Hollywood Capers

While the Looney Tunes unit at Warner Brothers made the best and most enjoyable shorts of the 1940s and 50s, during the 1930s they were in search of an identity and tried out many different forgettable characters. Bosco came and went as did Beans, the cat star of "Hollywood Capers". The biggest reason these characters didn't do very well was that they were very forgettable and lacked the edge characters like Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny had. When you see "Hollywood Capers", you'll see what I mean in regard to Beans.

The story starts off much like the brilliant "Autograph Hound" from Disney (starring Donald Duck). Both he and Beans are trying to sneak into a film studio to get some autographs. But unlike Donald, Beans does make it into the lot...but once he's there, he totally forgets why he came there in the first place. And, there's a gruesome battle with a robotic Frankenstein at the end that just seemed out of place. Overall, a big disappointment as you only see three stars of the day parodied (four if you count when Beans dresses like Oliver Hardy)...including Chaplin and W.C. Fields.

By the way, in some of the Beans cartoons (such as this one), Beans was voiced by Tommy Bond...the kid who played the bully in the Little Rascals shorts of the late 1930s. When it wasn't Bond, Billy Bletcher (who voiced Pete in Disney films and Barney Bear for MGM) was Beans' voice.

Was expecting something mediocre considering the rating and the general indifference towards Beans. After watching it, 'Hollywood Capers' surprisingly was a good cartoon, though not a classic and there are more compelling and interesting characters out there than Beans.

Beans himself is not a bad character and neither are his friends. Their personalities are not as memorable as Looney Tunes' later more iconic characters, that are also more interesting, more layered and less cutesy. However, they all are very charming, amusing, quite likable and have an appealing innocence.

There are more consistently funny cartoons before and especially since. There are some great moments, especially the nods to WC Fields, Charlie Chaplin and the cartoon's highlight Frankenstein's monster, the part with the camera-eating being the funniest part and the most inventive one visually. Beans' antics are cute and amusing, but other parts are a tad limp at the same time. Story is also thin and not much more of an excuse to string scenes/skits together.

'Hollywood Capers' animation is remarkably pristine, detailed and fluid for an early black and white cartoon, with the characters being well drawn and with imaginative range of expressions.

Its music is lushly orchestrated and rich in energy and character, not just being dynamic with the action but also enhancing it. Pacing is solid, and while scenes fare better than others there is a sense of fun and charm throughout. The voice acting is strong and fit the characters well.

All in all, was expecting a mediocre cartoon in 'Hollywood Capers', instead got a good if not great one. 7/10 Bethany Cox

"Beans," one of Boston Beans (according to him) gets rudely rebuffed from entering "Warmer Brothers" studio. In fact, he gets thrown out twice, once at the entrance in his car, and later, bodily given the heave-ho out of the studio.

There is no real story here, just Beans getting into the studio, accidentally getting in the way, accidentally pulling a switch and bringing the Frankenstein monster to life, and then dealing with him. The "story" has a very abrupt ending.

Humorous moments included the dancing camera on tripod; bartender playing music to cash register keys and the monster eating the camera, spitting it out and adjusting his jaw.

Although there wasn't much to it, I enjoyed it. The scenes were fast-moving and you have to keep in mind this was made over 70 years ago. This was part of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 DVD.

Some naive critics have often dismissed Beans as a character with little (or perhaps having no) personality. I wonder if they know what they're saying? If you were to ask me to describe Beans in one way, I'll give you four. These words are: adventurous, feisty, full of enthusiasm, and never giving up during struggles. And if there's anything that has no personality whatsoever, it's a lifeless mannequin.

I must admit Porky's speaking difficulty is very distinguishing, and therefore becomes a trademark of that character. Well it should be understood that this trait of his nothing new even to animated films of its time. In a 1932 Krazy Kat short called Seeing Stars, there's an announcer who speaks in a similar fashion.

The film of Hollywood Capers demonstrates the value of persistence. Although our hero, Beans, gets rejected and thrown out from entering the studio, it didn't stop him from trying get inside which he did successfully. He even shows it again when he takes on the Frankenstein monster.

Hollywood Capers (1935)

*** (out of 4)

Warner animation has Beans trying to sneak into their studio but he keeps getting kick out until he decides to dress as Oliver Hardy. Once inside he can't stay out of trouble when he accidentally brings to life Frankenstein's monster. This Looney Tunes short manages to be quite funny from start to finish and the nice pace makes it one of the better shorts I've seen from Beans. His character certainly isn't the greatest thing the company ever made but he has enough innocent charm to make you care for him. The monster here looks pretty good and that includes that square head and it's good to see what those bolts in the side of his neck are really used for. One of the best scenes in the movie has the monster coming towards the camera and screaming right before eating it. The way the animation has this play out is very well done and it's clearly the highlight.