The musical tale of a murder trial by a jealous lover.The musical tale of a murder trial by a jealous lover.The musical tale of a murder trial by a jealous lover.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total
Photos
Annette Warren
- Frankie
- (uncredited)
- …
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJazz musician Phil Moore was one of the first African-Americans to receive a screen credit as composer of a Hollywood film score for his imaginative contributions to this short. This was done at the insistence of the film's director, John Hubley.
- Quotes
Jonathan Bailey, Honest John the Crook: You have asked for the truth without compunction. I have performed that fiction - er, function. Could she pull this trigger? Bah! Take a life? Bah! Were she free, I'd take this maiden for my wife.
- SoundtracksFrankie and Johnny
Lyrics by Allen Alch
Featured review
a little musical-noir-animated masterpiece
John Hubley was an innovator and quite daring when it came to mixing and experimenting with forms and styles of animation. He worked for UPA for a long time, and here in this short film that is equal parts (Jazz) musical, raw film noir and courtroom saga, he manages to fit in with his team and whole mess of incredible background art; some of it very decidedly meant to be harsh in contrasts to the figures we are seeing, the world becoming distorted as it were as we are seeing varying perspectives on what happened to his man shot in his own home.
It's also kind of funny how a few of the characters look like templates for Mr Magoo, who would come out of UPA and that world of animators. But it doesn't detract from the staggering sense of playfulness and ambition here; like when you see something by the Brother's Quay, you know there are things that are so densely packed that you'll need another viewing or two to understand what everything means, or if not even that just how certain shapes and moments blend together.
This is sophisticated in hoe Hubley and his animators understand color and timing and how to have music drive the narrative without it overpowering what's on screen (a perfect marriage, which shouldn't be a thing but it is here), but it doesn't ever feel like it's above its audience like it should be in a museum. Rather this is precisely the kind of short that would get me in the mood to watch, oh I don't know, Sam Fuller's hardboiled pot-boilers, or the Asphalt Jungle.
A little masterpiece.
It's also kind of funny how a few of the characters look like templates for Mr Magoo, who would come out of UPA and that world of animators. But it doesn't detract from the staggering sense of playfulness and ambition here; like when you see something by the Brother's Quay, you know there are things that are so densely packed that you'll need another viewing or two to understand what everything means, or if not even that just how certain shapes and moments blend together.
This is sophisticated in hoe Hubley and his animators understand color and timing and how to have music drive the narrative without it overpowering what's on screen (a perfect marriage, which shouldn't be a thing but it is here), but it doesn't ever feel like it's above its audience like it should be in a museum. Rather this is precisely the kind of short that would get me in the mood to watch, oh I don't know, Sam Fuller's hardboiled pot-boilers, or the Asphalt Jungle.
A little masterpiece.
helpful•10
- Quinoa1984
- Sep 29, 2022
Details
- Runtime7 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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