I Only Have Eyes for You (film)

I Only Have Eyes for You is a 1937 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery.^[4] The short was released on February 27, 1937.^[5]

I Only Have Eyes for You
The Blue Ribbon title card
Directed by	Fred Avery
Story by	Bob Clampett[1] Tedd Pierce
Produced by	Leon Schlesinger Henry Binder Raymond G. Katz[1]
Starring	Elvia Allman Joe Twerp Tedd Pierce Billy Paye[2] The Rhythmettes[1]
Edited by	Treg Brown
Music by	Carl W. Stalling
Animation by	Bob Clampett Virgil Ross
Layouts by	Griff Jay
Backgrounds by	Art Loomer[1]
Color process	Technicolor
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	February 27, 1937 (1937-02-27)[3] (original release) March 17, 1945 (Blue Ribbon reissue)
Running time	8 minutes[1]
Language	English

The title of this short is based on the song of the same name. The short's copyright was renewed in 1964.^[a]

Plot

The bird protagonist (voiced by spoonerism specialist Joe Twerp) drives an ice-delivery truck and is wooed by a homely spinster bird (voiced by Elvia Allman) who attempts to entice him with her exceptional cooking skills. The iceman, on the other hand, only has eyes for Katie Canary (a Katharine Hepburn impression voiced by Sara Berner),^[6] who rebuffs his overtures, as she has dreams of marrying a radio crooner.

In order to win Katie, the iceman hires "ventriloquist and imitator", Professor Mockingbird (voiced by Tedd Pierce), to croon "I Only Have Eyes For You" while hiding in the back of the ice truck as the iceman lip-syncs. Initially, the scheme is successful, but Professor Mockingbird begins shivering from the extreme cold and sneezes the top of the truck off, exposing the iceman's ruse. Katie nurses the ill professor and falls for him, being sufficiently impressed by his crooning ability (and replacing her radio with an electric refrigerator), while the iceman, finally won over by the spinster's culinary prowess, gives in to her advances.

Notes

• Through eBay auctions in 2007, the cartoon's lost, original 1937 titles have been found but it is unknown if they have been acquired for future video releases.^[7]
• On March 17, 1945, this cartoon was reissued in the Merrie Melodies Blue Ribbon series.
• This short was produced before Mel Blanc joined Warner Bros.' "Termite Terrace" studio. However, it was released after.
• Working title: "I Only Have Ice for You"^[8]