''The Booze Hangs High'' is the fourth title in the ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

'' series featuring

Bosko Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko was the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series and was the star of thirty-nine ''Looney Tunes'' shorts released by Warn ...

. It was released as early as September 20, 1930, although a review from Variety magazine below reveals that its release could've been as early as September 9, as it could've been from an advance screening.

Plot

The scene opens with a

close up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long ...

shot of a

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

's rear end. She moos as she walks away, tail and

udders An udder is an organ formed of two or four mammary glands on the females of dairy animals and ruminants such as cattle, goats, and sheep. An udder is equivalent to the breast in primates, elephantine pachyderms and other mammals. The udder i ...

swaying in time to ''The Goose Hangs High'', a song from the film ''

Song of the Flame ''Song of the Flame'' is an operetta with music by Herbert Stothart and George Gershwin, and a musical book and lyrics co-written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto A. Harbach. Organized into a prologue, two acts, and an epilogue, the operetta i ...

'', which the short is parodying.

appears and does a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

style dance with the cow. At one point, the cow's "pants" drop, revealing polka-dotted underwear. Bosko points at it and laughs, at which the cow pulls her pants back on and walks off in a huff—with her nose up and tail held erect. Next, Bosko laughs heartily at a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

and the horse laughs back. He then climbs onto the horse carriage and uses a whip to play the horse's tail like a

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

. He "tunes" the horse by twisting his ear. The horse seems to enjoy the music and dances in an odd fashion. He skates along, floats a few feet above the ground and makes swishing movements, with his hooves, as if mimicking a mop. Bosko then takes a

pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

and starts playing it like a

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

, as the horse begins trotting on two legs. The scene cuts to three

ducklings Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ta ...

and their mother. Whilst walking in single file, they start bouncing on their rears in tune to the music. The mother duck starts to sway and the ducklings follow her lead. One of the ducklings, crosses its legs and whispers something in the mother duck's ear. She undoes a flap on his rear, as if he was wearing pants, and motions him off screen, presumably to relieve himself. When he returns, she replaces the flap and they all jump into a

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

. The scene moves back to Bosko and the horse. It seems to be an exact repeat of the earlier dance routine, with Bosko playing the horse's tail while the horse goes through his unique dance moves. Bosko eventually slides down the horse's neck and goes to feed the pigs, who seem to be squealing in hunger. He tilts a trash can into their

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

, and they eat greedily. One of the piglets finds a bottle of booze and tries to loosen the cork. Eventually, he manages to open it using the other piglet's tail as a

corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing Cork (plug), corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attach ...

. Bubbles begin to float out, and the piglets pop them merrily, making

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...

-like sounds that play ''

How Dry I Am "The Near Future" is a song written by Irving Berlin and performed in the ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1919''. It is better known for the small part of its lyric that took on a life of its own: "How Dry I Am". Origins The origins of the song and its ...

''. They start drinking it and soon get drunk. Their father comes over and starts drinking from the bottle too. He laughs with a deep bass guffaw and sings '' One Little Drink'', using nonsense syllables. He gestures expressively and flings the bottle away which shatters against Bosko's head. Bosko becomes soaked in booze and inebriated. He walks over to the pigs and they sing '' Sweet Adeline'' together, barbershop style. The father pig launches into ''One Little Drink'' again, but the effort causes him to

belch Burping (also called belching and eructation) is the release of gas from the upper Gastrointestinal tract, digestive tract (esophagus and stomach) of animals through the mouth. It is usually Hearing, audible. In humans, burping can be caused b ...

up a

corn cob A corncob, also called corn cob or cob of corn, is the hard core of an ear of maize, bearing the kernels, made up of the chaff, woody ring, and pith. Corncobs contain mainly cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. However, during several instance ...

. Looking embarrassed, he uses his belly button like a knob to open the door to his stomach and puts the cob back inside. He starts to sing again and Bosko helps him reach for the final low note by pulling his tail, which deflates him temporarily. Bosko and the pigs dance some more until the end credits.

Production

This cartoon opens when the blackness of the title card becomes the back of a cow's udder, as it did in ''

Plane Crazy ''Plane Crazy'' is a 1929 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released by the Walt Disney Studios, is the first finished project to feature appearances of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, and was origi ...

'' (a

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

cartoon which Harman and Ising worked on) and the lost musical operetta film ''

''. The latter features a song titled ''The Goose Hangs High'' from which this short gets its name.

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reviewed the film on September 9, 1930: "Funny piece built around the song, 'The Goose Hangs High', and latter's amusing lyrics that offer adaptation to the cartoon with good effect. Can be used anywhere for filler... The music and the rhythm plus the synchronous voices make the subject entertaining." However, the October 4, 1930 review in ''

Motion Picture News The ''Motion Picture News'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930. History The publication was created through the 1913 merger of the ''Moving Picture News'' founded in 1908 and ''The Exhibitors' Times'', founde ...

'' was less kind: "Production value of this one rates high, but entertainment value is lowered because of the absence of originality in gags — a trait predominating in most of the cartoons of the current age. Here and there, we find in this ''Looney Tune'' a clever twist, easily recognized from the cut-and-tried material depended upon for laughs. Audience reaction was favorable."

References

Notes

External links

''The Booze Hangs High''
at

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