by Linda Kay
Directed by: Cal Dalton, Cal Howard
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: A group of hep cats attend a college where Swingology is about the only course one needs to pass in this Merrie Melodies short.
Cartoon Cats: This short seems to be a direct adaptation of Kay Kayser and his Kollege of Musical Knowledge in which band leader Kyser donned a professor’s robes (on radio and later on film) to answer listener’s questions. In this short a group of decidedly 30’s era college kids (who just happen to be actual cats) arrive at the school (which strangely seems way out of proportion regarding the typical size of cats . . . for instance one cat seems barely as tall as a can of condensed milk!)
Inside the Swingology classroom the cats are all swinging to a beat except for one nerdy cat named Johnny (voiced by Johnnie Davis) who just can’t seem to get it together.
The professor’s desk rises out of the floor as he also jives to the beat.
The students greet him with a hip song, to which he (and his likeness on the chalkboard) dance.
The cats sing their history lessons about Columbus and Napoleon.
When Johnny is called upon to perform his lessons, he only stumbles awkwardly.
Johnny is forced to wear a dunce cap as the other students make fun of him.
Even his love interest, Kitty Bright (voiced by Mabel Todd), gives him back the watch he gave her and assures him that having rhythm is as easy as falling off a log.
That night the cats all get together to sing and dance at the back yard fence.
Johnny finally finds the beat from the ticking pendulum of the clock on the wall.
Needless to say the other students are shocked when Johnny shows up and can not only sing and dance but play the trumpet, impressing Kitty Bright.
Final Mewsings: All cats are hip in their own way!
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