Betty Boop 1933 Cab Calloway "Snow-White"

This 1933 cartoon featuring Cab Calloway is remarkable for having been animated by a single individual, Roland C. Crandall, and is considered one of the best cartoons ever made. Crandall received the opportunity to make Snow White on his own as a reward for his several years of devotion to the Fleischer studio, and the resulting film is considered both his masterwork and an important milestone of The Golden Age of American animation.

(See The 50 Greatest Cartoons, as Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals, edited by Jerry Beck, Turner Publishing, Inc., 1994.)

You don't get to see any live action of Cab in "Snow White," which is too bad, but the animation is incredible and, of course, the music is Cab and his Orchestra at their best.

First Cab sings "St. James Infirmary" in the rotoscoped guise of Koko the Clown. "St. James Infirmary" was Cab's original signature tune, but he wanted something written specifically for himself, so he and Irving Mills wrote "Minnie the Moocher" to supplant "St. James Infirmary." The two melodies are extremely similar, and also bear a close resemblance to "Prohibition Blues." "Snow White" ends with the old Missourians instrumental, "Stopping the Traffic."

This plot, such as it is, is really more a framework to display a series of gags, musical selections, and clever animation. Critics have cited the film as having some of the most imaginative animation and background drawings from the Fleischer Studios artists.
________________________________________

SOURCE : http://www.heptune.com/snowwhit.html
________________________________________

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Cab Calloway
• Betty Boop
• 1933
• Snow White
• St James Infirmary

[Stockley29]

By far my favourite episode of Betty Boop ever. Calloway's rendition of St. James Infirmary is nothing short of bone chilling !!

Thanks for putting this online !!!

[tallercaller]

This once was shown every Friday night as the preceding cartoon before the showing of the 'Rocky Horror Picture Show,' in Terre Haute, Indiana, in the early 1980's. I was there for between 25-30 viewings and it is a delight to find this priceless bit of illustrative history again. It's also pretty cool to read of this film's history--just one person drew it? Wow!

[barrypotter09]

Pennywise turns into Slenderman. Nice.

[helloofthebeach]

Man, just amazing. I hope I can find it in high def some day.

[CO2ode]

I miss the old toons, they just so insane!

[SanDhampir]

that mirror must be really annoyed being asked the same question over and over again lol

[dudeman41000]

man cartoons from the 30's are trippy and yes i have seen Minnie the moocher also staring Betty boop

[shirorokemisuto]

Betty's voice reminds me of Brittany's from Dariah.

[ferretyluv]

This is the first time I've seen this since I was 5. Of course, all the old betty boops kind of blend together in my mind. Like this, Old Man of the Mountain, and Minnie the Moocher. They were still part of my childhood.

[SpookMouse]

This makes me so happy and yet so sad I wasn't there to experience this as a new piece. It's a timeless masterpiece.