Felix the Cat in PENELOPE THE ELEPHANT (1959)

Trans-Lux presents Pat Sullivan's
FELIX THE CAT (and Rockbottom the dog)
In PENELOPE THE ELEPHANT
Produced & Directed by JOE ORIOLO

Music WINSTON Sharples

Paramount/Famous/Harvey Comcis Cue usage from:"From Mad to Worse", "Which is Witch","Spook No Evil" "Owly to Bed","Dante Dreamer","Mr.Moneygags",
"L'amous the Merrier","Feline-ous Assault".

Vocal: Anna Bennett
Voices:
JACK MERCER
OriglBroadcst 1959-60, syndicated
Rock Bottom created by JOE ORIOLO and the GANG
Felix created by PAT SULLIVAN
OTTO MESSMER


Music:
(among others)
Felix walking/March from FROM MAD TO WORSE
(later) Felix scrubbing Penelope/Walker from WHICH IS WHICH?
Rockbottom knocking at door Agitato from DANTE DREAMER
Felix, as pt.2 commences, similiar piece, heard first in MR.MONEYGAGS
MacIntosh the worm piping out of apple that Rockbottom tempted Felix with as Pt./1 ended/the Domestic piece from DANTE DREAMER
Mack biting the rope that is tied round Felix/Happy Casper-Jocko (Monkey) animal skip (Jocko AND Casper) from SPOOK NO EVIL
Rock Bottom and Penelope the Elephant walking, Penelope hitting Rock w/trunk when the dog's not looking/Hooty the Owl walker cue from OWLY TO BED
Rock, asking Penelope if she saw the "truck/no music
"Penelope answers shaking head /comedic writing cue from L"AMOUR THE MERRIER (twice in a row)
Rock and Penelope resuming their walk/More of the OWLY TO BED cue
Penelope hitting Rock with trunk head, Rock repeats above question/no music
Penny shaking her head/More of the same L'AMOUR THE MERRIER cue, and, again, repeated (mmm HMM uuu HHH..like that, only done once with each stroke in L'the M,
which introduced RENIORE, the LA PETIT PARADE (which came later, also in 1959 as did FELIX)
Penelope finds and squirts water from her trunk, sprays, Rock/quizzical, curious harmonica solo from FELINE-OUS ASSAULT
Rockbottom finds a car (well, you think he had it ther,e besides, he is a crook, ergo, it's in hsi genes) and driving off with the pachyderm/MR.MONEYGAGS racing cue
Finally at the Rajah's palace, Rock finds out the reward, the Baksheek;'s, is only worth a time, cracks up/ Final cue from WHICH IS WHICH?

COmments:
Rock as solo viillian, introduction of Middle Reastern king Maha Rajah.

Once Rockbottom got estabvlished as Felix's canine advertsary, it was just narural, having first appeared (DETECTIVE HAT), to use the Dog as a solo villian, opposite Felix.
Here the writer(s) use a great chance for an elephant-buddy buddy story. Rock isn't actually stealing, as he and the Professor WOULD do in the later "THE RAJAH'S ELEPHANTS"(also 1959)
as he is really just COMPETING with the felicitous feline for the prize, but TRUE to characterm, he does steaal the elephant and leave Felix for dead (and woulda gotten away with it..if not for that
helpful worm..wait, that's another. and more iconic cartoon..)..

This introduces the Rajah, seen in the other elephant short and still other TV FELIX titles..

The story has Rock Bottom as the first character. He's seen here "borrowing" newspaper....apples....etc.when he sees the news-"Elephant, Penelope,l wanted by the Rajah.."
ten bakshees (you don't suppose a VERY young Ralph Bakshi was hanging around, if that wasn't a real form of currency, apologies if otherwise, despite the very ANIMATED
name coincidence), and then seems an elepahnt walking! It's Penelope. She then follows Felix, who's ALSO out, and then slams into the cat! Felix then tells Penny to buzz off,
but then thinks better of the situation when seeing sad tears coming from the poor animal's eyes..(Felix can be so mean sometimes..) He then invites her to stay, asking her name,
whereupomn, she unplas an ear (as seen from the right, - no obvious poltical pun-so that the, uh, "right" side of her is visible as such to us, the viewers) that reveals PENELOPE.


