The Old Man of the Mountain (1933 cartoon)

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The Old Man of the Mountain
Betty Boop series
Directed by	Dave Fleischer
Animation by	Bernard Wolf Thomas Johnson
Voices by	Mae Questel (uncredited) Cab Calloway
Music by	Cab Calloway and his orchestra
Produced by	Max Fleischer
Distributed by	Paramount Studios
Release date	August 4, 1933
Format	Black-and-white, 7 mins
Language	English

The Old Man of the Mountain is a 1933 Fleischer Studios animated short starring Betty Boop and Cab Calloway.

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The short starts with a live action shot of Calloway introducing himself and his orchestra. It then proceeds to show a lion on roller skates made of rabbits rushing from his guard post and into a village crying "Look out! Its the old man of the mountains!" (The lion, like all the other characters with the exception of Betty Boop, is voiced by Calloway in his distinctive rhythmic style). The lions warning sparks a mass exodus of the other animals who pack up their things and start to flee as Calloway's voice continues to warn "Look out! Its the old man of the mountains!" In time Boop emerges from a guest house in order to find out what all the fuss is about and confronts a passing owl. The owl describes the old man: Long White beard and a crooked stare, tramps along with the folks all scared....he'll eat you up when he's hungry. Despite the owls warnings, Boop is curious and declares "Well I'm going to see that old man of the mountains." As she sets off up the mountain path we see some typically surreal moments. On stepping over a small puddle an enamoured fish jumps from the water and attempts to follow Betty, only to be dragged back home by his unamused 'fish wife.' On another occasion a bear throws off its fur and lays it over a larger puddle so that Betty might step over it without getting her feet wet only to see the fur shrink to almost nothing, forcing the bear to stomp off in his long johns. When Betty gets to the top of the mountain the Old Man of the Mountain emerges from behind a rock. At first he seems of average height but as he moves menacing and slobbering towards the camera we see that he is at least twice as tall as Betty. There then follows a highly surreal duet between the Old Man and Betty during which the two flirt with each-other and dance seductively. The duet culminates in the Old Man attempting to grab Betty; at first in a teasing manner but then, once they emerge from the cave his face becomes lustful and slobbering and he starts to chase her frantically down the mountainside. On one occasion he manages to catch up with her but Betty manages to slip out of her dress and flees in her underwear where she takes refuge up a tree. The Old Man again catches her but before he can have his wicked way the animals rally to Betty's aid and surround the Old Man, tying him to a tree with his own arms and legs. They then proceed to beat him up, tickle and humiliate him, thus extracting revenge for all the times he has made their lives a misery.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Notes and comments

Film footage of Cab Calloway was rotoscoped to provide the dance steps for the Old Man. Calloway sings the title song as well as "Minnie the Moocher."

The dialogue between Betty and the Old Man, "What are you going to do now?" - "Gonna do the best I can!", is mirrored almost exactly in a scene between Santa Claus and Oogie Boogie in the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas. The latter scene also features music very similar to "Minnie the Moocher" and dance steps close to Calloway's own.