In leafing through Variety for the first half of the year, you’ll notice animation for TV was slowly expanding. In fact, the paper did a whole article on the subject. The situation would soon change. The Huckleberry Hound Show would debut later in the year and became such a huge hit, it would cause Hanna-Barbera to expand its operations and other TV studios to try to follow in its path. 1958 also saw the first rumblings of the interestingly designed but little moving Colonel Bleep and the strictly-for-humourless-kiddies Spunky and Tadpole in development. A more interesting concept that never got off the ground was the idea of having Bert Lahr in as a costumed MGM lion cavorting and introing Metro’s old cartoons on a half hour show.
Hugh Harman dredged up his dream of a King Arthur feature, this time in a co-production deal with a Japanese animation firm. Stories make it clear why the idea failed—nobody had any money. And both Dave and Max Fleischer announced plans to get back into cartoons as well.
Over at Warners, Eddie Selzer retired and was replaced by Johnny Burton, the ex-assistant animator and cameraman. And at Terrytoons, Gene Deitch’s name is conspicuous by its absence (by August, he was running his own company in New York).
Let’s wander through Variety. We’ve skipped a long, dry piece by Adrian Woolery about animated TV commercials, which were still popular. A short story on the rise of Hanna-Barbera can be found here. And another lengthy article on TV and animation will be posted separately.
January 1, 1958
Atlanta—Louis O. Hertz Jr., has been named promotion manager for WAGA-TV. Formerly he was on the animation staff of UPA on the Coast producers of "Mr. Magoo" cartoons. Prior to his Air Force stint, he was associated with WABT, Birmingham, as art director.
Just back from a two-month tour of Europe, his first since joining Screen Gems, [company international director Bill] Fineshriber reported 18 new program sales in England and on the Continent. Screen Gems, he said, now has 15 half-hour programs plus serials, cartoons and features (about 50 of the latter) sold in England, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Sweden , Switzerland, Monte Carlo and Luxembourg, and has deals pending in Portugal and Spain.
January 8, 1958
Norman Katz, Associated Artists Productions topper in Britain, has cemented two tv film deals, one with a British commercial tv outlet, the other with Swiss Television. The British pact is with Associated Television for "Popeye" cartoons, and the Swiss tv deal is for a large package of Warner Bros, features —claimed to be the largest American features buy made by Swiss video to date.
The "Popeye" pact with ATV, it's believed, will be the first time a cartoon show will have 100% saturation over the entire commercial tv web in England. Granada-TV and Associated-Rediffusion have already inked contracts for the cartoons.
January 9, 1958
Edward Selzer, head of Warner Bros, cartoon division since 1944, disclosed yesterday he'll retire March 1, 1958, after 28 years with company. He'll continue, however, to serve in an advisory capacity.
Joining Warners in 1930 to handle special material for short subjects based on Robert Ripley's "Believe It Or Not," he headed troupe going to Africa and the Near East in 1931 to film oddities and in 1938 became studio publicity director. He held this post until 1937, when he took over trailer and main title department.
When studio acquired Leon Schlesinger Productions, cartoon outfit, in 1944, he became prexy of Warner Bros. Cartoons and served until 1955, when parent company absorbed cartoonery. Since then, he's continued to head cartoon department.
January 10, 1958
Danny Kaye has been set for a special number on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Oscar Awards telecast on March 26.
In addition, Walt Disney will produce a four-minute cartooned history of the pix biz for the show.
Walter Lantz returned yesterday from six-week trek on behalf of his "Woody Woodpecker" show, aired weekly over 167 ABC-TV stations. Kellogg sponsors.
January 21, 1958
Edward Selzer, retiring head of Warner Bros, cartoon department, will be feted tonight by Animated Film Producers Assn. with a dinner at House of Murphy. On Friday night, Whitman Publishing Co. will host for him at BevHills Club.
January 22, 1958
Pete Cooper, who was production manager in charge of UPA's animation for commercial clients, starts as general manager of Robert Lawrence Production's new animation division shortly.
Ken Drake, who was replaced as UPA production manager two years ago by Cooper, returns to the job. At that time, Drake went to UPA's London office, which closed last spring.
