Silly Cinema: The Terror of Tiny Town (1938)

The 1930's was a strange time, to be sure.  The world languished in the fallout of the stock market crash as the far-reaching ravages of the Great Depression left everyone wondering if there ever would be "another cup of coffee" and "another piece of pie."  The hopelessness of the Dust Bowl epitomizes the desperation of the era, but I think we forget that the decade cannot be singularly represented by a Dorothea Lange photograph.  When I think of the 1930's, I think of Nick & Nora Charles, Busby Berkeley, Schiaparelli, The World's Fairs, and of course, all-midget, western musicals, like The Terror of Tiny Town. 

The Terror of Tiny Town (1938)
"A rollickin', rootin', tootin', shootin' drama of the great outdoors"
(Source)

The IMDb description for The Terror of Tiny Town reads as follows: "An evil gunslinging midget comes to terrorize the good little people of Tiny Town.  The townspeople organize to defeat him, and zany antics ensue."  Certainly there is more to the plot than that, but in a nutshell, it works.  It may seam a little flippant, but when it comes to a film populated entirely by little people, a nutshell actually seems perfectly proportioned for the job.

Boo!  Hissssss!
Little Billy as "The Terror of Tiny Town."

The Terror of Tiny Town is often referred to as an exploitation movie and I can't say I was entirely unaffected by the title card that read, "Columbia Pictures Corporation presents Jed Buell's Midgets."  But the headquarters of wacky tacky are found at the exact intersection of irreverence and political incorrectness.  Refusing to take oneself or any one subject too seriously is fundamental to the preservation of some true wacky tacky wonders.  As a wise man once said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

 A tense moment in The Terror of Tiny Town
(Source)

Of course, there are moments in the film that employ the use of slapstick and sight-gags that trade on the petite stature of the cast, but at its core, the movie is really just a textbook western musical - white hats, black hats, cowboys, shootouts, horses (in this case, Shetland Ponies), chases, saloons, guitars, a boy and a girl.

Billy Curtis as the good guy, Buck Lawson, and Yvonne Moray as Nancy Preston.

I actually enjoyed this film; the novelty was there, but most of the songs were good especially "Down on the Sunset Trail."  The thing I really loved about this movie was that it was very watchable as it came in short (sorry, I had to) at just about one hour.  Before I looked it up, I was convinced that Terror of Tiny Town was filmed in the early 1940's - post-Wizard of Oz.  Mistakenly, I assumed that The Wizard of Oz set off a "muchkin frenzy" but apparently Jed Buell had already been brainstorming.  His films, mostly westerns, appeared to always be centered around a novelty cast whether all little people or all African-American actors.  He ended up launching the careers of many of his stars and made established vocalist, Herb Jeffries into a film star.

What did we do before youTube?

Here, you can watch the entire film.

If you have a free hour, I would heartily recommend the "Little Guys with Big Guns" in The Terror of Tiny Town.

(Source)

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny (yep)

Sew What?! The World's Biggest Munchkin: A Tale of Defeating Stereotypes

THE WORLD'S BIGGEST MUNCHKIN!!!

I have never had a store-bought Halloween costume in my entire life.  It comes as no great surprise that neither of my parents are Halloween enthusiasts; my dad could take it or leave it and mom would just as soon leave it entirely.  Because my mom disavowed any true participation in Halloween, our costumes were always of the "homemade" variety that started with clothes from her closet and ended with a mustache drawn on with an eyebrow pencil.  Year after year, I wore almost-identical costumes with only a change in title - pirate, gypsy, artist, etc.  On the odd occasion, we managed to eke out a clown costume and for a couple years running, I was a scarecrow.  As a child, I was none the wiser.  As an adult, I am actually grateful that imagination, thrift, and ingenuity were thrust upon us.

For years, I have made Mary's Halloween costumes.  This year I was perplexed.  She has been Lucille Ball, Willy Wonka, Dame Edna, a pirate wench, a glamorous witch, Jean Harlow, and others that I just can't seem to pull from the recesses of my addled brain at this moment.  I was toying with the idea of "Scary Poppins," a macabre interpretation of the classic, Mary Poppins character, but in the design stages, it became too reliant on props; nobody wants to carry a carpet bag full of Jane & Michael's severed heads around all night!  

In thinking of things that were a little on the lighter side but still mildly-ironic, I decided that Mary (at 6' tall) could be The World's Biggest Munchkin!

A quick design sketch

The best part of this costume is that I had EVERYTHING I needed on hand.  Sometimes it pays to be a hoarder!  From the fabric to the notions to the discount placemat that I used to create the hat, it was a joy to avoid multiple visits to the fabric store during the Halloween season.  I "frankensteined" several patterns and ended up having to draft some of my own pieces.  I made the green, circle skirt a separate piece so she could incorporate it into her regular, post-munchkin wardrobe.  The bodice/apron is all one piece and unless she gets really brave, it will probably be cast to the back of her closet - the costume graveyard. 

The finished product.
I'm rather proud that the outcome very closely resembles my original design.

I played with the idea of forcing the perspective even more by having her in heels, but with a hat of almost 18", she already had to duck to get through doorways.

Would you have guessed that the hat was a repurposed placemat?
Well, if you would have, you're not alone.
A few people figured out that it was indeed a placemat.
It was already fluted/scalloped, I just folded it and wrapped it around
a foam cylinder (to hold the flowers) and affixed it to a buckram
hat frame.  I used the leaves and stems of some silk flowers and
took the red & white striped fabric used in her bodice/apron
to make yo-yo flowers with button centers. 

Mary shows off her layers of pink petticoats and pink stockings.

I had some serious ideas for a great photo shoot including miniature houses, horses, and people.  The coordination of those people, places and things was just too impractical at this time of year.  If and when it happens, I will be sure to post the photos!

After all, height is just a number, right?

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny