Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Did You Miss Me ? : " Hot Noon "

This 1953 cartoon was victim of a great number of cuts . In fact , the majority of the copies that were aired on TV stations ( in the US and in Europe ), as well as the one included on the recent Columbia House dvd series , not only miss some funny gags , but they also lose the complete original ending sequence .

I 'll try to show you how the cartoon appeared in theaters one half century ago .

First , the censored copies do not present the original title art and title card as well as the cartoon credits .








Then , let's talk a little about the plot . Woody is a piano player in a saloon . He entertains the customers with the aid of a sexy senorita .
The joyous atmosphere is disturbed because the notorious Buzz Buzzard comes to town .
Every one turns chicken ( litterally ! ) . So the senorita seduces Woody and ask him to go outside and chase the bandit .






Here , The censored versions of " Hot Noon " continues showing Woody outside the saloon loking for Buzz . The following hot kiss that happens before Woody runs outside the saloon is cut . Here you have it :




Then , without following the plot , let's go to the saloon sequence ( not the same saloon where Woody works ) .











Gone is the following scenes , visually describing the effects of alcohol on Buzz .







After the " Buzz turning into a puma " sequence , here is where the common copies of this cartoon resume , omitting all the sequence I described before .






Then , without following the continuity , let's go to the cutted ending sequence . After an explosion , Buzz is partially trapped into the saloon ' s piano ....










Here is where the majority of the available copies end . Actually , this is not the way it ends in my book !
What follows is possibly one of the most irriverent and dirtiest jokes I've ever seen in an animated cartoon of the Golden Age . Even the Fleischers got some limits !

The senorita kisses in reward our hero Woody , the top of her sombrero starts moving wildly ( simulating a ...you know what ! ) , then Woody himself pops up from the top of the sombero and he goes right into the ceiling , ending the short with his trademark laugh .
I'm against any form of censorship , but I can understand why this sequence was cut when it aired on tv stations .
















Last cut , the original ending title art !





Yours Truly ,

Duck Dodgers

Blog Founder and Administrator