Memories when I was a kid

[Nardendee]

Just looking on the net I came across a video of a cartoon that I saw when I was very young. It is called Symphony in Slang and is a Tex Avery production from 1951.

The brief story line being about a New York guy from the Jimmy Cagney style American Gangster era who goes to the pearly gates and has to describe his life in detail, which he does, but unfortunately they have difficulty understanding his slang and interpret all his comments literally.

Directed by Fred Quimby of Tom & Jerry fame it is for me one of the funniest cartoons I ever saw.

Not to everyone’s taste I suppose but I would like to share it with you in the link below:

https://www.teachertube.com/videos/s...in-slang-74813

[Brin]

Nardendee, do you know what? I really enjoyed that. The quick dialogue/cartoon in synch were brilliant.

I smiled, I laughed, I smiled again. Absolutely great how you can put use of imagination to quick cartoon sketches. To think this was way way back, great sense o' humour and well put together so the story wasn't boring and lost the plot. Thanks for that pal.

My first memories laughing at cartoons had to be Popeye, Tom and Jerry etc. Where has all the fun of cartoons gone today that kids can no longer share and laugh at? They even turned Scooby Doo into a more graphical computer designed version and completely ruined it in my opinion.

As for the 'James Cagney' persona, I could only think of my favourite ever black and white movie, 'Angels with dirty faces'. I could watch that 10 times a year and never bore of it. Cagney at his very very best!

[Nardendee]

Thanks Brin. I was really pleased when I found it. I remember seeing it back in the sixties but never knew what it was called.
The main things I remembered originally was the bit about meeting up with an old flame and he drew a pistol on me.
They say English is the hardest language because there are so many words that spell the same yet are completely different in meaning.

The great thing about these cartoons was the slapstick humour at its best, no swearing, just for me, completely off the wall and very funny, and transport me back to my childhood.

I know what you mean about the loss of the old cartoons and the like. It was well before the days of computers, simply brilliant writing, sketching and brilliant characterisation from the likes of Mel Blanc.

Another example is Batman. The original series with Adam West & Burt Ward was very funny and cartoon like with guest villains like Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Cat-woman and Mr. Freeze. Yet they messed with it in later years and remakes became very dark and sinister. Completely ruined it for me.

We ought to run a thread about the brilliant cartoons and kid’s entertainment of yesteryear.

They certainly don’t make em like that anymore. Mores the pity.

[Nardendee]

Ps James Cagney was brilliant. Don’t know whether you know but although most impressionists of him always started with “You dirty rat”, yet he never said this phrase in any of his films.

Apart from Angels, have you seen White Heat, The Roaring Twenties, The Public Enemy and Yanky Doodle Dandy. All masterpieces and all worthy of watching, even today.