Gas (1944)

Truly Dreadful Film

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Many of the Private Snafu cartoons are very enjoyable, being very well-made, entertaining and educational with good morals and interesting historical and instructional material. Even lesser ones like 'It's Murder She Says' and 'Operation Snafu' are still very much watchable. Even when inept, Snafu is still very much endearing and fun for a vast majority of his cartoons, excepting 'The Chow Hound' and his too short appearance in 'In the Aleutians'.'Gas' is not one of the best Private Snafu cartoons like 'Spies', 'The Goldbrick', 'Infantry Blues', 'Booby Traps' and 'Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike', but it is a very good cartoon and effectively makes its point of the importance of wearing a gas mask. As creepy as those things looked (doesn't help when they have been portrayed in the past in a nightmarishly creepy way, like a 'Dr Who' episode for example), they certainly were important in protecting one against things that would have made them ill or worse killed them if not worn.Like a lot of Private Snafu cartoons, 'Gas' is a very short cartoon, with the 3 minute running time feeling rather brief, and occasionally it's slightly rushed.However, 'Gas' is very well-animated though with fluid character designs, detailed and not sparse backgrounds and lively colours/shadings. The gas cloud is very creative visually in particular. Carl Stalling always did write outstanding music for the many cartoons he scored for and that is true for 'Gas', the orchestration is very lush and the pacing is characteristically lively.Snafu is endearing and amusing, and while not exactly wild the writing is very funny yet is also educational without talking down to the viewer. The voice acting from Mel Blanc and Billy Bletcher is great.In conclusion, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

. . . Private Snafu's newest bed buddy, his gas mask, whispers endearingly to the congenital boot camp goof off as the latter cradles his long-disrespected safety device at the end of GAS. After World War One ended in 1918, the Planet realized that Earth had a serious problem because future Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer (one of the five charter members!) Christy Mathewson had been gassed by the French (as Baseball's best player ever, another Hall charter member, Ty Cobb, was positioned nearby). Ironically, the French have never produced a slugger who could hit Right-Handers--such as Mathewson, who never pitched on Sundays. Humanity faced a Tough Choice: either bar star athletes from the fun of competing in future World Wars, OR ban chemical weapons. All the countries with baseball teams voted to abstain from any further GAS attacks, or risk a 15% Luxury Tax PLUS the loss of two First Round Draft Picks. So WHY was the American government STILL charging U.S. taxpayers in 1944 (and even today) the cost to produce GAS masks, and to train military personnel in their use? Two words: North Korea. The ruling Ping Pong Pang Dynasty there never could puzzle out WHO'S ON FIRST? and banned baseball. Consequently, they because an international pariah (for not signing the GAS Treaty, as well as for not fielding a diamond squad).

This is a short in the Private Snafu training films commissioned from Warner Brothers by the US Army during World War II. There will be spoilers ahead:The title more or less says it all. This is a training film on the need for learning the proper use and care of a gas mask in combat. Naturally, the worst soldier in the US Army, one Private Snafu, hasn't got a clue on the subject and seriously screws up on a gas drill, requiring him to receive extra training. There's a really nice cameo here and the commanding officer is a face which appears in a regular Warner Brothers cartoon as a base commander.Snafu, of course, takes the additional training about as seriously as he takes the rest of his duties. Enter Gas, voiced very effectively by Billy Bletcher. Gas sneaks up on Snafu, Snafu runs away, ultimately retrieves his gas mask and the day is saved. The ending of the short is rather cute and clever.This short is available on various DVDs and online and is well worth finding. Most recommended.

The Private Snafu films were clearly made to be seen by soldiers and not by the general public. The dirty jokes, sexual innuendos and language is relatively tame today but never would have been allowed in the regular theaters due to the Production Code. But, such off-color remarks went over very well with the enlisted men and helped to illustrate important information in a humorous and memorable fashion.In this film, Snafu is very lax in caring for and wearing his gas mask. However, after being his typical ineffectual self, Snafu learns to love his gas mask after nearly being wiped out by the enemy.Like all the Snafu films, although they were intended as training films, they are very watchable even today.