Friz Freleng is my favorite animation director. Why? Because he knew, probably more so than any other cartoon director, how to synchronize music with animation so as to enhance the humor of whatever situation the cartoon deals with. In the case of "Rhapsody in Rivets", the entire plot involves constructing a gigantic skyscraper to the musical accompaniment of Franz Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody. The cigar-chomping construction foreman wears a Stokowski wig, lays out his blueprints like a music score, and does a masterful job conducting all of his subordinates to perform their tasks (and even make their mistakes!) in time to the music.
Highlights: A sleeping dog misses his cue and gets hit in the face with a brick. A long-faced hound dog arrives late for work, accompanied by a lively solo clarinet melody. Several workers unknowingly pound nails into their rear ends. An Irishman tries to run up a ladder, only to continually get trampled downward. And as one worker digs a hole, another worker buries him in that same hole!
Friz Freleng deserves all the accolades he can get for doing such a brilliant directorial job on "Rhapsody in Rivets". In order for this cartoon to be as effective as possible, Friz understood that he needed to KNOW the music score of Liszt's rhapsody. Without this knowledge, the cartoon would be nowhere near as funny as it is.
Highlights: A sleeping dog misses his cue and gets hit in the face with a brick. A long-faced hound dog arrives late for work, accompanied by a lively solo clarinet melody. Several workers unknowingly pound nails into their rear ends. An Irishman tries to run up a ladder, only to continually get trampled downward. And as one worker digs a hole, another worker buries him in that same hole!
Friz Freleng deserves all the accolades he can get for doing such a brilliant directorial job on "Rhapsody in Rivets". In order for this cartoon to be as effective as possible, Friz understood that he needed to KNOW the music score of Liszt's rhapsody. Without this knowledge, the cartoon would be nowhere near as funny as it is.