User Reviews

This short is jammed with caricatures of notables-mostly actors and actresses, but J. Edgar Hoover is here too, as are Leopold Stowkowski and Sally Rand. Not only stars (Gable, Garbo and Grant) but character actors (the almost mandatory Ned Sparks appearance is here) as well. It was an excellent concept, tailor-made for the animators. Their audience would recognize the caricatures and get the jokes easily. This is one of the better ones. Most, if not all the animation studios did at least one or two such shorts. Well worth looking for. Most recommended.

The Hollywood set steps out at Ciro's to be precise, where the night-clubbing action is exclusively set. The script is not particularly amusing or inventive, but fascinating all the same. The voice impersonations are mostly very skillful. One of the longest spots has Jimmy Stewart declining an invitation to rumba. At least two gags deal with Crosby's horse-racing ventures, whilst the climax features a bubble dance by "Sally Strand". Naturally the stars in evidence at Ciro's on this particular night (Dinner $50 and up. Easy terms available) are weighted in favor of Warner Bros, though a number of "foreign" stars receive a fair innings including the Hardys (both real and fictional), the Three Stooges, and Harpo Marx. Some of the faces are glimpsed so fleetingly they will be difficult for a 2007 audience to recognize. And maybe two or three are now forgotten.

Musically, the film is a feast for song-lovers with snatches from Nat Ayer's "Oh, You Beautiful Doll", Tony Jackson and Egbert Van Alstyne's "Pretty Baby", Allie Wrubel's "The Lady in Red", Isham Jones' "It Had To Be You", James Brockman, James Kendis and Nat Vincent's "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles", M.K. Jerome's "Congo", Harry Warren's "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", Murray Mencher's "Merrily We Roll Along" and others, all delightfully rendered by the studio orchestra under the baton of Leo F. Forbstein.

To sum up: In view of the star line-up, somewhat disappointing, but still a must for all movie buffs.

Set in the Legenday Hollywood hills restaurant Ciro's, this Tex Avery directed Looney Tunes short has way too many caricatures of popular actors and actresses of yesteryear to list them all here. It's notable to know that the stripper/ dancer scene is a prelude of shorts to Avery's later 'Red Hot Riding Hood' cartoons. It's a very interesting short and transports you back to the '30's even if you were born, like me, much MUCH later. This animated short can be seen on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 and also features an optional commentary by Greg Ford.

My Grade: A-

Were else could you see Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Oliver Hardy, James Cagney, Bing Crosby, Edward G. Robinson, The Three Stooges, Ann Sheridan, Johnny Weismuller in his Tarzan getup, Stripper Sally Rand with no getup, Harpo Marx, Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart, Mickeyu Rooney and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover all in the same movie? Only in a classic Looney Tunes cartoon like this! There were more, too. I couldn't spot them all.

It's a big night in Hollywood with tons of searchlights lighting up the skies, moving to the South American music. The camera zooms in from the air to Ciro's and quickly makes fun of the high prices at the exclusive restaurant. Inside is where we see all the movie celebrities, beginning with Cary Grant who refers to several of his movies in one sentence. It goes on from there, and is a lot of fun to watch.....at least if you are a fan of the Golden Age Of Movies.

It's just a showcase for some "star gazing" and some of the music of the period. Seeing the stars dance to the conga was the funniest bit, I thought, although the ending made me laugh out loud, too. (The biggest ham of the night? Clark Gable.)

Tex Avery's 'Hollywood Steps Out' is a Hollywood caricature spot-gag cartoon which is mostly notable for film buffs who still recognise the celebrities being lampooned. As a film buff myself, I still enjoy 'Hollywood Steps Out' to a degree but it's more historically interesting than hilarious. Inevitably, there are a handful of gags that are difficult to understand for modern audiences but the cartoon is less dated that other reference-based cartoons thanks to a continued interest in the Golden Age of Hollywood. So even the most casual of movie fans should recognise the likes of Groucho Marx, Jimmy Stewart, Bing Crosby or the Three Stooges. It's a charming little short really but it lacks the punch that it would have had when the stars it was depicting were current celebrity icons. 'Hollywood Steps Out', then, is a fun star-spotting exercise for fans of classic entertainment and many of the jokes still work OK but there's nothing here that's likely to have you rolling in the aisles.

