I haven’t had a TV set at home for years. I don’t miss it. Well, I’d miss it tomorrow because there’s a great programme coming to television that would give me some incentive to get a set if it showed something like this more often.
Turner Classic Movies is presenting what it calls a “very special evening of programming features 28 cartoon shorts grouped by respective creators/studios.” Don’t expect the overly-polished efforts of Walt Disney’s feature film artists or the slam-bang fun and lippiness of Bugs Bunny. These are cartoons of an earlier time, ones that wouldn’t normally appear on television.
There will be three separate programmes. One elucidates on the cartoons of Winsor McCay, the man credited with being the Father of Animated Cartoons. To call McCay “a newspaper cartoonist” would be true, but wouldn’t give you any hint of his amazingly intricate work found in the Little Nemo colour panels in the Sunday comics of 100 years ago. McCay literally tried his hand at making pictures move on the movie screen, and set in motion the animated cartoon business. A number of McCay’s films (or their partial remains) from before and after World War One will be screened, augmented by comments by John Canemaker, who authored a beautiful book on McCay’s work a number of years ago.
While McCay provided the spark for the industry, John Bray figured out how to make animation a business by cutting labour and costs to be able to churn out cartoons on a regular schedule for a variety of studios. He lined his pockets by acquiring patents for various parts of the animation process, and unlined them on legal fees to try to enforce them. Bray eventually gave up theatrical cartoons and moved into educational movies. The Bray theatricals can still entertain, almost 100 years after their creation. A number of them will be shown, with Tom Stathes guiding viewers through them. The world needs someone like Tom Stathes. He’s spent a good portion of his young life trying to collect and preserve silent cartoons. So many silent films have been lost to the ages. Efforts have been made over the years to locate and preserve silent features and two-reel comedies. Cartoons have, with a few exceptions, been dismissed as an inconsequential piece of film history. It is good to have Tom and his band of friends looking out for them.
Finally, there will be a showing of cartoons produced by the Van Beuren and Ted Eshbaugh studios. Eshbaugh spent ten years developing a colour process that was ready in 1932. But the movie industry wasn’t ready for Eshbaugh. The big studios had all the cartoons they needed. So Eshbaugh’s efforts were mainly in the commercial area, though he teamed with Van Beuren for some shorts.
Van Beuren was at the bottom of the ladder of New York City’s theatrical animation studios. Its pre-1934 cartoons weren’t as polished looking as the Fleischer shorts, let alone anything out of Disney. The idea of a clearly defined plot escaped its staff. The studio died in 1936 and its work drifted into the public domain. Still, it came out with some cartoons that have their own special, indescribable appeal. An interesting array of Van Beurens will be shown, with the on-camera assistance of Steve Stanchfield. Steve is Van Beuren’s hero. He dragged the studio’s shorts out of obscurity, had them painstakingly restored, and then made them available on DVD for the world to view and appreciate.
Steve will be rolling out some odd ones. A particular favourite is “Rough on Rats” (1933). It’s very much like a Merrie Melodies cartoon made by Harman and Ising: there’s a song, a few gags, a bad guy shows up, and then the second half of the cartoon has characters ganging up and beating the crap out of the bad guy. There’s an attempt at Disneyism, too. The starring kittens frolic like real kittens would (one jumps around on its front legs with its hind legs in the air) but they’re drawn without any Disney finesse. “Silvery Moon” is more in the Fleischer style with bizarre characters, a dream/nightmarish atmosphere and one of the voices of Betty Boop (Margie Hines, I suspect) crooning a neat little tune.
The Van Beuren cartoons were among the first ever seen regularly on TV. W2XBS (WNBC) in New York aired them as early as 1940. When commercial TV took over the living room from radio in the early ‘50s, they were seen in homes until AAP flooded channels with Popeye and Bugs Bunny a few years later.
It’s nice to see them return, even for a night, to entertain and provide a bit of education to discerning viewers about early theatrical animation. I can’t watch it, but you can view it for me. Check local listings for times.
It’s pure bunk that Jack Benny’s first appearance on radio was with Ed Sullivan in 1932, something the comedian claimed for years. But the earlier broadcasts we’ve been able to discover were on obscure shows, so perhaps they didn’t matter. After all, Benny landed his own show soon after he dropped in on Sullivan, not the previous shows.
For those who don’t know, before Sullivan was a stiff TV variety host, he was one of a number of newspaper columnists who did a show biz show on the radio.
Here’s a Sullivan column from October 27, 1947, long after Benny was established on radio (and before Sullivan’s huge success on TV). Sullivan shows that you do have a second chance to make a first impression.
Ed Sullivan On Today in New York
First time I ever saw Jack Benny at the Palace Theater, on Broadway, his poised nonchalance rubbed the wrong way. Here, I resolved, was the most conceited performer ever to play the fabled theater. Backstage, after the show. I confided this opinion to Abe Lyman, forgetting that the hollering Mister Lyman is hardly the type in whom to confide.
“Jack ain't conceited,” roared Lyman. “That's a bum rap, Eddie.” . . . The stentorian tone of Lyman bounced all over the backstage area. The acrobats came to the door, the elevator man looked in. . . . Benny didn't come in, fortunately.
The years were to prove Lyman was right, because Jack Benny and this reporter became the dearest of friends. Tuning in Sunday nights to his program is one of the most pleasant features of the week.
In 1932, Jack Benny made his first radio appearance on my program, just as Jimmy Durante, George M. Cohan, Jack Pearl, Jack Haley, Florenz Ziegfeld made their debuts on that airer.
Even then, Benny kidded himself, as he does now. “Hello, folks,” he said in 1932. “'This is Jack Benny. There will be a short pause for everyone to say ‘Who cares?’” Then he did a routine about his Hollywood picture and I remember this much of it: “It's a mystery picture. I'm found dead in the bathroom—and it’s not Saturday night.”
He never relaxed that attitude. Others could be cocksure, aggressive, fast talkers, but Jack Benny insisted on his writers creating situations in which he emerged as stingy, not overly brave, a middle-aged guy trying to be young.
To underscore these characteristics, he is surrounded by sharp, cynical Mary Livingstone, likeable braggart Phil Harris, naïve Dennis Day, quick-witted Rochester, bland Don Wilson, likeable little Artie Auerbach, with the pickle in the middle and the mustard up on top.
Benny is known in the profession as “the greatest audience” in show business. George Burns. Fred Allen and Larry Adler are his favorite comics, but he loves them all, and Jack Waldron is high on his list. . . . Their ability to get off rapid-fire ad libs convulses Benny, and he'd rather be with them or spend an evening with witty Bill Goetz than pretty nearly anything else.
We all grew up with cartoons on TV. We couldn’t get enough of them. Worthless old theatrical cartoons suddenly found a new audience—millions of children watching them over and over and over. Ratings were huge. Ratings = money. Money = more and more companies getting into the cartoon business to get a piece of the action. Suddenly, new cartoons were made especially for TV. Networks bought them. Stations bought them. More ratings, more money, more companies.
For every success story like AAP, which originally syndicated the Warner Bros. and Fleischer Popeye cartoons, there were other cartoon distributors which wallow in obscurity, their cartoons forgotten or unseen. One such company was run by Phil Davis.
Davis wasn’t a cartoonist, he was a writer-producer. His son was David Davis, who produced a bunch of successful sitcoms for MTM Productions. The two of them worked together on that series beloved by fans of 1928 Porters—“My Mother the Car.” He evidently saw the success of TV cartoons and jumped in.
In 1961, Davis created and wrote a sitcom pilot for Screen Gems satirising the space race called “Astronuts” (Richard Donner was hired to direct). Evidently he liked the punny title because he used it again. Kind of. Here’s Daily Variety from May 3, 1963.
Animation Of Pilot ABC Films Ordered Being Done In Yugo
Phil Davis leaves next week for Yugoslavia to film the pilot of a half-hour adult cartoon series, "The Astromutts." Animation will be done at the Zagreb studio with live symphony music and in Eastman color. Voice track will be made in Hollywood with featured actors. Davis previously produced the cartoon series, "Hound For Hire," in the same studio and it is now in syndication
Who appeared on the voice track? From Variety again, May 13th edition:
Len Weinrib has been set to do vocal role in "Astro-Mutts," cartoon strip being produced by Phil Davis for next fall. Series will be made in Yugoslavia.
