Gold Diggers of ’49 Review

Gold Diggers of ’49 is a 1935 animated short film from the Looney Tunes series. It is such an important entry in the series.

Yes, this is the first ever film directed by Tex Avery which is hugely important as he is going to shape the quality of Looney Tunes pretty soon. As for his first effort, it isn’t the greatest, but it is still pretty good. In my opinion, Beans is forgettable here and his girlfriend being Porky Pig’s daughter is ridiculous. The film flows well, but is rarely funny.

The only funny scene is Porky finding a gold coin and then picking that same coin up time and time again. That was one very inventive gag. This movie actually does have a story and its take on the California Gold Rush is a good one. The score is solid and the animation is very good from the scenery to the opening long shot at the town. It is a strongly told, plot heavy and action heavy installment that works because it is more serious and better made than was usual for Looney Tunes cartoons thus far.

Gold Diggers of ’49 isn’t great, but its emphasis on strong story and animation helped it in the long run and it does succeed as a strong introduction to Tex Avery.