Jitterbug Follies (1939)

Count Screwloose and J.R. the Wonder Dog are promoting a $10,000 swing contest. They plan to skip town with the entry fees, but a menacing thug from the "Citizens for Fair Play" convinces ... See full summary »

Director:

Milt Gross

Stars:

Mel Blanc

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Mel Blanc	...	Count Screwloose (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

Count Screwloose and J.R. the Wonder Dog are promoting a $10,000 swing contest. They plan to skip town with the entry fees, but a menacing thug from the "Citizens for Fair Play" convinces them otherwise. The contestants: A singing hippo, "Mother Goose" who starts out as an old woman, then sheds her disguise to reveal a pretty girl, and a fan-dancing ostrich. Throughout, a couple of penguins are heckling. The ostrich proves wildly popular, and Screwloose fears he'll have to give the prize to her, when he gets an idea. He dresses J.R. up as the ostrich and sends him out, but the penguins use a box of sausages to expose the dog. The crowd runs Screwloose and J.R. out, and they grab a ride on a train where the penguins are waiting for them.

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Plot Keywords:

ostrich | dog | hippo | contest | count screwloose and j.r. | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1939 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

9 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film short is available as an extra in the Warner DVD of At the Circus.

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Soundtracks

"Gavotte"
(uncredited)
Music by François-Joseph Gossec

User Reviews

Dancing fools

Milt Gross is one of the unjustly forgotten comic strip artists. He created Count Screwloose of Tooloose in 1929, and in the late thirties brought the character to MGM studios to build an animated series around him. Due to disagreements with producer Fred Quimby, the series only lasted for two films, but the two that were made are a stitch! In "Jitterbug Follies", the Count and his "Wonder Dog" rig a crooked dance contest under the threatening gaze of the Citizens Fair Play Committee, which comes across more like a gang of mobsters. Even process of elimination doesn't make it much easier to find a sympathetic figure in the bunch, but the film manages to hold your interest by being so doggoned funny. Add to that two of the strangest looking penguins even to be captured on celluloid.