Despite the title sounding a bit like a porno film, "The Bum Bandit" is actually a very early singing cartoon featuring Betty Boop and her early boyfriend, Bimbo. However, the style of this one is really nothing like her later films...and the voice...where DID they come up with that?!
In Betty's earliest films, she looked much more like a doggy than a sexy lady. Here, she has large jowls and early like a poodle. But more unusual is the deep voice of Harriet Lee....who sounds nothing at all like Betty's usual voice (played by the likes of Margie Hines or Mae Questal).
The cartoon is about a bandit in the old west who is going to hold up the train. Bimbo is NOT his usual nice self but this bandit and the woman on the train intent on stopping him is Ms. Boop.
What I loved about this cartoon is how strange and anthropomorphic practically EVERYTHING is. It's also a bit adult, with Betty cursing when she meets up with Bimbo! Certainly an important and strange film in the evolution of Betty Boop, but also a clever and funny one regardless.