The Dipsy Doodler

This is a short from Vitaphone and it can be found on the "Warner Brothers Big Band, Jazz & Swing" DVD collection. This set consists of six DVDs and almost 11 hours of shorts! This is at least the second short that Larry Clinton and his orchestra made. I know they made a short in 1938 and I wasn't particularly impressed by it. Let's see if they have done a bit better this time.

As far as the band goes, they are pretty much who they were the time before, though there is one huge difference--the addition of a cool harmonica band! These six guys end up being a lot more interesting than Clinton and his band--at least to me. In fact, when the film switched back to Clinton, it slowed down dramatically--especially when the song "Dancing In The Dark" was sung and danced to--it was VERY smooth but lacked the excitement of the harmonicas. I guess I am just a softy for harmonica bands, as I also adored the shorts for Barrah Minevich & His Harmonica School. And, I was thrilled when the final number included the harmonicas once again. And, it also helped that the final number "Forget Your Troubles" was peppy and fun. However, what did this entire film have to do with the phrase 'Dipsy Doodler'?!

Dipsy Doodler, The (1940)

*** (out of 4)

Another winning Vitaphone short from Warner where we get to hear some of the hit music from back in the day. This time out Larry Clinton is leading his orchestra through a list of hits including "Powerhouse", "Get Happy" and "You Took Advantage of Me". It was my first time hearing these songs but there wasn't any problem getting into their vibe as Clinton delivers a pretty good performance. I prefer this music to be a little faster but I still enjoyed the more laid back approach by Clinton. My favorite song of the group was probably "Get Happy" as it also featured The Six Philharmonicas, which was a pretty rocking little group that had some great harmonica work. Bea Wain does the vocal work on "Dancing in the Dark" and manages to be quite catchy as well.

Here's another of the innumerable Vitaphone band shorts. They were among the first commercially released sound shorts. It's directed by Lloyd French, who had spent many years at the Roach Studios. He brings nothing special to the project. By this point the entire series had become absolutely standardized. It would not be until Jean Negulesco began directing some of them that there was much variation.

The band itself is a bog standard night club band. Everyone wears tails and band leader Larry Clinton wears the same sort of triangular toupee that Fred Astaire did. The music is always smooth, although they show they are with it by running some of the tunes very hot: the Big Band influence is showing, although there are no outstanding solos.

The one outstanding number is the variety piece: there's a harmonica group that plays Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" -- a tune familiar to any fan of Looney Tunes. The harmonicas add a peculiarly appropriate hum to the piece, like electricity sizzling through the air.

This is a nicely done, brisk short from Warner Bros. and their Vitaphone series of shorts featuring pop band leaders of the '30s and '40s.

LARRY CLINTON and his orchestra play some popular hits while their lead singers do a good job on a couple of oldies.

Sharp-eyed as I am, I noted a very young GOWER CHAMPION billed as "Gower and Jeanne" in what must be one of his earliest appearances on film before he teamed with Marge Champion for big-time films, for a dance rendition of "Dancing in the Dark."

Other tunes include "Chant of the Jungle," "You Took Advantage of Me," "Powerhouse" and "Get Happy." One of the lead singers was BEA WAIN, a name I haven't heard in years. This is the kind of short played in theaters during the era of double features.