Permanent Wave (film)

Permanent Wave is a 1929[1][2] animated film which is presented by Carl Laemmle and is produced by Walter Lantz.[1] The film, which was written and animated by Walter Lantz, Bill Nolan and Tom Palmer,[1] features Oswald rescuing a mermaid, whom he has fallen in love with, from his captain on the ship that Oswald is controlling during the film.[1]

The title card of Permanent Wave.

The film was recorded on Western Electric equipment,[1] an early sound-on-film technique. The equipment was also used in another Oswald film entitled Oil's Well,[3] which was released in the same year.[2][4]

Copyrighted on July 26, 1929,[2] and released on September 30 the same year,[2] the film was released by Universal Pictures, and thus, is part of Universal series of the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit films.[1][2]

Plot
Oswald together with the mermaid.

The film opens with Oswald comically rowing on a whale pulling a boat. This boat has a captain inside, who Oswald is a servant to. The captain, whilst on the ship, begins to feel hungry. So, the captain whistles a note to Oswald. Oswald is originally sleeping, but is woken up by the music note comically dragging him back to the ship by his nose. The captain then explains to Oswald that he is hungry, so Oswald agrees to go get him food. Oswald then attempts to bring the captain some soup. However, a duck flies onto the plate and eats the soup. However, the soup makes the duck obese, which means that the duck cannot fly away. The duck tries though, but nevertheless falls off the plate and onto the floor. Once Oswald realises that the duck ate the soup, he comically squeezes it back into the bowl from the duck. After that, the duck bits on Oswald's tail. This makes the bowl fly into the air and back down onto Oswald's head. The duck laughs and then flies off. After that, Oswald hears some music coming from the island. Using a bridge made of musical notes, he descends onto the island. This is where he discovers the mermaid. However the captain discovers their presence on the island and attempts to pursue both of them. He manages to capture the mermaid, whom he locks in a room on the boat. Whilst not captured, Oswald manages to get onto the boat, by comically making a water path-way to get onto the boat. After that, a thunderstorm occurs, where the boat is flung around and in one instance, comically spanked by the waves. The storm destroys the boat, as the waves throws the boat away. Oswald and the mermaid find land on a pole, where they passionately kiss. The captain spots them and tries to grab them. However, the waves drag him down and he drowns. The film ends with both Oswald and the mermaid sitting on the Universal logo.[1]

Characters

In this film, there are three main characters. One of them is Oswald, who is the captain's servant.[1] He falls in love with the mermaid and rescues her from the captain, who captures her and attempts to lock her in his ship.[1] Another main character is the mermaid, who is first featured on an island with other sea animals playing some music.[1] The other character is the captain, who attempts to capture the mermaid, but ultimately drowns at the end of the film, due to the waves dragging him down.[1]

Reception

Permanent Wave was well received by the cinema magazines at that time.[5][6] The Motion Picture News said that the film was a "clever concoctions"[5] and also said the film combined "gags galore" and "expert cartoon work" to "produce the laughs".[5] Whilst Variety,[6] in its September issue said that the film was "worth a filler spot".[6]

References
  1. Rockin Ed (December 28, 2009), Permanent Wave [1929] Oswald The Lucky Rabbit, retrieved July 3, 2018
  2. Bradley, Edwin M. (April 27, 2009). The First Hollywood Sound Shorts, 1926–1931. McFarland. ISBN 9781476606842.
  3. Rockin Ed (December 15, 2009), Oil's Well- [1929] Oswald The Lucky Rabbit, retrieved July 3, 2018
  4. Bradley, Edwin M. (April 27, 2009). The First Hollywood Sound Shorts, 1926–1931. McFarland. ISBN 9781476606842.
  5. Motion Picture News (1929). Motion Picture News (Jul - Sep 1929). New York The Museum of Modern Art Library. New York, Motion Picture News.
  6. Variety (1929). Variety (September 1929). Media History Digital Library Media History Digital Library. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company.
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