Have You Got Any Castles 1938

Have you Got Any Castles? 1938Show more

Another entry in the "books come alive" subgenre, with possibly more books coming alive than any other. We begin with some musical numbers, notably the various pages of Green Pastures all joining in on a song, The Thin Man entering The White House Cookbook and exiting much fatter, and The House of Seven (Clark) Gables singing backup to Old King Cole. The Three Musketeers...

Directors: Frank Tashlin, Friz Freleng (archive footage)
Writers: Harriet Beecher Stowe (character: Uncle Tom), Daniel Defoe (character: Robinson Crusoe), Charles Dickens (character: Oliver Twist)
Stars: Mel Blanc (voice), The Four Blackbirds (archive sound), Delos Jewkes (voice)

Trivia
In public domain since 1966 when United Artists (successor to Associated Artists Productions) failed to renew the copyright within the 28-year period.

Goofs
Dr. Jekyll is spelled Dr. Jekyl in the opening.

Quotes
Rip Van Winkle: Old King Cole is a noisy old soul.

[Takes scissors and cuts Uncle Toms hair to use as ear plugs]

Alternate versions
The Blue Ribbon reissue version of this cartoon cuts out not only the credits, but the opening and closing gags. Here is what is cut.
The opening with a caricture of Alexander Wolcott as a "Town Crier" is deleted. All that is visible is the shadow of him ringing a bell. Wolcott was upset over his caricature, and made W.B. cut it out.
The gag closest to the ending again features Alexander Wolcott, which has also been excised.
The ending gag that involves Rip Van Winkle tying the cuckoo clock bird's beak shut so that he can get some sleep. The new Looney Tunes DVD set released in 2004 released the longest cut available, featuring all of the cut scenes above, except the opening credits. However, it still has the "blue ribbon" in the opening.

Connections
Edited from Clean Pastures (1937)

Soundtracks
Poet and Peasant Overture
(uncredited)
Music by Franz von Suppé
Played during the opening scene and at the end