Porky at the Crocadero (1938) User Reviews

Porky Pig: The '30s Band Leader

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 13 November 2007]

The best part of this early Looney Tunes cartoon was the last minute-and-a-half when Porky Pig donned black-face and imitation Cab Calloway. Not only did he look funny but his musicians were also funny and the music was super.

It all happened when Porky, armed with his diploma from the "Sucker Correspondence School Of Music," headed out to the famous Crocadero nightclub. His goal had always been "to lead a band." (This is the old days, not today, where a band meant a lot of musicians, like an orchestra.) Unfortunately, the only way he could gain admittance was by applying for the dish-washing job inside. He got fired quickly from that, but when plane problems delayed the band leaders from showing up on time, the nightclub owner chased Porky down and told him to wing it.

By the way, Porky's diploma read "This is to certify that Porky Pig has completed our course in Hi, De, Hi.....D,Do, De, O, Do; Poo, Poo, Pa, Doop.....and can he swing it? Yeah, Man!!!"

Earlier, Porky's imitations of several band leaders like Benny Goodman and Rudy Valley were funny. Overall, a decent cartoon; nothing super except the ending.

Ever since Warner Bros. gave the World a Man in Blackface . . .

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 8 November 2016]

. . . (that would be Al Jolson in the first-ever "Talkie," THE JAZZ SINGER), Warner's Brass had spent more than a decade kept awake at night trying to dream up something even MORE outrageous, racially insensitive, and Politically Incorrect. Around 1937 that old light bulb lit up in some Warner dimwit's brain, and PORKY AT THE CROCADERO resulted with a grand finale featuring a PIG in Blackface!! As the leader of "Cab Howlaway and His Absorbent Cotton Club Orchestra," a sooty Porky manages to Outrage Americans from coast-to-coast. During World War II and the Infamous Japanese Sneak Attack on Pearl Harbor, Brave Black American Sharpshooters had to claw their way up from the galleys in the bowels of battleships (to which CROCADERO's Racism had relegated them) and take over unmanned anti-aircraft guns as their White crew-mates dithered nearby. (If these men had been allowed at their proper stations to begin with, surely the Arizona and many of the other bombed ships would have been saved; President Obama recently awarded the last surviving Black Pearl Harbor Anti-Aircraft Ace the U.S. Medal of Honor, noting that World War Two would have been shortened two or three years, were it not for the Racist Porky Pig tying America's strong Black Hand behind its back!)

Porky the moocher

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 25 September 2007]

Truth be told, I might not know much of 1930s culture if not for these early Looney Tunes cartoons. Frank Tashlin's "Porky at the Crocadero" is a case in point. Yes, it is true that Porky Pig commits the politically incorrect crime of making himself look like an African-American person (in this case Cab Calloway). But as is the case with at least most of the cartoons with offensive depictions of non-white people, the creators intended no hostility towards the individuals portrayed; in fact, it looks as though the cartoon celebrates African-American culture. Actually, I already knew about Cab Calloway thanks to "The Blues Brothers", but this gives one a sense of his career back in the '30s.

So, I recommend the cartoon. Available on YouTube.

Excellent

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 9 November 2012]

I do love Looney Tunes, and while I do like Porky- he is very endearing- I do think he works better in support. This time though he is the lead as a band leader and his endearing personality is worked to great advantage. And it helps that he is in an excellent cartoon as well. I didn't find the Cab Calloway imitation offensive but by today's standard there is a shade of political incorrectness about it. That said, the rest of the humour and caricatures work wonders, Paul Whiteman's was a definite standout. The animation is beautifully drawn and lovingly shaded in black and white. Nothing looks crude or flat here. The pacing is crisp and efficient, there is some great dialogue, especially "today you are a ham" and Mel Blanc's voice work is typically adept, if not perhaps among his best. The best asset though is the music, which is so upbeat and catchy that it'd raise the spirits of anybody regardless of their mood before. All in all, an excellent cartoon if not among my absolute favourites. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Excellent short rarely seen these days

[llltdesq · 9/10 · 18 May 2002]

This is an excellent cartoon with a great score that is not aired on television these days because 1) it has the temerity to be in black and white and 2) Porky imitates Cab Calloway at one point and that's considered offensive, or so some think, anyway. That's a shame, because there's a beautiful caricature of Paul Whiteman as well and it's just a great short all around. Well worth the effort to track down. Highly recommended.

"Today you are a ham!"

[slymusic · 14 October 2008]

One of my favorite Frank Tashlin-directed Warner Bros. cartoons is the highly entertaining "Porky at the Crocadero". In it, the adorable Porky Pig has a passionate ambition to become a bandleader someday. In an unexpected manner, Porky's dream comes true!

My personal favorite highlights from this cartoon include the following (but PLEASE don't read the rest of this commentary until after you see the cartoon). I absolutely love Porky's boyish enthusiasm at the beginning as he happily tells us his plans and shows us his music diploma; he then imitates a few famous bandleaders (Stokowski, Vallee, and Goodman), with some appropriate musical accompaniment from our friend Carl Stalling. And how could I not marvel at Porky's wild scat singing capability as he masquerades as the great Cab Calloway?

If you are a lover of music from the Big Band Era, then you gotta see "Porky at the Crocadero"! You can find it on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 Disc 4. Do yourself a favor and enjoy this wonderful cartoon!