"Hmm"..comments Felix. "Penelope? THAT'S a PRETTY name"! (We're all inclined to agree. <3) He then takes the pachyderm home, washing her, in an old fashioned oaken buck-buck-bucket,
as she blows a pink elephant..uh (another cross refernce to another cartoon..) Soon Felix hears a Cockney sounding, husky voice, and he opens the door. It's Rockbottom, come to do some
elephant-snatching (inspired, isn't it?), and then ties Felix for deadm, but then tempts the cat with an APPLE. He then says, "Eat drink, and be Merry", the old wise saying..then (something..for?),
all of this underscored by the chase cue from Harveytoons-Paramount-Famous's "Dante Dreamer", one of the earlier and more funkier MODERN MADCAPS ('57), the tale of a little boy with a big Don
Quixote imagination, titling at dragons.

End of part one, part two starts starts with the similar W.Sharples cue from an earlier 1957 Havfeytoon with Tommy TUrtle and Moe Hare, the funny Noveltoon "Mr.Moneygags' gambing, as we see Felix where he left oiff..
then a worm with a VERY, VERY heavy Scottish brogue, cuts the feline off, introduces himself as Mackinotsh (Just call him Mac,Mack.) Mack says a setnence or two about him, and asked by Felix, he shows
(very UN-wormlike0 gnashing teeth, with which he starts to free Felix.

Meanwhile, Rock and Penelope are walking when Penny gets the veyr inspired idea to swat the bad dog with her trunks, behind the canine's back. Rock, not aware, turns to the elephant and,
then asks Penelope, thinking it was, maybe, a truck, askes the other animal about it, wherepon she shakes her head (to Winston Sharples's droll,hilaious violin cue in 1957's early Modern  Madcap, featuring
cult favorite mONSIER rENOIR AND WIFE, in LAMOUS THE MERRIER, best rememebred for LA PETITE PARADE ("Le Filth Le Gargbage), not once but TWICE! After two go rounds of elephant and kidnapper this way, Penelope then
showers Rock Bottom with left over water, causing the crook to comment that he's all soaked..

Meanwhile, back at Feli'x..  Mack the worm;'s now finished biting the whole rope that bound Felix, just as Felix breaks free (what happened to the mouse syndrome, as we, nor he, never sees or hears fromMack again, maybe
he re-emerged at Hanna-Barbera in Augie Doggie's and Doggie Daddy's "worm in library cartoon, Have a Woirm Day, 1960). Now, thanks to Mack, Felix pursues Rock and Penelope, who've now appeared in a trailer that Rock stole4 (of couirse!)
and drives Penny off in. Her weight collapsies, her canine captor neverthess get s jack out of "his" cars, and carries the big friendly beast to the Rajah (living in the US!).

Followed by Felix the Cat nowq, Rock the Dog brings Penelope the Elephant to the Maharajah, who offers the big greedy dog a fortune..in Bakshees..TEN CENTS! (American money.) ROck then flips whilst throwing the bag AT the kindly
animal owner, joined by Felix, who has a good laugh!

This short featured some rather episodic turns in part two, near the end, what with Rockbottom and Penny's two "Didja see that ruck" go rounds, the next prank on Rock Bottom, and his theft of a car (or many he DID have it already legally bougtht), driving off, then colappsing, jacking up the trailer.

Penelope never re-appeared, nor does Professoer, Master CYlidner, Poindexter (though I think this was before those last two(, nor the Magic Bag of Tricks.

SHERRIFF FELIX AND THE GAS CLOUD (1959)

FELIX THE CAT:

SHERRIF FELIX AND THE GAS CLOUD

Produced & Directed by:

JOE ORIOLO

"Ex.Producer:'

PAT SULLIVAN (son of Felix co-creator PAT SR.)

Creators

OTTO MESSMER
PAT SULLIVAN SR.

Voices

Vocal/ANN BENNETT
Voices (Narrator, Felix, Rockbottom, Prof.,etc.)/JACK MERCER

Music:
WINSTON SHARPLES

froim the following Famous cartoons..

