Any Bonds Today?: Difference between revisions

Any Bonds Today?
Any Bonds Today?
Directed by	Robert Clampett
Written by	Robert Clampett
Produced by	Leon Schlesinger
Animation by	Virgil Ross; Robert McKimson; Gerry Chiniquy; Rod Scribner
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Leon Schlesinger Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures; The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	April 2, 1942;
Running time	1:38
Country	United States
Language	English

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"Any Bonds Today?" is a song written by Irving Berlin, featured in a 1942 animated propaganda film^[1] starring Bugs Bunny. Both were used to sell war bonds during World War II.

Song

"Any Bonds Today?" was based on Berlin's own "Any Yams Today," sung by Ginger Rogers in 1938's Carefree, which in turn was a modified version of "Any Love Today," which he wrote in 1931 but was not recorded.^[2]

Berlin wrote the tune "at the request" of Henry Morgenthau Jr., then U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, to promote the Treasury Department's defense bond and savings stamp drive, the National Defense Savings Program.^[3] The United States Treasury adopted the piece as the official song of the National Defense Savings Program in 1941.^[4] Its copyright, held by Morgenthau,^[5] is dated June 16, 1941.^[6]

Barry Wood introduced the song (along with another Berlin composition called "Arms for the Love of America") on Arsenal Day, June 10, 1941, at the War College in Washington, D.C.; he also recorded the song in the same week for RCA Victor.^[7] Wood's performance of the song was the first broadcast on radio, "in late June 1941"; it was also performed by the Andrews Sisters, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Dick Robertson, Kay Kyser,^[6] and Gene Autry in the 1942 film Home in Wyomin'.

Berlin signed over his royalty payments from the song to the war bond drive, as he did with several of his songs during the war.^[8]

Cartoon

The 90-second cartoon, commissioned by the Treasury, was designed to encourage movie theater audiences to buy defense bonds and stamps. Its title card identifies it as Leon Schlesinger Presents Bugs Bunny,^[1] but it is more widely known as "Any Bonds Today?" It was neither considered a Looney Tunes nor Merrie Melodies cartoon and was not part of the Bugs Bunny series (but a spin-off).

Bob Clampett wrote and directed the film, which started production in late November 1941 and was completed eight days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.^[9] According to an article of The Hollywood Reporter, it took three weeks to complete. Counting from the drawing of the first sketch to the shipping of the first print.^[1] The paper reported that production would typically last two months. It was reportedly produced "free of charge".^[1]

In it, Bugs Bunny approaches the audience while fife-playing "The Girl I Left Behind Me" on his carrot. He then sings a portion of Berlin's song against a patriotic backdrop, at one point going into a blackface parody of Al Jolson.^[10] For the song's last refrain, he is joined by Porky Pig in a Navy uniform, and Elmer Fudd in Army garb. The short ends with a graphic encouraging the audience "For defense, buy United States Savings Bonds and Stamps".^[11] Another graphic briefly followed, reminding audiences they could buy bonds and stamps "At This Theatre".

Because the short was made for the U.S. government, the short is automatically in the public domain in the United States.

The cartoon is additionally notable in animation history as being one of only five to use the short-lived "fat" design of Elmer Fudd modeled after his voice actor Arthur Q. Bryan.

Context

The cartoon was initially conceived to promote the sales of "defense bonds", which were renamed war bonds by the spring of 1942.^[11] Between feature films, or between the feature films and the animated shorts, the lights of the movie theater would come on and ushers would collect monetary contributions from the audience, to help finance the war effort.^[12] Bonds and stamps were also available at the box office on a daily basis- "including Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays"- for the duration of the conflict.

Sources

Cohen, Karl F. (2004), "Censorship of Theatrical Animation", Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators in America, McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-0786420322
Shull, Michael S.; Wilt, David E. (2004), "Filmography 1941", Doing Their Bit: Wartime American Animated Short Films, 1939-1945, McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-0786481699
Sigall, Martha (2005). "The Boys of Termite Terrace". Living Life Inside the Lines: Tales from the Golden Age of Animation. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781578067497.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cohen (2004), p. 40
^ Corliss, Richard (2001-12-30). "That Old Feeling: A Berlin Bio-pic". Time. Retrieved on 2009-02-25.
^ Jones, John Bush (2006)The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music and the Home Front, 1939-1945. (Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 198. Retrieved via Google Book Search on 2009-02-25.
^ Smith, Kathleen E.R. (28 March 2003). God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 19. ISBN 0-8131-2256-2.
^ Object Record: "Any Bonds Today?" sheet music, Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Retrieved on 2009-02-25.
^ ^a ^b Jones (2006), 198.
^ "Berlin-Washington Axis", TIME, June 23, 1941.
^ Smith, Kathleen E.R. (28 March 2003). God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 120. ISBN 0-8131-2256-2.
^ Lehman, Christopher P. (2008). The Colored Cartoon: Black Representation in American Animated Short Films, 1907-1954 Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 73. Retrieved via Google Book Search on 2009-02-25.
^ "Leon Schlesinger Presents Bugs Bunny (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.)".^{[dead link]}
^ ^a ^b Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 100-101
^ Sigall (2005), p. 54

Schneider, Steve (1990). That's All Folks!: The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Henry Holt & Co.

