It's February already?!

Wow, I didn't realize how long I've let the blog languish without updates. I suppose you can chalk it up to being busy with college, animation wheeling and dealing, and so forth.
So, what's new? I had the honor of attending the early Japanese animation show at the Japan Society on Saturday, Feb. 15th. What an enjoyable array of early cartoons...some funny, some hilarious, and others leaving you puzzled. Just my kind of mix!
Also at this show were good friends Mark Newgarden and Charlie Judkins.
{Entry has been edited}
Here are some cool silent film intertitles. I do not own the prints these came from, but some quick background info.
These were present in several World War 1 newsreels that were sold to the home movie market by Kodak's "Kodak Cinegraph" branch. Apparently the artist was of some large scale popularity at one point. The cards remind me of Bowers' AWOL (1918) and some of the art is reminiscent of Colonel Heeza Liar or Mutt & Jeff.











More soon!

Welcome to 2008!

Well friends, a new year is here. This year I hope to venture into some new animation history-related projects.

2007 has been my best year yet in terms of cartoon discoveries, meeting new people in the field, and all sorts of wonderful things.
While we've corresponded for a very long time, I was finally able to meet Jerry Beck and Mark Newgarden in person, two highly accomplished historians/collectors and individuals I highly respect. Cool new acquaintances include Mike Matei, Marc Deckter, Kevin Gannon, Charlie Judkins, and Jared Whitham. Heck, I was even quoted in a national publication! (See USA Weekend post somewhere below on this page).


Of course I will put out some new DVDs (maybe even tinker with some restoration work? who knows!). What I really need to get is an Elmo TRV-16 or a new Tobin TVT-16 transfer machine to do professional in-house transfers.


For the longest time I've had an itch to put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard...and perhaps start work on a book. Whatever it would be about, you can bet your bottom dollar I would shed light on some obscure aspect of silent animation. Many studio stories have been told in-depth by very well researched historians, but due to availability issues, not much has been written about the films themselves....I'd like to change that.



Anywhoo, I just hope all of you have a Happy and Healthy 2008. Keep stress levels low, reconnect with friends, and do the things you enjoy most. I'll sign off with a recent YouTube upload from yours truly...a 1920s stop-motion film reissued in the 1940s with corny narration by Sterling Films.

Happy New Year, and Farewell to a Beloved Film Collector

First off, let me wish everyone peace and prosperity for 2008!

The film collecting and historian community's new year has been shadowed by the passing of Harold "Rusty" Casselton on December 30th, from complications from liver cancer.

I knew Rusty only through some vague email correspondence but I can tell you he was a generous man and invaluable resource to the film history community. A short bio on Rusty is given below, borrowed from http://fargofilmmaking.wikia.com/wiki/Rusty_Casselton

Rusty Casselton (1954-2007) film professor, historian, and collector. Harold "Rusty" Casselton was a student, teaching assistant, long-time friend and business partner of Ted Larson. Casselton taught for many years at Concordia College before becoming Director of Film Studies at Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2001. He was a nationally known and respected restorer of rare and silent films.

Here is a good article with all the details. You may need to sign up to see it: http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=187612§ion=news

Rest in peace Rusty, you will be missed.
-Tom

Christmas, CartoonsOnFilm Style

Howdy Bloggers and Surfers,
Just in case I won't be able to post sooner, I figured I'd treat you all to a Christmas-themed post. I pulled a couple prints from my collection of obscurities and am able to share them with you, again, via my MacBook's iSight camera and YouTube.
As always, please overlook the amateur, poorly framed/focused and low-res image.

First we have a Cinepix Inc. bootleg of a well known Van Beuren cartoon. Note, however, that Cinepix used a silent home movie print and added a somewhat creative music track. Excuse the water damage in the first few feet...


How do you like that "heavenly" odd music that continues after the end title?

Second, a Krazytoons print of a more obscure 1930s cartoon (but with a very famous character). A very nice print for being a bootleg!


Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday season, and will be back blogging soon.