Tieup with Cooper was brought on as the result of Lawrence breaking off, after only a few months, his animation affiliation with Ernest Pintoff in Pintoff-Lawrence Productions. Subsequently Lawrence decided to incorporate a new animation arm within the existing PL production company.
January 29, 1958
Jay J. Frankel, 21-year old American executive of M. J. P. Enterprises is in Paris to finalize deal for Czech cartoons and one Czech "special effects" feature called "Weapons of Destruction." Frankel initiated his deal when in attendance some months ago at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Communist satellite country.
Frankel is in on a proposed U.S.-Czech co-production, "The War of the Salamanders" by Karl Capek to shoot this summer in Prague in the science fiction idiom. Youthful Yankee has been tracking down cartoon product in Bucharest and Warsaw.
National Telefilm Associates’ Famous Films division, which handles rerun product, has inaugurated a subscription plan to stations.
Under this, the entire FF library becomes available to the subscribing station, with no limitations as to runs or time slots.
Included in the FF library are about 1,000 hours of films for telecasting, including features, half-hour telefilms and cartoons and short subjects. In addition, new programming will be added to the catalogue from time to time.
February 5, 1958
"Energetically Yours," a 13-minute color cartoon produced by Transfilm, commercial and telepix outfit, has obtained theatrical booking at the Guild Theatre, N. Y. George K. Arthur is releasing.
Albany, Feb. 4.
WTEN's Charles (Gig) Pogan, director of tv operations, follows some simple rules to achieve what he deems as good taste in feature telecasting. (WTEN has a bundle of Metro pix).
Station never schedules a Jean Harlow release on its "Early Show," from 5:30 to 7 p.m., when kids make up the bulk of the audience. The stress on "body" is considered too sexy for the youngsters. "If a youngster stays up after 11 p.m.," opines Pogan, "we feel it is the parent's responsibility. Not ours." He added that some of the films produced in the early '30's contain scenes, especially anatomical, which WTEN does not consider suitable for home reception. These are eliminated. Older cartoons must be watched, too. WTEN does not wish to have any double entendre telecast, even though it may be over the heads of kid viewers. Nor does it wish to slate cartoons which are prejudicial to amicable race relations.
Over 500 Warner Bros. flicks were sold to Herald Sun Television, in Melbourne, and Television Corp., Sydney, for a station in each of the cities. Previously, Katz had sold a smaller group of Warners and AAP's cartoons (including the "Popeyes") in Australia. Katz said that on his last trip sold a batch of Warner features to television in Hong Kong.
February 6, 1958
Walt Disney leads with three subjects, Warner Bros, and the National Film Board of Canada with two each, in nominations announced yesterday by Academy, prexy George Beaton for the short; subjects awards in upcoming Oscar Derby, Metro and UPA-Columbia are repped with one each. Nominations as selected by a special committee chairmanned by Hal Elias are as follows:
Cartoons: “Birds Anonymous,” Warners, Edward Selzer, producer; "One Droopy Knight," Metro, William Hanna, Joseph Barbara; "Tabasco Road," Warners, Selzer; "Trees and Jamaica Daddy," UPA-Columbia, Stephen Bosustow; "The Truth About Mother Goose," Walt Disney Productions-Buena Vista, Disney.
[Disney was also nominated in the Live Action category: "Portugal," Disney-Buena Vista, Ben Sharpsteen; "The Wetback Hound," Disney-Buena Vista, Larry Lansburgh.]
For the first time in its history, UPA Productions isn’t going to do what comes naturally. It has decided to background its first full-length feature cartoon, "Magoo's Arabian Nights," a Columbia release, with realistic, rather than impressionistic settings of story's locale, ancient Baghdad.
Reason for switch is producer Stephen Bosustow's determination not to destroy children’s familiar nursery-book illusion of that city.
February 10, 1958
UPA Pictures will embark upon an expansion into fields of regional tv spot announcements and combined live action and animated cartoon feature films, prexy Stephen Bosustow disclosed over weekend at annual stockholders conclave.
Exec said that such new operations, augmenting work already being done in motion pictures, tv, music publishing and merchandising, "will put the company in the best possible position to meet the swift changes of today's erratic markets."
