Director: Harry Bailey
Release Date: January 20, 1933
Stars: Sentinel Louey
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
In search of new characters The Van Beuren studios signed a contract with Otto Soglow to produce twelve animated cartoons based on his characters.
Ten feature his most famous creation The Little King, but the series starts with two featuring Soglow’s lesser known character Sentinel Louey, a British guard, complete with large bearskin hat. Unlike the Little King films, these first two cartoons are very faithful to the source material. Not only do they contain a string of gags that are undoubtedly directly transferred from the comic strip, they also capture Sloglow’s idiosyncratic graphic style remarkably well. This style is much more appealing and original than anything the studio did before, making both ‘A. M. to P. M.’ and ‘A Dizzy Day’ visually among the most beautiful animated films of the entire 1930s.
Unfortunately, because ‘A.M. to P.M.’ is a compilation of newspaper comics gags, there’s no story whatsoever. Moreover, Soglow’s humor is one of charm and wonder, not one for loud laughs, and as a result ‘A.M. to P.M.’ moves past at a leisurely speed without leaving much impression besides the extraordinarily beautiful images.
‘A.M. to P.M.’ is available on the DVD ‘The Complete Animated Adventures of Otto Soglow’s The Little King’
Dr. Grob's Animation Review 
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December 16, 2021 at 02:37
Prince Douglas
This is probably the first cartoon adaptation of a comic book since the arrival of talking pictures, beating Popeye by several months !
October 12, 2021 at 05:13
Charlie Crisper
There are several oddities that intrigue me about this short film:
First, why did you choose to adapt the “Little King” comic book topper? Since he’s less well known, it seemed like a bigger risk.
And why did you name the character “Louey” when his real name is “Louie”? I feel like the contract wasn’t quite clear on the rights of the character.
Also, I wonder why only Harry Bailey is credited alone in the credits (something that never happened before) rather than in duo with John Foster?
Otherwise I think it is indeed one of the most beautiful cartoons of Van Beuren.
December 16, 2021 at 02:45
Prince Douglas
Let’s say that at the beginning, Otto Soglow was not favorable to the adaptation of his comic strip…