You may know Lennie from his work at Hanna-Barbera a number of years later or his guest shots on ‘60s sitcoms. Lennie was a busy guy around this time. Among other things, he was the comic in Eve Arden’s act at the Sahara in Las Vegas (the comedian in the lounge at the time was a chap named Rickles). He was also an accomplished voice impersonator of J.F.K. and did the President in two satirical LPs released in 1962 by Capitol. Lennie once joked about Astromutts: “It must be a dog’s life behind the iron curtain.”
Davis wrote the words to the Astromutts theme song (music by Herman Stein and Harry Green) and it was copyrighted on May 7, 1963. It was almost two full years before we hear anything more about the proposed series. Davis’ copyrighted a 26-minute episode entitled “Operation Moonshot” (in Eastman Color) on March 23, 1965. Whether it ever appeared on TV or in theatres, I have no clue. I’m sure someone reading does and can fill us in.
Davis’ cartoon career evidently dates back to 1959, and this is where his other series mentioned above comes in. Daily Variety reported on November 27th of that year that Davis had “formed Cinemagic Internationale, a new company to make animated cartoons for television. Films will be produced at the Zagreb Studios in Yugoslavia, and voice tracks will be done in Paris with American actors. First series of 89 tele-films is titled ‘Hound for Hire’ and deals with adventures or a private-eye dog. Davis left for New York yesterday, and arrives in Paris Dec 2 en route to Yugoslavia.”
He evidently needed additional backing as the trade paper reported on March 9, 1960 that he and Arthur Epstein “have formed Cinemagic Corp. International to produce ‘Hound For Hire,’ animated tv series, in Europe for distribution in the United States. Initial batch will be 52 segs of from five to seven minutes each. It concerns a basset hound who plays a deadpan private eye.” By March 26th, Davis had written words and music for a children’s album based on the yet-to-be-made series. On April 6th, the paper announced he and Epstein had left for Europe to supervise the final processing then revealed on November 9th that the first 13 cartoons had been completed.
Why Zagreb? A headline in the May 18, 1960 Variety says it all: “O'Seas Animators Supplying Yanks; 50-75% Cheaper.” Actually, the March 20, 1960 edition of Sponsor magazine said the cartoons were produced in Yugoslavia and France, and processed in Germany and England. Here’s an episode of “Hound For Hire.” Good luck watching it to the end.
Cartoon studios of the late ‘20s and early ‘30s loved taking advantage of the huge theatre screen and animated characters in extreme close-ups. The Van Beuren studio’s version was the zooming head, where a singing animal would zoom its head toward the camera and give us a few tuneful bars before the head resumed its rightful place.
Here’s an example from “Foolish Follies” (1930) where animals are performing in a casino.
John Foster and Harry Bailey get the screen credits.
“It looks like McGrip’s famous spitball,” says announcer John Wald in the Tex Avery cartoon “Batty Baseball.” And indeed it is, in a literal sense.
Fortunately, there’s a spittoon in foul territory in the infield.
Avery’s original bunch of MGM animators—Preston Blair, Ed Love and Ray Abrams—get the animation credits, at least in the edited version that was on laser disc a number of years back (you can hear the edit in Scott Bradley’s score over the credits). See the comments for the animator ID from the man who knows these old MGM cartoons.
In hunting around for information for last week’s blog post about Lennie Weinrib, I came a CBS publicity drawing for one of the episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show in which he appeared. It was attached to an Associated Press “what-is-he-really-like” piece about Van Dyke by co-star Mary Tyler Moore that was published in the Binghamton Press on July 11, 1965.
It’s hard to judge how sincere these kinds of stories are—it’s not like anyone says anything nasty in them—but I’d like to think this one’s legit. I don’t know Dick Van Dyke, but the people I know who do know him attest to what a fun and genuinely nice man he is.
The Van Dyke show holds up so well not only because of the cast chemistry but because what seems to me a dogged determination by Carl Reiner and Sheldon Leonard not to fall into hackneyed sitcom stories that were done to death in 1940s radio.
Dick Doesn’t Stand, Take Center Stage
By MARY TYLER MOORE
Hollywood — (AP) — One of the questions I’m asked most often is what is it like to work with Dick Van Dyke. And I have a feeling people don’t believe what I tell them because it sounds too good to be true.
I just can’t say that offstage, Dick Van Dyke is moody. Or temperamental. Or hard to get along with. I’m not sure he knows what those words mean.
The truth is that Dick doesn't lose his temper. He doesn’t sulk. He doesn’t throw his weight around.
He's so nice, in our hearts we know we don’t deserve him.
Someone asked Dick once if he could ever be married to me in real life. And he answered very honestly—he said no. To kid him, I asked what was the matter with me. Dick said, "I’m a marshmallow type. I’m not forceful enough for you."
I had to think that over. If Dick is a marshmallow type, it's over a steel core. He’s one of the strongest men I’ve ever known. But he’s quietly strong. (I probably need a loudly strong type.)
There are quite a few loud, strong types working to put The Dick Van Dyke Show (Wednesdays on Channel 12) together. We all sit around tossing in ideas, adding bits of action to the scripts as we go along. There’s a lot of joking and laughing and general fooling around.
Dick will be in the middle of it all. But he sits in the middle—he doesn't stand up and take center stage.
IF we’re working out a camera move that doesn’t concern him, Dick may wander off and play the stage piano. You know what he usually plays? Johann Sebastian Bach.
That's because he's learning to play the harpsichord and he practices whenever he can. I imagine we’re the only show in Hollywood that rehearses to Bach.
Dick does live up to his reputation as a funny, funny man. The great thing about working with him is that he does more hilarious things offstage than we ever have time for on camera.
We did one show in which a clothing store mannequin was part of the stage setting. During rehearsal, Dick wandered over and pretended to whisper in her ear, carrying on a great conversation in pantomime. One second he’d be a spy passing on vital secrets. The next, a mean, gossipy old woman. Then a Don Juan. It was a great performance—and one that only a couple of dozen people saw.
I’ve said this before and I’ll keep on saying it. Dick is a born artist. He’s so talented at things he's never had formal training for — dancing, playing the piano, juggling.
He makes it look as though things are easy for him. And because of this, he makes things easy for all of us who work with him, Who could ask for anything more?
Some drawings from a take by Tom at the start of the final Tom and Jerry cartoon, “Purr-Chance to Dream” (1967), directed by Ben Washam.
Sorry, but the Tom and Jerrys produced by Chuck Jones just aren’t funny. This one is no exception, despite dogs that look like ones Jones came up with at Warners in the ‘50s and animation by Ken Harris, Dick Thompson, Tom Ray, Don Towsley and Phil Roman.
There’s an inside joke in the pan of characters which inhabit Wackyland.
Tthe character in the pot has huge glasses, just like caricatures of animator Bobe Cannon. The creature (voiced by Berneice Hansell) yells “So, Bobo!”
Okay, there’s another inside joke. The character with the steaming funnels has a “W” and a “B” for Warner Bros.
And here are the other creatures.
Norm McCabe and Izzy Ellis appear in the animation credits. One unconfirmed report says the backgrounds were by Elmer Plummer, and this was the last cartoon he worked on before going to Disney and being replaced by Dick Thomas.
Year after year, Don Wilson was voted the best announcer on radio. Almost immediately after one such award, Wilson went on the air and made one of his most famous flubs, telling Jack Benny he had heard about his new suit from “Drear Pooson” (Drew Pearson was a famous columnist who also had a radio broadcast on ABC an hour before the Benny show).
Wilson announced on a number of shows over the years, but most people would be hard-pressed to name any other than the Jack Benny show. He joined Benny in April 1934. Like the announcers before him, Wilson was incorporated into the banter with the stars and cast. Unlike the others, Wilson had a gimmick—his bulk, which fit in very nicely with (eventually) having a product to endorse that was edible. And Wilson endorsed it lovingly; by contrast, Howard Claney shouted at listeners when working his Chevrolet plugs into earlier Benny broadcasts (in fairness to him, the sponsor may have demanded a hard sell).
Here’s a full-page profit of Donzie, with accompanying photos, from the Long Island Daily Press, November 28, 1937.
Smiling Salesman
By LYLE ROOKS
DON (SIX DELICIOUS FLAVORS) WILSON has a new home. He built it out in the San Fernando Valley, which is becoming a combination of Mecca and Valhalla to the twin industries, radio and motion pictures. Don’s house is in a place called Longacres, which the real estate sign proclaims as a community of gentlemen’s estates. That gives you an idea. The architecture is modified ranch-house—very modified and very attractive.