Two new board members also were named at meeting. Pete Lytle, of Dempsey-Tegler & Co. and Bill Roberts, stockholder and writer, succeed Alfred J. Scalpone and Howard Meighan, resigned.
UPA's major effort this year, according to Bosustow, will be the full-length feature cartoon "Magoo's Arabian Nights," to get underway in several weeks for Columbia release.
February 11, 1958
Regis Films, a new national feature and telefilm distribution company, has been formed, with Shull Bonsall, prexy of Capital Enterprises, at the helm. Initial property of the firm for tv distribution is a package of 260 new "Crusader Rabbit" cartoons, being made by TV Spots, "for which almost $1,000,000 has been advanced in production costs," according to Lee Orgel, v.p. of Regis.
A deal for recording, publishing and merchandising rights to the new UPA cartoon series, “Ham and Hattie” has been signed with Golden Records, Franklin Watts and Bland Charnas, three firms which handle the respective divisions of these tie-ins.
UPA yesterday delivered the second of the new series to Columbia, which releases. The first of the cartoons has been nominated for Academy Award consideration.
February 13, 1958
Pete Burness, director of UPA's feature-length cartoon, "Magoo's Arabian Nights," hops to Gotham over weekend to record Jim Backus' voice for title character. Backus, whose voice is used for "Magoo," now lives In Gotham, where he has his own network show.
February 17, 1958
Studio space has already been doubled to make room for an increase in staff from 25 to 60.
Understood that three local stations are bidding for the "Crusader Rabbit" package, with announcement to be made shortly. KPIX in San Francisco has already purchased the product.
February 19, 1958
John Elliott and Jack Meakin will pen music for UPA's "Ham and Hattie" cartoon for Columbia release.
NTA Pictures, theatrical releasing subsidiary of National Telefilm Associates, is going to market with a new flock of reissues, as mapped, at the outfit's first national sales convention this week.
A. W. Schwalberg, director of the distribution outfit, reported that the first' of the Shirley Temple oldies to be offered to theatres is "Susannah of the Mounties," made by 20th-Fox in 1939 with Randolph Scott as costar. This is to be packaged with "Gulliver's Travels," cartoon feature.
February 24, 1958
KHJ-TV has purchased and inaugurated airing of "The Adventures of Colonel Bleep," a package of five-minute cartoons dealing with outer space.
Purchase of the package from Richard Ullman 6 Associates was transacted some time ago, but the local station, which receives the films at the rate of only two-a-week, had to withhold airing in order to build up a sufficient backlog. The Ullman firm is preparing a series of 104 segments.
March 3, 1958
[Army Archerd column]
Harold Hecht, who has a personal yen to film "Jellyroll Morton" with UPA, part-live, part-cartoon, says they haven't as yet been able to convince backers of the pic's possibilities. However, if Hecht is crazy about doing a pic, he'll do it!
March 5, 1958
Plan is to use "T & J" cartoons originally seen in theatres, and integrate them with footage of Lahr. Larry Harmon is producer-writer of the show. In addition, Barry and Marx are casting two new pilots, "The Fastest Gun Alive" and "Father of the Bride," and are currently seeking leads for the new entries. Barry has just returned from a trek abroad, where he discussed sale of studio's "Northwest Passage" to British commercial tv, and "The Thin Man" series to French tv execs.
Regarding Metro's post-1948 backlog of product, Barry commented: "We are giving no consideration to unloading these pictures to television." Studio, like the other majors, has released its pre-1948 pix to tv.
March 6, 1958
June Foray, the voice of several cartoons and radio programs, will entertain at the WAIF Benefit at the Tennis Club in Palm Springs Saturday.
March 12, 1958
Pic critic Robert Benayoun has put out a book called "The Anthology of Nonsense." He feels that films, by their very nature, are the best examples of this form of expression which consists of looking at the world from a headstand position and obstinately interpreting it from this angle. He lists W. C. Fields as the king In this field and feels that Jerry Lewis, who could discourage a chimpanzee, is the nearest to the late Fields. He also gives the nod to Groucho Marx, Danny Kaye, Red Skelton and the cartoons of Tex Avery.
