Mr. Punch and Scaramouche George Cruikshank, 1827 From the George Speaight Punch and Judy Archive at The Victoria and Albert Museum
We have previously enjoyed a video by Australian Punch and Judy Man, Chris van der Craats which showed us a recent recreation of some of George Cruikshank’s 1827-era drawings of the “Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Mr. Punch.” Here’s another recreation—complete with Piccini Punch. This one shows Mr. Punch and Scaramouche.
In the early Nineteenth Century version of the puppet show, Mr. Scaramouche was Mr. Punch’s neighbor and the original owner of Dog Toby. Punch encounters Dog Toby who bites his “beautiful nose,” and, then, Scaramouche confronts Punch about harassing his terrier. Punch confused Scaramouche by dancing with him, and, then beating him with his cudgel—eventually, taking Dog Toby as his own companion. This video begins just after Punch has had his first meeting with Dog Toby.
This video clip from 2012’s May Fayre and Mr. Punch’s 350th birthday was filmed by Australia’s Chris van der Craats. I’m not sure who the professor is, but he has given us a wonderful recreation of one of George Cruikshank’s famous 1820s illustrations of Mr. Punch. In this scene, Punch is defeating the Devil. That’s the way to do it!
Today, I'm feeling a little animated. So, let's all have some cartoon weirdness. This particular nightmare comes to us from 1930 and features the, sadly, relatively unremembered “Waffles and Dan.” “Gypped in Egypt” follows the adventures of the mismatched duo as they freak themselves out in Egypt. It’s a Van Beuren Cartoon, so you know it will be odd. As with all cartoons of the 30s, expect lots of knee-bending and muttering. Enjoy!
Mr. Punch and Scaramouche
George Cruikshank, 1827
From the George Speaight Punch and Judy Archive
at The Victoria and Albert Museum
In the early Nineteenth Century version of the puppet show, Mr. Scaramouche was Mr. Punch’s neighbor and the original owner of Dog Toby. Punch encounters Dog Toby who bites his “beautiful nose,” and, then, Scaramouche confronts Punch about harassing his terrier. Punch confused Scaramouche by dancing with him, and, then beating him with his cudgel—eventually, taking Dog Toby as his own companion. This video begins just after Punch has had his first meeting with Dog Toby.
This week’s “Friday Fun,” is another Punch & Judy show—this time performed by the talented Professor Mark Poulton. Professor Poulton brings decades of experience to the art form. Enjoy his version of Mr. Punch as “Old Red Nose” is introduced by Joey the Clown.
It’s great to be back, back, back. It’s great to be back on Broadway…
This charming short film should not be dismissed as just another animated Christmas special. It was the original Christmas special—the first animated film to be created specifically for television broadcast on Christmas. It predates all of those other Christmas specials that we all grew up with. And, truly, it’s a remarkable little film.
Produced in 1962 by Henry G. Saperstein for UPA and directed by Abe Levitow, the film centers around beloved myopic thespian Quincy Magoo who is about to make his triumphant return to Broadway in a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. While the introductory and interstitial portions of the film which show Magoo as “himself” (not as Scrooge) are often cut for broadcast on television, the approach to the story is that this is Mr. Magoo playing Ebenezer Scrooge—on stage—with a cast of American actors (including frequent Magoo costar Gerald McBoing-Boing in an unprecedented speaking part as Tiny Tim) playing the characters from Dickens’ work. Recent broadcasts which cut the behind-the-scenes theatrical aspects of the film, are diluting the filmmakers’ original intent. They didn’t want us to think that Mr. Magoo was Scrooge, that wanted us to remember that this was part of his ongoing adventures as he played the part in his much-anticipated return to the stage.
While the plot of the “Christmas Carol” differs from Dickens’ book for the sake of time, the dialogue is surprisingly spot-on, with many of the characters speaking lines directly from the original work. The most magnificent parts of the show, however, are the music and the songs. Composed especially for the film by the famed Broadway team of Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, the music is as good as any Broadway show. Songs such as “Winter was Warm,” “When You’re Alone in the World,” “Ringle, Ringle,” and “The Lord’s Bright Blessing” are epic, sweeping, emotional tunes with as much to offer as any Tony-Award winning show’s score.
With a talented cast that includes Morey Amsterdam, Jack Cassidy, and Paul Frees alongside Mr. Magoo’s usual voice, Jim Backus (Thurston Howell, III/James Dean’s father in Rebel without a Cause—to name a few), the film is humorous and touching. Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol was recently restored to all of its original 1960’s glorious color and is available on DVD. If you haven’t seen it in years or haven’t seen it at all, you must add this film to your Christmas collection.
Here’s a clip of one of my favorite scenes. The Laundress, The Charwoman and the Undertaker—along with Old Joe—since “The Plunderers’ March” also known as “We’re Despicable.”
The Ceredigion Museum created this montage of historical footage of Punch & Judy at the Seaside in honor of his recent 350th birthday. As the film shows at the end, our Mr. Punch and his friends are just as appealing today as ever.
The Munster Residence as we knew it from the show.
Personally, I preferred The Addams Family because, to me, at least, they seemed more realistic. However,The Munsters was not without its appeal. I always loved the façade of the Munsters’ house. That set still exists (though drastically altered and nearly unrecognizable) at Universal City and was most recently used as a façade for Desperate Housewives. Universal doesn't value its old sets the way the former Columbia Ranch (now Warner Brothers) does, but that's one of my hot-button topics and I'm not going to start on it just now.