The house sits congenially in a couple of acres of apricot trees as if it, too, had grown there. But many of the apricot trees are going to have to give way to gardens, great sweeps of lawn and pasturage for two horses. Two mind you.
And all of this is the result of a laugh and the convincing sincerity of a pleasant voice. No wonder the genial Don beams more expansively than ever. The laugh and the sincerity made him famous. Radio announcers don't often become famous in their own right. They mostly remain just voices only vaguely attached to names. But everybody who turns a dial knows Don of NBC, who talks about that product with the “big red letters on the box” on Jack Benny’s popular program. Don who exclaims about automobiles on the Hollywood Mardi Gras hour. Massive, friendly, laughing Don.
The laugh comes to him effortlessly. He must have been born with it and he’s never separated from it for long, either professionally or in his leisure time. It is not a stage laugh. He actually gets red in the face at Benny’s cracks. I know, I’ve seen him. Maybe that’s why it is impossible to hear that laugh come chuckling over your radio without joining in on the chorus.
THE story of the development of the persuasive speaking voice is the story of an operatic baritone that didn't quite come off. Young Mr. Wilson confidently expected it was going to be an operatic baritone back in the days when any hack could sing on the radio. He lived in Denver, Col., and he warbled in a church choir, a la Lawrence Tibbett. He was also one of a trio which sang at Rotarian banquets and civic celebrations. His bread and butter was earned more practically as a salesman, until the business which provided it failed. Then Don and the trio got themselves jobs at a radio station. They sang anything which was demanded of them at any hour of the day or night without benefit of sponsor.
Eventually the resident manager of a grocery store chain claimed them. And when the urge to go to California attacked them as it does everyone sooner or later, he arranged a ninety-day contract with a San Francisco station.
“I got my first stage experience at the Curran Theater in San Francisco,” Don explains. “So far as merit is concerned, it should have been my last. But it wasn’t, because the sponsor liked the advertising value of displaying his banner in front of the theater. The ninety-day contract extended to a year and our trio went to Los Angeles.
“We played in neighborhood theaters wherever the company had a store in the vicinity. I’ve been on stages so small that when they got a piano on there wasn’t room for me.”
Don doesn’t mind illusions to his bulk. He couldn’t very well, and remain Benny’s stooge.
He kept on singing into a microphone after the trio broke up. His was the sort of singing which was used to fill in gaps between regular programs. The continuation of that circumstance finally convinced him operatic ambitions were futile. The only tinge left may be observed in the fact that his intimate friends sometimes call him Pagliacci.
BEFORE radio was nationalized by great broadcasting companies, two of Los Angeles’ major independent stations were owned by rival heads of automobile agencies. Don worked for thorn both in succession. The reason he was fired by the first was because he made the mistake of buying the make of car sold by the second. He should have known better.
When he went to KFI, which is now NBC’s Hollywood affiliate, they made an announcer of him. He started in by palavering in dulcet, Big Brother tones on a children’s hour. It was soon realized such superior vocal salesmanship was wasted on children. Then he became a football announcer. That was better.
It was so much better he grew to be leading football announcer in the country, not excepting Graham “Oh look at the scenery!” McNamee. Don went to New York and Radio City. He is credited with the fastest eye-to-microphone description of special events and sports contests in radio.
Foptball announcing came easy to him He had played on the University of Colorado team and he knew what he was talking about. He says it is pretty hard to remain popular while you are telling listeners about what happens on a gridiron, though. People are always wining in accusing you of taking sides no matter how impartial you try to be. When you’re master of ceremonies on a program devoted exclusively to professional talent there’s less they can object to.
Don Wilson became Jack Benny’s M. C. six months before Benny changed to his present sponsor. They’ve worked together nearly four years and Wilson, by his own admission, goes a little soft when he talks about Benny, because Benny is “the greatest guy in the world.”
“I remember something that happened the last time we went down to New York together.” Don always talks about going “down” instead of back to New York. It may be unconscious condescension on his part. He explains that he has too much hay seed in his hair to want to live long in the big city.
“Jack was using the trip to catch up on some much needed rest. He hadn’t been well and he was spending most of his time in bed. The train stopped for a while in a little burg in Kansas. Some of the inhabitants found out Benny was on the train and they came down to try to catch a glimpse of him. When Jack was told he got up, stuck his head out of the window and kidded with them as conscientiously as if they were the most important audience he had ever faced.
“A cynical press agent who was along watched him and said: ‘That is what is known as annuity padding.’ Well, I guess it was smart from a business point of view. But that wasn’t why Jack did it. He is nice to people because he likes to be. He can’t help being considerate of everyone and anyone.”
THERE is some proof of that. Half an hour before the show goes on the air Benny strolls out on the broadcasting stage and entertains the people who have gathered to see as well as hear him. He is the only big star who does anything like that, and when you think how much he gets paid for half an hour, giving that much free gratis time is something. Don wouldn’t want his bosses to know it but he would be willing to work for nothing on the Benny program. He has so much fun.
He has never been late to a radio broadcast in his life. In a business where every minute is worth a fabulous sum, being late must be a heinous crime. But he once missed a broadcast altogether and I daresay that is worse.
It was in New York and he was not ill or otherwise incapacitated. He just failed to notice a small item at the extreme right-hand side of the call board. So he was sitting comfortably in his hotel room late in the evening listening to the radio, of all things, when the telephone rang. A definitely annoyed executive shouted into his ear: “For Pete’s sake, what’s the matter with you? You're supposed to be announcing this program. You’re on right now!” The famous voice was small indeed when Don replied: “Am I?” He forebode to add: “How am I doing?” But he sheepishly switched off his radio. He had been listening to his own program.
This summer Don made a picture for Universal called “Behind the Mike.” He roars with laughter when he talks about it.
“I tell you it is so bad they hesitated to release it. You should see that big blimp on the screen, but I hope you don’t. He covers everybody.
“There’s a scene where he comes into a room and you can see him look down to see if he has overstepped his chalk marks on the floor. You know about how every motion picture actor has to pay attention to his chalk marks so he’ll keep in mike range or camera range or something. Only he isn’t supposed to be conspicuous about it. Well, they explained all that to the big blimp, but it was too much for him. In that scene he did get past his marks sure enough. And you can see him sort of back up and look down again with the darnedest, most puzzled expression on his moon face. Why they ever left it in is a mystery except that the rest of his performance in the picture is so much on a par it doesn’t matter.
“Now I know what I’ve inspected all along and if that picture gets out everybody else will know it too Don Wilson is no actor. He’d better stick to radio announcing.”
That’s all right by me if he continues to do it with a laugh.
The biggest development in theatrical cartoons during the first half of 1948 was not apparent at the time. Columbia signed a distribution deal for cartoons to be made by United Productions of America. No one dreamed that in a few years, UPA would be the darling of critics for its art style and approach to subject matter (i.e. no animated slapstick).
In the meantime, short films of all kinds tended to be ignored more and more by the trade papers; Motion Picture Daily stopped reviewing them altogether. The Film Daily gave cartoons, outside of Disney’s features, scant attention, though it carried on with its reviews. With that caveat, let’s go the pages of the Daily and see what we can find.
The post has been augmented with items from Daily Variety, which seemed to take more of an interest in certain cartoon studios (ones with good PR departments, I suspect). Metro continued to plug animated shorts which, according to Thad Komorowski’s research, were never planned. John Sutherland worked out a deal with MGM to, essentially, replace its third (Lah-Blair) unit by allowing it to release the studio’s “educational” shorts made for Harding College. And Bob Clampett found himself without a job as Republic gave up on the idea of releasing his series of Charlie Horse cartoons and went with a far cheaper concept devised by The Great Gildersleeve’s creator, Len Levinson (and even that was short-lived). Clampett moved into television, where cartoons specifically for the medium (among other projects) were being considered by Ted Robinson’s company with backing of Bing Crosby and Philco.
Walter Lantz’s situation is difficult to sort out. His studio had been temporarily closed for three months starting near the end of 1947, but the ink and paint department was still at work. He still had a contract with United Artists. He spent some time on the road. Somewhere along the way, the studio must have re-opened, because Lantz suddenly found he had a hit record on his hands (review by Variety on May 18th) and he quickly shoehorned “The Woody Woodpecker Song” into the opening of “Wet Blanket Policy,” his third-last cartoon for U.A. (interestingly, while the song is heard in the cartoon, Buzz Buzzard talks to the audience in some indecipherable noises. One wonders if the original dialogue was lost when the soundtrack was changed to add the song).
