User Reviews

Farmer Al Falfa isn't impressed in the least by the scary show on the radio. When he and his dog go to bed after midnight, however, things definitely get scary in this good Terrytoon.

Farmer Al had been a Paul Terry character from his second short in 1915 and he definitely gets a good, if generic workout in this cartoon. It looks like it had originally been planned for a Halloween cartoon, but scary cartoons were and remained a viable tradition for many years. Although there is little here that had not already been done and would not be done again -- the ending is a trope in itself dating from ALICE IN WONDERLAND -- it you have a taste for the black & white antics of Terry's studio in this period, you'll enjoy this one.

The Terrytoons are oddly interesting, mainly for anybody wanting to see (generally) older cartoons made by lesser known and lower-budget studios. They are a mixed bag in quality, with some better than others, often with outstanding music and with some mild amusement and charm and variable in animation, characterisation and content.

1935, like all the other years for Terrytoons, saw a hit and miss batch, more so than the other years even. Of which 'What a Night' is one of the better ones ranking it in correlation with the rest of the Terrytoons and one of the middling 1935 cartoons. It is an unexceptional, but above average cartoon and has the same amount of problems and strengths that other Terrytoons have. 'What a Night' is worth watching as an above average watch with more to it than completest sake.

Best asset is the music, which predictably is incredible. It is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is great fun to listen to and full of lively energy, doing so well with enhancing the action. The ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds is still great to see and some synchronisation is neat.

Some amusing moments and there is some zest and natural charm. Also a genuinely spooky atmosphere that gives some of the events an unnervingly scary effect. Farmer Al Falfa is fun to watch and has enough presence as a lead.

Outside of the backgrounds, the animation is primitive at best with a fair bit of crudeness, over-simplicity and choppiness.

Likewise, the story is paper thin and formulaic, once again executing an already fairly tired premise with nothing new. There are not always enough gags and they vary in effectiveness, a couple of stale ones here. The supporting characters generally are also lacking in memorability although they are inoffensive and the conflict is predictable.

In summary, watchable but nothing special. 6/10 Bethany Cox