Open from ONE FUNNY KNIGHT (1957)
Felix first appearance..HEIR RESTORER (also 57)
The Professor and Rock Bottom in their cloud//.DANTE DREAMER (1958)
Prospector panning for gold......ONE FUNNY KNIGHT/DANTE DREAMER
Felix stopping them in the name of the (Western town) Law..ONE FUNNY KNIGHT
The two in their "gas cloud", shooting up Felix, DANTE DREAMER
Rockbottom Shooting Felix's holster and gun away..SPOOK NO EVIL (1952)
SHerriff's department mourning Felix..unknown
Ed Wynn-like Vulture swooping down..THE CASE OF THE COCKEYED CANARY (1952)
Buzzard unties Felix..More from SPOOK NO EVIL (1953)
Professor/Rock continuing into an Indian village..FINE FEATHERED FRIEND (1960)
Indians being robbed in each teepee/Indian hunting buffalo, stripped of clothes by the thieves, says
"I've BEEN Buffalo'd",unknwon
Professor and Rock in ckoud.DANTE DREAMER/MR.MONEYGAGS  (1957)
Felix, at "rock block", getting shot in the arrow by Rock, and landing on his head, unknown
Crooks in ckoud, going into fake "bank", into jail. Felix the Cat theme

This first review of a T-L Felix episode is of a later 1959 one, the first I;m doing of all of them...this series helped to really make Felix even more well known in mid-20th century..

In a nioce quitet Western town one day, as the opening music from Herman and Katnip's "One Funny Kngihty"('57) plays, a nice quiet piece, we see the residents, and (Sheriff) Felix notes the pictures of the usual crooks The Professor & Rock Bottom Bulldog, noting, "they wouldn't commit ANY crimes here----not while I'M sheriff'(anyway).Nearby in the (always present) lab, the Professor has just completed a gas that can cloud (hench the title) him and the canine Rock Bottom whilst they steal banks. He has it in a little squeeze conainted, expels it from the container with a little bulb, and a whole cloud of gas now covers the inept would-be crooks. They then go out and rob banks, going into places (banker:"'ve been robbed'), the wool off of sheep (!!!! Sheep:?Baa Baa), even go through a stream where a prospector's just panned for gold (imaginative boy-imaginaes himself as dragon"Dante Dreamer"wacky chase theme and "One Funny Knight" Herman-the-mouse working at the black smith shop cues altenating nicely here) ("Ive been ROBBED!") then the news breaks over radio that the crooks are therek so Sherrif Felix faces them with the standard "Stick 'em up", but gets chased by his usual adversaries, challenged to a wacky shoot-em up, then pulled into the cloud, the nthe Prfoessor takes out a giant m,agnet to rob the cat of his belt, then put for dead as part one ends.

The "Wat'll happen to Felix in the next exciting.." announcement, and cheerful theme again sung, we find the town mourning Felix, (as a narrator dsays, "While others ran and hid"..little Felix, then the camera pans to a Felix picture)find Felix being eyed for the course by a buzzard who swoops around and around and makes a beeline down for Felix, then says in the voices of the legendary Ed Wynn (Could this actually be him??) (of "Mary Poppins" fame in the fantasy 1960s arends as Felix),"Pardon me, buddy, but do you happen to know the way to Alberqueque", whilst untying Felix (I wonder iof Burt Bacharach and Hal David saw this and thought up their San Jose song for Dionne Warwaick later based on this).

Feoix then resumes the chase while the crooks go into an Indian village (leaving one teepee with an Indian in the bathtub, gambling while talking on the telephone, saying, :yes, buffalo, mine, poker", and revealing another Indian outside to be naked, with no longer a bow and arrow (he says:"Me shoot buffalo", then The Professor and Rock pass by,in their gas cloud,rob himn and"..Indian:"Me BEEN Buffalo'd..).

Felix puts a Roadblock up, but Rock simply shoots Fleix in the air with an arrrow,where the brave cat says:
"When law and order is strapped/
The culprits MUST BE TRAPPED".(his emphasis, not mine)

We then close with Prof.and Rock in their cloud as the loot is showing, as te dog notices, and the evil scinetists complies. They then try to rob yet another bank which only turns out be one of Felix's traps, a movie like facade (like the kind you see at Universal Studioos tour) of a bank, with the standard jail bars behind. THey take the bait.

"Look, professor, Felix is in JAIL!!" the bulldog exclaimed elatedly.
"NO, STUPID", says the scientist,"WE'RE IUN jail.

