Silly Scandals (1931)

"♫I'm burning like a flame dear, well, I'll never be the same dear; ♫I'll always place the blame dear on nobody but you. ♫Yes, you-ou-ou-ou, you're driving me crazy. ♫What did I do♫? What did I do♫?" -Betty Boop

Bimbo is broke and cannot get into Betty's show, so he resorts to various shenanigans and eventually gets into the theater to enjoy Betty's sensational performance singing "You're Driving Me Crazy" before an illusionist takes the stage to deliver a comeuppance to the mischievous Bimbo.

This animated short film is noted for being the first time Betty (here voiced by Mae Questel) is named Betty, although she is not yet ever referred to by her first and last name, Betty Boop, in the cartoon. Just like in her first appearance in Dizzy Dishes (1930), Betty is emphasized as a stage performer, which would essentially become her primary element to this day. I personally always envision the 'noirish' smoke filled night club when thinking of Betty Boop, which might be because the first time I ever saw her was in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) selling cigarettes in a nightclub, where she was also voiced by Mae Questel.

Of course, these were the days when the show mostly belonged to Bimbo, but it becomes obvious in this animated short that Betty should always be the headline. It loses steam after Betty's performance before the illusionist takes the stage. The performance order should've been flipped. How could anyone perform after Betty?

Early Talkartoons cartoons like this one offer an interesting look at Betty becoming Betty Boop, an evolution of sorts. She's starting to look a little more on the human side despite still having her dog ears, and her physique was starting to take on a more slender but still hourglass shape. The seed had been planted in Dizzy Dishes, and here she is really starting to sprout and show more promise, which would continue with every film she was featured in. Bimbo was also evolving too, and he would take on his most recognized form in the next film The Herring Murder Case (1931), where Koko the Clown would come out of retirement. Betty's next film with Bimbo would be Bimbo's Initiation (1931), one of my favorites from the Pre-code Talkartoons era next to Mysterious Mose (1930).