March 19, 1958
New York, March 18. — Veteran cartoon producer Max Fleischer has formed an animation firm, Out of the Inkwell, Inc. The new company's name is based on his early-day innovation combining live action and animation with his Koko, The Clown, character, which used to emerge out of an inkwell.
The firm will concentrate on production of new animated cartoons for video. Hal Seeger, who headed Hal Seeger Productions, is joining Fleischer as exec veepee and Byron [sic] Waldman as production supervisor. Company will headquarter here.
Columbia Records is dickering with Jim Backus on a proposed "Mr. Magoo" album series. Backus is voice of "Magoo" on the UPA cartoons.
Last year RCA Victor tapped Backus for a "Magoo" album. It was a one-shot deal, however.
"Trees" and "Jamaica Daddy," which make up a six-minute cartoon nominated in Oscar Sweepstakes, has been accepted for entry in upcoming Cannes Film Festival, UPA Pictures was notified yesterday by Columbia Pictures rep in France.
Cartoon is UPA's first in its new "Ham and Hattie" series, under which title it will compete at Cannes.
Suit asking $66,250 assertedly due him from a deal with Edward Janis was filed yesterday in Superior Court by Philip Nasser against Janis and Beverly Hills Productions. Nasser charged that he and Janis had entered into an agreement whereby he was televise and work on an idea for a tv cartoon series originated by Janis in November, 1956, "Fish and Chips," in which they were to split 50-50 on all proceeds.
However, he claimed, he was excluded when Janis sold rights to the idea in February, 1957, to Beverly Hills Productions for 125,000 shares of stock, at $1 per share, in corporation, plus $7,500 per year. Two defendants, according to complaint, "conspired to exclude Nasser from deal.
March 24, 1958
Writers Guild of America West has secured $17,500 in additional pay retroactively due six writers from Walt Disney Productions, the screen branch reported over weekend.
Participating are Ray Darby, Sterling Silliphant, Clinton MacAuley, Jack Speirs, Charles Shows and Carl Cons. Not all, according to report, are Guild members, but were repped by org nevertheless under its jurisdictional rights.
Involved in dispute and settled by Guild were questions regarding Guild's jurisdiction, terms of its minimum basic agreement, and construal of cartoon story men and "researchers" as writers.
March 26, 1958
Veteran cartoonist Max Fleischer, who last week set up Out of the Inkwell Inc. as his own independent cartoon production house, believes the prevailing pessimism about production of new cartoons is unjustified. To prove it, he's already begun production on a new color series of "Koko the Klown" shorts which he says he'll bring in "at less than one-third the budget it previously required to make a first-class fully animated cartoon."
The new "Koko" series (he created the Koko character in 1917 "and it's still on the screen") is already in production, rolling at the initial rate of one a week and to be speeded up to a three-a-week output shortly. After Fleischer finishes the first two of the six-minute cartoons, he'll decide on what kind of distribution deal to make.
Fleischer says the cost problem in animation can be licked by a combination of equipment and operating techniques. He's invested $75,000 in equipment for the series and has perfected a new form of hand operation that will enable him to bring the cartoons in within the cost restrictions of tv's current cartoon market, he states.
He's also updating the series itself, creating new characters (including a girlfriend, Koquet, for Koko), adding novelty effects and music, aside from color. As from the start, Fleischer himself will appear in live-action sequences to introduce each episode.
March 27, 1958
Jennifer Jones, subbing for Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson presented [Oscar] winners in live action and cartoon short subjects, and there was a moment of confusion as Hudson was handed the wrong envelope and read “Birds Anonymous,” Warner Bros., Edward Selzer, producer, as winner of live action shorts. It was actually winner in cartoon shorts, with the live action shorts Oscar going to an old familiar, Walt Disney, whose "The Wetback Hound," produced by Larry Lansburgh, won.
April 3, 1958
Final drawings for the first sequence in UPA's first feature-length cartoon, "Magoo's Arabian Nights," have been completed and are expected to be ready for the Technicolor cameras sometime next week.
UPA's biggest project to date is expected to require some 100 artists, working for about six months, to complete the 200,000 individual drawings. Columbia will release, probably in 1959.
