Rhapsody in Rivets
| Rhapsody in Rivets | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies series | |
 The cartoon's title card | |
| Directed by | I. Freleng |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by | Gil Turner |
| Studio | Leon Schlesinger Productions |
| Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date(s) | December 6, 1941 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 8 min. (one reel) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Rhapsody in Rivets is a 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed in by Friz Freleng, and produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It is the first Warner Bros cartoon to feature the "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" by Franz Liszt. It has no dialogue. The cartoon was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1942 alongside another Warner Bros. production by Freleng, Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt, but both lost to Walt Disney's Lend a Paw.
Plot
At a busy urban construction site in a world of anthropomorphic animals, an appreciative crowd of gawkers watches the foreman (a caricature of the conductor Leopold Stokowski) use the building plans as his score and conduct the workmen in Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, a symphony of riveting, hammering, sawing, and more. Elevators, picks, shovels, and a steam shovel are instruments in music making and construction. As the clock nears 5:00 PM, the crew works furiously, and the building rises around the clouds. With a flag planted at the top and the work completed, the foreman takes a bow. One of the workers, while leaving, slams the door shut behind him. Due to this, the building (labelled as the "Umpire State") comes crashing down. The foreman attempts to attack the worker in retaliation, but three bricks hit him on the head for the last three notes, ending the symphony and the cartoon.
Availability
Rhapsody in Rivets is available on Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection.[1]