifted to be fully half color Merrie Melodies, while poor ol' Jack stayed stuck with nothing but the black and white Looney Tunes (and a little later Tex's went to all color). Ifffff you stop and think about it, this is EERILY similar to what would happen two years later with Clampett finding himself permanently saddled with the black and whiters while Chuck Jones leapfrogged past him... :)

(Only difference is that Jack King quit and got hired as director back at Disney's, while Bob Clampett didn't have that luxury... So stick it out Bob did!!)

[J Lee]

John~

Pretty good points:)... Though the release dates that I found (long ago) for "Page Miss Glory" and "The Blow Out" were spaced a month apart with "Page..." being on March 7 and the other on April 4, 1936. And though I'm pretty certain that "Page..." was indeed made and completed first, the copyright dates for the cartoons in this period are weird and out of sequence...

And I did point out in my post up above that Tex meticulously inserted a scene with caricatures of nearly all the Avery unit personnel as an obvious way of making up for no credits for himself or the boys... (Makes you wonder if the adult Miss Glory was a caricature of Leadora Congdon;) ).

And it certainly didn't necessitate Schlesinger getting Werner Von Braun:D to figure out in 1935 that Tex Avery was a FAR better director than Jack King, even Tex's first two Looney Tunes bore that out in comparison to King's final LT's...

And it isn't just that Tex leapfrogged past King with this color cartoon, King had been slogging it out there since the beginning. But that Tex's load of cartoons suddenly shifted to be fully half color Merrie Melodies, while poor ol' Jack stayed stuck with nothing but the black and white Looney Tunes (and a little later Tex's went to all color). Ifffff you stop and think about it, this is EERILY similar to what would happen two years later with Clampett finding himself permanently saddled with the black and whiters while Chuck Jones leapfrogged past him... :)

(Only difference is that Jack King quit and got hired as director back at Disney's, while Bob Clampett didn't have that luxury... So stick it out Bob did!!)


You're right about it being similar to what they'd do with Clampett a couple of years later, Tim. But it was still a pretty good shot at King that the prestigous new No. 2 color unit at Warners would go to a newbie from Universal, given the prestige Leon and his aides seemed to put into hiring any ex-Disneyite just two years earlier.

Of course, after Tom Palmer and Earl Duval, Leon may have been a little less enamoured about Walt's surplus crew by the end of 1935, and/or he, Henry and Ray may have had the same reaction then that most of us do today to watching a cartoon like "Buddy Steps Out" -- no colored pencils for you, Jack! (In contrast, you have to wonder what the heck Walt was thinking, other than having a more malable employee to work with, when he went out and "stole" the No. 3 director from the Schlesinger studio to helm Disney's new Donald Duck series. To paraphrase Leonard Maltin's comment about Harman and Ising taking Bosko to MGM, Warner's loss was Disney's loss, given the far more creative people on Leon's staff he could have gotten.)

[frizfrelengfan]

Hmmmm... Unless something turns up in somewhere (like a trade mag or the like) then it's best to simply consider the musical score as being the work of Norman Spencer and/or Bernard Brown.

That would be my guess; Spencer and Brown scored the cartoons of the era. But if you, Sogturtle, don't know, I guess it will remain a mystery.
Secondly... Even though Tex would tell Joe Adamson to forget about it thirty-five years later, Avery himself back in 1935/'36 had no power whatsoever to affect let alone remove his name (or those of the others) from the credits. The studio heads opted to credit Leadora Congdon and the songwriters instead of Tex and the boys who really made it.

Now that you mention it, I would tend to agree. Schlesinger had strict control over the credits, to the point that Tex was "Fred," both Bobs were "Robert," Chuck was "Charles M.," etc.

[JDWeil]

When King left Disney, he was an animator. When he went back to Disney, he was a director, thanks to Leon.

[fan4life]

Does anyone know if this cartoon is available for online viewing/download? Or the likeliness of being released on DVD?

If someone could post some still images from the Art Deco sequences that would be great.

It's a great cartoon, and yes, it's available online for ya!

Go to:

http://www.dailymotion.com/visited/search/merrie/video/x9z0s_page-miss-glory

[Fibber Fox]

Secondly... Even though Tex would tell Joe Adamson to forget about it thirty-five years later, Avery himself back in 1935/'36 had no power whatsoever to affect let alone remove his name (or those of the others) from the credits. The studio heads opted to credit Leadora Congdon and the songwriters instead of Tex and the boys who really made it.

Thirdly... With his name, and those of the animators slashed from the credits, Tex went the subversive route (BOY what a surprise:p) and had one of the scenes sporting caricatures of ALMOST all the principals involved...

