Sure-Locked Homes

A fine example of why Felix the Cat was the most popular silent cartoon series. While there were other excellent cartoons, most of the series, such as "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" -- which started out with Disney, then went to Hugh Harman, and then to someone else -- used gags about motion, in which any item might turn around and assume anthropomorphic features, as appropriate for an "animated" film. Here, however, series director Otto Messmer used light and darkness as his medium: Felix's black tail might change suddenly into a black walking stick, since both were no more than thick black lines.

That sort of joke starts out this movie: night falls. Night falls on the light daytime sky in viscous, fat drops that darken the world. That's only the first gag, but it sure sets the stage.

And then Felix gets to play with shadows. No one else did cartoons this way. Try one and see.

I'm becoming a big fan of these ancient Felix cartoons. In this one, he is out in the dark being frightened by just about everything. The last straw is a shirt, blowing in the wind, having accidentally been released by a Chinese launderer. He escapes to what appears to be an empty house. Soon, shadowy beings, including a giant hand, begin to assault him. He uses every means in his bag of tricks to combat them until a Felix the Cat ending.

Despite lacking sound and fancy animation, the Felix cartoons were among the most popular in the world during the 1920s. Much of this is because they have a wacky, surreal sensibility that even today is pretty weird. And, on top of that, they are funny and timeless.

"Sure-Locked Homes" finds Felix out after dark. Again and again, his imagination gets the best of him and he is scared half out of his wits. Seeking shelter from all the scary things outside, Felix breaks into a house. However, once inside he sees even more things that scare him. What is he to do? Call the cops!

While this cartoon has some nice gags (such as the sunset and the police coming to the house), the momentum of this one is disrupted by a ridiculous ending. Not a bad cartoon, but certainly one of the weaker original Felix cartoons I have seen. When I say original, it's because several times over the years, starting in the mid-1930s, the series has been revived-but always with less than spectacular results.

Strangely creepy Felix cartoon which sees him doing battle with clowns and oversize spiders. Didn't like it.