A lady is rescued from a villain by a heroic young man, who then takes her for a spin in his Oldsmobile.A lady is rescued from a villain by a heroic young man, who then takes her for a spin in his Oldsmobile.A lady is rescued from a villain by a heroic young man, who then takes her for a spin in his Oldsmobile.
- Directors
- Stars
Photos
Billy Murray
- Lucille
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- …
Gus Wicke
- Peeping Tom
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Dave Fleischer
- Shamus Culhane(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBilly Murray recorded the title song in 1905, 1906 and 1909 for the Columbia and Victor labels.
- Alternate versionsThe introduction to the "bouncing ball" sequence, as well as the live-action sequence, were deleted in 16mm and Super 8mm commercial prints released by Blackhawk Films.
- ConnectionsSpoofed in The Powerpuff Girls: Silent Treatment/Sweet 'n' Sour (2004)
- SoundtracksIn My Merry Oldsmobile
(uncredited)
Music by Gus Edwards
Lyrics by Vincent Bryan
Sung by Billy Murray often throughout the picture
Featured review
Cleavage, surrealism, and jaunty music-- Yep, it's a Fleischer cartoon!
The only problem with this delightful little cartoon is that it's not more widely available. Betty Boop was still in embryonic form when this was made, but if she'd been the leading lady then this title would surely be included in the various Boop collections on the market; instead, it's in limbo along with dozens of the Fleischer Studios' other "Song Car-Tunes," the series that gave us that immortal Bouncing Ball to sing along with, and lots of infectious music.
From the opening frames of In My Merry Oldsmobile you know you're in Fleischer Land: the characters seem to be made of rubber, they mumble strangely, and, unlike Disney's cutesy animals, they appear to be highly sexed. Phallic gags, double entendres, and cleavage shots are submitted for your approval. Inanimate objects sprout faces. Mice pop out of the woodwork, deliver mysterious quips, and vanish. And then, just when things couldn't get any weirder, it's time for a song and a cute wrap-up gag.
The plot? Well, a young lady is menaced by a bad guy, then rescued by a good guy who happens to own a goofy but convenient automobile. He is said to be Young Johnny Steele, if the song lyrics are anything to go by. As usual for this studio, the voice work contributes enormously to the film's impact. The one actor I can identify for sure is Gus Wickie, the guy whose distinctive basso is heard so memorably as the singing Bluto in Fleischer's terrific Technicolor Popeye specials of the late '30s. The leading man might be Jack Mercer, later Popeye, but the leading lady's voice was definitely not supplied by Mae Questel (i.e. Betty Boop/Olive Oyl); in fact, she sounds like a man unconvincingly faking a "girly" voice, which only enhances the bizarre atmosphere.
At any rate, cartoon connoisseurs should seek this one out, it's a gem! And here's hoping that whoever holds the rights to the Fleischer backlog nowadays will consider a Bouncing Ball collection DVD; if this title is anything to go by, there must be a lot of great stuff just sitting in the vaults.
P.S. Summer 2009: Since I wrote this little piece the rise of YouTube and other internet viewing sites has made these cartoons far more accessible than they used to be. It's now easy to view In My Merry Oldsmobile and lots of other goodies online. So, happy hunting!
From the opening frames of In My Merry Oldsmobile you know you're in Fleischer Land: the characters seem to be made of rubber, they mumble strangely, and, unlike Disney's cutesy animals, they appear to be highly sexed. Phallic gags, double entendres, and cleavage shots are submitted for your approval. Inanimate objects sprout faces. Mice pop out of the woodwork, deliver mysterious quips, and vanish. And then, just when things couldn't get any weirder, it's time for a song and a cute wrap-up gag.
The plot? Well, a young lady is menaced by a bad guy, then rescued by a good guy who happens to own a goofy but convenient automobile. He is said to be Young Johnny Steele, if the song lyrics are anything to go by. As usual for this studio, the voice work contributes enormously to the film's impact. The one actor I can identify for sure is Gus Wickie, the guy whose distinctive basso is heard so memorably as the singing Bluto in Fleischer's terrific Technicolor Popeye specials of the late '30s. The leading man might be Jack Mercer, later Popeye, but the leading lady's voice was definitely not supplied by Mae Questel (i.e. Betty Boop/Olive Oyl); in fact, she sounds like a man unconvincingly faking a "girly" voice, which only enhances the bizarre atmosphere.
At any rate, cartoon connoisseurs should seek this one out, it's a gem! And here's hoping that whoever holds the rights to the Fleischer backlog nowadays will consider a Bouncing Ball collection DVD; if this title is anything to go by, there must be a lot of great stuff just sitting in the vaults.
P.S. Summer 2009: Since I wrote this little piece the rise of YouTube and other internet viewing sites has made these cartoons far more accessible than they used to be. It's now easy to view In My Merry Oldsmobile and lots of other goodies online. So, happy hunting!
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- In meinem schönen Oldtimer
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime7 minutes
- Color
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