Sog, are you saying (in this ancient post :) ) that the credits of a Warners cartoon were devised BEFORE the actual animation? Was that standard at Schlesinger?

I can imagine the title card being part of the storyboard but I didn't realise the credits may have been concocted during the story stage.

FF

[Sogturtle]

Sog, are you saying (in this ancient post :) ) that the credits of a Warners cartoon were devised BEFORE the actual animation? Was that standard at Schlesinger?

I can imagine the title card being part of the storyboard but I didn't realise the credits may have been concocted during the story stage.

FF

Fibber Fox~

The credits-to-be for the cartoons were indeed known before production would start because of the rotation system used at Schlesinger's. As an example, as I've pointed out before, WITHIN the Avery unit, if Clampett or Jones was paired with another animator then the other animator was always billed second. Ifffffff Jones AND Clampett were credited together then Chuck's name ALWAYS came before Bob's (no exceptions).

So anyway, the idea of one of the three Schlesinger execs saying to Tex, "Oh by the way we're not going to put your name or those of your crew on this next cartoon 'Page Miss Glory'" would indeed have led Avery to take action to insure that there was SOME recognition of who made it.:)

[J Lee]

Fibber Fox~

The credits-to-be for the cartoons were indeed known before production would start because of the rotation system used at Schlesinger's. As an example, as I've pointed out before, WITHIN the Avery unit, if Clampett or Jones was paired with another animator then the other animator was always billed second. Ifffffff Jones or Clampett were credited together then Chuck's name ALWAYS came before Bob's (no exceptions).

So anyway, the idea of one of the three Schlesinger execs saying to Tex, "Oh by the way we're not going to put your name or those of your crew on this next cartoon 'Page Miss Glory'" would indeed have led Avery to take action to insure that there was SOME recognition of who made it.:)

Let alone that this was Tex's first color cartoon, back at a time when working in three-strip Techincolor was a really big thing. To be leapfrogged over the King unit to help out Friz had to be exciting for the entire crew, but then to find out that not only would they have to work within the confines of someone else's designs but they wouldn't receive any credit at all for it had to make Tex and Co. just slightly irked.

Then it comes down to whether or not they snuck the characutres in for the limo arrival scene, or if Leon, Henry or Ray gave them tacit approval to do it as some sort of compensation/in-house gag (given the lack of concern the execs showed about future in-gags using the characterizations, I would think Leon didn't care, as long as Tex and the boys followed the designs for the art deco segment and didn't tee off J.L. And it is by far the best-looking WB cartoon of the mid-30s, even if the characters tend to float a little bit because the timing is still a little soft).

[fan4life]

I'd say it was among the most stylish I'd seen from that era, it totally screamed 1930s! From the music, to the art-deco, it was very reflective of that era. And the fan-dance in the middle by the older lady-a great nod to Josephine Baker!

[Fibber Fox]

Fibber Fox~

The credits-to-be for the cartoons were indeed known before production would start because of the rotation system used at Schlesinger's.

Thanks, Sog. I didn't realise that. I sorta thought they sat down afterwards and said "OK, whose name hasn't been on a cartoon lately? Elmer Wait, we'll put yours on it." (I'd guess he might have been one of the assistants on this one).

I agree with you. I can just imagine their reaction when Leon told them screen credit would go to a young lady he was "trying to help."

I guess Avery didn't like the cartoon because it was supposed to be about fancy designs and not gags.

FF

[fan4life]

[QUOTE=Fibber Fox]Thanks, Sog. I didn't realise that. I sorta thought they sat down afterwards and said "OK, whose name hasn't been on a cartoon lately? Elmer Wait, we'll put yours on it." (I'd guess he might have been one of the assistants on this one).

I agree with you. I can just imagine their reaction when Leon told them screen credit would go to a young lady he was "trying to help."

I guess Avery didn't like the cartoon because it was supposed to be about fancy designs and not gags.

FF[/QUOTE

There was certainly a premise to this piece, but the designs and overall feel of this made it that much more enjoyable. Evenso, I didn't realize that the roster of creators and technicians was a matter of rotation-I learned a new thing here!

[Fibber Fox]

There was certainly a premise to this piece, but the designs and overall feel of this made it that much more enjoyable. Evenso, I didn't realize that the roster of creators and technicians was a matter of rotation-I learned a new thing here!

I think this was pretty standard, especially at Fleischer.

Anyway, as for 'Page Miss Glory', in rewatching it, I'm struck with how some parts simply don't remind me of something Avery would do. There's a transition scene with Abner the bellhop lying in front of a train with the engineer looking down on him, clanging a bell. I just can't picture Avery designing something with that perspective .. or anyone else in 1936. There's some really clever direction.

FF