Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976)/Tulips Shall Grow (1942)

Adapted from a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Shelley Duvall’s Bernice visits her more sophisticated relatives and is shunned for not being as socially adept as her beautiful cousin Veronica Cartwright. Duvall is delightful as Bernice going from an awkward city mouse to surpassing the lessons given by her snobby cousin. Reading a synopsis of the actual story, the script ignores Bernice’s mixed-race heritage which would give more poignancy to the ending, but the whole production is so entertaining that I’m wanting to check out more of these American Short Story collection films.

Equally delightful are the Puppetoons featured in Tulips Shall Grow. Obviously referencing the Nazis’ aggressive occupation campaign, a Dutch boy and girl fall in love in their idyllic tulip-filled countryside only to have their happiness destroyed by an invasion by the mechanical Screwballs. The aesthetics of George Pal’s Puppetoons are so my bag that I could watch this film repeatedly for days despite its depressing subject matter. It’s impressive that it’s able to distill the horrors of war in such a cute six and a half minutes.  

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Subject, Cartoons (Tulips Shall Grow)