Sorry, this movie sucks

Simply A Masterpiece

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes, Hanna Barbera, Studio Ghibli and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons. With significantly broader knowledge of different directors, animation styles and studios, actually appreciate and love it even more now.'I've Got to Sing a Torch Song' may not one of my favourite cartoons or an amazing one, there are funnier, more inventive and livelier cartoons about. Not that 'I've Got to Sing a Torch Song' is devoid of any of those things, just that other cartoons do it better. It is a lot of fun still and is very charming with a lot to like. Deserving to be more widely known, having come from a period with stiff and more well known competition from major pioneers in animation.It is very flimsy in story sure and is fairly familiar, it is not hard to figure out how the cartoon was going to end.Did feel that the cartoon was slightly over-cluttered and it is agreed that familiarity is in order with the caricatures, references and their antics. This was a case of recognising some and having no clue what others were, making the content/humour somewhat hit and miss.On the other hand, the animation is great. Full of attractive shading, meticulously detailed backgrounds, smooth movement and crisply drawn character designs, one is convincingly immersed in the bugtown world. The music is lush and full of energy, with an infectious song. Many of the things shown here is impressive in how it synchronises with the music and animated dazzles and amazes.Much of 'I've Got to Sing a Torch Song' is amusing, despite the content being hit and miss, with some wit and it never tries too hard to be cute. The charm factor is high and the caricatures and references that were recognised by me were really fun to spot and well incorporated. All in all, worthwhile for a look of what it was like in the 1930s, and very interesting in that aspect, but didn't blow me away and it is dependent on how one is familiar with what is being referenced. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Like others have already said, this cartoon is a fine example of the difference between "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies". A lot of people will say that music videos didn't come around until the 1980s, with the airing of MTV, but in reality these could be considered the earliest forms of music video. While the actual singer or band that wrote the song doesn't perform it, it should be noted that the film/record company, Warner Brothers, owned the rights to the song, so they could use it in any way they saw fit, which was a common practice at the time when this cartoon was produced, including having it performed by various celebrity caricatures, a bunch of babies (Shuffle Off to Buffalo), or two foxes and a few billboards (Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!). They could even alter the lyrics to match the plot or theme for the film in which the song would be reused (see: Shuffle Off to Buffalo, I Love to Singa), as a way to get audiences to purchase the records or sheet music for that song, and play it themselves. Back then you could buy song books or subscribe to a monthly magazine that featured sheet music and lyrics to popular songs of the time.

"I've Got to Sing a Torch Song" is an unusually wacky black-and-white Warner Bros. cartoon, made before any star characters such as Porky Pig and Daffy Duck were even created. This cartoon is essentially about THE RADIO, one of the entertainment industry's finest inventions during the early 20th Century. Where there's a radio, you can be darn sure there will be scores of ardent fans tuning in! Here are my favorite highlights from "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song". I especially like the hilarious physical & vocal caricatures of Bing Crosby (ALL the gals listen to him!), Mae West, and Marlene Dietrich. In addition, a bearded, hookah-puffing sultan thinks nothing of his harem girl's dance; he'd much rather listen to Amos 'n' Andy! If you want to see an early thirties cartoon with a lot of quirk, try "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song". By no means my favorite Warner Bros. cartoon, but certainly not one that makes a descent into inferiority!

Way back long ago, before Bugs, before Daffy, even before Porky - heck, they weren't even filming anything in color yet - Leon Schlesinger Studios tried various and sundry ideas in their cartoons. "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song" shows several people around the world exercising to a radio broadcast, with a few gags along the way, and caricatures of famous people from the era.If you're wondering why they named the cartoon after the song, that was the policy with Merrie Melodies cartoons. You see, when Leon Schlesinger Studios started releasing Bosko cartoons in 1930, all the cartoons carried the Looney Tunes tag. Before too long, they created the Merrie Melodies tag (playing off Disney's Silly Symphonies). While the Looney Tunes cartoons continued showing off Bosko - and later Buddy, and then Porky - the Merrie Melodies cartoons would have the names of songs, and the characters would sing the song in one scene. Such was the case not only with this one, but also "I Haven't Got a Hat" and "I Love to Singa", among others. Eventually, they stopped having characters sing title songs. When the Looney Tunes switched to color, the two series became indistinguishable.Overall, this is a look into Warner Bros. animation's very early days. Within ten years, their cartoons didn't look the same at all. Hell, within five years, the combination of stars Porky and Daffy, plus directors such as Tex Avery, had totally changed the look. But this one is still worth seeing. Because Greta Garbo did want to be let alone.I never knew that Bing Crosby was already famous in 1933. Of course, I have no kind words for him.