So, here’s what The Film Daily had to say. The Variety stories are labelled as such. Unfortunately, a number of them are incomplete or garbled but you can still get the gist of the story. There’s a June 2nd story about Max Fleischer I cannot decipher. My thanks to Thad for his help in completing some of the blurbs.
January 6, 1948 Disney May Sell Foreign Distribution Rights Seeks Immediate Dollar Revenues to Offset Loss of Income from Abroad West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—In a move to gain immediate revenues from foreign distribution, Walt Disney Productions is considering a plan under which distributors abroad would be granted the right to distribute Disney films for a period of years, in return for an immediate dollar consideration, Roy O. Disney, president, revealed the annual report to stockholders.
Terming the proposal "one of the most likely solutions," Disney said that progress is being made in this regard." It is expected, he continued, that this change in sales policy will to a considerable extent off-set the loss of income from abroad. Net Profit Climbs
Net profit of Disney Productions for the year ended Sept. 27 was $1,507,075, an increase from the $199,602 earned in the 1946 fiscal year. Earnings this year were equal, after preferred dividends, to 43 cents per common share, compared to 26 cents last year on the same basis.
SHORTS TEST West Coast Bur., THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—In addition to the re-release of "Bambi" this year, Walt Disney Productions will make test releases of six selected shorts produced in previous years. Tests are seen as determining whether the re-issuance of old shorts adds to revenues, or whether it affects earnings of new shorts adversely, according to President Roy O. Disney's annual report, released today.
January 7, 1948 Quimby Slates More Metro Cartoons Daily Variety
Fred Quimby, Metro cartoon producer, yesterday announced three new cartoons to be made during the second quarter of 1948. Two, "Carnegie Howl" and "Mad Man Mouse" will be of the Tom and Jerry series. Third, "Egg O’ My Heart" will star Tom and Jerry and Slick Chick.
Pal Trying Out New Plan For Puppets Daily Variety
New departure in screen animation featuring lucite puppet characters has been perfected by George Pal, who claims the composition results in marked reduction of production costs and a heightened screen illusion. Process will be used for the first time in Pal's newest educational short, "Time, Space and Energy." Bernard Garbutt [former Lantz effects animator] has been signed for special animation job on the subject.
January 23, 1948
Phil M Daly column, New York City
RKO is planning a Summer release for Disney's "Melody Time," said to set a new pattern for the musical cartoon pattern.
January 26, 1948 "Bambi" As Easter Film In 4 Paris First Runs
Paris (By Air Mail)—RKO plans to release Disney's "Bambi" at Easter, playing simultaneously in the four largest film theaters in Paris: the Marignan, Marivaux, Rex and Gaumont Palace.
Metro Cartoon Series To Burlesque Classics Daily Variety
Metro is initiating new cartoon series which will be based on classic features in screen history. First will be "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse," with Tom and Jerry, cat-mouse duo, taking over leading characters in burlesque treatments. [Note: the film had already been released the previous August].
February 2, 1948 Daily Variety
REVALUATION of franc last week by French government is likely to have important bearing upon Lou Bunin's cartoon feature, "Alice in Wonderland," currently being made in Paris by producer with assistance of 25 Hollywood technicians. Film originally was budgeted as $1,500,000, and announced by Bunin as set for production in France due to fact it could be turned out much cheaper than in Hollywood. With value of American dollars now doubled by devaluation of French franc, and able to buy twice as much in France as before, Bunin stands chance of being able to bring in his picture far under budget, since it is understood that he made all arrangements in France on basis of francs and not dollars. Payment to Hollywood unit, however, will be same, since personnel was contracted for on dollars.
February 3, 1948 CHARTERED
TELEVISION CARTOONS, INC., New York City; 200 shares, no par value; Arthur Goldman and Bob Brotherton.
February 5, 1948 Venezuela Squawks Get 'Bolivar' Renamed Daily Variety
Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 4. - Venezuela Motion Picture Workers Union today voted to ban all Walt Disney pix, claiming Donald Duck's dog, Bolivar, is an insult to the memory of Simon Bolivar, national hero. Disney reps last night said Bolivar has never been used in studio's film cartoons, although he does appear in comic strips. Tag for the funny-paper pup will be changed, a studio spokesman said.
Daily Variety
Peer International Music Corporation's suit against Walt Disney Studios, filed in New York Federal court last year, has been settled amicably. Ralph S. Peer brought suit after Disney gave copyrights to "Song of the South" film score to Santly-Joy Music, disregarding contracts with Peer, who had released Ray Gilbert, under contract at the time, to score "South," with pact guaranteeing Peer copyrights to Gilbert's works.
February 6, 1948 METRO RELEASING COLLEGE PICTURE Daily Variety
Metro will release one-reel short tagged "Make Mine Freedom," for Harding college, of Searcy, Ark. Subject, entirely in animation and in Technicolor, was made for Harding by John Sutherland Productions last year, and is first on school's public education film program. Film will go out as a Harding College presentation and is first time Metro has given such credit.
February 10, 1948 Daily Variety
METRO will use portion of its own Technicolor commitment for release of "Make Mine Freedom," one-reeler in animation which company will distribute for Harding College, as part of school's public education program. Company will slice color stock slated for other films to make tint available for short.
February 13, 1948 DISNEY WILL DO FEATURE ON NOTED WORLD FIESTAS Daily Variety
Walt Disney has slated a cartoon on fiestas throughout the world for production within the next two years. Producer is now in New Orleans, where he attended the Mardi Gras earlier this week gathering material for picture. He's now inter viewing heads of the city's numerous "krewes," social organizations which stage the annual celebration. Also to be incorporated in the film are sequences involving the annual Pasadena rose festival, Philadelphia's Mummer's Parade, the Rio de Janeiro Carnival, Arts Ball in Paris, Santa Barbara Festival, Mexico City's Cinco De Mayo hooplahoopla, and other once-a-year blowouts throughout the world. Theme of the film will be "Fiesta as an Expression of Humanity's Indomitable Optimism."
Up for 'Cinderella' Daily Variety
Ilene Woods, vocalist on the Jack Carson show, is a contender for the vocal role of "Cinderella" in the forthcoming Walt Disney film based on the fairy tale.
February 17, 1948 Disney Dividend on Pfd. West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — Board of directors of Walt Disney Productions yesterday declared a quarterly dividend of 37 ½ cents per share on the six per cent cumulative convertible preferred stock payable April 1, to stockholders of record March 13.
February 19, 1948 Lantz Seeks Cost of 2 Seals per Playdate
Admission cost of two seats added to the present flat rental of each cartoon playdate would mean the difference between loss and profit for animated film producers, Walter Lantz, independent cartoon producer and president of the Cartoon Producers Association, said yesterday.
Here from Hollywood for conferences with United Artists distribution officials on the 12 subjects he will make for UA release this season, Lantz pointed out that costs of cartoon production have increased by 165 per cent since 1941. As an example, he stated that a cartoon short costing $12,500 in 1941 costs from $26,000 to $35,000 today. About 90 per cent of cartoon costs are labor charges, Lantz said.
In this same 1941-48 period, Lantz emphasized, rentals for cartoons have risen only 15 per cent. As a result of these higher costs, sans adequate returns, the number of cartoon producers has decreased, Lantz pointed out, and the number of cartoons produced has decreased from 185-190 annually to 90-98 scheduled for this year, augmented by reissues of older cartoons.
Exhibitors must soon decide whether they want cartoons, Lantz emphasized, and if they do, they must be willing to pay the small extra amount per theater needed to absorb production costs.
Name More Nominees For Academy Awards West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Best cartoon: "Chip an' Dale," Disney; "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse," M-G-M; "Pluto’s Blue Note," Disney; "Tubby the Tuba," Paramount; "Tweetie Pie," Warner.
March 1, 1948 Warners Cuts Its Cartoon Sked to 30 Daily Variety
Warners will turn out limit of 30 cartoons on its 1948 cartoon pro-gram. This is cut from previous year's slate. Reason for slackdown is difficulty in getting Technicolor prints.
March 2, 1948 REP HALTS CARTOON PRODUCTION; MAY DROP SCHEDULE Daily Variety
Further production of cartoon shorts is being held up by Republic pending decision by studio execs this week on whether or not the program will be continued.
Studio made a releasing deal with cartoonist Bob Clampett over a year ago for a series of the animated shorts, but he has made only one, "It's a Grand Old Nag." It goes into national release next Tuesday, when local bookings also start, at the Guild, United Artists, Ritz, Studio City and Iris. Short is in Rep's own tint process, Trucolor.
