Tad Pole . . . about Looney Tunes director Friz Freleng's Profile-in-Courage-worthy response to Thomas Alva Edison's 1905 offering, THE WATERMELON PATCH, which had shocked Friz when it was screened by his racist third grade teacher. (If you do not want to trust my account of Edison Manufacturing Co.'s PATCH, it is readily available to see for yourself in its 10 minute, 42 second original entirety on YouTube; PATCH is so egregious in its suggestion of a "Final Solution" for American Blacks that President Obama PERMANENTLY banned Edison's light bulbs under a guilt-by-association clause which even Leader Trump does not dare to reverse.) PATCH opens with eight Black men crawling in a field to filch melons until chased toward their rural community center by a pair of White Skeletons; the scene then shifts to that cabin, in which other Blacks are gyrating with NO sense of rhythm, including the two Gay Dudes Twerking, and the musician strumming a Racist Banjo. When the melon thieves arrive, one of them "serves" this treat by dropping it to shatter on the floor, whereupon there's a lingering Edison group shot with 16 Blacks of all ages posed in rows as they sloppily slurp up the melon pieces. Just then five Whites--including former KKK Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd--run up to the cabin, nailing all exits closed and blocking the chimney, so that these Black men, women an children will be asphyxiated (no doubt inspiring Hitler's initial plan to off all the Jews by driving them around in the back of trucks into which the exhaust was vented; however, this diverted too much gasoline from Adolf's Blitzkrieg, causing Der Fuhrer to go to Plan Xyklon-B).CLEAN PASTURES, on the other hand, celebrates the Black Culture of the 1930s by portraying an Urban Population with a good command of Jazz, Rhythm, and sophisticated musical instruments such as the trumpets and pianos favored by Beethoven rather than the Racist Banjo popularized by Southern Crackers such as that plagiarist Stephen Foster. Know-Nothings have been ragging on Mr. Freleng for decades, just because the Racist Ted Turner and his infamous spouse Hanoi Jane (the deplorable pair behind the Atlanta "Braves" Tomahawk-Chopping Politically Incorrect Fad) got smashed on six pitchers of mint juleps on their Verandah one night and randomly Red-Lined CLEAN PASTURES and several other of Friz's film offerings. But now YOU know the rest of the story (and hopefully will make the Real Racists pay by putting any future payments of "Edison Bills" into escrow until a Judicial Referee settles the question of Reparations on which the Edison miscreants are trying to block payment).

Lee Eisenberg Yes, Friz Freleng's "Clean Pastures" is full of racial stereotypes. But like many Warner Bros. cartoons, the images accompany some great music. I always get the feeling that the WB animation directors really liked jazz and swing. In this case, the owner of a club in Heaven called Pair-O-Dice is wondering what to do about the jazz dancers on earth. The cartoon features caricatures of Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, and more*. I figure that as long as we understand the content, we can appreciate the cartoon's look at 1930s popular culture. It must have been absolutely incredible to go to some of those clubs. I recommend it.*In Chuck Jones's "Knight-Mare Hare", Bugs Bunny mentions Count of Basie, Duke of Ellington and Satchmo of Armstrong.

didi-5 This cartoon, one of Warner Bros. 'Censored 11', is one of the funniest ones I have seen and it is such a shame a wide audience are denied the chance to see it.The premise is that Pair-O-Dice (geddit?) a place where the angels congregate, is suffering from those sinners just heading for Hades instead. So ... with the help of Al Jolson, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and Fats Waller, and 'Swing for Sale', is it possible to turn around the fortunes of the holy land? The caricatures of the great musical personalities are great and the title (a parody of 'Green Pastures') is inspired. Highly recommended if you can get to see it.

david-2271 The cartoon opens in Harlem. People are dancing, drinking, gambling and generally making merry. Up in heaven (or Pair O' Dice as it is called here), a Black angel despairs that they are losing souls to Hades. He sends an angel (a caricature of Steppin-Fetchit) to teach people to resist temptation. Not surprisingly, he is unsuccessful.Then a group of angels (caricatures of Fats Wahler, Jimmie Lunceford, Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway) tell the head angel that they need to update the message. The angels go to Harlem and sing "Swing for Sale." It works, and soon they are leading hordes of ex-sinners into Pair O' Dice. Even the devil begs his way in to enjoy the new swinging good news.Many modern viewers will be offended by the caricatures in this cartoon, particularly the lazy, inept Steppin-Fetchit angel. Despite this legitimate criticism, "Clean Pastures" does a commendable job of reinforcing the fact that swing music was, in fact, African-American music. No Pat Boone/Vanilla Ice rip-offs here. "Clean Pastures" presents this wonderful music in all its ethnic and, yes, revolutionary glory to a primarily White audience. This is quite an accomplishment, considering that the real musicians portrayed in this cartoon would have had to enter and exit a White club by the rear entrance, if they could get in at all! Tragically, "Clean Pastures" has been blacklisted (no pun intended). WB has refused to release it on TV or home video. It is worth tracking down however, as it deserves more respect than its current status allows it.