''Mysterious Mose'' is a 1930

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures in 1942, the parent company and the distri ...

animated short Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

released through

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

as part of the ''

Talkartoons ''Talkartoons'' is a series of 42 animated cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures from 1929 to 1932. History For the Fleischer brothers, the transition to sound was relatively easy. With the new contract w ...

'' series. This film contains an early version of

Betty Boop Betty Boop is a cartoon character designed by Grim Natwick at the request of Max Fleischer. She originally appeared in the '' Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pic ...

and the studio's star,

Bimbo ''Bimbo'' is slang for a conventionally attractive, sexualized naive woman. The term was originally used in the United States as early as 1919 for an unintelligent or brutish man. As of the early 21st century, the "stereotypical bimbo" appea ...

. "Mysterious Mose" is also the name of a popular song from 1930 (which is sung in the short).

Synopsis

Betty is startled awake in her bed on a stormy night. She searches for the cause of the shock while she sings the song. Then, unexplainable phenomena start happening in the house. Mysterious Mose (Bimbo) appears, and sings part of the song. Bizarre cartoon creatures appear and, at first, sing and enhance Mose's "mysterious" image. Quickly, however, the antics become frightful even to Mose. The film escalates into chaos, which ends when Mose bursts, revealing him having been an

automaton An automaton (; : automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bellstrikers i ...

(full of cogs and springs) the whole time.

Popular song

"Mysterious Mose" was a song from early 1930, written by Walter Doyle and first recorded by

Ted Weems Wilfred Theodore Wemyes (September 26, 1901 – May 6, 1963), known professionally as Ted Weems, was an American bandleader and musician. Weems's work in music was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Biography Born in Pitcai ...

's Orchestra. In addition to its appearance in the short, there have been numerous recordings of the song, including

Harry Reser Harrison Franklin Reser (January 17, 1896 – September 27, 1965) was an American banjo player and bandleader. Born in Piqua, Ohio, Reser was best known as the leader of The Clicquot Club Eskimos. He was regarded by some as the best banjoist ...

's Radio All Star Novelty Orchestra, Cliff Perrine's Orchestra, Karl Radlach's Orchestra,

Rube Bloom Reuben Bloom (April 24, 1902 – March 30, 1976) was an American songwriter, pianist, arranger, band leader, recording artist, vocalist, and author. Life and career Bloom was born and died in New York City. He was Jewish. During his career, he w ...

's Bayou Boys and R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders.

In popular culture

''Graveyard Jamboree with Mysterious Mose'' is a short film made in 1998 by film makers Seamus Walsh and Mark Caballero of

Screen Novelties Screen Novelties (stylized as SCREEN NOVELTIES) is an American animation studio, specializing in stop motion animation. It was founded by Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh, and Chris Finnegan. Overview Their work fuses classic cartoon sensibilitie ...

. The film utilizes

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – wikt:inanimate, inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. S ...

stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

, and

silhouette animation Silhouette animation is animation in which the characters are only visible as black silhouettes. This is usually accomplished by backlighting articulated cardboard cut-outs, though other methods exist. It is partially inspired by, but for a nu ...

to tell the story of an otherworldly creature preparing a celebration in a cemetery. Walsh and Caballero used the song "Mysterious Mose", recorded in 1930 by Harry Reser's Radio All Star Novelty Orchestra.

References

External links

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''Mysterious Mose'' at IMDB
1930s English-language films 1930s American animated films 1930 comedy films Betty Boop cartoons Fleischer Studios short films Paramount Pictures short films Short films directed by Dave Fleischer American comedy short films American robot films Animated films about robots American animated short films Animated films about dogs English-language short films American animated black-and-white films 1930 animated short films {{BettyBoop-animation-film-stub