W. W. Arnold, general manager of Clampett Productions, said yesterday that firm's Melrose Avenue plant has closed down pending decision of Rep execs.
Clampett was formerly an animator with Leon Schlesinger when latter made Warners' cartoons. He branched out as an indie with his Rep deal.
March 4, 1948 Salkin With Fairbanks Daily Variety
Leo Salkin, former story man with the animation departments at Metro and Disney, and cartoonist for the New Yorker and the Saturday Evening Post, yesterday joined the scenario department at Jerry Fairbanks Productions.
March 9, 1948 Polacolor Available For Feature Pix Use
Polacolor will soon be available for feature live-action pictures to be processed from color separation negatives supplied by the producers, the Polaroid Corp. told its stockholders in the company's annual report.
The three color printing process is now adapted to production in a pilot plant with a capacity of several million feet per annum, the report stated. Cartoons processed thus far have met with highly favorable reception, it is said, from the point of view of both quality and its potential low cost.
Pilot plant has sufficient orders for cartoons from Paramount alone to keep it fully employed for some time. Plans for expanding capacity, which were deferred while efforts were concentrated on commercializing the process, are being considered.
EMBRO PEDDLING PICTORIAL FILMS Daily Variety
Embro Pictures, headed by Scotty Brown, has been named distributor in the 11 western states for Pictorial Films, Inc. of New York. New offices have been opened at the Cross Roads of the World with private screening room. Yesterday Brown received 500 16m features for distribution to camera stores and libraries, as well as 100 cartoons for sale in drug stores and 25 features and shorts for television.
March 10, 1948 Paramount Drops 2-Reel Shorts, Ups Singles Prod.
...Oscar Morgan, shorts and news sales manager, said that cartoon output will be increased from 24 to 30 subjects...
March 12, 1948 Daily Variety
WITH present-day cartoon rental levels virtually making cartoon production a losing proposition, United Artists' sales force will up asking price for Walter Lantz's cartoons approximately 25 per cent, producer announced yesterday. Decision was arrived at after Lantz huddled extensively with sales heads on recent trip to New York, in which it was explained that while production costs had been boosted around 165 per cent since 1941, rentals had been increased only 15 per cent. Exhibs will be asked to up rental price by only two seats per play date, which will make difference between profit and loss to cartoon producer.
March 17, 1948 Name Blackburn, Wade To Posts in NBC Tele
Appointment of Norman Blackburn, formerly vice-president of the J. Walter Thompson Hollywood office, as national program director of NBC Television, was announced yesterday by Noran E. Kersta, NBC director of television operations.
Simultaneously Kersta announced the appointment of Warren Wade, of NBC Television, to the post of production manager. Both appointments are effective April 1.
Blackburn will be charged with over-all program planning for the rapidly expanding NBC video network. Wade will supervise program production of NBC's owned-and-operated stations.
Blackburn entered the film field in 1936, writing and animating short subjects for Walt Disney and later Harmonising Studios. He subsequently handled film writing assignments for Bing Crosby at Paramount and other films at the Hal Roach and M-G-M studios.
March 22, 1948 1947 ACADEMY AWARDS
Cartoons: "Tweetie Pie," Edward Selzer, producer. (Warner Bros.)
Best Original Song: "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," Music by Allie Wrubel; Lyrics by Ray Gilbert from "Song of the South." (Disney-RKO Radio).
Special Awards: James Baskett for "Uncle Remus" in "Song of the South." (Walt Disney—RKO).
March 24, 1948 SASANOFF WINDS 10 ONE-MINUTE TELE SHORTS Daily Variety
Michael Sasanoff has completed 10 one-minute commercial films for television, which Schenley will sponsor on 11 stations, and returns to New York Monday. He is expected back in a few weeks to supervise filming of video shorts for Phillip Morris, Bulova and other clients of the Biow Agency. Schenley shorts were produced at Telefilm with Hans Conreid as the voice of "Sunny the Rooster," the Schenley trade mark, and Art Ballinger as commentator. Both live action and animation were used in the footage. Sasanoff both created and draws the rooster, which is the dominating factor in the films.
March 26, 1948 LANTZ STARTING '49 CARTOON SKED SIX MONTHS EARLY Daily Variety
Walter Lantz, within next two weeks, will start his 1949 cartoon program of 12 subjects for United Artists release, more than six months ahead of schedule. Move is made possible by producer already having completed his 1948 slate of 11 and getting ready to deliver Technicolor prints on entire output in by July 1. This is exactly six months ahead of Jan. 1, 1949 deadline for all prints' delivery to UA. as per his contract. Lantz has already handed over completed prints of five, with another five to be delivered within next couple of months, and final two by July 1. Speed with which Technicolor is servicing Lantz is contributing factor to producer being able to look so far ahead of his production slate. It is first time since the war that color company has caught up on its quota for Lantz, which permits him six-month lee-way.
April 1, 1948
Phil M Daly column, New York City
WHAT A PROPERTY lineup Walt Disney has!... Look: "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," "Treasure Island," "Peter Pan," "The Sword in the Stone," "Hiawatha," "Three Wishes,"" It's Perfectly True"... Walt is now at work on "Two Fabulous Characters". . .RKO has two Disney pix coming up... "Melody Time" goes out in August, "So Dear to My Heart" in December.
April 2, 1948 Gov’t Films Via Distribs.
MPAA member companies will distribute worldwide to theaters 15 documentary shorts, produced or edited by the State Dep't, and including some industry-provided clips, it was announced yesterday by Gerald Mayer.
Documentaries, to be released semi-monthly, will be augmented by 13 health cartoons produced by Disney for the Gov't.
WB UPS CARTOON OUTPUT TO 34 Daily Variety
Warners will make 34 cartoons this year, including 26 in Technicolor and eight in Cinecolor. Normal output is 26 but studio has taken on eight more in order to make up for drop in output last year caused by material and equipment shortages at Technicolor. There'll be 12 "Bugs Bunnies" in the bunch, cartoon chief Ed Selzer said yesterday, as against eight in 1947. These will be divided evenly between "Merrie Melodies" and "Looney Tunes," of which 17 each will be turned out.
April 8, 1948 Lantz At Work on Next Year's Scripts Daily Variety
Walter Lantz is winding up scripts on first six on his program of 12 cartoons set for release by United Artists during 1949. Producer already has completed his 1948 output six months ahead of schedule, and is now propping his studio for blast of production activity in near future. Final Technicolor prints for 1948 will be delivered to UA by July 1.
April 13, 1948
Phil M Daly column, New York City
Said to be the first French cartoon in Technicolor, "Rhapsody of Saturn" starts Thursday at the Elysee on the bill with "Antoine and Antoinette.
April 20, 1948 DISNEY BOARDS DOCUMENTARY BANDWAGON Daily Variety
Now it's Walt Disney who's jumping on the documentary bandwagon. Cartoon producer has decided to make a full-length picture on Alaska, with tentative-working title of "The Story of Alaska." Only cartoons to he used will he animated maps. [remainder of the story does not involve cartoons]
April 26, 1948 COLUMBIA SIGNS DEAL FOR FOUR ANIMATE PIX Daily Variety
Columbia returned to the animated cartoon field over the weekend, inking a deal to release a series of Technicolor cartoons to be made by United Productions of America. First two cartoons in the five-year deal will be based on fox and crow characters already established in the Columbia shorts program. After that, UPA will launch new characters.
UPA, established five years ago, has turned out cartoons for the army and navy and for government bureaus and industrial and educational groups. Officers are Stephen Bosustow, John Hubley, Edward Gershman and Ade Woolery.
May 10, 1948 "Melody Time's" Astor Bow Set for May 27
Walt Disney's "Melody Time" is slated to preem at the Astor Theater, May 27, following the run of "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House."
Disney Plans $1,000,000 Loan to Pay Arrearages West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—A plan under which Walt Disney Productions will clear up arrearages on its six per cent cumulative convertible preferred, is announced. Action is subject to consummation of a proposed loan of $1,000,000, to be secured by an assignment of future royalties from a recently-signed 10-year book and magazine publication contract.
Two payments of $2.25 per share each would be made this year, with two additional payments in the same amount paid in 1949.
May 11, 1948 Color Cartoon Series To Feature Radio Elf West Coast Bur., THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood — Jump Jump, three-inch-tall elf, and other characters of the popular children's radio program, "Holiday House," will be featured in a series of animated color cartoons to be produced by Samson R. Diamond. "The Enchanted Slippers," first in the "Adventures of Jump Jump" series will go into production June 1, with Rimsky - Korsakov's "Christmas Eve" as background music. Holiday House radio stanza is one of the few children's shows to receive PTA endorsement.