April 8, 1958
[Army Archerd column]
Walt Disney has $28 million now socked in Disneyland, adds another two million this year. He will also film four features and is looking for more stories. His newest all-cartoon feature, "101 Dalmatians," will be two years in the making.
April 9, 1958
UPA Pictures used 100 artists for its feature-length cartoon, "Magoo's Arabian Nights."
George Cannata into Robert Lawrence Productions as storyman and creative designer.
April 11, 1958
Paramount will release 40 one-reel color cartoons during the 1958-59 short subjects program beginning Sept. 1, including a new series, "Modern Madcaps," which will feature a new type of streamlined animation.
The new program will include, in addition to the six "Modern Madcaps," six "Noveltoons," four "Herman and Katnips" and four "Casper, the Friendly Ghost." Twenty "Cartoon Champions" completes the schedule.
April 14, 1958
Ned Washington and George Duning will write the words and music, respectively, for six songs for UPA Pictures' "Magoo's Arabian Nights," for Columbia release.
. Fleischer said he will use a new three-dimensional cartoon process that does not require special glasses for viewing. System has been developed by Sid Glenar, long-time associate of Fleischer.
Included in Fleischer's rights to the strip, created by the late William De La Torre, are rights to merchandising, comic books and radio.
April 16, 1958
Kellogg is experimenting with "Woody Woodpecker" as a nighttime show. The half-hour cartoon series, produced by Walter Lantz and shown Thursday afternoons for a moppet viewership on ABC-TV, has been slated for dual exposure at night in network markets.
Repeat of the afternoon version started last week at 9 p. m., one night a week on WMAL-TV, Washington. Kellogg, via Leo Burnett, slotted a repeat of the cartoon in another market, but the name of the location was unavailable. Object is to see how parents take to the stuttering bird, which has become a big afternoon rating hit (with Nielsens in the 20's).
Shift in selling format was attributed by the company to the need to release salesmen exclusively to the sale of Warner flicks and "Popeye" animations. Gold Mine will handle the selling (mostly rerun) of the other features in the house, including several comedies and mysteries acquired before the Warner 750, half-hour syndications, including a Gabby Hayes group, and then there are the Warners' "Looney Toon" cartoons.
Sales chief Bob Rich took two of the AAP staffers and added three new men to handle Gold Mine sales. Veteran Len Hammer will handle eastern sales and Lester Tobias the west coast areas. New men are James C. Stern, for the southeast; Sam Posner, for Midwestern selling, and Bill Mattingly for southwestern markets. Gold Mine Division was opened last week.
April 18, 1958
A picture book version of UPA's feature-length cartoon, "Magoo's Arabian Nights," will be published by Western Printing and Litho, in a deal set through Columbia's affilate, Screen Gems. UPA's "Magoo" will be released by Col.
April 21, 1958
Don Hillary, business representative for the IATSE Screen Cartoonist Local 839 since its formation six years ago, has resigned to become a partner of Dave Fleischer, who last week acquired film and tv rights to the Mirror-News Syndicate's comic strip, "Li’l Pedro."
The executive board of the local meets tomorrow with president Volus Jones to name a temporary successor to Hillary, whose term mas to have expired next summer.
April 24, 1958
"We still intend to do experimental, creative cartoons but within a saleable format," he said. "Buyers, particularly theatre chains, won't even sit down and look at a special, although the 'A' houses will. They want to buy, say, a half-dozen 'Magoos' and so many 'Gerald McBoing Beings.' Except for the first-run theatres there's very little attention to programming."
Shorts, said Bosustow, are still regarded as "mere fillers when they could be theatre fillers with the right promotion and showmanship." The studio's answer is "Ham & Hattie," a format which permits of wide variety while retaining the same characters, a moving away from shorts into feature-length production, such as "Magoo's Arabian Nights," now on the drawing boards.
Having won three Academy Awards for shorts, Bosustow explained that the award does not substantially help a cartoon in the way it helps a feature. While it may bring in an additional $1,000,000 for a feature, award brings only about $10,000 for a cartoon, he declared.
UPA, which considers talking animals preposterous, hopes that animation will eventually be accepted as a means to portray anything covered by live pix — love, murder, war. "It never was true that cartoons are for children — look at the comic pages of a newspaper," he pointed out.
