The Mysterious Stranger (1948)
Article 5939 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 2-12-2021
Directed by Mannie Davis
Featuring the voice of Tom Morrison
Country: USA
What it is: Mighty Mouse cartoon

Oilcan Harry intends to make trapeze artist Little Nell his own, but a mysterious stranger keeps getting in his way. And where is Mighty Mouse? What a mystery!

This is a Mighty Mouse cartoon in the no-operetta/yes-serial parody mode, heavier on comedy than is usual, and is probably one of the better ones from the series. That review covers the cartoon in general, but do have a really interesting question having to do with my copy of this cartoon. The opening thirty seconds seem to consist of static scenes, and the only movement I see is Little Nell’s lips moving. It was the lips that threw me for a loop; though I can’t see it clearly, the lips looked more like human lips inserted over her mouth in much the same way you’d expect from a ‘Clutch Cargo’ cartoon. So my question is – Did Terrytoons beat ‘Clutch Cargo’ to this animation style? Or am I watching a print that doctored up the original cartoon many years after it was made? The latter seems more likely to me, but I don’t know for sure.