May 13, 1948 Impossible's Cartoons Get Rep. Distribution
"Jerky Journeys" cartoon produced by Impossible Pictures, Inc., headed by Leonard Levinson and Dave Flexer, will be distributed, starting July 1, by Republic, deal being announced jointly yesterday by Herbert J. Yates and Levinson. Four of the shorts, in Trucolor, will be made in the first year of the agreement, which runs for seven years with annual options. Frank Nelson, from radio, will do the narration for the shorts which stress camera animation rather than figure animation.
Commercial Pix Perk, Sutherland Finds Daily Variety
Commercial film business is picking up, John Sutherland, active in this type of production since abandoning cartoons, reported yesterday. [garble] during past six months, biz now is regaining momentum, producer stated. His studio is working capacity. Sutherland is doing new series for United Fruit Co., and trio of shorts for Procter and Gamble. He also is prepping a short for Harding College.
May 14, 1948 Daily Variety
FOURTEEN SHORTS which John Sutherland produced for United Fruit Co. in 35m Ansco are to be switched to Technicolor, for reduction to 16m. Ansco is reported by producer not particularly conducive to reduction from 35m to 16m, since finished product becomes fuzzy.
May 19, 1948 Pays 1,200 Kids 5c Each to Ship Film
Cambridge, Mass. — Figuring the companion picture to the re-issue of Walt Disney's "Bambi" was not good for kids, Stanley Sumner, manager of the University paid 1,200 kids five cents each to pass up the second feature and go home after the feature cartoon had run. "It brought us the enthusiastic approbation of parents, teachers, women's clubs, etc.," Sumner commented, "which naturally is very important to a suburban theater." Sumner made a similar deal with a kid audience some years ago.
Disney-CBS Talking Exclusive TV Pact West Coast Bur., THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood-— A deal under which CBS would acquire exclusive television rights to Walt Disney's film productions is being discussed by the producer with Frank Stanton and D. W. Thornburgh of the network, it is learned.
Preliminary talks have been held between Thornburgh and Disney in recent weeks, it is understood, with Stanton scheduled to take up the matter while he is here for the NAB convention. Deal, if concluded, would rank as one of the top film-television agreements made thus far.
'Alice' in the Middle Of a Cinematic Blunderland Weekly Variety
Whether "Alice" in Walt Disney's forthcoming "Alice in Wonderland" should be live or animated has become a cause celebre within the cartoon organization, with considerable personal bitterness having developed over the issue among the staff on both coasts. Disney himself is still undecided and work on the picture, which is slated for 1950 release, is going ahead in such a way that either a live or cartoon "Alice" can be filled in later. Disney was all set to use his moppet star, Luana Patten, in the film until he went to England about 18 months ago. He mentioned his plan in interviews and found he had stirred up a load of squawks from the press, which maintained that Lewis Carroll's "Alice" was British and should have a British accent. Producer came home then uncertain of whether Luana would do or not.
Cartoon "Alice" advocates have been pointing out that Paramount's 1933 version of the classic, with Charlotte Henry starred, was a flop A paint-and-brush character, they figure, would clear many of the difficulties that Par ran into.
The Luana advocates, on the other hand, claim that the British accent bleat is meaningless and have succeeded in getting Disney to sign W. Cabell Greet, Columbia University prof and speech consultant to the Columbia Broadcasting System, to work out a universal accent. The nine-year-old has been applying herself to it.
Kid's in New York this week, being put through a publicity routine in preparation for opening later this month of her next Disney film, "Melody Time," at the Astor. She returns to the Coast next Monday. She's understood set to go into "Family Honeymoon" at Universal. Her only previous effort off the Disney lot was in Metro's "Little Mr. Jim" three years ago.
May 20, 1948 Daily Variety
YOUNG AMERICA is taking to corny laugh of Woody Woodpecker character in Walter Lantz cartoons like their elder brothers adopted jungle cry of Tarzan a few years ago. Every group of youngsters now is imitating laugh, which is played up in Kay Kyser's new Columbia hit recording, "Woody Woodpecker." Music, which Lantz owns, will be used hereafter as theme for main title on all Woody Woodpecker films.
May 21, 1948 LANTZ WILL DO 12 COCO COLA SHORTS Daily Variety
Walter Lantz yesterday closed deal with Coca-Cola Export Corp. to produce 12 two-minute shorts in Technicolor for theatrical distribution in foreign countries. Lantz, who produces 12 cartoons annually for United Artists release, will create new characters for films. Dubbing will be done in English, Spanish, Italian, Portugese, French and Dutch.
May 24, 1948 "Melody Time" Selections, Disney Starlet on Video
Marking the first time that film from a modern Walt Disney production will be presented on television, selections from the producer's new feature "Melody Time" will be included in next Friday's juvenile "Small Fry Club" broadcast over the DuMont network.
In addition to excerpts from the film, nine year old starlet Luana Patten, who plays a leading role in the picture, will appear in person over the telecast which will originate from WABD here.
"Melody Time" opens at the Astor Theater, Thursday.
Disney Plans To Top-Budget Authentic Story Of Hiawatha Daily Variety
Hiawatha, greatest of all American Indian legends, got the green light yesterday from Walt Disney as one of his most top-budgeted pix. Epic of the Iroquois demigod as told in the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem will be translated into an all-cartoon musical feature, for which a score of the calibre and scope of "Fantasia" is being planned. Music is to be written by a top composer, in authentic [garble]. Preparatory work on story and animation have been under way for several years as one of Disney's major projects, it was learned. Research, begun before the war, is being intensified for an early start on the film, and a full technical crew has been is-signed to complete the basic pat tern. Omce of Indian Affairs in Washington is cooperating with Disney in opening up ancient records on the life and leadership of the chieftain, whose people regarded him as a direct descendant of their god Manitou and who exercised great sway over the allied tribes in the Great Lakes region. Dick Kelsey, Disney artist, leaves next week to delve into records in Washington, visit museums and sketch settings in the region where Hiawatha lived. Scheduled production carries on Disney's policy of perpetuating American folklore on the screen, a la "Uncle Remus," "Pecos Bill," "Johnny Appleseed" and "Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
May 26, 1948 Quimby Re-signed to Head M-G-M Shorts Production West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—M-G-M has signed Fred C. Quimby, short subject production head, to a new five-year contract, it is announced. An M-G-M executive for 23 years, Quimby has been in charge of shorts production for 12 years, and 11 years as general manager of shorts in New York.
His cartoon stars, Tom and Jerry, have won four Academy Awards, and the producer also won an Academy Award for "The Milky Way."
May 28, 1948 Vets Back Metro Pick Daily Variety
American Legion is backing promotion of Metro's Technicolor cartoon "Make Mine Freedom." W. C. Sawyer, director of the Legion's national Americanism Commission, memoed commanders of the 12,000 posts that the film combines entertainment and a patriotic message and urged that all Legion members see it.
June 4, 1948 Halts Cartoon to Inject 'Woodpecker' Tune Daily Variety
Walter Lantz has stopped production of one of his Woody Woodpecker shorts to inject tune of same title into script. "Woodpecker" tune has skyrocketed nearly to the top of the music heap in two weeks. Shed music has sold 155,000 and Columbia's platters registered over one quarter of a million on the sold list. The Kay Kyser disc, incidentally, was the only one etched prior to Petrillo ban.
June 8, 1948 Disney's 27 Weeks' Profit at $68,128 West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY
Hollywood—Total income of Walt Disney Productions for the 27 weeks ended April 3 was $2,543,286, while at profit, after all charges, was $68,128, Roy O. Disney, president, stated in a letter to stockholders, comparable gross for the 26 weeks ended March 29, 1947 was $2,984,097, while net profit amounted to $264,383.
Earnings in the recent period were equal to eight cents per common share, compared with 38 cents per share earned in the 1947 half year.
While Disney anticipated improved earnings for the second half of the fiscal year, he said no material improvement can be expected until international currency difficulties become less severe. Company, he pointed out, is being affected by the shortage of American dollars in foreign countries and by the blocking of substantial amounts.
Projected profit margin on current product is small, Disney revealed, as management is heavily discounting these blocked funds in its estimates. However, he added, it is hoped that recovery of a substantial portion of the funds will ultimately be made possible by improved world conditions.
