Very well executed

Simply Perfect

Just perfect...

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

. . . than they did on food. At least, that's one of the main Take-Aways of I'VE GOT TO SING A TORCH SONG, which doesn't even reach its title tune until about five minutes of this seven-minute animated short have passed by. In the Looney Tunes Universe, American families would exercise to radio music while grouped together in their underwear, with 12-year-old Little Sis just wearing her panties. Rooms full of college coeds would come together in their bras and panties as Bing Crosby crooned. Harem gals would dance for their owners clad in even less. Beyond animated sex, TORCH is crammed full of Racist sight "gags" and recurring cameos by long-forgotten Dead People. Most folks Today cannot recall very many key cast members of MY AMER!CAN COUSIN (which Abe Lincoln was viewing when a Racist shot him to keep Black Lives from Mattering), and the caricatures incorporated into TORCH are of equal Unimportance. That's why very few of Today's cartoons are built around "immortalizing" fleeting personalities such as Tiny Tim, PeeWee Herman, or Donald "You're Fired!" Trump. As Warner learned, "celebrities" are here Today, but gone Tomorrow.

This was another of the Merrie Melodies cartoons based on the songs from Gold Diggers of 1933 that is now on that movie's DVD. In this one, we see many celebrity parodies such as Bing Crosby in the bathtub (here, he's Cros Bingsby), Greta Garbo, Mae West, Ed Wynn, etc. There's plenty of movement and some amusing gags though nothing really hilarious. Still, I was entertained enough by the way the animators were trying to fill the 6-minute running time that was standard for these theatrical filler cartoons meant to fill a block program that also included one live action short, a newsreel, some trailers, and the main feature. So on that note, I've Got to Sing a Torch Song is worth a look if you're interested enough.

Like others have already said, this cartoon is a fine example of the difference between "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies". A lot of people will say that music videos didn't come around until the 1980s, with the airing of MTV, but in reality these could be considered the earliest forms of music video. While the actual singer or band that wrote the song doesn't perform it, it should be noted that the film/record company, Warner Brothers, owned the rights to the song, so they could use it in any way they saw fit, which was a common practice at the time when this cartoon was produced, including having it performed by various celebrity caricatures, a bunch of babies (Shuffle Off to Buffalo), or two foxes and a few billboards (Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!). They could even alter the lyrics to match the plot or theme for the film in which the song would be reused (see: Shuffle Off to Buffalo, I Love to Singa), as a way to get audiences to purchase the records or sheet music for that song, and play it themselves. Back then you could buy song books or subscribe to a monthly magazine that featured sheet music and lyrics to popular songs of the time.

"I've Got to Sing a Torch Song" is an unusually wacky black-and-white Warner Bros. cartoon, made before any star characters such as Porky Pig and Daffy Duck were even created. This cartoon is essentially about THE RADIO, one of the entertainment industry's finest inventions during the early 20th Century. Where there's a radio, you can be darn sure there will be scores of ardent fans tuning in! Here are my favorite highlights from "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song". I especially like the hilarious physical & vocal caricatures of Bing Crosby (ALL the gals listen to him!), Mae West, and Marlene Dietrich. In addition, a bearded, hookah-puffing sultan thinks nothing of his harem girl's dance; he'd much rather listen to Amos 'n' Andy! If you want to see an early thirties cartoon with a lot of quirk, try "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song". By no means my favorite Warner Bros. cartoon, but certainly not one that makes a descent into inferiority!