In this installment of Betty Boop, Betty works for a circus--doing a variety of acts but refusing to do some for the owner! In other words, this cartoon is about sexual harassment in the workplace, as the boss becomes all grabby and won't take no for an answer!
If ever there was an example of the sort of risqué character Betty could be Pre-Code (before July 1934), then this is it! While she is virtuous, she sure doesn't look virtuous and the cartoon, if you think about it, is all about sex! However, given the general uproar about how scandalous movies had become (and they really had--with lots of nudity and family unfriendly content in the early 30s), instead of coming up with a rating system, they strengthened the old Production Code and eliminated all sorts of evils from films--some of which probably should have been (such as nude scenes in religious epics*) and much of which tended to make films a bit more bland. How did this effect Betty? Her clothing became much less revealing and male characters seemed far less lecherous post-Code, that's for sure! So is this any good? Well, yes...though it's still not the sort of thing I really think I'd show to young kids. They wouldn't understand and probably wouldn't find it very entertaining. Still, for fans of Betty, it is an enjoyable little film.
If ever there was an example of the sort of risqué character Betty could be Pre-Code (before July 1934), then this is it! While she is virtuous, she sure doesn't look virtuous and the cartoon, if you think about it, is all about sex! However, given the general uproar about how scandalous movies had become (and they really had--with lots of nudity and family unfriendly content in the early 30s), instead of coming up with a rating system, they strengthened the old Production Code and eliminated all sorts of evils from films--some of which probably should have been (such as nude scenes in religious epics*) and much of which tended to make films a bit more bland. How did this effect Betty? Her clothing became much less revealing and male characters seemed far less lecherous post-Code, that's for sure! So is this any good? Well, yes...though it's still not the sort of thing I really think I'd show to young kids. They wouldn't understand and probably wouldn't find it very entertaining. Still, for fans of Betty, it is an enjoyable little film.