''Swing You Sinners!'' is a 1930 animated cartoon short, produced by

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 ...

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. The cartoon is notable for its surreal, dark and abstract content.

Plot

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 ...

is seen late at night, trying to steal a chicken. After several attempts, he accidentally grabs a policeman by the hand. As he tries to walk away as if nothing happened the chicken follows him in spite of this, as does the policeman. Eventually, the chicken and its chicks flee, while Bimbo enters a cemetery. To his horror, he finds out that it is haunted, complete with a host of ghosts and other supernatural beings who tell him that he will be punished for his sins (1. "Chickens you used to steal" = Theft; 2. "Craps you used to shoot" = Gambling; 3. "Girls you used to chase" = Lust), regardless of him begging for mercy and assurance that he has made efforts to become a better person. Throughout the rest of the film, Bimbo is reprimanded and pursued by them until he enters a barn, whereupon the monsters sing about Bimbo's demise, and a huge skull devours him, ending the cartoon.

Background

The cartoon was released on September 24, 1930 in the ''

'' series and animated by

Ted Sears Edward Robert Sears (March 13, 1900August 22, 1958) was an American animator during the Golden Age of American animation. Sears worked for the Fleischer Studios in the late-1920s and early-1930s, and was hired away from Max Fleischer to work at ...

and

Willard Bowsky Willard Gustav Bowsky (September 26, 1907 – November 27, 1944) was an American animator best known for his work at Fleischer Studios in New York City and Miami, Florida, where he worked on cartoons featuring Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor, and ...

. George Cannata,

Shamus Culhane James H. "Shamus" Culhane (November 12, 1908 – February 2, 1996) was an American animator, film director, and film producer. He is best known for his work in the Golden age of American animation. Career Shamus Culhane worked for a number of ...

Al Eugster Alfred Julius Eugster (February 11, 1909 – January 1, 1997) was an American animator, writer, and film director. He worked for a number of American animation studios, including Fleischer Studios, the Iwerks Studio, Walt Disney Productions, ...

, William Henning,

Seymour Kneitel Seymour Kneitel (March 16, 1908 – July 30, 1964) was an American animator, best known for his work with Fleischer Studios and its successor, Famous Studios. Early years Kneitel was born in New York City where he graduated from P.S. 10 in Manh ...

and

Grim Natwick Myron "Grim" Natwick ( Nordveig; August 16, 1890 – October 7, 1990) was an American artist, animator, and film director. Natwick is best known for drawing the Fleischer Studios' most popular character, Betty Boop. Background Born in Wisc ...

also worked on it, but are uncredited in the title card. The cartoon was animated by a completely new staff who had never worked in animation before, because the studio had to replace some animators who quit. Animator Culhane states in his memoirs that though he created and animated what might be construed a Stereotyped caricature of "a Jew with a black beard, huge nose, and a derby", the studio's atmosphere and its mixed ethnic crew made the depiction completely acceptable to all the Jews in the studio. The caricature in question is a reference to Jewish-American comedian

Max Davidson Max Davidson (May 23, 1875 – September 4, 1950) was a German-American film actor known for his comedic Jewish persona during the silent film era. With a career spanning over thirty years, Davidson appeared in over 180 films. Career Born i ...

Reception

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 ...

'' wrote on October 11, 1930, that "the clever cartoon pen of

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) was an American animator and studio owner. Born in Kraków, in Austrian Poland, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became a pioneer in the development ...

again demonstrates itself in this Talkartoon. An off-stage chorus sings the lyrics to the rhythm of the action and the result is usually diverting. The cartoon hero is this time taken into a grave-yard with the absurd results that you might well imagine. Worth a watch".

Music

" Sing, You Sinners" was composed in 1930 (cartoon's release year) by W. Franke Harling, with lyrics by

Sam Coslow Sam Coslow (December 27, 1902 – April 2, 1982) was an American songwriter, singer, film producer, publisher and market analyst. Coslow was born in New York City. He began writing songs as a teenager. He contributed songs to Broadway revues, ...

. The title song was based on Harling and Coslow's song, some of which is played in the titles of the cartoon.

Legacy

John Kricfalusi Michael John Kricfalusi ( ; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, and former animator and voice actor. He is the creator of the animated television series ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', which ...

named it one of his favorite cartoons and played during a retrospective of his personal favorite animated shorts. He also compared it to

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

's ''

The Skeleton Dance ''The Skeleton Dance'' is a 1929 ''Silly Symphony'' animated short subject with a comedy horror theme. It was produced and directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks. In the film, reanimated human skeletons dance and make music around a s ...

'' (which was also set in a cemetery) and felt ''Swing You Sinners!'' was superior. In 2012 ''

Cracked Cracked may refer to: Television * ''Cracked'' (British TV series), a 2008 British comedy-drama television series that aired on STV * ''Cracked'' (Canadian TV series), a 2013 Canadian crime drama series that aired on CBC * "Cracked", a Season 8 ( ...

'' hosted an article describing "5 Old Children's Cartoons Way Darker Than Most Horror Movies" and listed ''Swing You Sinners!'' at No. 1. In 2014, LA-based indie band Caught A Ghost released a music video to their track "Time Go" which consisted entirely of footage from ''Swing You Sinners!''. Serbian alternative rock band

Brigand Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first record ...

named their debut album ''Zaplešimo Grešnici'' (literally ''Swing You Sinners'' in Serbian) after the cartoon. Video game developers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer based the atmosphere of their game ''

Cuphead ''Cuphead'' is a 2017 run and gun video game developed and published by Canadian developer Studio MDHR. The game follows its titular teacup-headed character and his brother Mugman, as they make a deal with the Devil to pay casino losses by r ...

'' on several Fleischer cartoons, including this one. Chad called

"the

magnetic north The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic compass needle is allowed t ...

of his art style". ''

Kill Screen Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...

'' described Fleischer Studios as having "transportive, transformative short films, such as ''Swing You Sinners!''. The in-game achievement for defeating the game's final boss is even named "Swing You Sinner". Additionally, boss Cagney Carnation's idle animation resembles the hand dance done by one of the ghosts in the cartoon.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0141869 1930s English-language films 1930s ghost films 1930s American animated films Short films directed by Dave Fleischer Fleischer Studios short films Paramount Pictures short films Films set in cemeteries Films set in hell American animated short films Animated films about dogs American ghost films English-language short films American animated black-and-white films 1930 animated short films