Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: December 6, 1944

20-30 Clubs are service organizations for men in their 20s and 30s. Many are still active. The Compton club, which was incorporated as a non-profit business in 1947, isn't.

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: October 1, 1944

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: August 18, 1944

Way back when, on the old Cartoon diary blog Marc Crisafulli contributed this item he found on the Ralph Bakshi Forum, posted by Bakshi himself:

Irv Spence had a live action 16 mm film that he'd directed, an amazing gangster epic, about 35 minutes long, starring him, Tex Avery and a lot of the other Warner/MGM animators of the time playing crooks. The film was great, Irv's family may have it...it is worth trying to get a hold of.

When I asked for further information about this movie Mark Kausler wrote:

You are no doubt referring to Irv's 1944 live action (b/w, silent) film, RATS IN SPATS. Irv showed this film to us when I was in his animation class back in '68. It is very nicely shot, although the outdoor shots used reflectors that shake a bit. I don't remember Tex being in it, but Tony Ligerra and Harvey Eisenberg play roles. Irv made a color silent movie in Big Bear a few years later called RUGGED RANGERS, which again has Harvey Eisenberg and Mike Lah in central roles as forest rangers. It was made in beautiful Kodachrome. There are video copies of these films, one has running commentary by Irv and others, as the projector runs in the background. You can tell from these diary pages that Irv was a real "home movie" buff, even though he didn't have sync sound!

So far neither of these films have showed up on YouTube. According to James Tim Walker in the comments section of this post from the Animation Guild blog, the original film and negatives belong to the Culver City Historical Society.

Spence as a cowpoke and Stod "Butch" Herbert as a gangster, via TAG Blog and Tim Walker.

TAG blog has a few other drawings by Spence from Tim's collection here, here, and here.

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: August 10, 1944

A view of The Hitching Post in 1943.

The site in its current state as the W Hotel. It could be worse.

The Hitching Post was a movie theater, located at 6262 Hollywood Blvd. just east of Vine, that only showed westerns.

The Hitching Post, 1941 via www.storyofhollywood.com

The Hitching Post in 1948.

Going by the faded sign in the drawing, it looks like that day's double bill was The Yellow Rose of Texas and possibly either Texas Terrors or Texas Terror.

A 1946 postcard view of Hollywood Boulevard looking west toward Vine. From hollywoodphotographs.com

The same view today with, oddly, less traffic.

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: July 17, 1944

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: June 29, 1944

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: June 11, 1944

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: June 3, 1944

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: May 20, 1944

The Uninvited had already been in release for a month at this time. The Los Angeles Times' film critic at the time, the enjoyable and confounding Edwin Schallert, wrote on April 14, 1944, "I kept thinking of such a masterwork as Henry James' 'Turn of the Screw' while looking at 'The Uninvited,' which is probably a sort of lurking huge tribute to its mentality." So there.

TCM's website has the trailer.

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: April 13, 1944

Neither of these films received an opening day review from the L.A. Times, but they were included in a column of anonymous capsule reviews later the following week.

Los Angeles Times, April 16, 1944

Instead, the Times' of the 13th used the occasion of Buffalo Bill's release to run a profile of the film's co-star Linda Darnell by drama editor Edwin Schallert, or maybe the Fox publicity department, with some mildly kinky overtones.

More on Buffalo Bill...

...The Memphis Belle...





...and the Carthay.

Interior of the Fox Carthay Circle Theater, ca. 1920s, via Decaying Hollywood Mansions

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: April 10, 1944

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: March 10, 1944

 

 

"Dullness creeps in..."

Because you can never have too much information about an obscure, 69-year-old Dana Andrews vehicle, from the March 10, 1944 Los Angeles Times:

'Purple Heart' Atmosphere Effective'

by Edwin Schallert



Prisoners of the Japanese, suffering brutal treatment at the behest of the nation's military machine, are doubtless as major an item of news as may be discerned today. For which reason "The Purple Heart", offered by Darryl F. Zanuck as the first production following his return to 20th Century-Fox, has a grim, topical and potent interest.



Directed by Lewis Milestone, the feature has many striking dramatic polnts to arrest attentlon, apart from its timeliness. It is an excellent picture in its early stages especlally, fades somewhat into tediousness after that. Its subject, while a particularly vital one, is rather forbidding for the audience pleasure-bent.

Speech Applauded



However, the public at Loew's State yesterday, where I witnessed the showing, applauded at the close of the film. The speech that tells the little yellow traitors off evoked a stirring response that spurred the climax. It gives a lift to the final portion of the picture. Thus it all more or less becomes a question of whether or not this is the type of entertainment desired today, and there seem to be negative as well as positive reponses.



Current program at Loew's, Chinese, Uptown and Carthay Circle theaters suffers in being too much given over to war issues anyway. March of Time reels dealing with postwar job arrangements keep in that groove. It is soundly illuminating, showing how the problems of canceled orders may be met by large manufacturing concerns. But this is documentary.



The only relieving event is, therefore, the Donald Duck cartoon. This discloses Donald disposing of an obnoxious trombone player, with the aid of Jupiter and Vulcan, who send him lightning bolts, and is delightfully and humorously imaginative.



Scenes in "The Purple Heart" which are quite intriguing display the pomp and ceremony of the court of judgment ruled by the Emperor of Japan and Society of the Black Dragon.



Those on trlal are an American bomber crew whose craft was downed in a storm and who were captured by deceit after the Tokyo raid. They are charged with the murder of civilians, destruction of schools and hospitals, all manner of trumped-up evidence being used against them.



Pawns in Rivalry



Suddenly they become the pawns in a conflict of jealousy between the army and the navy. Commander of the army asserts they have come from an aircraft carrier. The commander of the navy opposes this idea, as it is a reflection on his branch of the service.



There is more trickery and intrigue on the part of the military, third degrees and cruelties, all aimed at getting the men to confess how their flight started. They are depicted as a gallant crew ready to face torture and death rather than concede the information, finally openly and searingly defying their ruthless enemy.



Faults and Virtues



For all its pertinence to recent events in the Far East "The Purple Heart" lacks of that great reality which distinguishes finer achievements of this type. It reverts to sentimentalism at odd moments as, for example, the retrospect themed by the bathing of a man's wounds. A great deal of it relies too much on expressions on men's faces rather than strong action. Dullness creeps in on this account during the latter part of the feature.



Performances are worthy as given by Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, Farley Granger, Kevin O'Shea, Donald Barry, Sam Levene, Charles Russell,

John Craven, but outstanding are the oriental impersonations by Rlchard Loo, Peter Chong, H. T. Talang, Key Chang and various others. Talang all but deserves an Academy supporting award, and Benson Fong is good.

And, just in case anybody thought that there was nothing else playing around town that weekend:

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: February 28 & 29, 1944

They may not have got this story exactly right.

Los Angeles Times, February 28, 1944

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: January 20, 1944

I assume this drawing depicts a screening on the MGM lot of uncut newsreel footage. The story of this bloody battle is told in this monograph, or for a shorter summary, click here.

US Marines at Tarawa

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: January 14, 1944

Irv Spence's Cartoon Diary: January 4, 1944

Display ad from January 3, 1944 edition of the Los Angeles Times.

Review from January 1, 1944 edition of the Los Angeles Times.