Bubbles (1930)

Director:

Roy Mack

Genre:

Fantasy | Short | Music

Plot:

A Vitaphone Varieties short. Features costumed children in a cavern-like land of 'make believe' where they sing and tap dance...

Plot Keywords:

Vitaphone Varieties | Singer | Tap Dancing

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

The Vitaphone Kiddies

...

Themselves

Runtime:

8 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Vitaphone Corporation, The

Trivia:

This short film is featured on Warner Brothers' "Two-Disc Special Edition" DVD for Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), released in 2004.

Soundtrack:

Lady Luck

truly bizarre

This bizarre little film opens with a young child sitting with an older girl who sings her a song about what it would be like to go to the moon in a bubble whilst a rotund man, who I am assuming is supposed to be an overgrown boy, blows bubbles through a wand. Then we are on the moon, although the set is designed to look like a subterranean cavern. It is here that the creepy moon man, who smokes a cigar and is wearing a large collar that looks like tho ones dogs get after they've been to the vet, oversees the antics of the child performers. (Much of this film's creep factor is due to this guy not seeming like one you'd want to have around your kids.) The performers include the Gumm Sisters as the "moon maidens"(featuring a very young, very cute Judy Garland), an ensemble of "stars" who actually tap dance en pointe (!), the "hot little comet" (an over-enthusiastic jazz dancer), and the "little whirlwind" (a seemingly boneless little contortionist). The finale is the entire cast dancing the "moonstep." The first time I watched "Bubbles" it was as one not being able to look away from a bad car accident. However, it has since become an cult favorite amongst myself and my friends.