Let Me Call You Sweetheart

A few days ago, I reviewed the Famous Studios Kartune-Invention Convention-which had the Bouncing Ball segment showcase the song "Let Me Call You Sweetheart". Here is Famous' predecessor studio-Max Fleischer-also using the Bouncing Ball to the same song. In this one, however, Betty Boop is walking a baby in a carriage in the park before resting on a bench as Bimbo walks by and tries to make love to her right then and there! Since this is pre-Code, you can guess what happens from then on though I'll also say that the baby actually likes it when he's by himself so no harm done! Anyway, Ethel Merman then appears in live-action to sing the song but unlike the later cartoon I mentioned at the beginning of this review, she actually sings some lyrics that weren't in that one (also, some of the words printed on the screen are a little different than what she's actually singing). And, instead of a character then jumping on the last lyrics of the song, the sentences rising to the Bouncing Ball then resembles a rebus, that is, words made by both letters and pictures. This was quite an enjoyable Screen Song cartoon to watch so on that note, I highly recommend Let Me Call You Sweetheart.

Let Me Call You Sweetheart—3 Not particularly good—especially if you are Betty Boop fan. I knew when this cartoon began that I probably wouldn't like it because it was labeled a 'Screen Song' cartoon. Screen Songs was a series of shorts by the Fleischer Studio which featured music with SOME accompanying cartoon story—but the emphasis clearly was always on the song. As for the songs, they were mostly old fashioned even when the shorts were made in the very early 1930s—though there were a few exceptions (such as Cab Calloway singing "Minnie the Moocher").

"Let Me Call You Sweetheart" begins with introducing Ethel Merman. Then, the cartoon begins. It really isn't an entire cartoon—just a snippet with Officer Bimbo sexually harassing Betty Boop and Betty enjoying it tremendously. In the process, the baby she is taking care of disappears and must fend for itself—which it does very well. Then, Merman returns and leads the audience on a sing-a-long (another reason to hate this short) of the title song—a very old fashioned and out of date piece even in 1930—as it came out in 1910. Overall, you have a dull song and a dull cartoon with little to recommend it. The only noteworthy things are the wonderful Fleischer animation and the apparent endorsement of sexual harassment!

Ethel Merman in her youth looks good and sounds good, not quite as brassy as in her later years. Her song, which she performs as her human self rather than in animation, has only the flimsiest relationship to the cartoon. The cartoon is a pointless and very politically incorrect story in which Betty Boop is won over by what today would be called sexual harassment.

Fleischer were responsible for some brilliant cartoons, some of them still among my favourites. Their visual style was often stunning and some of the most imaginative and ahead of its time in animation.

The character of Betty Boop, one of their most famous and prolific characters, may not be for all tastes and sadly not as popular now, but her sex appeal was quite daring for the time and to me there is an adorable sensual charm about her. That charm, sensuality and adorable factor is not lost anywhere here, nor her comic timing. She is definitely more interesting here than Bimbo, who is fun enough but is again stuck in a standard role with not much special to do. Do enjoy their chemistry though, that stops Bimbo from being completely bland.

Betty, Bimbo and Fleischer have done much better than 'Let Me Call You Sweetheart'. It's pleasant enough and is a decent cartoon, but it's not a great one and doesn't stick in one's head as much as other offerings of theirs. For me, while a long worst from being one of Betty's worst cartoons (pretty much all her lesser efforts being when the Production Code was enforced, the material became tame and Betty while still engaging lost her trademark identity), 'Let Me Call You Sweetheart' is among the weaker Betty and Bimbo collaborations.

Admittedly, the story never was one of the best assets in a Betty Boop cartoons but 'Let Me Call You Sweetheart' is story-wise one of the flimsier and most predictable efforts and doesn't always have the momentum. Due to that the material is not as inspired, the gags are plentiful and are amusing and well-timed, they are not hilarious though and not very creative or imaginative.

However, the animation is outstanding, everything is beautifully and meticulously drawn and the whole cartoon is rich in visual detail and imagination. Every bit as good is the music score, which delivers on the energy, lusciousness and infectiousness, great for putting anybody in a good mood.

On top of these, 'Let Me Call You Sweetheart' is amusing and charming with a delightful Betty and adorable and fun chemistry between her and Bimbo. The biggest interest points are the wonderful title song and the presence of Ethel Merman sounding a dream in nicely shot live action. One may question the point of her though, with it not holding much relevance to the rest of the cartoon.

All in all, worth watching but no more than decent. 6/10 Bethany Cox

This is one of a long series of shorts made by Paramount, sandwiching animation by the Fleischer studio between two wodges of live action featuring a popular musical act. In this case, we have Ethel Merman singing 'Let Me Call You Sweetheart'. In the first section, she sings only the well-known chorus. In the last section, she invites the audience to join in while she sings the verse. Nobody knows the verse to this song anymore, but perhaps it was better known in 1932.

The animation sequence features Betty Boop as a scantily-clad nursemaid, pushing a pram with a demonstrative baby aboard. Bimbo is the parkie, trying to put the make on Betty and causing her to neglect the baby. In this case, it would have been just fine with me if the pram rolled off a cliff. The Fleischer toons always had a penchant for animism -- inanimate objects sprouting eyes and hands, and developing sentience -- but there's more of that here than usual.

The last section follows the usual formula, with the live entertainer (this time, Merman) singing the chorus while a bouncing ball spotlights the lyrics superimposed on the screen. But this time there's an interesting variation for the second chorus, with the lyrics spelt out in a rebus ... so that "I'M IN LOVE" is an eyeball, a letter M, a tavern sign reading "INN" and a valentine heart. I'm not an Ethel Merman fan, but here her voice is actually more dulcet than I'd ever thought it would be, and she also looks prettier than she would be later. She manages to 'sell' the song proficiently without doing any of the trademark La Merm stuff that her fans like so much and which I loathe. More for that reason than anything else, I'll rate this toon 7 out of 10.