Stock shot of Felix and his trademark laugh, then Felix saying catchline "Righty-O" as music from Baby Huey's "HUEY'S FATHER'S DAY"('59) plays.

A gag often used, but not enough, of a cloud stealing something..this features some tty gags (the "Ed Wynn" buzzard, asking for ways to Bugs Bunny's favorite place), the "buffalo'd" jokes, and usie of cues from Casper shorts "Heir Conditioned' and "Spook No Evil", the UPA like one shot "Dante Dteamer', Little Audrey's cloak and dagger "Case of the Cockeyted Canary", Herman and Katnip's "One funny Knight", and Tommy Turtle and Moe Hare"s "Mr.Moneygags (their, and "Dante"'s chase cues, are similiar, the "Dreamer" one is a favorite, certainly of the producers that went on for over a minute.) All from "Win" Sharrples.  Mercer imitating Ed Wynn as the goofy, dim witted buzzard and narrating over the part 2, over the helpless scene of the sdherrif cat, also a standout along with the usual characters.

Joe Oriolo/TransLux Felix the Cat

2018 marks the anniversary of that little moggy, est.1919, as a TV star, and this as his existence, 100 years.

I'll be dealing with the classic TV series from 1958-1962 in days, weeks, and months to come...

Producer-director Joe Oriolo, singer Anna  Benntt, composer Winston Sharples, and storyman-voice Jack Mercer headed the people that included Grim Natwick, Jimmy Tyer, and other NYC(and sometiumes elsewhere) animation legends.

Felix
Rock Bottom the dog
Professor
Poindexter
The Magic Bag
Master Cylinder
General Clang

as major characters

and
Sniffer, the dog
Vavoom the inuit
Bart the Rancher
Big Brownie the grizzly bear
Walter the Walrus
The Bad Genie
King Neptune (who could almost be considered a holdover from the 1930s Van Buren one, despite what tvtropes.org has to say

and others

Here..I will evnetually start a sepoerate blog just for that, and even list where the cues originally appeared in (the specific Famous/Paramount/Harvey cartoons when known) and most likely in order unlike my Gumby blog..or thew Yowp  HB blog or some others..stay tuned..
'
Righty-O!

Wackyland,..it can happen here-another's blog

Here's a link to a Merrie Melodies/Looney Tune site, esp.with Steven Hartley's Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie now discontinued

https://www.wackyland2.com/

I don't agree with his putting in post-1969 stuff (Mr..Hartley correctly was gonna inlude to Cool Cat,) but it's worth it.

YIkes..another blog closed..

First Steve Hartley's excellent LIKELY LOONEY, MOSTLY MERRIE, now Don M.Yowp's similiarly fun go to YOWP blog?

These two influnced this in so many ways..don';t worry, my blogs are far from done.

Yowp has had many posts since 2009 about various 1940s-60s stock msic composers and services--mostly Capitol and Lanlois, post about the pre-1966 Hanna-Barbera cartoons., and funny comments in the picture captions (just hover your mouse over them)!

Sorry to (for now) see it come to an end, but comments are still open on the blog..unfortanutely Steve's closed comments on his/

50th ANNIVERSARIES: FROSTY, QUICK DRAW, TV FELIX THE CAT< and MOOSE AND SQUIRRELL

Hello, world! (a la Haley Lu Richardson as Stella in the not so aptly titled FIVE FEET APART)

After four months I am back.. 

This year is when Fosty the Snowman, Qucik Draw McDraw, Joe Oriolo and Trans-Lux's tv verison of Felif the Cat, (see upcoming blog) and Rocky and Bullwinkle celebrate anniversaries. FROSTY in 1969, the others in 1959.

Much loved these will have a big birthday celebrations..

Broadway Icon Carol Channing Passes Away At 97 | NBC News

Maybe either on stage or on television you saw her on Broadway. Maybe it was a Rankin/Bass animated special. Or it was on TV or radio (commercials, acting). Whatever it was, chances are, seeing any entertainment, you saw Carol Channing, saw passed away recently at age 97, Yowp's TRALFAZ blog has a piece on her. While like many she didn't always wind up in true gems (Don Bluth's THUMBELINA, anyone?) she will be loved forever..oh, and she originated the GENTLEMENT PREFER BLONDES & HELLO DOLLY lead characters. RIP. Oh, and Happy New year,