Hollywood Steps Out

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Hollywood Steps Out is a 1941 short cartoon by Warner Brothers, directed by Tex Avery, that features caricatures of Hollywood celebrities of the day. The setting is at the famed Ciro's nightclub, where they are seen having dinner. Bing Crosby appears as the Master of Ceremonies; he has to shoo his race horse off the stage. The stars then start dancing to music by conductor Leopold Stokowski.

One attractive feature of the short is the "bubble dance" made famous by Sally Rand (who did not give permission to use her image in this short, and was replaced by the fictional "Sally Strand"). She does this dance in lieu of her equally famous fan dance, as she had "checked" her fans at the coatroom earlier in the cartoon. She maneuvers a large bubble on stage, as well as playing "peek-a-boo" with her (apparently) nude body. Harpo Marx bursts her bubble, she reacts with shock (although it turns out she is wearing a barrel) and the curtain closes to signal the end of the exotic dance. Clark Gable has been doing the conga across the room, following an alluring blond woman; as the cartoon ends he demands a kiss--but the hair falls off and it turns out the "woman" is Groucho Marx!