As is often the case, the pilot show for The Munsters was quite different than the program that was picked up. The pilot was filmed in color with a largely different cast. The house is the same façade, however, it is in its original state—known at the time as “Maxim House.” The set was changed when the show went into production. The Second Empire tower and central gable were altered for the final show.
The Original Munster Facade Known as "Maxim House" Retroweb
Network executives felt that the unaired pilot was too similar to The Addams Family. The character of “Phoebe” was changed to “Lily.” Phoebe as played by the stunning Joan Marshall (also known as Jean Arless) was stylistically too close to Morticia Addams. When the show was picked up, Joan Marshall was replaced with Yvonne DeCarlo.
This clip from the unaired pilot is quite interesting, especially if you’re a fan of The Munsters. It’s always a bit startling to see pilot episodes, but they’re an integral part of the history of any production. Imagine what the show might have been like had the cast remained the same.
Mr. Punch and Scaramouche George Cruikshank, 1827 From the George Speaight Punch and Judy Archive at The Victoria and Albert Museum
Here’s another recreation of George Cruikshank’s 1827-era drawings of the “Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Mr. Punch"--complete with Piccini Punch. This one shows Mr. Punch and Scaramouche.
In the early Nineteenth Century version of the puppet show, Mr. Scaramouche was Mr. Punch’s neighbor and the original owner of Dog Toby. Punch encounters Dog Toby who bites his “beautiful nose,” and, then, Scaramouche confronts Punch about harassing his terrier. Punch confused Scaramouche by dancing with him, and, then beating him with his cudgel—eventually, taking Dog Toby as his own companion. This video begins just after Punch has had his first meeting with Dog Toby.
For today’s “Friday Fun,” we feature a clip from a performance by Professor Justin Tai who has been performing Punch & Judy shows since the age of nine. Today, Justin and his show are a fixture on the Broadstairs Beach in Kent.
Justin offers up some interesting shtick that I’ve not seen before. His puppets are also quite different with their rather wild hair. I wonder who made them.
Enjoy Professor Justin’s performance from this video from 2008.
Copy of “The Inferno” comes to life. Shiny Devil escapes. Monkey sculpture becomes animated. Horrible things happen. Harman-Ising. Enough said. Watch and be afraid.
As an American Punch & Judy Man, I'm pleased to see the art form practiced in other parts of the U.S. Here's a clip from a show performed in Missouri! And, it's really quite nicely done--complete with swazzle! Enjoy!
It’s great to be back, back, back. It’s great to be back on Broadway…
This charming short film should not be dismissed as just another animated Christmas special. It was the original Christmas special—the first animated film to be created specifically for television broadcast on Christmas. It predates all of those other Christmas specials that we all grew up with. And, truly, it’s a remarkable little film.
Produced in 1962 by Henry G. Saperstein for UPA and directed by Abe Levitow, the film centers around beloved myopic thespian Quincy Magoo who is about to make his triumphant return to Broadway in a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. While the introductory and interstitial portions of the film which show Magoo as “himself” (not as Scrooge) are often cut for broadcast on television, the approach to the story is that this is Mr. Magoo playing Ebenezer Scrooge—on stage—with a cast of American actors (including frequent Magoo costar Gerald McBoing-Boing in an unprecedented speaking part as Tiny Tim) playing the characters from Dickens’ work. Recent broadcasts which cut the behind-the-scenes theatrical aspects of the film, are diluting the filmmakers’ original intent. They didn’t want us to think that Mr. Magoo was Scrooge, that wanted us to remember that this was part of his ongoing adventures as he played the part in his much-anticipated return to the stage.
While the plot of the “Christmas Carol” differs from Dickens’ book for the sake of time, the dialogue is surprisingly spot-on, with many of the characters speaking lines directly from the original work. The most magnificent parts of the show, however, are the music and the songs. Composed especially for the film by the famed Broadway team of Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, the music is as good as any Broadway show. Songs such as “Winter was Warm,” “When You’re Alone in the World,” “Ringle, Ringle,” and “The Lord’s Bright Blessing” are epic, sweeping, emotional tunes with as much to offer as any Tony-Award winning show’s score.
With a talented cast that includes Morey Amsterdam, Jack Cassidy, and Paul Frees alongside Mr. Magoo’s usual voice, Jim Backus (Thurston Howell, III/James Dean’s father in Rebel without a Cause—to name a few), the film is humorous and touching.
Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol was recently restored to all of its original 1960’s glorious color and is available on DVD. If you haven’t seen it in years or haven’t seen it at all, you must add this film to your Christmas collection.
Here’s a clip of one of my favorite scenes. The Laundress, The Charwoman and the Undertaker—along with Old Joe—since “The Plunderers’ March” also known as “We’re Despicable.”
I don't think that I need to explain to regular readers why I chose this for today's bit o' fun. You all know my deep affection for the television shows of the 1950s-1970s, of course, when I'm not watching strange cartoons from the 30s. And, look, Shirley Booth's in it! I applaud the creator of this fun compilation. Well done!
I don’t usually post weird or silly videos in the middle of the week, but since it’s 12/12/12 and since it’s the day of my 39th birthday and since I’m weird and silly anyway, let’s do it. My greatest birthday wish is to watch an episode of “Hazel” with all of you…remotely, at different times, from our own homes. Enjoy.
Here’s some more from May’s celebration of Mr. Punch’s 350th birthday celebration in Covent Garden. Oh, how I wish I could have been there. There’s also a nice interview with Geoff Felix, a professor of Punch and Judy who, in my estimation, is one of the finest going. Also, you get to hear from a puppeteer from Naples who talks of Punch’s Pulcinella roots.
