The Tantalizing Fly (1919)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Max Fleischer

Writer:

Max Fleischer (written by)

Release Date:

4 October 1919 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Short

Plot:

As a cartoonist draws a clown, a housefly harasses both the man and his pen-and-ink creation.

Plot Keywords:

Cartoonist | Clown | Fly | Ink | Inkwell

Cast

Max Fleischer

...

Cartoonist (uncredited)

Runtime:

4 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Bray Studios

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cartoonist: You just keep quiet for a second, I'll get him.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Disneyland: The Story of the Animated Drawing (#2.11)" (1955)

Almost 90 Years Later, It's Still Very Clever

This was a very interesting mix of live-action and animation, showing animator and writer Max Fleischer drawing a cartoon of a clown. The problem is a real-life fly is on the paper Max is using and the fly is a pest to both Max and the clown, both of whom try to get the insect. This is pretty clever material, especially when you consider this silent cartoon is almost 90 years old.

This is a tough cartoon to watch because you want to swat the fly yourself as the bug is in the clown's eyes, mouth, nose, etc. It also gives you the creeps watching this. (The clown isn't happy, either!)

This really gets clever when Max tries to swat the fly, knocks the animated clown temporarily out and then the clown asks for Max's pen with an idea how HE can get eliminate the fly. He winds up squirting his "creator" in the face with ink, and other gags ensue.

All of this - and there are several more "bits" with the clown and the artist - are a credit to the ingenuity of Fleischer. You have to see this cartoon to believe it. It was part of the Popeye The Sailor 1933-1938 DVD Package