A mild-mannered man whose nerves are shot from incessant noise is sent to an exclusive, silent retreat with hilarious results.A mild-mannered man whose nerves are shot from incessant noise is sent to an exclusive, silent retreat with hilarious results.A mild-mannered man whose nerves are shot from incessant noise is sent to an exclusive, silent retreat with hilarious results.
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- Mr. Twiddle
- (uncredited)
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Our story tells us about a Mr. Twiddle, a little man who works in a VERY noisy nightclub playing percussion while the horn section blows their trumpets right in his ears, making him a nervous wreck. He goes to see psychiatrist, Dr. I.M. Jittery (get it?), who tells him that his nerves are shot and unless he goes away so he can get some quiet rest he'll just blow up. So Mr. Twiddle goes to The Hush-Hush Lodge in the Swiss Alps, a place that prides itself on absolutely no sounds made whatsoever. Not long after Twiddle hits the hay, the people in the next room start to badly play a trumpet while howling with laughter. Twiddle tries to get them to stop but no avail. Each effort he makes is met by an even ruder response from these pests who seem to be enjoying torturing him. For example: Twiddle slips a note under the door saying to please stop the noise. The people in return instantly slip a note under the door telling him to "Aww shutup". And it goes on. That's the source of the cartoon's gags and sure, you get the usual Avery-styled barrage of them. But the main thrust is that Twiddle - along with us the viewers - never see who these sadistic noisemakers are. They are kept a complete mystery until being reveled in the cartoon's ingenuous twist ending (which I downright refuse to tell you here). We also see the unfortunate fate that befalls poor Mr. Twiddle.
This is also one of the most downright bizarre and weirdest cartoons ever made. For starters the cartoon's underlying atmosphere concerning Twiddle's ordeal seems dark and the ending, while it is great, itself feels macabre. There is also little dialog spoken throughout - for the most part all we get are a sparse array of sound effects. But mostly it's that laughter that gets to you. It goes on and on and on. Even as the cartoon fades out in it's final seconds we hear absolutely nothing but that crazed laughter. You're left with a very strange, and even creepy, feeling after Sh-h-h-h-h-h is over. And this is what makes this cartoon brilliant. Only Avery could take something plain like a laugh recording and frame a cartoon around it in such a way that he not only makes us smile with his trademark sight gags but chills our blood at the same time with a vivid weirdness. And to me this is the genius of Tex Avery, of his being able to easily twist the viewer around, to make us laugh but instead of leaving us smiling we're creeped out. And this was the last cartoon Avery ever made. After Sh-h-h-h-h-h was finished it was semi-retirement with some occasional television work for him until his death in 1980. He definitely saved his best short for last.
For those of you who have been trying like hell to see this one (it used to play occasionally on television among the other Walter Lantz cartoons, but now it's seldom - if ever - played anymore) it is on the Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection (Volume 1) DVD boxed set. So now you can watch Tex Avery's brilliantly comedic and macabre final film and see just what made this man the legend he has become.
Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best he ever did. 'Sh-h-h-h-h-h' may not be one of his very best, only because his masterpieces were so many, more so than most other animation directors. Occasionally, limitations show in some of the backgrounds (in comparison to his cartoons from the 40s), but this doesn't matter quite so much because everywhere else in the animation it's colourful and expressive.
Many times it has been said by me that when Avery was not at his best he still fared much better than most other animation directors at their worst, some can only dream of having their best work on the same level as the masterpieces from Avery. Still think that.
Have not seen all Avery's work, though that's my goal as of now, but as of now have yet to see anything "bad" from him, even if there are perhaps a few very early efforts that are not at his usual top standard.
Clarence Wheeler is no Scott Bradley, but his music scoring proves him to be a more than worthy replacement. It's lively, lush and fits very well, if not quite action-enhancing as with Bradley.
'Sh-h-h-h-h-h' is one of those cartoons that is very funny, with plenty of clever, imaginatively timed gags that really deliver on the humour and makes the most of a very clever and brilliantly constructed story that is pure insanity and deliciously so. Nobody does insanity like Tex Avery.
Direction as to be expected is impeccable as is Daws Butler's bravura voice-work. One does feel sorry for poor Mr Twiddle, especially if you've been in a similar situation to him.
Overall, another brilliant work from a master. 10/10 Bethany Cox
When the cartoon begins, you will immediately notice a HUGE quality difference over Avery's earlier output. The animation style is very cheap and ugly. Part of it was because of a trend in the 1950s to make cheaper and cheaper films--with lower cel counts, simpler drawings and even cheaper backgrounds. But even compared to most other studios of the day, this is a very ugly looking cartoon.
The story is about an over-stressed guy who is just trying to get some sleep...but the folks in neighboring apartments are driving him crazy with their noise. To provide a cheap way of doing this, they used the novelty Okeh Laughing Record to provide non-stop laughter during the film.
So is it any good? No. It's ugly, not particularly funny and represents the worst period in Avery's career. Only of interest to folks who are die-hard Avery fans and want to see all of his work.
Did you know
- TriviaThe sounds of the trumpet player and the laughing woman who keep the man awake through the night are taken directly from the novelty OKeh Laughing Record, which was released in 1923; used by permission of Okeh records.
- GoofsThe lead character (Mr. Twiddle) suffers a nervous breakdown while playing bongos with a jazz band. He leaves the stage but the bongos continue to play on the soundtrack.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Doctor: Mr. Twiddle, you are a very sick man. You have a serious case of trombonosis. Now, I would suggest complete relaxation at some quiet, remote hideaway, because if you do not get away from these noisy horns, your entire nervous system will shatter. You will just blow up!
[Mr. Twiddle recoils in shock]
Doctor: My wife here will give you our recommended travel folders.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Toon in with Me: Off to the Mountains! (2024)
- SoundtracksThe OKeh Laughing Record
Produced by Beka Records
© 1922 OKeh Record Company
Details
- Runtime6 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1