February 21, 2021
Lady and the Tramp (1955) ****
Secret Movie Club Drive-In
$31
Disney animation
“As my grandpappy, Ol’ Reliable used to say… I don’t recollect that I’ve ever mentioned Ol’ Reliable before?”
“Aye, you have, laddie. Frequently.”
Unlike a lot of these Disney animated features, this one I had seen relatively recently, in that they show it every year at the El Capitan for Valentine’s Day, and i saw it in 2018. However, I went to the drive-in with Blake, and he was the one who got that experience of knowing he had seen it at some point, but not remembering practically anything about it. We both agreed that it is super charming.
Lady (voiced by Barbara Luddy, Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty recently) is a cocker spaniel from the fancy side of town, and Tramp (Larry Robert’s, a stage actor and singer who never made another film) is a mutt from the other side of the tracks, so of course everything works out, after some difficulties. Spoilers!
I must say, I kind of love the trope of having each dog have the accent of wherever their breed came from. This is an American dog with American dog parents who lives in an American city, but if it’s a Scottie, that Scottish burr is forever! We both particularly loved the old hound dawg with the Southern drawl.
The film alap has the gift of Peggy Lee, which is utterly glorious, especially when she is playing Peg, singing about the Tramp. Yes, the Siamese cats are a trifle problematic, but they do fit in with the rest of the film, and the fact that they are the bad guys is more anti-cat than anything else.
All in all, this is a lovely film, with animation and vocal work only to be expected at the level that Disney always put out, then and now.
365 Films in 365 Days 