Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1934
The Discontented Canary
Buy The Discontented Canary now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'The Discontented Canary' is a 1934 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 'Happy Harmonies' short directed by Rudolf Ising.
Plot
The cartoon begins with a canary in his cage and a parrot singing. The canary wants to get out of his cage, but he is locked inside. Then, their owner arrives. But she accidentally leaves the cage open. Then, the canary flies out and goes outside. He descends into a garden, and a cat slyly sneaks up on him. The weather then gets windy as a thunderstorm arrives in. Then, the cat chases the canary around the garden. Suddenly, a lightning bolt strikes the cat's tail and he runs away screaming in agony. Realizing the outside world isn't as safe as his cage, the canary flies back home and sings as the cartoon ends.
Notes
* It is the oldest MGM cartoon to be owned by Warner Bros.
* First 'Happy Harmonies' short film, although at the opening it is credited as A METRO COLOR CARTOON.
Availability
* Various public domain VHS/DVD. (These copies are missing the entire scene with the canary interacting with other wildlife. The censored print jumps from the cat lurking towards the bird to the start of the thunderstorm.)https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xyxprg Censored Video
* DVD - 'Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection - Disc 2 (Evelyn Prentice) DVD' (1995 Turner "dubbed" version, DVNR; this version is uncut with the canary interacting with the other wildlife intact)https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025051 IMDb trivia https://www.amazon.com/William-Collection-Manhattan-Melodrama-Prentice/dp/B000Q7ZLUG Amazonhttps://www.dailymotion.com/video/x27jlal Full Video
* DVD - 'Happy Harmonies - Disc 1 DVD'
References
Buy The Discontented Canary now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1934