Toons You Might've Missed: Sadie Hawkins Day (1944)

Al Capp's seminal comic strip, Li'l Abner, was adapted into a Broadway production as well as a feature film, but did you know that the folks from Dogpatch, USA, also appeared in animated cartoons?

Columbia produced 5 shorts, beginning in 1944, but Capp wasn't happy with the final product, hence the discontinuation of the series. Not much is known about the shorts, and there are at least two of them available online at the moment. The radio version of the series, I'd imagine, was much more successful, largely because the producers consulted with Capp.

Anyway, check out "Sadie Hawkins Day". Capp invented the "holiday" himself a few years prior to the release of this cartoon in 1944, produced by no less than Dave Fleischer.

Edit, 8/7/23: I've found a copy with sound. The screen goes dark briefly about a minute in, but comes back.

It's just unfortunate that out of all the characters Capp created, only the Shmoo would later land on Saturday mornings, after Hanna-Barbera acquired a license for the character in 1979. Abner, Daisy Mae, and the rest? Not so much. You'd think that with the sudden success of Dukes of Hazzard earlier in '79, there might be interest in Abner, but no.

Rating: C.