Porky Pig in "The Wearing of the Grin"

The Wearing of the Grin (1951) seems to have been Porky Pig's last starring role before being relegated to a mere supporting player.  It's one of my favorites, and though the above video is only a clip and not the entire cartoon, you get the idea of St. Patrick's Day, the trope of the scary deserted castle suggesting a horror film, but there's something else we don't see until farther along in the cartoon:  a brilliant parody of The Red Shoes (1948).  Only in this case, of course, they're green.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. and Movies in Our Time - Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century and Hollywood Fights Fascism.  Her latest book is Christmas in Classic Films. TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

 

The Wearing of the Grin (1951)

“The Wearing of the Grin” (1951) serves as our nod to St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, and gives us not only a funny, and a bit scary, vehicle for Porky Pig, but treats us to a riotous parody of “The Red Shoes”, both the Hans Christian Andersen story and most especially the 1948 movie with Moira Shearer. I can’t help wondering if director Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese were aiming for Moira more than Hans Christian. I think they were going after Moira.