If you look at his CV, you’ll see that Fred “Tex” Avery couldn’t hold down a job. He was one of the folks constantly changing employers.
Between 1930 and 1935, working for Walter Lantz, he animated, voiced and was otherwise involved in the production of what I prefer to call animated shorts. Over sixty of them.
He then moved over to Leon Schlesinger’s group, not yet officially Warner Bros. for another thirty five or thereabouts. A nice mix of early Daffy and Porky’s early works, along with many others. That was 1941.
Also in ’41, he did a bunch for Paramount (Speaking of Animals), before rejoining Schlesinger with All This and Rabbit Stew,
and then it was over to M-G-M in 1942 with Blitz Wolf. He stayed in Culver City (although he did several films again for Walter Lantz) until 1957.
All told, he made well over forty animated shorts, working his way from black & white to early Technicolor, Eastman and CinemaScope.
Warner Archive is now offering something entitled Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 2, allowing fans to feast upon another twenty or so of his masterworks for M-G-M.
And they look a treat. Wonderful color, film grain, and lots of roaring lions. Not certain if they’ll all derived from original negs,
but they’re generally so good, who cares?
Not a window-boxed main credit sequence in sight.
Those who already have Volume 1, may desire to pick up Volume 2.
Those who are thinking “Tex who?” may be in for a surprise, and these are some of the wackiest animated shorts this side of Saturday morning Japanese animation.
May not be suitable for children.
Currently $22 on line, but I’d bet that will come down around the 15 Dec release date.
Image – 4.5 – 5.0
Audio – 4.75 – 5.0
Pass / Fail – Pass
Upgrade from previous DVDs – Absolutely
Highly Recommended
RAH
Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.
His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.
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