External links

Any Bonds Today? at IMDb
Full lyrics to the song
The National Archives' "Powers of Persuasion" exhibit; includes partial lyrics, an audio clip and an edited version of the cartoon (does not include blackface sequence)
Any Bonds Today? cartoon on YouTube (full version)

Preceded by The Wabbit Who Came to Supper	Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1942	Succeeded by The Wacky Wabbit

[Cohen-1] Cohen (2004), p. 40

[2] Corliss, Richard (2001-12-30). "That Old Feeling: A Berlin Bio-pic". Time. Retrieved on 2009-02-25.

[3] Jones, John Bush (2006)The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music and the Home Front, 1939-1945. (Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 198. Retrieved via Google Book Search on 2009-02-25.

[4] Smith, Kathleen E.R. (28 March 2003). God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 19. ISBN 0-8131-2256-2.

[5] Object Record: "Any Bonds Today?" sheet music, Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Retrieved on 2009-02-25.

[Jones_2006,_198-6] Jones (2006), 198.

[7] "Berlin-Washington Axis", TIME, June 23, 1941.

[8] Smith, Kathleen E.R. (28 March 2003). God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 120. ISBN 0-8131-2256-2.

[9] Lehman, Christopher P. (2008). The Colored Cartoon: Black Representation in American Animated Short Films, 1907-1954 Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 73. Retrieved via Google Book Search on 2009-02-25.

[10] "Leon Schlesinger Presents Bugs Bunny (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.)".^{[dead link]}

