Convict Concerto thoughts

[BloodyChamp]

The never ending heat on Woody as a bum and a bad guy made me post this. I *think* this is my all time favorite Woody Woodpecker cartoon. The only thing keeping me from going that far is the fact that I can't stand Grace's laugh. That's petty though. No matter what laugh Woody bellows out, none of his other cartoons are as sharp and as crisp as this one, not even Barber of Seville imo.

Franz Liszt's second Hungarian Rhapsody is my favorite classical music piece, for sure. It was so perfect in this cartoon. This wasn't a musical cartoon with people just running around or dancing to a tune. Every step and every *thought* that the characters had was in unison with each individual note.

The plot and story was executed perfectly. It was perfect even though Woody was a good guy and had a job lol! It all went so much deeper than a regular cartoon. There were more characters in this one than most others but they all had a purpose. There were no bland one liners or cameos. They were all part of the story. It was like a 7 minute movie because it felt like 2 hours. It struck emotion. The blur effect where Woody imagines calling the cops outside is borderline scary and the first time I saw it I began to wonder just how safe Woody was. It was Woody. It wouldn't have been far fetched for one of those directors can Woody. Who directed the cartoon anyway?

The comedy relief was also there, of course, since it was a cartoon. Gullible cops are always funny, especially to me because where I live that's typical. The balance between it and the serious elements make this cartoon excellent, even though it isn't exactly vintage Woody. Woody has untapped potential as a good guy who isn't all rosy, kind of like that Bugs Bunny guy. The dolts at Universal need to see that.

[J Lee]

Don Patterson directed, in one of his final efforts at Lantz.

The really ironic thing about this cartoon is the story credit goes to Hugh Harman, who for the better part of 20 years had done everything possible to avoid making a funny, slapstick style cartoon (the closest he "officially" came was in another musical cartoon from MGM, "The Mad Maestro", but as Tim can tell you, given what passed for a sense of humor in Hugh's other cartoons of the period, this one most certainly was done by an uncredited Friz Freleng).

[Bartman]

It's not a bad Woody cartoon, but had this one been done during the 1940s era, it would have looked better and the musical score, which undoubtedly would have been done by Darrell Calker, would sure have sounded better IMO.

It kind of reminds of me of a Heckle & Jeckle cartoon - "Off to The Opera" - the storyline and gags are great, but the "Barber of Seville" score, in the hands of Phillip Scheib, was just awful - sounds like it was played by a grammar school band!!

[Thad]

It kind of reminds of me of a Heckle & Jeckle cartoon - "Off to The Opera" - the storyline and gags are great, but the "Barber of Seville" score, in the hands of Phillip Scheib, was just awful - sounds like it was played by a grammar school band!!

Come on now, Bart, those kids practiced awfully hard... :mighty:

[Thad]

More on-topic.... Convict Concerto's a great short. Hilarious and awfully well-timed considering when it was made. "Psst! Hey! There's the dough! The dougghhhh-de-do-de-do-de-do..."

[Larry T]

Cartoons with minimal dialogue are always tougher to succeed at- this one excels in many ways.

Just when you might have thought the Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 was overused enough- this cartoon gives it a brand new vision. The timing and the setup is fantastic. The pacing is fast- and the story nicely compacted into the 7 minutes. There are many great angles and viewpoint shots to help build the action.

The only thing that's kind of stupid about it is the weak ending, where Woody begins marching towards the camera with a crazed look on his face. WTF is that? We never got any other indication that he was beginning to lose it-- if anything he should be relieved!! If, during the cartoon, we were given glimpses of him starting to lose his grip :) , it would make sense. But all though the action, we see Woody hanging in there with the fiercest determination to keep playing as the music and situation mounts. He's conscious of what's going on, many times he's looking at the coinciding events as if preparing for the next thing to hit the piano.

One of my favourite moments in the cartoon, that really takes the audience in: When Woody is playing and hears the cop's comment and goes through the extremes- then imagines calling the police on the phone outside, and the herioc acclaim; then he realizes he might end up dead, and shows this look of horror on his face while still playing. I always empathized at that scene, thinking that "Hey, Woody is a cartoon character, he can't die! Why is he so afraid? Maybe he will die??!"

Still, the image of him in the morgue with the 'tent' where his beak should be always makes me break out laughing.... it's so grim, even for a cartoon.

"Bb-b-b-but I'm not the robber.... he's in the p-p-p-p- (gun points in his face)... eeeewwwwww....."

[Der Captain]

This one is very nicely done for a 50's Woody cartoon, despite the fact that the second Hungarian Rhapsody was already used to death in cartoons. (Had anyone ever thought of using Hungarian Rhapsody Number One?)

And Woody himself is likable and funny even though I prefered his forties design with the Hardaway voice. His insane expression at the end makes sense considering all he went through. I've seen people hold their calm through insane situations only to suddenly lose it at some point. You held up well, Woodrow!

It bothers me a bit that a new kind of elitist attitude has emerged over the years (particularly in books like "Chuck Jones: A Flurry of Drawings") that suggests that Warners was the only studio of the golden age that produced any animation worth viewing, as if today's critics are afraid to admit that a Woody Woodpecker cartoon could be enjoyable, let alone artistically significant. Watch the best work of James Culhane, Dick Lundy and the Pattersons at Lantz and then tell me it's all unworthy.

[Studio Toledo]

This one is very nicely done for a 50's Woody cartoon, despite the fact that the second Hungarian Rhapsody was already used to death in cartoons. (Had anyone ever thought of using Hungarian Rhapsody Number One?)

And Woody himself is likable and funny even though I prefered his forties design with the Hardaway voice. His insane expression at the end makes sense considering all he went through. I've seen people hold their calm through insane situations only to suddenly lose it at some point. You held up well, Woodrow!

It bothers me a bit that a new kind of elitist attitude has emerged over the years (particularly in books like "Chuck Jones: A Flurry of Drawings") that suggests that Warners was the only studio of the golden age that produced any animation worth viewing, as if today's critics are afraid to admit that a Woody Woodpecker cartoon could be enjoyable, let alone artistically significant. Watch the best work of James Culhane, Dick Lundy and the Pattersons at Lantz and then tell me it's all unworthy.
Hopefully if those guys can locate them on tape or disc someplace, was surprised some years back to see some stores in my area still having the old MCA Home Video releases of Woody Woodpecker on their shelves.

[Matt the Y]

Count me in as another fan of "Convict Concerto". This is one of the BEST Woody shorts from the 1950's, heightened by great music, great timing, hilarious gags, and an engaging storyline. Daws Butler is absolutely great as the voice of the bank robber (and the dumbfounded policeman) and Don Patterson's direction is, as always, top notch (too bad this would be the last Woody cartoon he'd direct; he did direct one other Lantz cartoon after this, "Flea for Two", which did not star Woody).

Suffice to say, if a DVD release of the Lantz cartoons ever comes out (it better be soon:rolleyes: ...), "Convict Concerto" should definitely be on it!!!