April 28, 1958
Sales exceeding $500,000 in the first eight weeks of its operation are reported by Lee Orgel, sales v.p. of the new film distribution company, Regis Films. Firm is currently marketing "Crusader Rabbit," new cartoon series produced by TV Spots Inc.
Initial sales of the new series have been made to WBBM-TV, Chicago; WHDH-TV, Boston; KPIX-TV, San Francisco; WMAL-TV, Washington; KCRA-TV, Sacramento; KTVH-TV, Wichita, Kansas; KGMB-TV, Honolulu; KVAR-TV, Phoenix; and to the Rochester Bread Co.
April 30, 1958
“Sing Along” has been slotted as an hourlong CBS-TV summer replacement show...[in] the Wednesday night 7:30 to 8:30 period effective June 18.
[T]he web is taking its "Boing Boing!" show, which was originally scheduled for that time period, and moving it into Friday nights at 7:30, starting May 23. The UPA cartoon reruns series, which ran part of last season on Sunday afternoons, will replace "Dick & the Duchess" reruns currently in that spot.
Walter Lantz Productions has voluntarily given cartoon outfit's 63 employees a free health and life insurance plan, effective May 15, with company footing entire bill. Policy provides a $3,000 life insurance feature with double indemnity clause, and 100% medical and hospital expenses up to 55,000.
WOR-TV, N.Y., has slotted "The Space Explorers" in its stripped "Terrytoon Circus" show. "Explorers" is distributed by Sterling Television. Incidentally, WOR-TV initiated a promotional tieup with the. schools on the factual cartoon series . . .
May 2, 1958
"Circus Boy," vidfilm series produced by Herbert B. Leonard and Norman Blackburn, and "Ruff and Ready," NBC-TV cartoon show, have been sold by Screen Gems for another season, production exec Irving Briskin was notified yesterday. Mars Inc. will sponsor both programs on an alternate week basis.
May 7, 1958
A new electronic process, said to be capable of speeding up and simplifying the production of animated films, has been developed by Jean-Paul Boyer, formerly head of research for Kodak, DeBrie and Technicolor in Paris. According to Boyer, who has made a number of films in the process in his own home, the pictures were completed in six weeks Father than the several months it usually takes to make a cartoon.
Boyer's techniques calls for only one drawing, with the desired movements being recorded on a pilot electronic tape which is mixed to create the animation. Boyer has been working on the process for 15 years. His three cartoons—"Insomnies," "Un Martian a Paris" and "Un Bebe Lune Pour Paris" (A Sputnik for Paris) — have all been released here. They resemble the line drawings of the UPA cartoons, but are not as polished. However, they have attracted attention for their beguiling simplicity and inventiveness.
Harold Smith, a former representative of the Motion Picture Export Assn., is handling the promotional and business aspects of the process which hasn't been given a trade name as yet. Boyer plans to make commercial shorts for theatrical use here and for video exposure in the U.S. Several American animation firms are said to be putting in bids for the process.
May 8, 1958
CBS-TV is bringing back the cartoon series, "Gerald McBoing-Boing," and has slotted it for 6:30 p.m. on Fridays. Bill Goodwin will be the host-narrator.
May 9, 1958
Lovell Norman, former sound editor of Metro's "Tom and Jerry" cartoon series, will do special sound effects for George Pal's "Tom thumb," Russ Tamblyn starrer.
May 14, 1958
With another 50 fresh Terrytoon cartoons put into the Terrytoon library and with renewals on station contracts being exercised, CBS Film Sales has written about $750,000 in Terrytoon biz the past few months.
Terrytoon, now a subsid of CBS Film Sales, having been bought out over three years ago, is now developing additional cartoon series, utilizing what it believes to be a simplified cartoon method which is not full animation.
Under the aegis of Bill Weiss, Terrytoon is making cartoons for 20th-Fox for theatrical distribution, and "Tom Terrific" for tv's "Captain Kangaroo," as well as having a commercial tv department.
Terrytoon's commercial biz at this point is running at about $1,000,000 yearly.
