Oil's Well: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (Lantz, 1929)

This rare black-and-white archival footage presents "Oil's Well," a classic silent Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon from September 16, 1929, produced and directed by Walter Lantz for Universal Studios—nearly a century ago—marking Lantz’s second Oswald short and a significant early work in his tenure. The silent film follows Oswald, the mischievous black rabbit with expressive ears, as he takes his sweetheart, a lady cat named Kitty, on a canoe ride down a river, where she plays a guitar and dances until rocks roughen their journey, causing Oswald to lose his oar and Kitty her guitar. Safely ashore, Oswald converts the canoe into a car, driving Kitty home to a tall condo building, where he proposes marriage and a dozen children. However, a bloodhound, Kitty’s other suitor, kicks Oswald away and takes her inside. Undeterred, Oswald elevates his car to serenade Kitty with a trombone from her window, but the bloodhound punches him back, prompting Oswald to pull Kitty away with the trombone slide. The bloodhound rides a stork with a rifle to chase Oswald, forcing him to dig a grave, only for oil to gush from the ground, ending their rivalry as they become rich friends with Kitty. A lively window into late 1920s animation’s golden age, this preserved gem—directed by Lantz, with animation by Bill Nolan—grips cartoon enthusiasts, animation historians, and nostalgic viewers, offering a timeless peek at a gushing comedy frozen in time.