Porky at the Crocadero

Truth be told, I might not know much of 1930s culture if not for these early Looney Tunes cartoons. Frank Tashlin's "Porky at the Crocadero" is a case in point. Yes, it is true that Porky Pig commits the politically incorrect crime of making himself look like an African-American person (in this case Cab Calloway). But as is the case with at least most of the cartoons with offensive depictions of non-white people, the creators intended no hostility towards the individuals portrayed; in fact, it looks as though the cartoon celebrates African-American culture. Actually, I already knew about Cab Calloway thanks to "The Blues Brothers", but this gives one a sense of his career back in the '30s.

So, I recommend the cartoon. Available on YouTube.

I do love Looney Tunes, and while I do like Porky- he is very endearing- I do think he works better in support. This time though he is the lead as a band leader and his endearing personality is worked to great advantage. And it helps that he is in an excellent cartoon as well. I didn't find the Cab Calloway imitation offensive but by today's standard there is a shade of political incorrectness about it. That said, the rest of the humour and caricatures work wonders, Paul Whiteman's was a definite standout. The animation is beautifully drawn and lovingly shaded in black and white. Nothing looks crude or flat here. The pacing is crisp and efficient, there is some great dialogue, especially "today you are a ham" and Mel Blanc's voice work is typically adept, if not perhaps among his best. The best asset though is the music, which is so upbeat and catchy that it'd raise the spirits of anybody regardless of their mood before. All in all, an excellent cartoon if not among my absolute favourites. 9/10 Bethany Cox

The best part of this early Looney Tunes cartoon was the last minute-and-a-half when Porky Pig donned black-face and imitation Cab Calloway. Not only did he look funny but his musicians were also funny and the music was super.

It all happened when Porky, armed with his diploma from the "Sucker Correspondence School Of Music," headed out to the famous Crocadero nightclub. His goal had always been "to lead a band." (This is the old days, not today, where a band meant a lot of musicians, like an orchestra.) Unfortunately, the only way he could gain admittance was by applying for the dish-washing job inside. He got fired quickly from that, but when plane problems delayed the band leaders from showing up on time, the nightclub owner chased Porky down and told him to wing it.

By the way, Porky's diploma read "This is to certify that Porky Pig has completed our course in Hi, De, Hi.....D,Do, De, O, Do; Poo, Poo, Pa, Doop.....and can he swing it? Yeah, Man!!!"

Earlier, Porky's imitations of several band leaders like Benny Goodman and Rudy Valley were funny. Overall, a decent cartoon; nothing super except the ending.

This is an excellent cartoon with a great score that is not aired on television these days because 1) it has the temerity to be in black and white and 2) Porky imitates Cab Calloway at one point and that's considered offensive, or so some think, anyway. That's a shame, because there's a beautiful caricature of Paul Whiteman as well and it's just a great short all around. Well worth the effort to track down. Highly recommended.