TED ROBINSON CUTS VIDEO CARTOON COST TO 10G Daily Variety
Ted Robinson, of New World Productions, has completed two 10-minute, animated television car toons at cost of $20,000. Each reel consumed three months' shooting; animation alone re quired six weeks. Art Scott and Frank McSavage did the animation. Nut of $10,000 per cartoon is one-third average cost estimated by other producers. Walter Lantz video cartoons run $30,000 regard-less of whether they are in black and white or color. The amount of work put into the individual drawings is the same and black and white must be delicately shaded as against the use of colors otherwise.
June 15, 1948 Prandi Sues Disney Daily Variety
Walt Disney was sued yesterday in Rome by Italian novelist Fugenio Prandi for alleged plagiarism in producer's cartoon, "Bambi." Prandi claimed idea was taken from his book, "The Hind," published in 1932.
Arthur Heineman Gets Impossible Assignment Daily Variety
Arthur Heineman has been signed as production assistant by Impossible Pictures, cartoon outfit releasing through Republic. He was formerly a cartoonist at Walt Disney's and Metro prior to his retirement two years ago.
June 16, 1948
Phil M Daly column, New York City
• As a result of the soaring popularity of the "Woody Woodpecker" song, prints of the Walter Lantz cartune series are being rushed to UA Lantz, incidentally, is preparing a new cartune with the entire song as the main theme.
Daily Variety
David Hand, former Disney associate, now Rank's cartoon chief, will do a series of animated English county histories with all [garble] local ballads, to be called "Musical Paintbox."
June 18, 1948 Tupper Quits Cartoons Daily Variety
William J. Tupper, Jr., has re signed as sales manager for Terrytune cartoons.
LANTZ WON'T MAKE TELEPIX ON SPEC Daily Variety
Walter Lantz declared yesterday that he will not make cartoons for television without a sponsor definitely set beforehand.
According to the vet film cartoonist, the cost of producing shorts is too high to enable company to make reels on speculation as is being done by some 50-odd indie producers here. Six-minute films run $35,000 or $6,000 per minute and, Lantz claims, the cost of the labor equals 95 per cent of the overall nut.
June 22, 1948 Eshbaugh Short At Hall
Color short on the signing of the Declaration of Independence—current on the Radio City Music Hall stage show—was produced by Ted Eshbaugh and was photographed in three-color 35 mm. Ansco.
June 24, 1948 Daily Variety
Bill Cottrell, Peter Virgo, James O'Rear and Art O'Connell set by United Productions to do narration for animated cartoon, "Nottingham on Rye," which Columbia will release.
June 28, 1948
Phil M Daly column, New York City
• Walter Lantz's "Wet Blanket Policy," which UA will release in August, carries "The Woody Woodpecker Song" thruout.
REVIEWS
January 16, 1948 "The Super Salesman"
Twentieth-Fox 7 Mins. Sure Laughs
The talking magpies, Heckle and Jeckle, decide to sell their hair tonic in a park, to the consternation of the park caretaker. He calls in a bullish policeman to settle matters. As salesmen they are better entertainers. This one is really clever and is an excellent bet for sure laughs.
"A Fight to the Finish"
Twentieth-Fox 7 Mins. Good
Oil Can Harry, has our heroine, Pearl, tied to the railroad tracks while Mighty Mouse tries in vain to save her. He finally succeeds and mops up Oil Can. Lots of action, mellerdrayma, and laughs.
January 26, 1948
"Boston Beanie"
Columbia 6 Mins. Excellent
Lavish MacTavish offers a poor kitten one baked bean for every mouse he kills. The mouse and cat soon join forces to outwit Lavish who grows more unhappy at the loss of so many beans. Clever angles rate this as excellent cartoon.
"Fishing by the Sea"
Twentieth-Fox 7 Mins. Excellent
Heckle and Jeckle, the talking magpies, head for a day of fishing. So does a slow-witted dog, who unsuspectingly, plods happily on his way. When the trio meet only two come out on top. Packed with laughs, this rates an excellent.
"The First Snow"
Twentieth-Fox 7 Mins. Good
A group of chubby bunnies lead a wily fox on quite a chase before he takes the upper hand. Jubilation and chop-licking are fox features till Mighty Mouse arrives on the scene and saves the day for the rabbits. Good entertaining cartoon.
"The Wolf's Pardon"
Twentieth-Fox 7 Mins. Very Humorous
The Big Bad Wolf decides to visit the scene of his crime, only to find everyone changed in modern Mother Goose-land. In fact Little Red Riding Hood starts to chase him. Good turn-about tale with many humorous situations.
January 26, 1948 "Dog Show-Off"
Paramount 7 Mins. Very Entertaining
Little Lulu tries to help a sad-faced little boy and his mutt dog win first prize at the dog show. In her usual ingenious style, she finally gets the blue ribbon for the pup. Very entertaining.
"Olive Oyl for President"
Paramount 7 Mins. Should Do Well
Popeye looks on dubiously as Olive Oyl dreams she is president. Her innovations include ten months of June for honeymooners, one-cent ice cream cones for children, plenty of apartments for rent, etc. This is timely, should do very well.
"Cat O' Nine Ails"
Paramount 7 Mins. Barrel of Laughs
Buzzy the Blackbird, playing doctor, decides to treat Sam the Cat, a hypochondriac, to a few pills. His diagnoses include pneumonia, measles, and bats in the belfry. Excellent cartoon with a barrel of laughs.
February 3, 1948 "Horse Fly Fleas"
Warners 7 Mins. Excellent
A homeless flea takes refuge on a dog's back, which to him is a forest inhabited by hostile flea Indians. The poor dog is tormented till he rids himself of his lodger. Excellent cartoon which should have them in the aisles.
February 19, 1948
"Pluto's Blue Note"
RKO 7 Mins. Very Cute
Pluto decides he's a crooner but nobody'll give him a chance to display his ability. He stumbles onto a record shop where he discovers his tail acts like a needle on a Sinatra recording. Taking the instrument back to his dog-house he has a willing audience. Very cute with plenty of bright spots.
March 11, 1948 "Little Brown Jug"
Paramount 8 Mins. Pleasant
A colony of beavers are rolling apples down to the cider mill for pressing when the mill breaks and the cider flows into the stream. All the animals in the vicinity get a little high and lead the audience in a community chorus of "Little Brown Jug." Pleasant cartoon with novel sing-along quality.
"Santa's Surprise"
Paramount 9 Mins. For the Kiddies
Santa, exhausted, falls into a deep sleep after delivering presents to all parts of the world. A child representative from each part of the globe follows him and decides to clean his house as the children's present to him. Colorful kiddie cartoon.
"They're Off"
RKO 7 Mins. Hilarious
Very funny race track yarn wherein Goofy is a hunch better who cleans up on a hundred-to-one shot. Lots of hilarious sequences give this plenty of energy.
March 26, 1948
"King Size Canary"
M-G-M 7 Mins. Different
All sorts of weird twists when a cat and a canary get hold of a magic potion that increase their size. Different angle and good for laughs.
April 5, 1948 “There’s Good Boos Tonight”
Para. 9 Mins. Will Do
Graveyard shenanigans by a young ghost who befriends a fox. Fox dies. His shade arises. Both are reunited in the spectral. Macabre neatly avoided. Color.
April 6, 1948 “Pre-Hysterical Man”
Para. 7 Mins. Good
Popeye and Olive Oyl get involved with the prehistoric—animals & Bluto. Plenty of slam-bang animation cleverly concocted to provoke laffs...In color, t'will send 'em.
The Bored Cuckoo
Para. 8 Mins. Good
Technicolored cuckoo clock sounderoffer is disgusted with his hourly chore. He quits. He does not fit in with real birds but a nightingale cutie goes for him and he finds a place in the scheme of bird things. Clever stuff.
“Taming the Cat”
20th-Fox 7 Mins. Fairly Good
The Talking Magpies tangle with a feline. What transpires is a load of provocative whizbang action that will go over on sheer uproar and kaleidoscopic animation qualities. In color.
"Woody, The Giant Killer"
Universal 7 Mins. Lots of Fun
Having no place to live, Woody is persuaded to buy some "magic" beans that will take him up to the clouds. He finds a sleeping giant whom he outwits to set up housekeeping in the castle. Lots of fun.
"Banquet Busters"
UA 7 Mins. Good
Andy Panda and Woody Woodpecker are two unemployed musicians who happen to hear about a very swank musicale and supper. Crashing same, they create havoc and provide lots of slapstick laughs. Good color cartoon.
