Gone Hollywood!

First thing's first... Happy 53rd Birthday, Disneyland!!! Back in my OC days, I would make my pilgrimage to The Happiest Place on Earth every July 17... when I wasn't already there working it, that is. It was my thing, and even though I celebrate from afar now, I still try to do a little something commemorative on this day. Some might call me a dork, others (especially those equally into the Disney thing as I am) know far better!

All right, that out of the way, I have a decidedly un-Disneyland post for everyone today. I was just flipping through my large collection of vintage magazines the other day and came across this! It never ceases to amaze me how big of an impact Disney had on film back then. There have been so many times I've unexpectedly come across a great article on something Disney related in Photoplay, which is exactly what happened this time. One of my favorite Disney shorts, being my love of all things old Hollywood, I adore all the caricatures in this film and was stoked to find someone giving props to it with a full layout.

I have left the scans LARGE so everyone can read the fine print under each of the photos. Happy reading!

And the Best Dressed is...

Victory over Vista! I have achieved success with my scanner, so I will be able to get back to posting whatever I can scan on the blog until I figure out the deal with my camera. I have discovered one very cool article that I will post in the coming days. I, myself, haven't seen it before on any other site/blog, and that's always a positive. I have to paste it all together in Photoshop because it doesn't come close to fitting my scanner bed. Anyway, on to the post!

I was chilling out the other day, going through an old Photoplay from 1938, getting a recipe from Bette Davis (ginger bread, yum!), discovering I have movie star leg measurements (sweeeet!!), when I turned the page to learn "Who's Really Who in Hollywood Society". I learned that Charlie Chaplin gave the best parties, Jimmie and Lucille Gleason gave the best garden parties, and that Walt was SNAPPY!!! Yes, dear readers, Walt was considered one of the best dressed in Hollywood (as well as one of the more athletic) and was in a class with some very sophisticated individuals, as you will see.

I have cropped out an excerpt of the article, as it is quite lengthy. If anyone is interested in the full article, just yell. Enjoy, everyone, and thanks for returning after the hiatus. More to come, keep checking back! :)

Photoplay

Thanks to a reader, Brian, he informed me that the last page of the Photoplay article I posted in February was no longer working. I tried to fix the link in the original post, but for some reason it refuses to work. I am posting the last page here for those who were not able to read the original here.

Walt a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde?

We're goin' way back today folks! All the way back to 1934. After Steamboat Willie, but before Snow White. This article is from an April 1934 issue of Photoplay, and it seems even way back then Disney was creating some criticism- albeit weak.


Now, I'm no fan of the media. I like facts (researched, real, live, actual, untainted facts), I like stories free of anything one-sided, and editorials have never been my bag, but I have to say, at least this author cops to his attempt to write a one-sided article. That, in itself, is refreshing.


A rather ridiculous problem he has with Walt, in my opinion, but it makes me laugh at how his generally paranoid stance gets beaten down by parents and professionals alike; all singing the praises of Walt. I'm not entirely sure if the piece is completely serious or not, but he seems pretty adamant about his point of view.


I don't remember being scared by these cartoons as a small child. I remember being enchanted by them (especially the pigs), and loving them very much. Perhaps I wasn't a child that was easily scared, I don't know. Not much scared me... besides Bette Davis, clowns, and this cheese dish my grandmother made... so perhaps the author has a small point. You be the judge. Were any of you scared of the wolf/ogres? To refresh your memory I have included 2 stills from the cartoons below.


I have also included two praises for both the Three Little Pigs and Lullaby Land from a January 1934 issue of Photoplay (below) for a sample of the everyman's opinion of these cartoons two months before the above article was written. Happy reading!