This movie is of course a cartoon starring Betty Boop, the only thing you have to guess is the title. Although this Talkartoon by the Fleischer Bros. says Max Fleischer presents Betty Boop with Bimbo and Koko in the opening credits it’s actually Bimbo who appears on the screen most of the time.
This 6 minute cartoon is the first Betty Boop cartoon in which she looks recognizably human and doesn’t look much like the dog as which she has been designed originally. Her floppy poodle ears became hoop earrings, and her poodle fur became a bob haircut. This cartoon was made in 1931 like the copyright at the beginning mentions but was only released on January, 2nd 1932, and like in any other pre-Code Betty Boop movie we get a cool jazz song and some fine animation. Plus there’s a scene where Betty’s top of her dress keeps slipping down, exposing her bra.

As with all Fleischer cartoons everything can be animated, whether it’s Bimbo’s nose, some old shoes, underpants, a washboard, Bimbo’s heart that flys up towards Betty and finally lands with a parachute or Bimbo’s eyes that become the numbers of a cash register (looks more like a typical Tex Avery gag to me).
There a sequence here where a female toon hangs out cloths onto a clothesline. Is it only me or could this have been the inspiration for Rolf Kauka’s Eusebia?
The story of this cartoon is quite simple. Bimbo is the garbage man (the song line stick out your can, here comes the garbage man is quite catchy here) who walks down the streets of Toontwown and collects (well, actually he even steals some stuff - after all this cartoon was made amidst the depression) everything he can get hold of. He later sells the odds and ends at an auction. And that’s when Koko the clown appears, this time portraying a stereotypical gay person (i.e. talking nasal and acting effeminated). [There’s a similar scene in another Fleischer/Betty Boop cartoon from 1932 (Betty Boop For President where a big butch prisoner is accompanied by guards to an electric chair, which isn’t an execution device but instead it cleans his teeth, polish his nails and turns him into a thin, effeminated sissy.]
Finally Bimbo and Betty are together in Bimbo’s cart, that rolls downhill, lands upside down and magically turns into a house. The odd thing is that they both now have a pet dog, which means dogs like Bimbo and Betty (a dog turned human) are having a dog.

Below are some screen shots of the cartoon. I’m sure by now you already know the name of the Betty Boop cartoon we’re searching this time.

To take advantage of the recently updated design of this blog I post quite a few images of what’s my favourite silent short, The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra by Robert Florey and Slavko Vorkapich. And this time I break with the guess-the-movie-tradition since it’s rather difficult to post some pics of the main actor without letting you know about the 9413.

The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra is a lowbudget production reportedly shot for $96.00. Most shots were taken in Slavko Vorkapich’s kitchen using cut-out miniatures. The film is strongly influenced by German Expressionism and French avant-garde films of the Twenties.
Hints of plots of feature-length movies to come in the 1930s can be found en masse in this great 13 minute movie.
Simply said this is a story about a man (John Jones) who wants to become a movie star in Hollywood (Stuart Erwin showed us in 1932 in 86 minutes in Make Me A Star alongside Joan Blondell how difficult this can be). John Jones even has a commendatory letter he shows Mr. Almighty, the big Hollywood producer. Mr. Almighty degrades Mr. Jones by writing a number - 9413 - on his forehead. And like every docile extra 9413 jumps at every command. When Mr. Almighty pulls his thumb, 9413 moves his head. 9413 is not the only extra we get to see. There’s #13, a female extra and #15. An extra that soon will be a star (reminiscent of What Price Hollywood or A Star Is Born). While #15 is a success and sees his dreams fulfilled 9413 is a failure, who isn’t even invited to casting and eventually can’t pay his bills and finally dies. His life’s end is symbolized by a pair of scissors that cut a film strip. But he doesn’t regain his humanity, he lost in Hollywood. Not on planet earth. But as the camera shows different cut outs and a small toy figure ascending to heaven (note the moment when there are signs shown To Heaven and To Hollywood, which is in the opposite direction of heaven) you know there’s hope. By the way I guess this is one of the few movies who make good use of eggs as a background decoration while the toy figure on its way to heaven gets its wings. And it is finally in heaven that 9413 becomes human again and an angel wipes the number from his forehead.

Here are lots of screenshots to give you a good impression of this wonderful short movie. You can also watch The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra for free at stage6.divx.com. This version has a great, very aptly composed jazzy score by dp3.