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5.6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have ten minutes to kill and a weird obsession with early 20th-century curiosities, this one is for you. If you are looking for a cohesive story, maybe skip it. It is less of a film and more of a strange, grainy artifact that somehow made it to the modern age.
The whole thing kicks off with the Round Towners Quartet. They are singing that classic tune with the bouncing ball thing going on. It is oddly hypnotic, watching that little circle hop over the lyrics. It feels like a precursor to His Jonah Day in terms of just throwing stuff at the screen and hoping it sticks.
Then, without any real warning, the tone shifts into a cartoon. We get Betty Boop and Bimbo ice skating. It is a bit messy, honestly. Watching them wobble around on the ice, you can almost see the animators struggling to get the physics of the skates right. It is not exactly The Little Giant in terms of polish, but it has a certain frantic energy.
I found myself staring at the background textures during the singing part. They look like they were painted in a basement. It is rough, but not in a way that feels intentional. It is just… there.
If you liked the disjointed feeling of Edgar's Jonah Day, you might appreciate the lack of structure here. It does not try to be profound. It just wants to show you a song and then show you a cartoon. No messages. No deep arcs. Just noise and movement. ⛸️
Sometimes, I think we overthink these old shorts. They were just trying to fill time at a theater before the main feature. This one does that perfectly. It is forgettable, sure. But it is also a strange little time machine that doesn't care if you're bored or not.