The Banker's Daughter (1933) User Reviews

The Rise of Oil Can Harry

[boblipton · 6/10 · 28 June 2013]

The last fifteen times I saw Oil Can Harry tie a damsel to a mill saw with much bad operetta, it was a Mighty Mouse Cartoon. Here is probably the earliest full-blown iteration of the Terrytoon, ten years before the Mouse showed up. This one I liked.

This being a Terrytoon, there were things about it I didn't care for. First, it was a cartoon about people, and therefore the use of cartooning in the effort was doubtful; why make a cartoon when you could do it live? Nor are the gags well constructed, since they are set up and their nature is revealed in the set-up: less surprise, less funny. Still, the sheer number of them more than compensates for both the later overuse of the plot and their less than stellar construction. If you don't like this joke, the next one will be along soon. The result is a good cartoon.

Didn't necessarily hit the ceiling with laughter

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 22 March 2018]

The Terrytoons are oddly interesting, mainly for anybody wanting to see (generally) older cartoons made by lesser known and lower-budget studios. They are a mixed bag in quality, with some better than others, often with outstanding music and with some mild amusement and charm and variable in animation, characterisation and content.

1933, like all the other years for Terrytoons, saw a hit and miss batch. Of which 'The Banker's Daughter' is among the top middle ones. It is an unexceptional, nothing exactly special cartoon and has the same amount of problems as it has the amount of strengths. It is also watchable, completest sake is the main reason to see it but it's not the only reason.

Best asset is the music, which predictably is incredible. It is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is great fun to listen to and full of lively energy, doing so well with enhancing the action. The ambitious detail in the backgrounds is still great to see and some synchronisation is neat.

For a Terrytoon, the gag count is pretty high and some are amusing and sharp. There is a natural charm and the characters give the cartoon, which is not a dull one, some zest.

Outside of the backgrounds however, the animation is primitive at best with a fair bit of crudeness, over-simplicity and choppiness.

Likewise, the story is paper thin and formulaic with a big air of over-familiarity due to doing very little new with a premise that was feeling old well before this was made. Too many of the gags don't work, suffering from erratic timing and an over-obviousness. Pacing has some zest, but the flow could be choppy.

All in all, worth a one-time watch but not much more than that. 5/10 Bethany Cox