[Shull-11] Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 100-101

[Sigall-12] Sigall (2005), p. 54

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@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 | name           = Any Bonds Today?
 | image          = AnyBondsTodayTitle.JPG
-| caption        = Opening card from the [[Warner Bros.]] cartoon
+| caption        =
-| director       =
+| director       = [[Robert Clampett]]
 | producer       =[[Leon Schlesinger]]
-| writer         =
+| writer         = Robert Clampett
 | screenplay     =
 | story          =
 | based_on       = <!-- {{based on|title of the original work|writer of the original work}} -->
-| animator       = [[Virgil Ross]]<br>[[Robert McKimson]]<br>[[Gerry Chiniquy]]<br>[[Rod Scribner]] (all uncredited)
+| animator       = [[Virgil Ross]]<br>[[Robert McKimson]]<br>[[Gerry Chiniquy]]<br>[[Rod Scribner]]
 | starring       =
 | music          =
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 | color_process  = [[Technicolor]]
 | editing        =
-| studio         =
+| studio         = [[Leon Schlesinger Productions]]
 | distributor    = [[Warner Bros. Pictures]]<br>[[The Vitaphone Corporation]]
 | released       = {{Film date|1942|4|2}}
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 | gross          =
 }}
-[[File:Any Bonds Today 1942.webm|thumb|upright=1.27|''Any Bonds Today?'' (film)]]
 '''"Any Bonds Today?"''' is a song written by [[Irving Berlin]], featured in a 1942 [[animation|animated]] [[propaganda film]]<ref name="Cohen">Cohen (2004), p. 40</ref> starring [[Bugs Bunny]]. Both were used to sell [[war bond]]s during [[World War II]].
 ==Song==
-"Any Bonds Today?" was based on Berlin's own "Any Yams Today," sung by [[Ginger Rogers]] in 1938's ''[[Carefree (film)|Carefree]]'', which in turn was a modified version of "Any Love Today," which he wrote in 1931 but didn't have recorded.<ref>Corliss, Richard (2001-12-30). [https://web.archive.org/web/20031221110823/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,190220,00.html "That Old Feeling: A Berlin Bio-pic"]. ''Time''. Retrieved on 2009-02-25.</ref>
+"Any Bonds Today?" was based on Berlin's own "Any Yams Today," sung by [[Ginger Rogers]] in 1938's ''[[Carefree (film)|Carefree]]'', which in turn was a modified version of "Any Love Today," which he wrote in 1931 but was not recorded.<ref>Corliss, Richard (2001-12-30). [https://web.archive.org/web/20031221110823/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,190220,00.html "That Old Feeling: A Berlin Bio-pic"]. ''Time''. Retrieved on 2009-02-25.</ref>
 [[File:"Any Bonds Today" Original sheet music cover.jpg|thumb|Cover image of 1941 sheet music]]
+[[File:Any Bonds Today (1942, Bugs Bunny).webm|thumb]]
-Berlin wrote the tune "at the request" of [[Henry Morgenthau, Jr.]], then [[U.S. Secretary of the Treasury]], to promote the [[U.S. Treasury Department|Treasury Department's]] defense bond and savings stamp drive, the National Defense Savings Program.<ref>Jones, John Bush (2006)[https://books.google.com/books?id=NlUVOC70BCEC&pg=RA1-PA198&vq=Any+Bonds+Today&dq=%22national+defense+savings+program%22&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1 ''The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music and the Home Front, 1939-1945'']. (Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 198. Retrieved via [[Google Book Search]] on 2009-02-25.</ref> The [[United States Treasury]] adopted the piece as the official song of the National Defense Savings Program in 1941.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Kathleen E.R. |date= 28 March 2003|title=God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War |publisher=The University Press of Kentucky |page=19 |isbn=0-8131-2256-2}}</ref> Its copyright, held by Morgenthau,<ref>[http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/collection/object.asp?ID=681 Object Record: "Any Bonds Today?" sheet music], Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Retrieved on 2009-02-25.</ref> is dated June 16, 1941.<ref name="Jones 2006, 198">Jones (2006), 198.</ref>
+Berlin wrote the tune "at the request" of [[Henry Morgenthau Jr.]], then [[U.S. Secretary of the Treasury]], to promote the [[U.S. Treasury Department|Treasury Department's]] defense bond and savings stamp drive, the National Defense Savings Program.<ref>Jones, John Bush (2006)[https://books.google.com/books?id=NlUVOC70BCEC&pg=RA1-PA198&vq=Any+Bonds+Today&dq=%22national+defense+savings+program%22&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1 ''The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music and the Home Front, 1939-1945'']. (Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 198. Retrieved via [[Google Book Search]] on 2009-02-25.</ref> The [[United States Treasury]] adopted the piece as the official song of the National Defense Savings Program in 1941.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Kathleen E.R. |date= 28 March 2003|title=God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War |publisher=The University Press of Kentucky |page=19 |isbn=0-8131-2256-2}}</ref> Its copyright, held by Morgenthau,<ref>[http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/collection/object.asp?ID=681 Object Record: "Any Bonds Today?" sheet music], Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Retrieved on 2009-02-25.</ref> is dated June 16, 1941.<ref name="Jones 2006, 198">Jones (2006), 198.</ref>
 [[Barry Wood (singer)|Barry Wood]] introduced the song (along with another Berlin composition called "Arms for the Love of America") on Arsenal Day, June 10, 1941, at the [[United States Army War College|War College]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]; he also recorded the song in the same week for [[RCA Victor]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100624205336/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,851167,00.html "Berlin-Washington Axis"], ''[[TIME]]'', June 23, 1941.</ref>  Wood's performance of the song was the first broadcast on radio, "in late June 1941"; it was also performed by the [[Andrews Sisters]], the [[Tommy Dorsey]] Orchestra, [[Dick Robertson (singer)|Dick Robertson]], [[Kay Kyser]],<ref name="Jones 2006, 198" /> and Gene Autry in the 1942 film ''[[Home in Wyomin']].''
@@ Line 40: / Line 39: @@
 ==Cartoon==
