. . . this prophetic (but, like always, unheeded) Warner Bros. warning to Gary Cooper's co-star and Carole Lombard's fiancée, crooner Ruggiero Eugenio "Russ" Di Rodolfo Columbo, baritone violinist songwriter of "You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love" and "Prisoner of Love." Warner Bros.' psychic Looney Tuners begin their animated short CROSBY, COLUMBO AND VALLEE with a chanting circle of sinister Native Americans threatening "When it comes to pale face enemies, (we) know only three--Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee . . . they made a million Injun women wish that they were free (now I know what's become of Sally)." Less than two years later 26-year-old Russ Columbo, who'd starred with Cooper in THE TEXAN, who had another hit movie just coming out, who was about to announce his engagement to Lombard, and who was on the cusp of Mega-stardom like Selena, got gunned down by his "best friend"--shot through his brain--with an antique dueling pistol "by accident." As soon as I saw the "smoking gun" of CROSBY, COLUMBO AND VALLE I smelled a rat, being keenly aware of how the String Theory Principle of Quantum Physics proves that Looney Tunes have dictated virtually every significant event in America History since the early 1930s. Sure enough, when I had our resident genealogical researcher look into Columbo killer Lansing Vanwoert Brown, Junior's background, he discovered that not only was Brown one sixty-fourth Cherokee, but that crooner Columbo had fathered a child by Brown's Lakota Sioux Sweetie (Sallee Begay) and eventual common-law wife. As a result of this kerfuffle, Clark Gable wound up with Ms. Lombard, and America lost 37 hit songs never-to-be-written by he who would have gone down in history as "The Spanish Elvis."

This was a one-shot cartoon done by Harman and Ising for Warner Brothers. There will be spoilers ahead:The title of this short derives from what is essentially a novelty song of the same title, bemoaning the three singers referred to (Bing Crosby, Russ Columbo and Rudy Vallee) and their effect on homes and marriages by being played on the radio and heard in homes across the country.The short actually begins with a group of Indians dancing and singing complainingly about the three. The best bit of business here is when the three names are intoned by animals on a totem pole. Otherwise, the beginning is a bit stale.The short then shows an Indian brave paddling a canoe in the best extended bit of animation to be found in the short. The brave plays the type of role later taken on by the character of Buddy, who was developed after Harman and Ising left Warner Brothers and took Bosko with them. In other words, he's as bland as dry toast.There's a long sequence in the middle of the short where the brave is trying to win the heart of Minnehaha with the help of a radio and extolling the virtues of the three singers. While there are some decent bits here, the cartoon simply marks time until the five minute mark, when a fire starts and some flames break loose and start burning trees. There's a cute bit with a tree shown in its underwear after the flames burn off its bark.The flames then burn a tree with a nest holding three baby birds, who proceed to chant for help. Heard by the brave, he enlists the aid of some flies to bring a spider web over to serve as a net to catch the birds in when they jump. The end is reasonably cute.This short is worth seeing.

I, too, first came across watching this Merrie Melody short via Youtube a while back earlier this year. I love it and it's since become another of my favorites. Indeed enjoyable, entertaining and recommendable because it features the music of and makes references toward at least two-thirds of the eponymous cartoon's singers played/heard in it. Their music is from a time back when music was still at an all-time high commercially and I'm sure that there were more good mainstream songs than not. For those who are new to this, take a chance on it if y'all think y'all are ready, willing and able to get into the musical sub-genres from the past decades and have eclectic taste. Y'all may never know and just might find yourselves getting into the samplings of the vocal and traditional pop stylings like I did. Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee were real talent, not like the majority of what we hear today above the ground. My favorite parts are the performances of this number, the dog impersonating Rudy Vallee and the young Native brave coming to the aid of the birds when the little flames spread. A good lesson in quality music for those who've heard of none of these three crooners. This should put a smile on everyone's face, it certainly made me happy while watching it.

This is an amusing old cartoon I saw twenty or so years ago. An Indian tribe has a problem - the woman all love Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee, and Ross Columbo (three of the four leading crooners of the 1920s into the 1940s, with Al Jolson probably being the fourth). Now, some seventy seven years later, the cartoon probably raises questions among the young watching it: they might recall Crosby, who had a great movie career (with or without his pal Bob Hope) copped by an Oscar, as well as a leading singing career - best known for "White Christmas". They can possibly be aware of Rudy Vallee due to his performances in some film, culminating in his repeating his stage triumph as "J. P. Biggley" in HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, but it is hard for me to believe they would recall his megaphone antics with songs like, "There is a tavern in the town" or "The Wippenproof Song". By the end of the 1930s, while still popular he was nowhere near Crosby in popularity.Columbo is the real problem. Most of his songs are long forgotten (except by his fans of course), and he is best recalled for his bizarre death (shot "accidentally" (?) by a very close male friend shortly after announcing his engagement to actress Carole Lombard). Whether it was murder of not, it is his taking off that most people recall. It's too bad, because he was a good singer, and quite handsome. He might have gone as far as Crosby.The little jingle tune in honor of the three (with the singer doing imitations of them in the course of the song) is what I most recall from this cartoon. It was not a great song, but it was lively. So was the animation, leading up to a forest fire, and the rescue of a nest of birds. It is a sweet cartoon - of a somewhat gentler time in our culture.