Felix in Hollywood (1923)

A starving actor, reduced to trying his luck in the movies, travels to Hollywood. His cat, Felix, poses as a travel bag and comes along.

Director:

Otto Messmer

Writers:

Pat Sullivan (character creator), Otto Messmer (story)

Storyline

Felix decides to make his way to Hollywood, but has no money. The owner of a failing shoe store promises Felix $500 if he can help bring in new business, which Felix ingeniously manages to do, but the owner stiffs him out of the money. Felix finds a way to get to Hollywood, anyway, and while there meets up with the famous stars of the day, like Charlie Chaplin and Ben Turpin.

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Plot Keywords:

money | caricature | shoe store | shoe | travel | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 July 1923 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pat Sullivan Cartoons

Technical Specs

Runtime:

9 min 15 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gloria Swanson, Ben Turpin, Will Hays, Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and William S. Hart are caricatured.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Felix's Master: A ham! A ham! My kingdom for a ham sandwich!

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Connections

Edited into The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story (1999)

User Reviews

Before cartoons had sound or color, but they still did brilliant work-like this short!

This short is one of the best of all time and is proof (just like most of Charlie Chaplin's work) that sound and color are not requirements for quality work. In fact, this cartoon uses (and may have started) some of the gags and devices that became standard in animation in later years, like caricatures of celebrities (including the afore-mentioned Chaplin. While the characters are silent, they do "speak", by use of word balloons, just like in the comics. Given that Felix started out in newspapers as a comic strip, this device is a natural. The atmosphere and style of the short is completely harmonious with that of the comic strip while adding another dimension (literally and figuratively) and makes this short a delight to watch. Well worth taking the time and effort to get. Most highly recommended.