Every Christmas morning the short was played on Garfield Goose (and later Bozo’s Circus) on Chicago superstation WGN. Though once a Chicago-land classic, the short is now a cherished childhood memory for many people who watched it broadcast each year. Definitive info on Hardrock, Coco, and Joe is certainly hard to pin down. Though the film has copyright info, the video quality is so poor, it’s nearly impossible to read. IMDB dates the film to 1951 and Wikipedia credits it to a company called Centaur Prodictions. It’s certainly unlike anything you’ve ever seen and a definite pre-cursor to the Rankin-Bass style.Originally called “The Three Little Dwarfs,” most remember this song as simply “Hardrock, Coco, and Joe.” Those three are Santa’s helpers and deliver an unforgettable chorus—and who doesn’t love Joe the best? Gene Autry recorded a version of the tune. But why do it? Nothing beats the original. Still, I’m shocked that some unoriginal (and striking) writer in Hollywood hasn’t revamped this into a full-blown computer animation film. It seems only a matter of time.
The Three Little Dwarfs (Hardrock, Coco, and Joe)
Suzy Snowflake – Rosemary Clooney
Centaur Productions also made Suzy Snowflake (check out the version above by the late, great Rosemary Clooney). This short was broadcast over the mid-West like Hardrock, Coco, and Joe—at least to the best of my knowledge. I’m curious to know if any of our readers around the world have seen either film. What are your memories of it? And how did you see it?
2 comments:
For anyone who grew up watching the Bozo show, seeing these truly bring back great memories. In between segments of the Grand Prize Game and the Cuddly Duddly show, they would show these shorts. Along with Hardrock, Coco and Joe and Suzy Snowflake, there was also an early, very primitive version of Frosty the Snowman. Each Christmas now, there is usually a Bozo Special on WGN, but, for some unknown reason, the powers that be at WGN decided the time slot that Bozo, Cookie and Wizzo fit best into now is when the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Eve. Little kids throughout the country really have no idea as to what they are missing. The Cubs are the only thing the Tribune Company annually screw up.
As I recall, these shorts used to appear on Garfield Goose in the morning, at least that's where I remember seeing "Hardrock, Coco and Joe" as well as "Suzy Snowflake". A few years back, the furniture company Walter E. Smithe gave DVDs away in their stores that contained both of these shorts. You can usually find them online in places like eBay. If these shorts are as much of a part of your childhood as they were mine, it's definitely worth tracking down the DVD.
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