| Mickey's Gala Premier | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Burt Gillett |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Music by | Frank Churchill |
| Animation by | Ed Love (uncredited) |
| Color process | Black-and-white (colorized in 1991[1]) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Mickey's Gala Premier is aWalt Disneycartoon produced in 1933, directed byBurt Gillett, and featuring parodies of several famousHollywood film actors from the 1930s. It was the 58th Mickey Mouse short film, and the eighth of that year.[3]
Some sources claim this cartoon is called"Mickey's GalaPremiere", but"Premier" can be clearly read from the title card.
A newMickey Mouse cartoon is having its premiere in theGrauman's Chinese Theatre inHollywood. Several Hollywood celebrities all arrive inlimousines to attend this special event. OutsideThe Keystone Cops (Ben Turpin,Ford Sterling,Mack Swain,Harry Langdon andChester Conklin) are guarding the traffic.
Wallace Beery,Marie Dressler,Lionel Barrymore,John Barrymore andEthel Barrymore step out of the first limousine, all costumed as in the filmRasputin and the Empress (1932). ThenLaurel and Hardy leave the car and close the door behind them. InsideThe Marx Brothers all stick their heads out of the car window.
In the next sceneMaurice Chevalier,Eddie Cantor costumed as in the filmThe Kid from Spain, andJimmy Durante take turns singing in front of amicrophone. They are followed byJean Harlow,Joan Crawford costumed as in the filmRain andJanet Gaynor all singing new lyrics to the chant. FinallyHarold Lloyd,Clark Gable,Edward G. Robinson, andAdolphe Menjou join in to conclude the song.
Sid Grauman is saluting all the guests.George Arliss andJoe E. Brown simply enter, butCharlie Chaplin sneaks inside. ThenBuster Keaton enters the building, followed by The Marx Brothers all hidden underGroucho Marx' coat.Mae West enters, costumed as in the filmShe Done Him Wrong, and utters her famous line, "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?", which shocks and embarrasses Grauman.
ThenMickey Mouse,Minnie Mouse,Pluto,Horace Horsecollar, andClarabelle Cow arrive in a limousine and are cheered by the audience. Once inside the theatre Mickey's new cartoon,Gallopin' Romance (a parody itself of 1928'sThe Gallopin' Gaucho), premieres. The plot revolves around Mickey and Minnie playing music together, when suddenlyPegleg Pete kidnaps Minnie and drives off on a horse (Horace Horsecollar). Mickey chases him and beats Pete in the end, bringing Minnie to safety.
All the guests in the theatre move rhythmically to the music. We can seeHelen Hayes,William Powell,Chester Morris,Gloria Swanson, andGeorge Arliss in the audience. In the next close-up scenes the viewer can identifyJimmy Durante,Wallace Beery,Marie Dressler,Rudy Vallee, Eddie Cantor,Joan Crawford,Will H. Hays (dressed as aking in reference to his position as"CensorshipCzar") andMyrna Loy.Ed Wynn,Wheeler & Woolsey,Laurel & Hardy all laugh with the cartoon.Bela Lugosi (dressed asCount Dracula),Fredric March (dressed asMr. Hyde) andBoris Karloff (dressed asFrankenstein's monster) do the same, but with spookyevil laughter.Joe E. Brown laughs so loud that his enormous mouth opens wide, whileBuster Keaton keeps hispoker face.Jimmy Durante andDouglas Fairbanks laugh so loud that they literally "roll in the aisles". They are joined in by Groucho Marx, Joe E. Brown, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Laurel and Hardy. As the cartoon ends, the whole audience applauds and congratulates Mickey with his success, but Mickey is so shy that he has to be pulled on the stage byWill Rogers with a rope. All the Hollywood actors now shake Mickey's hands, and humorously, his feet, to congratulate him with his success. ThenGreta Garbo, no longer wanting to be alone, walks onto the stage and starts covering Mickey's face with kisses. Mickey then wakes up in his bed, while Pluto is licking his face. Mickey wonders if he was dreaming, and then the scene irises out.
Other Hollywood celebrities that can be spotted in the crowd scenes:Constance Bennett,Warner Baxter, andWalt Disney (as the fourth person on the right, in the scene where the other actors shy away because Garbo enters the stage).
On 1 September 1939,Mickey's Gala Premier was the final programme broadcast by the BBC Television Service (today known asBBC One) before it ceased broadcasting duringWorld War II.[4] Anurban legend about this final broadcast claims that due to the sudden outbreak of the war the BBC cut the transmission mid-programme and when BBC-TV resumed after the conflict, it was picked up at the very point it had been interrupted.[5]
Despite this widespread belief, the cartoon was shown in its entirety and then followed by tuning signals. On 7 June 1946, the day BBC television broadcasts resumed after the war,Mickey's Gala Premier was shown again.[6]
The short was released on December 2, 2002, onWalt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White.[7]
