Rhapsody in Rivets

Like 'Pigs in a Polka' and 'The Band Concert', this cartoon short centres on a piece of music with an inventive animated theme - this time, the 'orchestra' are workmen building the 'Umpire' State building, whether the little elevator dog or the scrawny cats knocking pegs into the ground.

Beautiful colour and music enhance this short, which was Oscar nominated but just pipped to the post. The foreman, with baton and whistle, monitors and directs the action, including an inventive bricklayer and a lift which can dodge obstructions.

Wildly funny and well constructed, 'Rhapsody in Rivets' is a real find, and is a Merrie Melodie well worth tracking down.

. . . "catchy." While some listeners may consider it to be a little "highbrow" in these days of Liquid Sky and Abba, there are several hummable stanzas of tunes here. RHAPSODY IN RIVETS originally was produced for the Jenny Lind and Bing Crosby crowd, so it would be unfair to expect it to be backed by the strains of Dancing Queen or Sweet Dreams, let alone Hey Jude and We Didn't Start the Fire. RHAPSODY is part and parcel post of the time that it originated, which is why it begins to the strains of Buster Bizet and not Little Richard. Of course, it is always best to view archival footage such as this on a platform that includes readily accessible footnotes.

When I first watched this cartoon short ages ago, I was amazed by the film itself. Such a hilarious cartoon playing out to the tune of a classical song, there are few of.

The story is that of a foreman, who is a lion, who "conducts" a group of human-like animal construction workers to build the tallest building, the Umpire State Building, a clear parody on the Empire State Building. While the animal workers strive to build this construction, hilarity quickly ensues in the form of the workers messing up each others' workings and a multitude of hilarious events which make this cartoon short well worth watching! I recommend it to all who enjoy a good musical parody.

This cartoon short SHOULD have won the Oscar instead of Lend A Paw! An absolutely perfect blending of music and action throughout, well-executed at every turn. Incredibly funny with no dialogue-sight gags only and the running gags are great! Wonderful marriage of beautiful music and antic lunacy with a drop dead ending! Fanatically, totally recommended! I love this cartoon!!!

Very odd but fun cartoon short that was nominated for an Academy Award. It shows a bunch of dogs that act like humans constructing a building. The foreman comes out and has them play like a symphony while building! This leads to countless sight gags as the dogs construct a mammoth building in record time. No dialogue--just the music which is "Hungarian Rhapsode #2". Bright, cheerful, fast-moving Merrie Melody. TCM shows this every once in a while and their print is in pristine shape. The music is loud and the colors are so bright and vivid that they pop out at you. Also there is a character from other 1940s cartoon in this. He's a small dog with a terminally depressed expression. He has a hand in the ending. Well worth catching.