MERRIE MELODIES / "Gift Wrapped" - 1951

I actually found a Christmas cartoon in my Looney Tunes Golden collection, so here we go with another classic WB story written by Warren Foster and directed by Friz Freleng.

What a nice memory of times past (I was 3 in 1951) when things were nice and simple, but had so much more damn meaning than the totally screwed up place we have now...

It's Christmas Eve and Sylvester is beside himself in joy, expecting some terrific gift and all, he's been such a good kitty you know!

But, he finds his gift, joyfully unwraps it, and it's a lousy rubber mouse!

So, he goes over to Granny's large package to get a peek inside...

Sylvester is soooo sly and sneaky by changing names on the packages that he thinks he'll actually get away with it.

Granny opens her present, wait a minute, what the, this must be for Sylvester!

After Sylvester has already gulped Tweety down once, Granny demands that he makes up with the little boidie with a kiss under some mistletoe. So, Granny has to pound Tweety out of Sylvester yet again.

So, Granny hangs Tweety's cage on the ceiling so that Sylvester can't get to him! The wily cat has an answer for everything, but when Tweety tells Sylvester that the big present under the tree is for him...

He runs over to the tree, quickly unwraps the box and gets a big surprise!

And Granny then has to pound the dog to get Sylvester out!!

Sylvester cuts a hole in the ceiling and lowers a hook down to pull the cage up to him. Well, you get the picture.

This time Sylvester lets Tweety shoot him in the face with his little pop gun!

Tweety's riding on the toy train so Sylvester figures out a way to get the little bird back into his stomach.

But the dog gulps down Sylvester and Granny has double duty until she gets things straightened out a bit...

Granny has it all under control now. She has them all sing a Christmas carol along with her as she plays the organ.

Well, that's one way to solve a problem!.. Tune in again on Wednesday when the Dungeon Dudes are back with another post, just for you!.. Oh, and that guy over there!

LOVE THAT BOB - "Grandpa's Christmas Visit" (1955)

 

Here's a festive and fun holiday Saturday Night Special for you from 1955, an episode from "The Bob Cummings Show," or "Love That Bob," whatever you want to call it, called

"Grandpa's Christmas Visit."

If you're not familiar with this sitcom, it's about a fashion photographer called Bob Collins, who was played by yet another Dungeon Hero, Bob Cummings. That's Rosemary (13 Ghosts) DeCamp as his sister Margaret, and her son Chuck as played by Dwayne (Dobie Gillis) Hickman.

To show off his multi-dimensional talents, Bob Cummings also plays the role of Grandpa!

Being a modest man, Bob only takes credit for the role of Bob Collins, and Grandpa Collins is credited at the end as being played by "The Pride of Jopin, Missouri," which is where Bob Cummings was actually born!

 

Pretty cool split screen special effects for a TV show done in 1955!

The art of photography has come a long way in 65 years. Thank goodness we don't have to use flash powder anymore!

 

SMILE!!

 It's pretty funny when they show you the photo that Grandpa took!

Bob and Margaret are both pretty hung over from a Christmas party, and they think poor Grandpa must be sleeping in, but he's really outside shooting hoops!

In fact, Grandpa feels so good, he wants to take Chuck's new bike for a spin!

Bob's main squeeze at the moment is this gorgeous model named Mary Beth Hall who was played by Gloria (Roadracers) Marshall, and that's Bob's secretary Schultzy played by Ann B. Davis who was also Alice on "The Brady Bunch."

Bob tells Grandpa to come to his studio and check out his new equipment.............

.....................And of course Grandpa gets all the wrong ideas!

Bob decides to try and get Grandpa hooked up with Mrs. Taylor down the street, someone more his own age, and he calls her and impersonates Grandpa on the phone, and indeed, she'd love to come down and play checkers!

Bob and Mary Beth have a dinner date and Mary Beth is starving since she has been on a diet trying to get her 25 inch waist down to 23 inches, and while waiting on Bob, she peeks inside the refrigerator! 

 

That turkey leg was just too appealing.

Grandpa returns with a box of chocolate covered cherries because he still thinks he has a date with Mary Beth.

At this point Mary Beth doesn't care who she's going out with, as long as she gets something to eat!

 

So Grandpa and Mary Beth end up going out to dinner, and Bob gets stuck staying home and playing checkers with Mrs. Taylor who has just suggested they play a series of eight out of fifteen matches! Bob graciously agrees, and that's where this great story ends!

DON'T BE AFRAID / Growing Up In the Early Fifties - 1952

Strangely enough, I found this one on Something Weird's MONSTERS CRASH THE PAJAMA PARTY Spook Show Madness compilation DVD. 

It's about kids and their fears, and how to conquer them, a public service short produced by Encyclopedia Britannia Films that was probably shown to 4th graders back in the day.

Billy's in his room looking through some books when mom comes in and says, time for bed. He reluctantly gets into bed and mom covers him up. 

She turns off the lights and shuts the door on her way out...

The little guy's having trouble falling asleep. He looks around the room, it's always a little spooky at night, things can take on a creepy feel you know.

He hears something outside and calls for help! Mom comes in and they sit down and talk about being afraid of the dark. She tells him many people have fear...

Like, remember the time she caught the skillet on fire while cooking breakfast, well, she was filled with fear about that.

Then Billy remembers the time he accidently threw a friend's ball on top of the roof at school and the boy told him to climb the wall and retrieve the ball. Are you kidding??!!!

Then Billy remembers the time his friend Kathy was scared to be around dogs and ran away when she saw him with one.

Oh, and when another friend hid in the basement after getting bad grades and scared his parents because they couldn't find him...

Mom says, that's why it's always good to talk about your fears with others, and Billy agrees.

Mom explains that dad just came over and put a lid over the fire and viola, it's out. But I'd like to know how she caught some eggs on fire!

Billy chimes in about how the maintenance man came and got the ball down from the roof at school instead of him climbing the wall...

And how Kathy now loves dogs after getting a cute little puppy of her own.

Or the friend who thought his parents wouldn't love him any more because of his bad grades, but after talking with his parents, they assure him that they'd love him no matter what, and they helped him improve his grades.

Then Billy tells mom that his fear is that her and dad might leave without telling him while he's asleep! Of course they would never do that and Billy feels better about everything.

It's okay to turn the lights off, but could you just leave the door cracked open? For sure! So, there you have it, good advice for back then. But today, it's like... DON'T BE AFRAID TO BE AFRAID!!! We're back tomorrow, see you then...