. . . you'll wake up dead, but apparently it doesn't work that way in the Cartoon Universe. When Busby Berkeley has the live-action chick go over the high-rise balcony during "Broadway Melody," movie goers figure that she's kicked the bucket on pretty much every level. But when PAGE MISS GLORY's dozing bellboy floats down to the sidewalk like some specter of 9-11, strains of "Broadway Melody" trailing after him in the background, a streetcar stops just short of slicing him in half, so that the screaming hotel desk clerk can wake him up. However, despite that fact that Warner Bros. animators have drawn in many religious symbols and parables here, some of which could be taken as Islamic, I do not think that this is either Warner's most overt warning of an approaching September 11, or that that sad event is the primary focus of this cartoon. While it's true that more people died trapped inside elevators then than on any other date in recorded history, and PAGE MISS GLORY's hapless Bellboy becomes a Plinko Game Chip in elevators running amok, this is probably just a coincidence, or maybe a Real Bad Dream.

Tex Avery's 'Page Miss Glory' is one of the most beautiful cartoons ever made, a parody of the live action musical of the same name, incorporating art-deco experimentation into a lush, grandiose musical extravaganza. If ever testament were needed to Avery's directorial genius, 'Page Miss Glory' is ample answer alone. While a bellboy in Hicksville awaits the arrival of the much touted Miss Glory, he drifts off to sleep and fantasizes himself as bellboy in a huge luxury hotel in which all the male occupants are vying for the attention of the sultry Miss Glory. Stuffed to the gills with great gags and eye-popping visuals, 'Page Miss Glory' is a very early Warner Bros. masterpiece. Avery excels and, while his subsequent output would be crammed full of defining masterpieces, it's only a shame 'Page Miss Glory' seems to have got lost in the shuffle. It is, for want of a better word, truly a glorious creation.

In the mid 1930's Cosmopolitan Productions, a W. R. Hearst subsidiary for the purpose of producing and promoting his mistress, Marion Davies', moved from M.G.M. to Warner Brothers. Page Miss Glory was the title of a feature film starring Miss Davies and this cartoon shares not only the lilting song from the feature film, but also its title and a caricature of its star. The action occurs in the "Cosmopolitan" Hotel (get it?). It is all packaged in a dream sequence that goes from a hick town to an art deco metropolis and to say that it is eye candy all the way is to understate. There is a Busby Berkeley style musical number in the middle of the proceedings and of course the Marion Davies character is heavily featured as the mysterious and elusive "Miss Glory." Fun stuff! Don't miss this one.

There's something about the idealized look of early animation that appeals to me. This cartoon (though I haven't seen it in years) presents a peek into the imaginary high-living, cosmopolitan lifestyle of the well-to-do in the 1930's. The music is memorable, the drawing and shading are gorgeous. If you're anything like me this cartoon will have you longing for a life which only exists in our dreams.