I Haven't Got a Hat

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I Haven't Got a Hat is a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon short, first released on March 9, 1935 and directed by Friz Freleng. This early color cartoon uses the two-strip Technicolor (red and green only) process. Bernard Brown composed and performed the musical score. The credited animators were Rollin Hamilton and Jack King, but Robert Clampett is known to have also contributed.

This Merrie Melodies cartoon, explicitly modelled after Hal Roach's Our Gang live-action shorts, introduces several new characters as grade school students in the hopes that some would catch on. At the time, the only star for the more character-driven Looney Tunes series was Buddy), a meager replacement for the feistier Bosko who left Schlesinger's studio with his creators Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising.

The short introduces the following characters:

Beans the Cat, a mischievous young cat voiced by Billy Bletcher, seemingly positioned for stardom
Little Kitty, a nervous girl cat, voiced by Bernice Hansen in falsetto.
Porky Pig, a stuttering pig voiced by Joe Dougherty who became an unexpected star
Oliver Owl, a haughty owlet who taunts Beans. (His look is similar to the "Owl Jolsen" character from I Love to Singa)
Ham and Ex, (Hansen and Bletcher) twin singing puppies

Though the star of this short (and the intended new star for the Looney Tunes) is Beans, Porky steals the show with his mixed-up attempt to recite Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride" which he mixes up with Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade". Audiences had grown tired of bland characters like Beans, who was essentially a copy of the staple blackface character epitomized by Mickey Mouse, but closely reflected in Oswald the Rabbit, Bosko and Felix the Cat. Porky's shyness and his stutter really endeared him to audiences.

Though the gags in this short are still fairly indicative of early thirties cartoons, this short is significant for launching the career of Porky Pig and it bears the faintest hint of the changes that were to come in the Warner Brothers cartoons (Porky's and Kitty's recitals). For more on these changes see Tex Avery and Bob Clampett.

Plot summary

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The school talent show first features Porky Pig reciting The Ride of Paul Revere, but due to his excessive stutter, the children of the class whistle and cat-call which causes several stray dogs to burst into the schoolhouse and chase poor Porky out.

Next up, Little Kitty attempts to recite "Mary Had a Little Lamb". She is so nervous that she forgets a couple lines and then proceeds with the rhyme but gradually speeds up her voice to a high pitch as she makes a hasty exit.

Third, Ham and Ex (twin puppies) sing the song "I Haven't Got a Hat", written by Buddy Bernier and Bob Emmerich.

Meanwhile, Oliver Owl (who sits in front of Beans) refuses to share some candy with Beans. When Oliver goes up for his piano recital, Beans decides it is time for payback and sneaks a stray cat and dog into the piano. Their commotion creates a virtuoso performance of "The Storm" to riotous applause. When the animals jump out of the piano the ruse is revealed and Oliver, humbled and vengeful, covers Beans in green ink from his pen, causing Beans to fall off his ladder and launch a pail of red paint onto Oliver. Caught in the same predicament, they shake hands as the cartoon ends.

References

Beck, Jerry and Friedwald, Will (1989): Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Company.
Beck, Jerry. (2005) Audio commentary on "I Haven't Got a Hat" for the Warner Brothers' DVD set Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 3.

External links

[I Haven't Got a Hat] at the Big Cartoon Database

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