Felix in Hollywood
About Felix in Hollywood
Felix and his master are broke and want to reach Hollywood, so Felix is sent to earn the fare. A shoe-store owner promises him money if he brings in customers. Felix plants bubble gum, the customers come, and the owner will not pay. Felix gets to a studio anyway. He finds Douglas Fairbanks tied up and under attack by giant mosquitoes, grabs a gun from William S. Hart, and shoots them. Cecil B. DeMille, who has been shooting the scene, offers Felix a contract. Charlie Chaplin accuses him of stealing the walk when Felix turns his tail into a cane.
Cast & crew
More about Felix in Hollywood
Otto Messmer directed, with animation by Messmer and Bill Nolan. Pat Sullivan produced. Margaret J. Winkler distributed it. Released July 15, 1923.
Themes
In film history
Later cartoon visits to Hollywood, with stars drawn as themselves, follow the device this short put on screen in 1923.
Making
Messmer drew the star caricatures into a job-hunting plot so the gags could land on people audiences already knew from live-action bills.
Preservation
Prints survive and the short is widely screened.
Notes
- It is the first animated cartoon known to use caricatures of Hollywood stars. Besides Chaplin, Fairbanks, Hart, and DeMille, Felix passes Will Hays, Snub Pollard, Ben Turpin, and Gloria Swanson, the last seen through a dressing-room keyhole.
- A 1994 poll of animators and historians, The 50 Greatest Cartoons, placed it at number 50.
Scenes
- Felix turns his tail into a cane and copies Chaplin's walk.
- He shoots the mosquitoes off Fairbanks with Hart's gun.
Quotes
Stealing my stuff.
