This is a report by the New York Times:
PORKY PIG isn't commonly thought of as a man of many faces, or a performer with a widely varied acting style. But ''Porky Pig in Hollywood,'' a collection of cartoons opening today at the Film Forum 2, does what it can to remedy that impression. It presents the boyish Porky, the romantic Porky, even the daydreaming Porky whose reveries have a startlingly experimental side. Surely there's a Porky here for everyone.
This 1 3/4-hour collection should fascinate anyone interested in the history of animation, and even for the casual cartoon watcher it has its instructive aspects. The various interpretations of Porky's fall-guy persona, under the stewardship of the directors Tex Avery, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, Frank Tashlin and Chuck Jones, provide some very sharp contrasts.
In Mr. Freleng's 1940 ''You Oughta Be in Pictures,'' Porky the actor is tempted by his so-called friend Daffy Duck into demanding a raise from Leon Schlesinger, who produced the Looney Tunes cartoons and plays himself in this one. The mixture of live action and animation is quite remarkable, especially in the sequence that has Porky driving his animated car, trying vainly to make his way onto the live-action Warner Brothers lot. One of his ploys, in attempting to get past the guard, is to disguise himself as Oliver Hardy, which makes for an amusing image. These cartoons are filled with elements of parody and references to famous figures of their day. The Three Stooges turn up with great regularity.
Among the more notable films here are Mr. Tashlin's 1938 ''Wholly Smoke,'' in which Porky is a little boy who's taught a chastening lesson about cigarettes, and the 1937 ''Porky's Romance,'' also directed by Mr. Tashlin, with a more or less mature Porky confronted by a grotesque, candy-eating vision of his sweetheart Petunia. In Tex Avery's 1941 ''Porky's Preview,'' an equally grown-up Porky fancies himself a film maker and shows off his animated stick-figure films to a large barnyard audience. By the end, only the skunk remains.
In the cartoon pantheon, Porky stands as one of the more likable but less distinct personalities, and his adventures usually have a far less wildly inventive quality than those, say, of Felix the Cat. But this program also highlights the more daring side of some of the Looney Tunes films, like Bob Clampett's bizarre 1938 ''Daffy Doc'' or his almost sinister 1938 ''Porky's Movie Mystery.'' Nearly two hours' worth of Porky is a lot of Porky, to be sure. But this program does reveal some unexpected depths to Porky's character, and a great deal of imagination and inspiration from those who brought him to life. HOG WILD PORKY PIG IN HOLLYWOOD, compiled by George Feltenstein; directed by Fred (Tex) Avery, I. (Friz) Freleng, Robert (Bob) Clampett, Frank Tashlin and Charles M. (Chuck) Jones; written by Rich Hogan, Tubby Millar, Ben Hardaway, Frank Tashlin, Dave Monahan and Ernest Gee; animators, Rod Scribner, Charles M. Jones, Vive Risto, Bob McKimson, Robert Cannon, Norman McCabe, Virgil Ross, John Carey and I. Ellis; music by Carl Stalling; voices by Mel Blanc and others; originally produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions for Warner Brothers; released by Films Incorporated. At Film Forum 2, 57 Watts Street. Running time: 102 minutes. This film has no rating.
