A Symposium on Popular Songs (1962) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language

1962 · 20 mins · English

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Directed by

Bill Justice

Starring

Paul Frees, Gloria Wood, Ray Bauduc, Skip Farrell, Billy Storm

Sixty years of syncopation tracks popular music from ragtime to the big beat, narrated by Professor Ludwig von Drake, who performs his own compositions. It opens with the stop‑motion “Rutabaga Rag,” where dancing vegetables accompany ragtime, then a Charleston shown with cut‑out animated singers and dancers, followed by Dixieland, a crooner love ballad, 1950s doo‑wop, and a lively rockabilly finale.