I Only Have Eyes for You is a 1937 American animated comedy short film directed by Fred Avery.[3] The short was released on February 27, 1937. It is the 70th film in the Merrie Melodies series, featuring the song of the same name. Its working title was "I Only Have Ice for You".[4][5] It was re-released as a "Blue Ribbon" reissue in 1947, rendering the original film lost; Avery kept a nitrate fragment of the original titles, which was sold by his family in 2004 to a private collector, but still available publicly at extremely low definition.[6][7]
| I Only Have Eyes for You | |
|---|---|
 Original title card | |
| Directed by | Fred Avery |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Starring | Elvia Allman Joe Twerp Tedd Pierce Billy Paye[1] The Rhythmettes |
| Edited by | Treg Brown |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Bob Clampett Virgil Ross |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Productions The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 8 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editAn iceman bird is wooed by Tizzy Tash, who attempts to entice him with a wide variety of foods she cooked with her exceptional skills. The iceman, on the other hand, only has eyes for Katie Canary (a caricature of Katharine Hepburn), who is in love with a radio crooner, so he sneaks ice into Tizzy's house, chased and slams a door on her to leave quickly. He attempts to flirt with Katie, only to be ignored and rebuffed as Katie listens to a crooner and wants to marry one.
The iceman tries to hone his crooning skills, only to find the shop of Professor Mockingbird, a ventriloquist and imitator who demonstrates a wide range of music and sound effects and is promptly hired to croon the titular song while hiding in the back of the ice truck as the iceman lip-syncs. After he woos Katie, Mockingbird struggles to sing in the extreme cold, causing Katie to realize his ruse, which is revealed when Mockingbird sneezes the top of the truck off. Katie takes in Mockingbird and nurses him, having fallen in love with him, while the radio is replaced with an electric refrigerator in order to avoid the iceman's services. Some time later, the iceman marries Tizzy, noting her cooking ability to be a net positive despite her looks.
References
edit- ↑ Scott, Keith (2022). Cartoon Voices from the Golden Age, 1930-70. BearManor Media. p. 22. ISBN 979-8-88771-010-5.
- ↑ "The Film Daily (Jan-Feb 1937)". Wid's Films and Film Folk, inc. January 1937. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
- ↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 54. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ↑ Sigall, Martha (2005). Living Life Inside the Lines: Tales from the Golden Age of Animation. ISBN 9781578067497.
- ↑ Parten, James (March 3, 2020). "Merrie Melodies 1936-37: Building a Better Terrace". Cartoon Research. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
- ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 104–106. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ↑ "WARNER BROS. TITLES". www.cartoonresearch.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008.