The Old Man of the Mountain (1933)

Betty Boop goes to see the fearsome Old Man of the Mountain for herself; he sings the title song and a duet with Betty.

Directors:

Dave Fleischer, Bernard Wolf (uncredited)

Stars:

Cab Calloway, Bonnie Poe

Cast

Credited cast:
Cab Calloway	...	Cab Calloway & Old Man

Storyline

Betty Boop goes to see the fearsome Old Man of the Mountain for herself; he sings the title song and a duet with Betty.

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Plot Keywords:

betty boop character | title sung by character | title based on song | obscene finger gesture | rotoscoping | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Music

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 August 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Velho da Montanha

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fleischer Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

7 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Old Man of the Mountain was the alias for the leader of the Moslem hashashin sect. These warriors were trained to fight and die honourably and only killed the people responsible for a given conflict or series of events, not an average person or warrior. Their name has come down to us as the word "assassin."

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Quotes

Betty Boop: What are you gonna do?
Cab Calloway & Old Man: I'm gonna do the best I can.

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Connections

Referenced in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

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Soundtracks

Minnie the Moocher
(uncredited)
Written by Cab Calloway, Clarence Gaskill and Irving Mills
Performed during the opening credits and at the end by Cab Calloway and his orchestra

User Reviews

This cartoon ROCKS!

From the word Go, this cartoon will rock you: it's got a hot score by Cab Calloway's band that kicks in the second the credits are over and never lets up, and sounds better each time you hear it. Many of these Betty Boop cartoons from the early '30s featured top jazz artists, but this one has the absolute best music --the horn solo heard when the vulture's eggs are hatching is fantastic-- along with some bizarre, naughty gags that flash past before you can get a handle on them.

Our stylishly-attired heroine finds herself in an Alpine village that is being terrorized by the titular character, a fearsome ogre who has apparently been plundering the town and having his way with the local women. The supporting characters are humanoid animals (an owl, a bear, a pair of fish, etc.) but nonetheless it's startling when we're given to understand that The Old Man actually despoiled a lady hippo. Clearly, he is one baaaaaaad dude. But Betty is nothing if not spunky, and she charges up the mountain with a determined stride to confront the villain and challenge him in a musical duel.

The Old Man's Hi-De-Ho singing voice was supplied by Cab Calloway, whose dancing was "Rotoscoped" (filmed live and then traced, basically) by the Fleischer Studio animators, which pretty much gives Cab a co-starring role. Betty, meanwhile, is at her sexiest and sauciest here, not at all fazed at the raunchy goings-on in the Old Man's cave. Dig that eerie Food of the Gods ending, too, when the woodland creatures rise up against human corruption and restore order. Cartoons don't get any better than this!