Cock o' the Walk (1935): A Barnyard Fight You Can Probably Skip

Is this worth your time?

Look, if you’re a completionist for 1930s animation or you just happen to have a weird obsession with barnyard violence, maybe. Otherwise, it’s a dusty relic. People who hate repetitive gags or thin plots will want to stay far away. 🐔

The whole thing kicks off with this rooster strolling into town with a portable boxing ring. Like, who carries a ring around? It’s a bold choice for a bird.

He grabs some local hen and starts dancing. It’s supposed to be charming, I guess? But it mostly just feels like an excuse to get to the fighting part.

Then the local rooster shows up and gets all offended. Honestly, I’d be annoyed too if some stranger started waltzing with my partner while dragging a boxing ring through the dirt. The escalation is immediate.

The animation has that specific jittery, rubbery look of the era. It’s impressive in a 'how did they even draw that' kind of way, but it also gives me a slight headache if I stare at it too long.

Clarence Nash is in there doing his thing. You know the voice. It’s hard not to hear a certain famous duck even when he’s voicing a farm animal.

There’s a weird moment where the animals start dancing, and it feels like the movie is trying to convince you this is high art. It’s not. It’s just chickens moving in sync, but it’s oddly hypnotic for about thirty seconds.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic, low-stakes energy in The Fighting Fool, though with significantly more feathers and less human grit. Not that anyone is watching this for the grit.

The pacing is all over the place. One second everyone is dancing, and the next, it’s a full-on pugilistic showdown. There is no middle ground in this farmyard.

One reaction shot of the hen lingers just a second too long. It becomes kind of funny in an unintended way. Like she’s waiting for the animator to remember she’s still on screen.

By the time the final bell rings, you’ve basically seen everything the movie has to offer. It doesn't overstay its welcome, which is the nicest thing I can say about it. 🥊

Quick Observations

• The portable ring logic is still bothering me.
• The sound effects are louder than they have any right to be.
• Florence Gill does a lot of heavy lifting with those squeaky noises.
• It feels shorter than it actually is.