Russian Rhapsody (film)

Russian Rhapsody is a 1944 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Bob Clampett.[2] The short was released on May 20, 1944.[3]

Russian Rhapsody
Directed bySupervision:
Robert Clampett
Produced byLeon Schlesinger
Story byLou Lilly
StarringMel Blanc (uncredited)
Music byMusical direction:
Carl W. Stalling
Orchestra:
Milt Franklyn (uncredited)
Animation byRod Scribner
Uncredited animation:
Manny Gould
Robert McKimson
Gil Turner
Art Babbitt[1]
Effects animation:
A.C. Gamer (uncredited)
Backgrounds byMicheal Sasanoff (uncredited)
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • May 20, 1944 (1944-05-20)
Running time
7 minutes 1 second
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Nazi German bombers are failing to make it to Moscow in World War II; infuriated by his soldiers' constant failure, Adolf Hitler announces his decision via a radio broadcast at a "New Odor" rally that he will personally fly a heavy bomber to attack the Russians. On the way to Moscow, Soviet gremlins sneak onto the plane in flight and without Hitler's being aware of what's going on, begin to dismantle it while singing "We Are Gremlins from the Kremlin" to the tunes of “Ochi Chyornye” (“Dark Eyes”) and “Eh, ukhnem” (“Song of the Volga Boatmen”), and the sabotage includes a "termiteski" busily devouring the plane's wing (with loud burps) and a microscopic gremlin smashing the control panel dials with an enormous wooden mallet and announcing "I'm only three and a half years old!"

Hitler eventually discovers the gremlins after he's been stabbed in the buttocks and tries to retaliate. He fails, being severely frightened by several gremlins holding a mask of Joseph Stalin. The gremlins succeed in ejecting him from the bomber by cutting a hole in the fuselage beneath him. As he falls, Hitler comes to and realizes the plane is right behind him in a power dive. He tries to outrun the plane and to hide behind a small sapling upon landing, but the plane alters course as seen by its shadow. Both Hitler and the plane are driven into the ground. The plane's tail with its swastika insignia erupts from the ground as a headstone.

The cartoon ends with the gremlins celebrating in victory as Hitler pops out of the ground, with his face grimacing into the one of comedian Lew Lehr, and paraphrasing his famous catchphrase: "Monkeys is the cwaziest [craziest] peoples!" (only changing the word "monkeys" into "Nutzies," referring to Nazis). A gremlin pounds Hitler back into the ground with a sledgehammer, ending the film under Clampett's signature ‘‘bee-woop’’ vocalization.

Production
  • The original title was "Gremlins from the Kremlin", but producer Leon Schlesinger changed the title when The Walt Disney Company began making its own wartime short about gremlins. In Falling Hare, Bugs Bunny was the victim, while Hitler is the victim and main character in this short.
  • Many of the gremlins are caricatures of the Warner Bros. animation department staff. The style is reminiscent of a 1936 Christmas card showcasing the staff as drawn by T. Hee. Among the recognizable gremlins are Chuck Jones, Robert Clampett, Friz Freleng, Frank Tashlin, Arthur Davis, Michael Maltese, Melvin Millar, Michael Sasanoff, Leon Schlesinger (who is shown tapping the heads off of rivets with a hammer as he's being raised by a rope), Michael Maltese, Carl Stalling, Henry Binder and Ray Katz. Freleng and Binder are also referenced during Hitler's fake German rant at the beginning of the cartoon. What's Cookin' Doc? (also directed by Bob Clampett) is referenced as well.
  • In the scene of Hitler going after the gremlins, there's a strange jump between Hitler screaming at the sight of a Stalin-type mask. The next scene shows the gremlins sawing a hole in the plane to get rid of a semi-conscious Hitler. It's unknown if a missing scene between those scenes exists.
  • The lyrics reference the 1942 Disney cartoon and the 1942 song (composed by Oliver Wallace and recorded by Spike Jones) both titled Der Fuhrer's Face.
  • The gag showing a gremlin swapping windshield stickers is a reference to wartime U.S. gasoline rationing.

Reception

Animator Mark Kausler writes, "Russian Rhapsody is a funny musical cartoon about a man who was certainly the antithesis of comedy. The breadth and depth of Hitler's hatred of Jews and crimes against humanity were not fully known in 1944, when this cartoon was released. Director Bob Clampett, as usual, cast his animators well, giving Bob McKimson a showcase for his exceptional performing and drawing ability in the extended animated close-up of Hitler addressing the Nazi party faithful. McKimson makes Hitler a monster with huge shoulders and huge hands that reach out toward the camera in sweeping gestures. The range of emotions that Hitler goes through in his speech — from slobbering hatred as she rolls his r's, to teary resignation as he recalls the "Irish" General Tim O'Schenko (Russian Marshal Timoshenko), to his "Who else?" quip at the end, an impression of Yiddish comedian Artie Auerbach — are not just funny but also among the sharpest political observations created in the golden age of animation."[4]

Home media

See also

References
  1. "Russian Rhapsody (Breakdown)". Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  2. Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 150. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  3. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 104–106. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. Beck, Jerry, ed. (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. Insight Editions. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-64722-137-9.
  5. https://www.amazon.com/TCM-Spotlight-Adventures-Desperate-Uncertain/dp/B00005JO4D
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