Speaking of the Weather

Speaking of the Weather
Speaking of the Weather
	Original title card
Directed by	Frank Tashlin
Produced by	Leon Schlesinger
Starring	Mel Blanc; Billy Bletcher; Tex Avery; Danny Webb
Music by	Carl W. Stalling
Animation by	Joe D'Igalo; Volney White
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Leon Schlesinger Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Productions; The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	September 4, 1937;
Running time	7 min
Country	United States
Language	English

Speaking of the Weather is a 1937 American animated comedy short film directed by Frank Tashlin.^[2] It was released on September 4, 1937.^[3] It is the 81st film in the Merrie Melodies series, featuring the titular song from the film Gold Diggers of 1937. It is the first film directed by Tashlin to be in color. It was re-released as a "Blue Ribbon" reissue in 1945.^[4]

Plot

A drugstore closes for the night, with mascots on unsold magazines coming to life. A caricature of Bob Burns, fails to play a trombone and introduces a caricature of Ted Lewis, who plays the titular song. A caricature of Leopold Stokowski leads the Storm movement from the William Tell Overture. After this, the title song is sung by the Boswell Sisters. Lydia Pinkham ogles Clark Gable, Greta Garbo rocks on her large feet, while Hugh Herbert is seen repeatedly smiling and adjusting his necktie.

A bullish criminal on the cover of The Gang Magazine decides to use a blowtorch from the cover of Popular Mechanics to break into a safe on the cover of The Magazine of Wall Street. He is immediately arrested by Charlie Chan and, after explaining himself to the police on the cover of True Confessions, he is tried, and sentenced to Life. However, he escapes through the cover of Liberty; but his escape does not go unnoticed by Walter Winchell, who goes on air to summon police officers, Boy Scouts, Johnny Weissmuller portraying Tarzan and doing the Tarzan yell, wild animals, and native Zulu tribesmen, joining the chase. The Thin Man and a dog on the cover of Dog World try to find the criminal, who is disguised as a baby on the cover of Better Babies, but are subdued. The criminal then is assailed by everyone from Navy battleships to Greta Garbo (who trips him with her large feet) and even Saint Nicholas. He ultimately ends up imprisoned behind the bars on the cover of Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing, and when Herbert laughs, the criminal uses a globe from the cover of a World Almanac to hit him in the head, mocking his laugh and expression behind bars.

Reception

Motion Picture Exhibitor (Aug 15, 1937): "The pictures on the covers come to life. The Thug on the gang magazine cover robs the bank on Wall Street Magazine, is jailed on Life, breaks jail from Liberty, is pursued and captured by a mob of characters from other magazines. The ideas are funny, the color excellent, the pace fast. The take-offs on some popular characters are hilarious."^[5]

Motion Picture Herald (Aug 21, 1937): "This probably will be acclaimed as one of the finest jobs yet accomplished in the animated cartoon field. It will richly deserve this distinction for it is vastly entertaining and the product of a most fertile mind. All the action takes place in a magazine store, after hours. The magazines come to life, and the result is decidedly pleasing to watch."^[5]

Home media

The short was released on disc 2 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 DVD set.^[6]

References

↑ Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media. p. 35.
↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 61. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 77–79. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
↑ Parten, James (March 31, 2020). "Merrie Melodies 1937-38: More Old Friends |". Cartoon Research. Retrieved July 4, 2026.
1 2 Sampson, Henry T. (1998). That's Enough, Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960. Scarecrow Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0810832503.
↑ "Looney Tunes Golden Collection - Volume 3 - The Internet Animation Database". www.intanibase.com. Retrieved July 15, 2026.

External links

Speaking of the Weather at IMDb

[CartoonVoices-1] Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media. p. 35.

[Beck-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. 61. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.

[3] Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 77–79. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

[4] Parten, James (March 31, 2020). "Merrie Melodies 1937-38: More Old Friends |". Cartoon Research. Retrieved July 4, 2026.

[Enough-5] 1 2 Sampson, Henry T. (1998). That's Enough, Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960. Scarecrow Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0810832503.

[6] "Looney Tunes Golden Collection - Volume 3 - The Internet Animation Database". www.intanibase.com. Retrieved July 15, 2026.

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