SERVANTS’ ENTRANCE (1934)

Returning to the techniques that had combined live action with animation in his short film “Alice’s Wonderland” (1923), Walt Disney created an ingenious nightmare sequence for this pre-Code romantic comedy. When automotive tycoon Walter Connolly falls on hard times, his daughter, Janet Gaynor, decides she needs to learn how to run a house without servants. Under an assumed name, she finds work as a housekeeper, though her early efforts are disastrous. After making a mess of retired brewer Sig Ruman’s kitchen, she dreams the various utensils, a nutcracker, and a mustard pot invade her bedroom and musically put her on trial. Disney agreed to produce the animated sequence for the Fox Film Corporation, under the condition that his name was omitted from the credits or any advertising. Yet the sequence is clearly his animation style and features two of his standard voice actors, Billy Bletcher, best known as the Big Bad Wolf, and Pinto Colvig, the voice of Goofy. Lew Ayres co-stars as the chauffeur who courts Gaynor. 

d. Frank Lloyd, 88m, 35mm

Courtesy of the UCLA Film and Television Archive.