Review of Shinbone Alley (1970) by Lee B — 07 Mar 2009

This is a film that was based on a musical that went on Broadway and also based on the short stories by a fellow named Don Marquis about a newspaperman who jumped in the river to drown himself. He reappears as a cockroach, who finds he can still type by jumping up and down on the keys of a typewriter. He fell in love with Mehitabel, the cat (an unlikely romance huh?). He writes poetry to her, and tries to keep her on the straight and narrow (kind of like Jiminey Cricket don't you think?). Big Bill the Alley's tom-cat (voiced by The Flintstones' Alan Reed) is Mehitabel's heart-throb, and also Archy's nemesis. Archy declares war in a George Herriman sequence; That is until he heard had Mehitabel had kittens of course and "needs him." Oh! you folks will to see it (the film) for yourself how it ends.

So what can I say about this film well...It is truly a colorful animated Broadway musical with toe-tapping music and a top-notch cast; Carol was great as the seductive feline Mehitabel, I remember her vocals from "Happily Ever After" and "Thumbelina." I love it when she goes "Toujours Gai,Toujours Gai." I also love it when Mehitabel did Romeo & Juliet in such a jazzy zest, I could help but go along with Tattersall's aghast expressions (just for the fun). So overall I think this film is a colorful,comedical,musical work of art.