Page Miss Glory

In the mid 1930's Cosmopolitan Productions, a W. R. Hearst subsidiary for the purpose of producing and promoting his mistress, Marion Davies', moved from M.G.M. to Warner Brothers. Page Miss Glory was the title of a feature film starring Miss Davies and this cartoon shares not only the lilting song from the feature film, but also its title and a caricature of its star. The action occurs in the "Cosmopolitan" Hotel (get it?). It is all packaged in a dream sequence that goes from a hick town to an art deco metropolis and to say that it is eye candy all the way is to understate. There is a Busby Berkeley style musical number in the middle of the proceedings and of course the Marion Davies character is heavily featured as the mysterious and elusive "Miss Glory." Fun stuff! Don't miss this one.

Tex Avery was an animation genius, and while I consider Page Miss Glory one of his better cartoons it's not always mentioned amongst his other work. That's understandable though because there is so much from him and many masterpieces. The animation for want of a word is gorgeous, the characters are very well drawn and in Avery's distinctive style and the colouring is softly-shaded and colourful. The music is catchy and energy, right from the background music to the musical numbers. The choreography positively dazzles and never looks awkward in the animation. The gags are similarly great, there's plenty to be seen, and they are done in a fresh and imaginative way that ties in with the musical numbers too. Page Miss Glory's story is simply constructed, but made fun by the snappy pacing, gags and music, while the characters are sweet and the voice work and singing top-notch. In conclusion, glorious cartoon from Tex Avery. 10/10 Bethany Cox

There's something about the idealized look of early animation that appeals to me. This cartoon (though I haven't seen it in years) presents a peek into the imaginary high-living, cosmopolitan lifestyle of the well-to-do in the 1930's. The music is memorable, the drawing and shading are gorgeous. If you're anything like me this cartoon will have you longing for a life which only exists in our dreams.

Tex Avery arrived at Schlesinger's in 1935 after working a few years as an animatir at the Lantz studio. Although no studio records exist anymore, Tex evidently made a strong impression on the studio very early on as he started directing the prestigious Technicolor Merrie Melodies almost immediately. He was the 2nd director to be given this status. MISS GLORY was the first Merrie Melody he directed.

While the formula of having to plug a song compromised Tex's objective for comedy, this short has been celebrated for its art deco backgrounds and character designs. It's almost like The New Yorker magazine in movement. It's really a one of a kind film for Tex, although this was very much in vogue for the 30s. I wonder what the full story is for the collaboration with the credted art director.

Reportedly Tex didn't care for this short, like most of his earlier efforts, which is really a shame, because this the most outstanding WB cartoons for early 1936; When most of the ouput was still in a mediocre stage. A short like this would have been more appreciated by Freleng and no doubt Tashlin, who utilized the art deco style to the fullest extent. But Avery pulled the style off very well.

Aling with I LOVE TO SINGA, this short is an early Avery masterpiece.

I saw the cartoon 'Page Miss Glory' on TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES for the first time in about 10 or 15 years and it brought back for me good memories of when I was a kid and a rushed home because I knew that the 'good' cartoons were going to be on Channel 5 here in New York. This is back in the days when we only had seven channels, kids.

Channel 5 showed the Warner Brothers cartoons and 'Page Miss Glory' was always one of my favorites along with the owl who wanted to singa about da moona and da junea an da springa and the one with the elephant who sang the 'Hut-Sut Song'.

Thanks to TCM for showing this wonderful cartoon and reviving such wonderful memories from my youth.