Dinah (1933)
This Screen Songs entry pairs an animated cartoon with a live musical performance by the Mills Brothers, then invites the audience to sing along to 'Dinah' as the lyrics bounce by on screen in Fleischer's trademark follow-the-ball style.
Dinah is entry No. 69 in Fleischer’s long-running Screen Songs series, notable chiefly for showcasing the Mills Brothers — then rising radio and recording stars — alongside animation by Dave Tendlar and William Henning.
Background
Dinah is the 69th entry in Fleischer Studios’ long-running Screen Songs series, released January 18, 1933, and built around a live-action appearance by the Mills Brothers — John, Herbert, Harry, and Donald — then rapidly rising stars of radio and recording. The animated portion, credited to Dave Tendlar and William Henning, works a loose set of gags around a cargo ship, with animals pressed into hauling freight, before giving way to the Mills Brothers performing the title song, written in 1925 and first popularized by Ethel Waters, along with “St. Louis Blues.”
What to watch for
The hinge between the cartoon gags and the Mills Brothers’ live performance is the format’s hallmark, distinguishing Screen Songs from Fleischer’s other series like Betty Boop and the Talkartoons. After the animated bit winds down, a bouncing ball tracks the lyrics across the screen in Fleischer’s trademark follow-the-bouncing-ball style, inviting theater audiences to sing along in real time. The short works as much as a documentary record of a popular vocal act near the start of its national visibility as it does as a cartoon, and it rewards attention to the Mills Brothers’ close harmony as much as to the animation surrounding them.
