Page Miss Glory (1936 film)
Encyclopedia
Page Miss Glory is a 1936 cartoon produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions. The voices in this cartoon were provided by members of the Our Gang
series. Most of this short takes place in the form of a dream sequence
.
at the same. A man arrives and asks the now grown-up bellboy to deliver a message to Miss Glory, who is staying at that hotel.
At this point, a band begins singing, with Abner the bellboy joining in singing "Page Miss Glory" (at this time, it was common for cartoon shorts to be based on songs, with "I Love to Singa
", also released in 1936, based on the same song, being another example). The distinct pronunciation in how the bellboy says "Glory" as "Glore-EE" is loosely based upon the bellboy character in the Philip Morris cigarette advertisements on radio and later television who always called out for "Phil-ip More-Iss" as he made his way through a hotel. That character was played by Johnny Roventini
for nearly 40 years. The bellboy eventually "meets" someone who he thinks is Miss Glory, but makes the mistake of standing on the train of her dress, ripping it off just as she crosses behind a potted plant. This woman then takes two large leaves off the same plant and begins performing a fan dance
, oblivious to the fact that others are watching her dancing for a while. Eventually, the presence of "Miss Glory" is announced over the hotel's PA
system, with everyone in the hotel apparently recognizing who Miss Glory is. Abner, in his rush to try to see her, is unable to get into any elevator for a while everyone else rushes, and eventually the bellboy brings back one of the elevators by turning its arrow, only for the elevator operator to then refuse to take him up. While "Miss Glory" is performing in the upper floors of the hotel (with the song also being sung), the boy is trying to figure out how to work the elevator, but ends up "knocked" out of the building and in front of a streetcar, which actually turns out to be the local hotel manager in Hicksville awakening Abner from his dream sequence to tell him that Miss Glory has indeed arrived—who turns out to be a young prepubescent girl, with Abner taken aback.
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
series. Most of this short takes place in the form of a dream sequence
Dream sequence
A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many...
.
Plot
The cartoon opens with a town of Hicksville preparing to welcome Miss Glory. In a nearby hotel, a young boy, Abner, is anxiously awaiting her arrival, and has prepared for it, but falls asleep while waiting. As he "sleeps", he enters a dream sequence whereupon the hotel ends up morphing into the Cosmopolitan Hotel, an upscale big city hotel, with Abner morphing into a bellboyBellhop
A bellhop, also bellboy or bellman, is a hotel porter, who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform , like certain other page boys or doormen...
at the same. A man arrives and asks the now grown-up bellboy to deliver a message to Miss Glory, who is staying at that hotel.
At this point, a band begins singing, with Abner the bellboy joining in singing "Page Miss Glory" (at this time, it was common for cartoon shorts to be based on songs, with "I Love to Singa
I Love to Singa
I Love to Singa is a Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Tex Avery, produced by Leon Schlesinger, and released to theatres on July 18, 1936 by Warner Bros. and Vitaphone. I Love to Singa depicts the story of a young owlet who wants to sing jazz, instead of the classical music that his...
", also released in 1936, based on the same song, being another example). The distinct pronunciation in how the bellboy says "Glory" as "Glore-EE" is loosely based upon the bellboy character in the Philip Morris cigarette advertisements on radio and later television who always called out for "Phil-ip More-Iss" as he made his way through a hotel. That character was played by Johnny Roventini
Johnny Roventini
Johnny Roventini was an American dwarf actor of Italian-American heritage....
for nearly 40 years. The bellboy eventually "meets" someone who he thinks is Miss Glory, but makes the mistake of standing on the train of her dress, ripping it off just as she crosses behind a potted plant. This woman then takes two large leaves off the same plant and begins performing a fan dance
Fan dance
A fan dance is a dance performed with one or more fans. This form has been adapted in various countries. The Korean fan dance, for example, evolved from Joseon Dynasty court dances and remains a popular form of traditional Korean dance. The Spanish or Portuguese flamenco makes dramatic use of fans...
, oblivious to the fact that others are watching her dancing for a while. Eventually, the presence of "Miss Glory" is announced over the hotel's PA
Public address
A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
system, with everyone in the hotel apparently recognizing who Miss Glory is. Abner, in his rush to try to see her, is unable to get into any elevator for a while everyone else rushes, and eventually the bellboy brings back one of the elevators by turning its arrow, only for the elevator operator to then refuse to take him up. While "Miss Glory" is performing in the upper floors of the hotel (with the song also being sung), the boy is trying to figure out how to work the elevator, but ends up "knocked" out of the building and in front of a streetcar, which actually turns out to be the local hotel manager in Hicksville awakening Abner from his dream sequence to tell him that Miss Glory has indeed arrived—who turns out to be a young prepubescent girl, with Abner taken aback.
Availability
- Page Miss Glory is available on Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 is a four-disc DVD box set collection of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. Following the pattern of one release each year of the previous volumes, it was released on October 21, 2008....
, Disc 4.