Hollywood Steps Out is a cartoon short that is basically a comedy gig. Set in Cir's Nightclub, the short features a massive cast of characters that are basically parodies of Hollywood stars of the time, like Bing Crosby, Harpo Marx, Groucho Marx, Clark Gable, The Three Stooges, Humphrey Bogart, and even Frankenstein's Monster (who is a stand in for Boris Karloff). Also, there is a musical number and a scene where Sally Strand (meant to be a parody of Sally Rand).

One of the early Looney Tunes shorts not featuring Bugs Bunny or his ilk, "Hollywood Steps Out" portrays bar Ciro's, frequented by the top stars from the '30s and '40s. It's a good thing that I saw this now, when I'm old enough to understand it; if I'd seen it when I was six or so, I wouldn't have understood any of it (let's face it: how many little children can identify Henry Fonda, Greta Garbo and Jimmy Stewart?). Two glowing omissions - at least in my opinion - were Charlie Chaplin and Katharine Hepburn (what makes this especially irritating is that they included Bing Crosby). But still, it's a pretty likable cartoon. A similar one was "Slick Hare".

Yeah, it would be funny seeing him there.

What is this rubbish about this cartoon being confusing - confusing - really??? Anyway, although this short is not the very, very best piece of animation from Warner Bros., how can you not like it? It moves very quickly, has tons of celebrities (even though you might know who they are), and the music is wonderful. Please watch it on it's own merit, without any kind of bias. Forget about not knowing who all the celebrities are - just enjoy the sight gags, which are definitely funny. Also forget about any jokes that you cannot understand. The statement from someone on this board stating that the jokes are too difficult to understand, is something that I cannot understand, as just about anyone from around age 6 and up can understand or at least appreciate this cartoon. The jokes and sight gags are very obvious. So, why anyone cannot understand the jokes, etc. is a mystery to me! At any rate, just relax, enjoy the fantastic music (The CONGA, by the way, NOT the CHA-CHA as someone mentioned on this board), and the fast pace, and the great animation. This cartoon is very fun, in 1941, in 1975 and in 2009.

This must have been quite amusing in its day, and the mass of stars caricatured in it must have had a right old giggle when they saw themselves, but today it looks like one of those self-satisfied films that are pleased with how clever they are irrespective of the fact that they contain very little entertainment value. There's no plot to speak of, which would have been forgivable if there had been plenty of humour but there isn't really much of that either. The film will be of interest to those people like me who have an interest in all aspects of cinema but will be of only passing interest to most other people - and probably completely meaningless to anybody under 25 or so.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best he ever did. 'Hollywood Steps Out' is an atypical Avery cartoon somewhat, and while it is not one of his very best it's greatly entertaining. A few of the caricatures are a little too brief, but what makes 'Hollywood Steps Out' better than a lot of caricature/celebrity lampooning cartoons is that to me the celebrities were all easy to spot and recognise and they were never less than very amusing. Nothing went over my head and the cartoon made me nostalgic for the classic Hollywood age.

It is no surprise either that the animation is superb, being rich in colour and detail. The character designs are fluid and well drawn, if not the creative ones of his very best cartoons. Carl Stalling's music is lush and characterful, with clever orchestration and a mastery of not just adding to the action but enhancing it as well (Stalling was a near-unequalled master at this, though Scott Bradley gave him a run for his money). The songs featured are catchy and toe-tapping.

'Hollywood Steps Out' is never less than very amusing and is hugely entertaining, if not always hilarious. The ending is particularly funny. The caricatures of famous celebrities of the classic Hollywood age induce a lot of nostalgia and are very cleverly done.

The voice work is superb, most in multiple roles with Sara Berner and particularly Dave Barry having the lion's share.

Overall, great caricature cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox

If you're someone who's not at all familiar with the 40+ Hollywood personalities (from yesteryear) caricatured in this animated "Merrie Melodies" short from 1941, then, you're probably less likely to be entertained by it as are those viewers who actually do recognize these people.

Directed by Tex Avery - "Hollywood Steps Out" invites the viewer inside Ciro's popular nightclub where (on a typical evening) some of the biggest stars in Tinseltown dine, dance, and hobnob (as well as seek the distraction of amusement by lesser-known entertainers in the business of show business, too).

Anyway - From a decidedly nostalgic perspective, I'd definitely say that "Hollywood Steps Out" is at least well-worth a view.