April 15, 1948 "Bon Bon Parade"
Columbia 8 1/2 Mins. Fair
This melange of color and fantasy should be enjoyed by children, if they are very young. It is made to order for Saturday morning kid shows. Kaleidoscopic doings are concerned with a waif who visits Candyland and sees the wonders therein.
“Felix the Fox”
20th-Fox 7 Mins. Good
Crude but laughable. This one runs fairly wild in the comic sense but still does the trick. Felix, after he runs a stupid hound breathless, turns out to be a skunk. He had been wearing a disguise.
April 20, 1948 "Hitch Hikers"
20th-Fox 7 Mins. Will Do
The Talking Magpies get themselves involved with a couple of crooks. In a deserted house they drive them frantic. Slam-bang action. In color.
"Lazy Little Beaver"
20th-Fox 7 Mins. Routine
Mighty Mouse saves a lazy young beaver from a wolf out to get his pelt. Plot manages new animated twists. In color.
May 5, 1948 "Hop, Look & Listen"
Warners 7 Mins. Fair
Sylvester Cat the Shlemiel gets in dutch with a baby kangaroo this time. Routine comedy situations. No better no worse than most. In Technicolor.
"I Taw a Putty Tat"
Warners 7 Mins. Cute
Canary outsmarts cat with doleful consequences to latter. Some of the sequences are above average in imagination and comedy. In Cinecolor.
May 19, 1948 "Melody Time"
with (visually) Roy Rogers, Trigger, Luana Patten, Bobby Driscoll, Ethel Smith, Bob Nolan, Sons of the Pioneers, and (aurally) The Andrew Sisters, Freddy Martin, Fred Waring, Buddy Clark, Frances Langford, Dennis Day.
RKO-Disney 75 Mins.
MORE HAPPY DAYS FOR EXHIBITOR AND AUDIENCE; THIS IS HI-GRADE DISNEY SKEDDED FOR TOP BIZ; HAS USUAL SUPERB HANDLING IN EVERY DIVISION.
You can call out all the old laudatory adjectives and round up a new collection for Walt Disney's latest contribution to the gayety of the nation. Again he has delivered up freshly, whimsically and delightfully an entertainment that is certain to please every audience strata and send them away happy and much the better for having seen his latest offering.
With the exception of Roy Rogers, Trigger, Ethel Smith, Luana Patten and Bobby Driscoll, the other names listed above, beneath the title, are on the sound track but identifiable.
This is a seven part show. Each part is separate and brushed onto the screen in some of Natalie Kalmus' best tints. The Technicolor art work by the Disney staff easily maintains top place in the handling of the medium.
"Once Upon A Wintertime'' opens the show. It is a tender, yet comically done boy and girl story which gets the audience in the right frame of mind, concluding with some excitement when the boy rescues the girl from going over the falls. Seems they were ice-skating, had a falling out. A pair of similarly romantic rabbits parallel their animated human counterparts.
"Bumble Boogie" depicts the hectic plight of a bee assailed by Jack Fina's piano rendition of "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" with Freddy Martin's orchestra blasting out a hot jazz instrumental accompaniment. There's much ingenuity in the handling of this sequence which permits wide latitude in animation.
"Little Toot" is about a baby tugboat. Given to cutting figure eights in the busy harbor, he causes a liner to run berserk and wind up high and dry in the city streets. Arrested, he is towed out to the 12 mile limit. A storm comes along. "Little Toot" proves himself a hero by saving a liner in distress. The Andrews Sisters do handsomely by "Little Toot."
"Trees," after the Joyce Kilmer poem-song with new handling in color and form, is still a good thing.
"Blame It On the Samba" features Donald Duck, and Jose Carioca cavorting in Aracuan's cafe after he rouses them from their blues state. They frolic with Ethel Smith, give her a hotfoot, at length set off a giant firecracker for whizbang concluding pandemonium. "Johnny Appleseed" is one of the Disney gems that will be long remembered by everyone.
CREDITS: Production supervisor, Ben Sharpsteen; Cartoon directors, Clyde Geronomimi, Wilfrid Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Jack Kinney; Story, Winston Hibler, Harry Reeves, Ken Anderson, Erdman Penner, Homer Brightman, Ted Sears, Joe Rinaldi, Art Scott, Bob Moore, Bill Cottrell, Jesse Marsh; Folklore consultant, Carl Carmer; Animation directors, Eric Larson, Ward Kimball, Milt Kahl, Ollie Johnston, John Lounsbery, Les Clark; Musical direction, Eliot Daniel, Ken Darby; Special arrangements, Vic Schoen, Al Sack; Photography, Winton Hoch; Editors, Donald Halliday, Thomas Scott.
DIRECTION, Tops. PHOTOGRAPHY, Fine.
May 27, 1948 "Bone Bandit"
RKO-Disney 7 Mins. Okay
Pluto, awakening hungry, sets out to dig up some bones he has cached in a garden. He encounters a groundhog that has been using the bones as support for his underground home. There is some goldenrod about the place and the underground denizen uses this to advantage in thwarting allergic Pluto. Pluto responds with violence. At length the groundhog calls it quits.
June 14, 1948
"Buccaneer Bunny"
Warners 7 Mins. Tops
Bugs Bunny lets go his wild talents on Swashbuckle Sam, a pirate who tried to bury treasure and instead got BB. The beastie gives Sam a slambang time and this results in plenty of laughter when the animation gets into its studied screwball stride.
June 14, 1948 "Butterscotch and Soda" (Noveltoon)
Paramount (Technicolor) 7 Mins. Okay
Heroine, Little Audrey, is a bad little girl when it comes to eating too much candy and neglecting the vitamins in her meals. Left alone in a world of her own, she makes the most of her candy-land, and becomes a very sick girl. Learns her lesson and passes up the sweets for regular eats.
"Nothing But The Tooth"
Warners 7 Mins. Good
Herein Porky Pig has a wild session with a screwy Indian who is out to get his scalp. En route to California Porky constantly encounters the tomahawk wielding demon who is finally dissuaded from carrying out his hair raising plan.
"Daddy Duck"
RKO-Disney 7 Mins. Okay
Donald Duck adopts Joey, a kangaroo, takes him home and therein lies the crux of the matter for the Australian marsupial gives the web-footed waterfowl a wild, acrobatic time leading up to Donald tangling with a bear rug and coming off second best when Joey saves him.
"Short Snort of Sports" (Color Phantasies)
Columbia 6 1/2 Mins. Amusing
Kaleidoscopical panorama of satire covers many of the American sports with a different slant on games are shown.
June 28, 1948 "Popeye Meets Hercules" (Series E7-5)
Paramount (Polacolor) 7 Mins. Spinach and Brawn
Here's one for Popeye fans. Away from this modern world, Popeye and Olive gallivant back to the days of the early Greeks and attend the first Olympic Games in the Coliseum. Bluto-looking Hercules challenges all comers. Popeye takes up the challenge. Plenty of humorous situations ensue. Spinach-atomic fortification enables Popeye to rescue Olive from his scheming antagonist.
"Mystery in the Moonlight"
20th-Fox 7 Mins. Diverting
Dog and mouse have a session with a cat this time with a good proportion of eerie doings to round out routine chase elements. Concentration of attention points to the dog getting the worst of the deal from time to time and the cat at length makes off to where he came from.
June 30, 1948
"Donald's Dream Voice" (Walt Disney)
RKO Radio (Technicolor) 6 Mins. Tops
Due to poor manner-of-speech, and with plenty of abuse to boot, Donald fails as a brush salesman. However, the impediment is corrected when he buys "voice pills" enabling him to speak clear Colmanish enunciation. But alas, the transformation is short lived when, by accident, the pills are lost, with the exception of a lone one. He tries to retrieve it but the pill is swallowed by a cow. In a tirade our hero calls the animal down, but the cow, dramatically disgusted, remarks "I don't understand a word you say."
"Seeing Ghosts"
20th-Fox 7 Mins. Okay
One of the constantly recurring themes in the Terrytoon collection, this number in Technicolor has an interior decorating pig coming to do over a haunted house. In no time the ghosts and skeletons that lurk about the place give him a hectic time. Proceedings end on a loud note generated by the explosion of a giant firecracker.
"Feudin' Hillbillies"
20th-Fox 7 Mins. Amusing
When things look bad between feuding mice and cats, Mighty Mouse steps in and via his powers the felines again come out second best. Piece has good deal of inventive imagination in its composition and should click well enough.
