My Gal Sal (1930) is a very weird fever dream

Is this worth your six minutes?

If you like weird history and animaton that feels like it was made in a basement by people who hadn't slept in three days, then yes. Watch it. If you want something that makes sense or doesn't involve a dog writing a suicide note, maybe skip it.

I honestly didn't expect to see a dog trying to end it all in a 1930s cartoon. It starts out normal enough for a Fleischer short.

This chubby dog is just trying to sing at teh tenement windows. He’s not even that bad of a singer, really.

But the neighbors are brutal. They start throwing everything at him—boots, pans, random junk.

He gets completely buried under the pile. It’s kind of sad to watch because he looks so pathetic.

Then his head pokes out of the trash. A huge lump grows on his head right before your eyes.

This is where it gets really weird. The lump actually detaches and becomes the bouncing ball for the sing-along part of the movie.

It bounces over these concentic hearts on the screen. It's supposed to be romantic, I guess?

But while the lyrics are playing, the dog is in the background writing a suicide note. Yes, a suicide note.

He’s crying big fat tears and dragging a rock tied to his waist. It’s way darker than anything you’d see in Don't.

The tone shift is so fast it gives you whiplash. One second we're singing about Sal, the next this dog is ready to jump in a lake.

Then Sal appears. She’s wearing a hat with a flower that just sits there while she moves.

She starts dancing over the lyrics. It’s that rubber-hose style where her limbs look like noodles.

Then she morphs. She basically becomes nude except for a grass skirt. 1930 was wild before the censors really took over.

She’s dancing under some palm trees that look like they were drawn on a napkin. It’s very pre-code energy.

It reminds me a little bit of the strange vibes in Mammy but even more surreal. Like, why palm trees?

The police department shows up at the end to stop her. They all look exactly the same with these stiff mustaches.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of My Gal Sal (1930) through its definitive frames.

They just stand there and the cartoon ends. No resolution for the dog or anything.

I wonder if the dog is still under that pile of trash. Or if he ever used that rock.

The animation is actually pretty smooth in the dancing scenes. Willard Bowsky really knew how to make things move fluidly.

But the logic is just... gone. It’s like Something Different in how it just ignores how reality works.

I noticed one small thing. When the dog is writing the note, his hand shakes just a little bit.

It’s a tiny detail that makes him feel more real. Which is weird because he’s a chubby cartoon dog.

The bouncing ball part is the most famous bit of these "Screen Songs". But using a head lump is such a gross choice.

It’s much more memorable than something like Shirley Kaye. You won't forget the lump.

I think Dave Fleischer just liked to push things as far as he could. He wanted to see what would stick.

The backgrounds are very flat. Just simple lines for the buildings and the street.

But the characters have so much weight to them. Even when they are morphing into nude dancers.

I’ve seen The Whirlwind and other stuff from this era, but this one feels more like a dream. Or a nightmare.

The dog dragging that rock is an image that will stay with me. It’s so heavy for a short film.

I’d say watch it if you want to see how far animation has come. Or how much weirder it used to be.

It’s definitely better than Retribution which is just boring. This is never boring.

Anyway, it’s only six minutes long. You can spare six minutes for a suicidal dog and a dancing lady.

Just don't expect it to make any sense. 🎞️

Final thought: the police always show up right when things get interesting. Some things never change.