I am a huge fan of the Golden Age of Hollywood, but even I had a hard time sticking with this old and rather lame cartoon from Warner Brothers. I was able to follow the many inside jokes and I knew who the celebrities were who were being parodied, but nowadays most people won't know who the actors are who are being featured--meaning that the film certainly would have gone over a lot better in 1941. The problem, though, is that even if you do know who everyone is and what the references were about, it just wasn't particularly funny. As for me, I much prefer a Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck cartoon from the same time period. Still, it is an interesting curio that old movie buffs or historians might enjoy--just be forewarned that it's far from Warner's best.

As a huge fan of old Hollywood I always loved this cartoon. I find it amusing how younger folks have a difficult time understanding it due to the fact they probably don't watch enough old movies to know who these stars are. In the Wikipedia article on this cartoon, they mention the actor sitting with Claudette Colbert early on as Don Ameche. Upon repeated viewing I'm inclined to think it's the great George Brent. It looks too much like him and he was a much bigger star than Ameche ever became. Although brilliant I will agree it is dated in that all the references pertain to movies of that era. As a 55 year old, I grew up when these movies were staples on television and recognized almost all of the stars. All in all this is a great representation of when Hollywood was truly loaded with big movie stars. I'd cringe to think of what a modern version would look like. On a final note, there is nothing confusing about this cartoon and it doesn't matter if children don't get it. These cartoons were never meant for children as they were shown in movie theaters prior to the main events. I'd find it almost impossible to recreate this with today's version of Hollywood.

This is a plotless feature where great joy comes from trying to name all the stars that appear. The list goes on forever. The caricatures are wonderfully drawn and a piece of their personality is attached. The fact that these are mostly recognizable speaks volumes about their enduring stardom. I won't list any of them because others have taken care of that. It did make me want to resurrect some of those movies. I thought the treatment of Greta Garbo was a bit cruel. But otherwise, it was spot on.

I came across this cartoon on a youtube compilation today. The caricatured celebrities are really well done and look like their real life selves.

Amazing they used their real life voices too - would have been a who's who of celebrities in the studio. I loved Greta Garbo and was surprised to see Kay Kyser (I love his movie That's Right You're Wrong).

A few of the "jokes" I am sure I missed and a couple of the actors I'm not familiar with.

Overall it was funny and it kept my attention - I actually watched it a few times. When watching, open the Trivia section to make it easier to spot who is who.

For today's viewers, unfortunately it probably only has appeal to those familiar with celebrities of the 1930s. A lot of the humor would be missed if you haven't heard of the actors.

I'd be interested to know why they chose these celebrities and omitted others - perhaps others were invited but declined. Or perhaps they were popular in 1939/40

In summary, I highly recommend seeing the cartoon and I believe it is historically significant.

One of my favorite Looney Tunes short film Because it is a slice of cinema history , used in seductive manner, proposing nice references, giving the right traits of characters and preserving the nice irony and the spirit of the serie. So, just lovely.

My God, the young man was 17 when this came out and he voiced FOURTEEN of these characters! He died in a WWII training flight in 1944 at the age of 20. What a tragedy. You'd have to think he would have gone down as one of the greatest voice artists of all-time, maybe right up there with Mel Blanc, if he'd lived longer. The cartoon itself has no plot other following around the cartoon versions of several of our favorite golden age celebrities at a night club. I particularly like ladies man Clark Gable strutting around after a woman as the cartoon's running theme. That's so perfect for Gable's reputation as the womanizing King of Hollywood. It's a fun cartoon, not one of the greats, but truly great voice work from the amazingly talented Kent Rogers.

Hollywood Steps Out (1941)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Delightful Warner short doesn't have any real story to speak of but the highlight here is seeing all sorts of Hollywood stars out dancing at a club. We get countless cameos including Gable, Garbo, Hardy, Cagney, Bogart, Robinson, The Three Stooges, Rooney, Stewart, Weismuller, Grant and many others including Karloff as the Frankenstein monster. Again, there's no real story going on here as the entire seven-minutes is just a set up for the various stars to run into one another. There are quite a few highlights but one would have to be the seen with Cagney and Bogart planning some crimes. Another is the brilliant final gag that I won't spoil here but it certainly ends the film on a big laugh. It was also fun seeing all the spoofs thrown at Gable but one of the biggest laughs comes from an Andy Hardy joke. The film contains the usual great animation, nice score and the brilliant voice work by Mel Blanc.