Friday, December 10, 2010

Friday Fun: Santa Claus, Punch and Judy, 1948

I’ve held off on posting this for months for various reasons. This edited down version of the 1948 short film, Santa Claus, Punch and Judy omits the rather unnerving Santa Claus bit and some other politically incorrect business and focuses on the performance of famed American Punch Professor George Prentice who is credited with keeping Mr. Punch and his chums vital and relevant throughout the 1930’s and 40’s. Here, you can see some new characters of Prentice’s own creation. There’s a particularly belligerent monkey, and Mr. Punch has some rare interaction with a cat. Prentice very cleverly incorporated popular songs of the day into his show while keeping Mr. Punch’s spirit close to that of his predecessors.


And, so, I give you, Santa Claus, Punch and Judy (minus Santa, but plus one monkey).



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