Bacall to Arms (1946)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

When Bob Clampett left the WB cartoon studio in the spring of 1945, he left a few projects unfinished. Schlesinger had recently sold the studio to WB and fellow director, Frank Tashlin had also departed a few months earlier, also leaving a few projects unfinished. There has been discussion for years as to the circumstances surrounding the timing of Clampett's departure and WB acquisition of the studio, but that's another story.As most fans know, most cartoons left unfinished by their intended director usually end up very messy in terms of consistency. Of the projects Clampett left unfinished, Bacall To Arms is the messiest. It uses a lot of footage from an earlier WB cartoon "She Was An Acrobat's Daughter". The use of footage from a late 30's cartoon mixed in with a mid 40's cartoon and soundtrack makes this short look very jarring. I wonder if this short also had trouble with the censors, as some of the wolf's reactions appear to be cut short.I've also wondered what Clampett's intended vision was for this short was had he stayed to complete it. In addition to parodying To Have And Have Not, via movie screen, could the wolf have been a tribute to Tex Avery? Given that any official records have been lost to time, we may never know.While this shorts redeems itself with some great Scribner and Gould animation, this short barely constitutes as a Clampett masterpiece.

Bob Clampett's cartoons often were high in energy and fun and displayed a uniquely wacky visual style that one can recognise immediately.Caricature cartoons very much vary in quality, a lot of them are clever, funny and ones where the references are recognisable, easy to spot and are a lot of fun, while there are others that don't work as well as they should due to some of the humour not holding up and some caricatures due to unfamiliarity with the person in question go over people's heads. 'Bacall in Arms' is one of the better examples, it's silly and it's corny but very clever and just so much fun.The animation is excellent. The blacks, whites and greys look absolutely beautiful, even nearly 80 years on, while also rich in detail and high in imagination. Clampett's style is all over the cartoon and is immediately distinctive, while the use of Technicolor is equally striking if slightly less imaginative. Carl Stalling's energetically high-voltage, luscious, rousing, dynamic and action-enhancing music score and inspired arrangements of pre-existing music shows off his genius.It is an exceptionally funny cartoon as well, with some wonderfully cornball lines and names. Plus 'Bacall in Arms' was an example of a caricature cartoon where none of the caricatures got lost on me due to being familiar with the celebrity. The spoof on 'To Have and Have Not' was very inspired as well.All the characters are colourful, and while Robert C. Bruce and June Foray are excellent it is Mel Blanc that once again shows the second-to-none ability to bring different personalities and voices to several characters.On the whole, great caricature cartoon and spoof and a near-classic for Clampett. 9/10 Bethany Cox

"Bacall to Arms" is a true relic of cinema-going in the 1940s. It portrays a movie theater where several things happen. After the audience plays an over-the-top version of musical chairs, a wolf ogles a sexy usherette (is it PC to use that word?), and a big fat guy can't sit down.Then, the "Warmer News" reel tells of how radars are helping ordinary Americans...by alerting when mothers-in-law are coming. And finally, the feature: "To Have, To Have, To Have, To Have, To Have" starring Bogey Gocart and Laurie Bee Cool. Bogey tells the big fat guy in the audience to sit, and then his female co-star enters. As the two stars carry out their routine, the wolf's hormones go through the roof (you gotta admit, with how she talks and acts, it's hard not to get sexually aroused). It all builds up, resulting in a rather cringe-inducing finale.Above all, I think that it's good that I first saw this cartoon now, when I'm old enough to understand what it portrays. Had I watched this when I was a little kid, I probably wouldn't have gotten any of it (seriously, how many six-year-old children can identify Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall?). Especially neat is to think about how cool it was that they managed to portray such sexuality in the 1940s. But hey, the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons were always pushing the limits (and the ones directed by Bob Clampett took contortionist phantasmagoria/wackiness to the extreme).So anyway, you're sure to like this one, despite a rather non-PC ending. I suspect that Humphrey and Lauren were probably flattered.

We are taken back to the movie theater in the '40s where people are playing musical chairs, wolves are making passes at beautiful usherettes, and the "warmer news" movie short is showing, explaining how "American industry cleverly adapts the implements of war to peace time use." We then see clever and funny ways radar is now being used in post-war 1946.Then, the feature movie begins with "Bogey Gocart and Laurie Bee Cool in Too-Have, Too- Have, Too-Have and Too-Have." In between this animated take-off of the famous film, "To Have And Have Not," we see what's happening in the theater such as a Hippo barging his way in front of people and "Bogey" telling him, "Hey, Fat Boy. If you want to see how this picture ends, sit down!" We see the wolf going nuts whenever "Laurie" is on screen, etc.Man, the humor was corny back then (but fun to watch in these old cartoons).