When CBS Film Sales took over the operation three years ago, it took 400 Terrytoon cartoons released theatrically and put 200 on the CBS-TV net, syndicating another 150. The syndication of the 150, under three year unlimited run licensing arrangements, now has been augmented by another 50 cartoons. The full 200 now is being sold throughout the country, with about 120 stations currently pacted for the Terrytoons.
May 15, 1958
First co-production deal between the East and West for a program of feature-length cartoons has been closed by Harman-Ising Pictures, Hollywood animation outfit, with the Toei Motion Picture Co. Ltd., of Tokyo and Kyoto. Toei, one of the largest film companies in Far East, will provide major portion of financing for program, also to include shorts, commercial and industrial films and several tv series.
Under the arrangement, Harman-lsing, which previously made short subjects for both Metro and Warners and in recent years has concentrated on commercial-industrial pix, will do all preparation here. Under the supervision of an American staff, Toei will do all animation at its Japanese studios, using Jap artists. H-I will expand and set up a permanent staff at its Hollywood plant to concentrate on the creative elements of upcoming program.
Initial films will be "King Arthur," "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" and "Joy to the World." Actual production is expected to start in Japan around September. Budgets look to be between $1,500,000 and $1,800,000, according to Hugh Harman, prexy of H-I. Toei, in addition to furnishing major financing, also has arranged with Jap government for use of American blocked yen for possible use in program. Should such coin, called non-resident yen and owned by American majors, be utilized, films likely will be released through American company making frozen yen available.
International deal will make possible a savings of between 25% and 80%, it's estimated by Harman.
Later, too, combo live-action and animated features are planned for joint production. Attorney Gordon Levey, exec secretary of H-I who finalized deal in Tokyo, planes back to Hollywood over weekend.
May 16, 1958
Hugh Harman, prexy of Harman-Ising Pictures, has created a new slate of officers for company which will engage in joint cartoon feature production with Toei Motion Picture Co. Ltd. in Japan.
Panel includes Hank Fine, Rudy Ising, veepees; Edward Ashdown, executive treasurer and general manager; Gordon Levoy, exec secretary ; and James Harman, secretary-treasurer.
May 21, 1958
Walt Disney Productions set new records in the first six months (ended March 29) of its current fiscal year with gross revenues of $22,499,750 and a net profit of $1,633,250, or $1.06 per share.
Gross in the first half of last year was $16,457,933 and the net $1,532,391, or $1.03 per share.
Film rentals, in the new period amounted to $7,707,280, television brought $7,886,027, the Disneyland amusement park $3,876,686 and other items such as music and records, cartoon character licensing, newspaper comics and publications yielded $3,029,757.
Walt Disney Reductions has declared itsregular quarterly cash dividend of 10c per share on common stock.
Divvy is payable July 1, 1958, to stockholders of record June 13.
June 4, 1958
[News from Paramount’s AGM]
[A]bout $1,700,000 expectedly will be realized shortly from the sale, reportedly to Harvey Publications, of all rights to all cartoons and shorts in the library.
The show has been edited down to the regular 26 1/2 minutes, with the Farmer Alfafa cartoon character acting as emcee for the 200 Terrytoons included in the deal. An opening, close and bridge has been included for a complete half-hour show on the reel.
Bakers Instant Coffee, a General Foods brand, goes off ABC-TV's "Disneyland" in mid-July for a ride on "Farmer Alfafa" in 46 major markets as an alternate sponsor for 26 weeks. Sweets Co. of America has taken alternate sponsorship for 13 weeks in some markets and 26 weeks in others. Total markets included in both sponsorships deals are 65. CBS Film Sales deals with the stations are for a two-year unlimited library run.
Representing General Foods in the deal is Young & Rubicam. John Howell, sales topper of CBS Film Sales, and Jim Victory, account exec, carried the ball from the telefilm end.
The "Farmer Alfalfa" series will be double-exposed in N. Y. and Los Angeles. In N. Y., WOR-TV will carry the series at 7 p.m. Saturdays and at 6:30 p.m. Sundays, white in Los Angeles, KTTV will carry the half-hour skein at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sundays. Other markets inked include WGN, Chicago; WFIL-TV, Philadelphia; WJW-TV, Cleveland; WCCO-TV, Miami; KDKA, Pittsburgh; and WMAL, Washington.