-The 90-second cartoon, commissioned by the Treasury and now in the [[public domain]], was designed to encourage [[movie theater]] audiences to buy defense bonds and stamps. Its title card identifies it as ''[[Leon Schlesinger Productions|Leon Schlesinger]] Presents Bugs Bunny'',<ref name="Cohen">Cohen (2004), p. 40</ref> but it is more widely known as "Any Bonds Today?" It was neither considered a ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' nor ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' cartoon and was not part of the Bugs Bunny series (but a spin-off).
+The 90-second cartoon, commissioned by the Treasury, was designed to encourage movie theater audiences to buy defense bonds and stamps. Its title card identifies it as ''[[Leon Schlesinger Productions|Leon Schlesinger]] Presents Bugs Bunny'',<ref name="Cohen">Cohen (2004), p. 40</ref> but it is more widely known as "Any Bonds Today?" It was neither considered a ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' nor ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' cartoon and was not part of the Bugs Bunny series (but a spin-off).
 [[Bob Clampett]] wrote and directed the film, which started production in late November 1941 and was completed eight days after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].<ref>Lehman, Christopher P. (2008). [https://books.google.com/books?id=xMWhTUFFuqoC&pg=PA73 ''The Colored Cartoon: Black Representation in American Animated Short Films, 1907-1954''] Amherst, MA: [[University of Massachusetts Press]], 73. Retrieved via [[Google Book Search]] on 2009-02-25.</ref> According to an article of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'', it took three weeks to complete. Counting from the drawing of the first sketch to the shipping of the first print.<ref name="Cohen">Cohen (2004), p. 40</ref> The paper reported that production would typically last two months. It was reportedly produced "free of charge".<ref name="Cohen">Cohen (2004), p. 40</ref>
-In it, [[Bugs Bunny]] approaches the audience while [[Fife (instrument)|fife]]-playing "[[The Girl I Left Behind Me]]" on his carrot. He then sings a portion of Berlin's song against a patriotic backdrop, at one point going into a [[blackface]] [[parody]] of [[Al Jolson]]. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/28589-Leon-Schlesinger-Presents-Bugs-Bunny|title = Leon Schlesinger Presents Bugs Bunny (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.)}}</ref> For the song's last refrain, he is joined by [[Porky Pig]] in a [[U.S. Navy|Navy]] uniform, and [[Elmer Fudd]] in [[U.S. Army|Army]] garb. The short ends with a graphic encouraging the audience "For defense, buy United States Savings Bonds and Stamps".<ref name="Shull">Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 100-101</ref> Another graphic briefly followed, reminding audiences they could buy bonds and stamps "At This Theatre".
+In it, [[Bugs Bunny]] approaches the audience while [[Fife (instrument)|fife]]-playing "[[The Girl I Left Behind Me]]" on his carrot. He then sings a portion of Berlin's song against a patriotic backdrop, at one point going into a [[blackface]] [[parody]] of [[Al Jolson]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/28589-Leon-Schlesinger-Presents-Bugs-Bunny|title = Leon Schlesinger Presents Bugs Bunny (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.)}}{{dead link|date=January 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> For the song's last refrain, he is joined by [[Porky Pig]] in a [[U.S. Navy|Navy]] uniform, and [[Elmer Fudd]] in [[U.S. Army|Army]] garb. The short ends with a graphic encouraging the audience "For defense, buy United States Savings Bonds and Stamps".<ref name="Shull">Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 100-101</ref> Another graphic briefly followed, reminding audiences they could buy bonds and stamps "At This Theatre".
+Because the short was made for the U.S. government, the short is automatically in the public domain in the United States.
+The cartoon is additionally notable in animation history as being one of only five to use the short-lived "fat" design of Elmer Fudd modeled after his voice actor [[Arthur Q. Bryan]].
 ==Context==
 The cartoon was initially conceived to promote the sales of "defense bonds", which were renamed [[war bond]]s by the spring of 1942.<ref name="Shull"/> Between feature films, or between the feature films and the animated shorts, the lights of the [[movie theater]] would come on and ushers would collect monetary contributions from the audience, to help finance the war effort.<ref name="Sigall">Sigall (2005), p. 54</ref> Bonds and stamps were also available at the box office on a daily basis- "including Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays"- for the duration of the conflict.
-==Fat Elmer features==
-''Any Bonds Today?'' is also one of five cartoons featuring the Elmer Fudd modeled after his voice actor, [[Arthur Q. Bryan]], which is fatter than the popular incarnation.
 ==Sources==
@@ Line 72: / Line 72: @@
 * [https://archive.today/20130407181435/http://lyrics.astraweb.com/display/924/irving_berlin..unknown..any_bonds_today.html Full lyrics to the song]
 * [https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/audio/audio_files.html The National Archives' "Powers of Persuasion" exhibit]; includes partial lyrics, an audio clip and an edited version of the cartoon (does not include blackface sequence)
-* {{YouTube|Nh_oc5hQt-A|''Any Bonds Today?'' cartoon}} (full version)
+* {{YouTube|HktXqhbLNog|''Any Bonds Today?'' cartoon}} (full version)
 {{s-start}}
@@ Line 82: / Line 82: @@
 {{s-end}}
 {{Irving Berlin songs}}
+{{Bugs Bunny in animation}}
+{{Porky Pig in animation}}
+{{Elmer Fudd in animation}}
 [[Category:1942 films]]
 [[Category:1942 animated films]]
 [[Category:1942 short films]]
-[[Category:1940s American animated films]]
-[[Category:1940s animated short films]]
-[[Category:American films]]
 [[Category:American World War II propaganda shorts]]
 [[Category:Blackface minstrel shows and films]]
@@ Line 95: / Line 96: @@
 [[Category:Songs written by Irving Berlin]]
 [[Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films]]
-[[Category:Films featuring Bugs Bunny]]
+[[Category:Bugs Bunny films]]
-[[Category:Films featuring Porky Pig]]
+[[Category:Porky Pig films]]
 [[Category:Warner Bros. short films]]
 [[Category:Vitaphone short films]]
@@ Line 102: / Line 103: @@
 [[Category:Cultural depictions of Al Jolson]]
 [[Category:1940s Warner Bros. animated short films]]
-[[Category:Animation controversies in film]]
+[[Category:Animated film controversies]]
+[[Category:African-American-related controversies in film]]
 [[Category:Race-related controversies in animation]]
 [[Category:Race-related controversies in film]]