Farmer Al Falfa didn't always work for me as a character, and it was dependent on the material as to whether he did or not. The quality of his cartoons varied too, some were decent, a lot were mediocre back when Terrytoons' production value quality was quite a bit lower and when too many of their cartoons were dull and humourless. There were a fair share of those still during this period and after, but generally there was an improvement in this aspect.
1945's 'Swooning the Swooners' was interesting in seeing Farmer Al Falfa in a late effort of his, an anniversary year for him actually, and also seeing him in colour, a very rare occurance with his cartoons. Which were up to this point made in a not near as refined, in quality and compared to when Terrytoons switched to colour and seemingly with a relatively higher budget and less tight time constraints, black and white. 'Swooning the Swooners' is one of the more interesting 1945 Terrytoons cartoons, for those two reasons and the studio's take on the caricaturing of Frank Sinatra and his fans, is one of the better ones too.
'Swooning the Swooners' is very flimsy in story, then again people don't really see a Terrytoons cartoon for the story or expect an awful lot from them in that aspect. And while everything entertains and it doesn't feel dull, this is quite an old hat idea done with more imagination and freshness elsewhere since and even before.
Although Farmer Al Falfa is a nice and not annoying lead and the material plays to his strengths rather than wate them, for me the other characters had funnier and more interesting material. The conflict is a lot of fun though and has tension without going over the top in that respect. Do agree that Farmer Al Falfa himself doesn't transition particularly well in colour, he looks quite strange in it and his design looks primitive compared to everything else in the animation which had come on leaps and bounds.
However, on the most part the animation is great. Although the drawing is smooth and the backgrounds rich in detail, it's the colours that make the most impression. They literally pop out at you without feeling too much. A huge part of 'Swooning the Swooners' appeal is the music, which is here like its own character (more so than for many of Terrytoons cartoons) that gives the cartoon so much heart and energy. An essential asset and would have made or broken the cartoon, but as always for Terrytoons it's outstanding, anybody who loves Frank Sinatra, crooning and when they're caricatured will be in heaven.
It all goes at a lively pace, especially the final third where the chaos that ensues is a sight to behold. There are more gags than most Terrytoons, and although they are not original gags they are at least very amusing and well-timed. Again the final third is where the cartoon is at its best in this respect. The caricaturing is fun and done reasonably accurately, though the fainting did feel a bit overdone. While mixed on Farmer Al Falfa, the other characters were quite delightful and Frankie induced quite a lot of nostalgia for Sinatra, his style of singing and the period.
On the whole, pretty good and better than expected for a long-term character so late into his run. 7/10