Foreign sales on "Sheriff of Cochise," "Official Detective" and other properties of National Telefilm Associates were reported by Sam Gang, NTA's foreign representative who recently returned from a tour of the Far East.
"Sheriff" was sold in Japan, Australia and the Philippines. "Official Detective" was purchased in the Philippines and Australia. Approximately 200 color cartoons were bought by the Nippon Television Network for presentation in Japan.
Allen Swift completed narration on tv animated cartoon commercial for Spic and Span Cleaner.
June 11, 1958
Hits Incorporated of Hollywood and Japan's Toei Motion Picture Co. has signed a three-year working agreement for co-production of three feature-length animated cartoons and two shorts. The subsidiary of Harmon-Ising Productions will supply the know-how, experience and story boards while the Japanese unit will furnish craftsmanship. Hits Inc. will send a crew of 15 or 20 to supervise the Toel cartoon department which will be increased to a force of about 250. Harmon-Ising topper Hugh Harmon spent about a month in Japan before signing pact with Toei prez Hiroshi Okawa. Films made under pact will be international in subject and international in release. Three slated feature cartoon pix are to be picked from "Arabian Nights, " "Ali Baba and 40 Thieves," "Court of King Arthur" and "Joy To World."
Toei will retain sales and copyright of finished product for Japan and Okinawa whjle Hits will distribute throughout the remainder of the world, utilizing channels of a major picture company. Also under consideration is the co-production of telefilm series, educationals, business films and tv spots. In the case of tv production, contract calls for the sponsor or sponsor's agency to advance the costs.
In recent years Toei started the serious study of the animated cartoon field, embarking on own production in this field last spring when the Toei Animated Cartoon Film Company was established, absorbing the Nichi-Do studio.
It produced a feature-length cartoon, "Hakujaden" (Story of a White Snake) which took 18 months to make.
June 16, 1958
Hans Conried, Daws Butler and Herschel Bernardi will furnish the voices for eight characters in UPA's feature-length cartoon, "Magoo's Arabian Nights," concluding voice casting.
The trio today join Jim Backus, Kathy Grant and Dwayne Hickman in rehearsals preparatory to recording.
June 18, 1958
Trial of suit brought by Animation Inc. against Mike Todd Productions for asserted plagiarism and misappropriation of a cartoon idea, set for yesterday, was postponed. Parties said that a settlement is pending.
Animation brought action over Todd's use of a cartoon sequence m "Around the World in 80 Days." Company asked payment of $350,000 damages.
June 19, 1958
Edward Janis, prexy of Beverly Hills Productions, said yesterday his company had made and sold 40 five-minute cartoons on "The Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole" to Guild Films.
June 25, 1958
As the race for firming up the fall network programming schedule goes into its final lap, Screen Gems is way out in front with new entries, leaving the other telefilm syndicators way behind....
New SG properties set for the fall season include:... "Huckleberry Hound," a half-hour animated cartoon show sold to Kellogg for placing on either one of the three nets or national spot.
June 27, 1958
Beverly Hills Productions, which last week inked a $125,000 deal with Guild Films for distribution of its new "Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole" cartoons, is now negotiating a new deal with Guild which calls for production of 150 of the three-and-a-half-minute shorts, according to Beverly Hills prexy Edward Janis.New deal, which would supersede the first, would also give Guild options on 350 more of the color cartoons under a longterm lease arrangement involving flat payment of $4,000 per subject plus a participation in merchandising rights. New pictures would be budgeted at $2,500 each, as compared with the $1,850 per-pic budget which pertains on the 50 Guild has already purchased.
Beverly Hills, which was launched last summer via a $125,000 public stock issue, got back just that amount via its initial Guild deal, which called for a guarantee of $2,500 per pic for the 50 cartoons. Janis has 40 of the 60 in the can and is wrapping up the rest.
He started production on the cartoons last November, and without a studio himself, has sub-contracted the various animation and recording elements while retaining production control. Films, which can be combined into 15 and 30-minute packages, are done in limited-animation style.
I would have loved to see that Bert Lahr footage (whether or not it's the same costume).
ReplyDeleteDid they really get Lahr to agree to do that? I kind of doubt it!
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