Ken Southworth (1918-2007)

As posted by Ray Pointer at http://forums.goldenagecartoons.com/showthread.php?t=10401
***
Ten minutes ago, I received a call from Ken's wife, Carol that he had passed away of a stroke this morning.
I had spoken with him two weeks ago, and he had had a bad fall and was getting around by a cane.
My association with Ken began on THE ADVENTURES FROM THE BOOK OF VIRTUES in 1996. The following year we joined forces to produce the popular three volume Home Instruction course, THE KEN SOUTHWORTH ANIMATION Program that consisted of instructional VHS tapes and workbooks.
The origin of this series was based on Ken's desire to pass on his 50 years of experience to the next generation. Since talent for the animation field can come from virtually anywhere in the world, there is the possibility that someone in an isolated area without the means to attend one of the major Animation Schools might benefit from a few basic lessons. As a result we fashion this series of courses designed to spark that raw talent.

THE KEN SOUTHWORTH ANIMATION series was featured in several Video Catalogs including Schlesinger's Educational Library Video, The Whole Toon Catalog, and our web site: inkwellimagesink.com as well. While Ken established the original web site, I continued to develop it to what it is today. As a result, we have linked to many people worldwide who have found us, and told us how much they have enjoyed our product.

Ken was employed at The Walt Disney Studios from 1943 to 1951. He was primarily an Assistant Animator
in the Jack Hannah and Jack Kinney units working on numerous DONALD DUCK, GOOFY, and PLUTO short subjects. During this period, Ken developed the "Splat" shock/impact effects that became cartoon conventions in the Disney shorts. Ken also worked on a number of the Disney animated features including THE THREE CABBALLEROS, SONG OF THE SOUTH, and THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW. He assisted Frank Thomas on CINDERELLA, primarily on the STEPMOTHER, and also assisted Milt Kahl on ALICE IN WONDERLAND. In one of our programs, Ken took great pride in stating that he had done considerable work on the Croquet Sequence in ALICE IN WONDERLAND, saying, "Chances are, if you see a drawing with ALICE holding a flamingo, I did it!"

Ken left Disney after ALICE in WONDERLAND to accept an offer as an Animator for Walter Lantz, working under Tex Avery. When the second version of the famous WOODY WOODPECKER opening title was done, it was animated by Ken and LaVerne Harding. Ken then went to MGM during its last two years, with an Animator's credit on several of the Cinemascope cartoons produced by Hanna and Barbera starring TOM AND JERRY and DROOPY. When Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera launched H-B Enterprises in 1957, later to become Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1959, Ken went along with them, as an animatior on HUCKLEBERRY HOUND, QUICK DRAW MCGRAW, THE FLINTSTONES, TOP CAT, JONNY QUEST, SPACE GHOST, DINO BOY, SCUBBY DOO, THE SMURFS, DON COYOTE, and SWAT CATS. Ken was with H-B for 21 years.

In the early 1960s, Ken was also a Stop-Motion Animator and Storyboard Artist on DAVY AND GOLIATH for Clokey Productions. He was also Director and Layout Artist on QT HUSH and YOUNG DANIEL BOONE.
In the 1970s, he was a Storyboard Artist and Animator on STAR TREK, LASSIE, HE-MAN, and BRAVESTAR for Filmation. Ken was also an Animator on Bugs and Tweety for GREMILINS 2 and EARTH DAY TV. His fianl assignment was as a Director on ADVENTURES FROM THE BOOK OF VIRTUES on PBS.

During his active years, Ken taught Animation at the Hanna-Barbera Evening School, The American Animation Institute (Cartoonists Local 839), and since his retirement ten years ago, continued to speak at colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada including VanArts.

Ken was a most unique, generous, and inspiring man. With all of his past experiences with business ventures, he stated that I was the best associate he had ever worked with. That was really a tremendous compliment in light of his rich history, which gives me a great deal to live up to. Always the optomist, Ken had this to say about the future of animation:

" I think the best is yet to come, remembering that the play's the thing...I'm very optimistic for both 2D and 3D animation."
***
Rest in Peace, Ken,

USA Weekend, Nov. 24th-25th

If you happen to have it lying around the house, great!
If not, take a good look here:
***

Link to the online article.

***Please note, some of the details and specifics are skewed in this watered-down article, but it is exciting nonetheless!

Funtime Bootlegs

Well, I got creative earlier today and said to myself "Hey! Maybe I can get some low-res video of some 16mms by using my MacBook"...and it worked!

First I took video from Soda Jerks, a mid-1920s Mutt & Jeff Cartoon. 1950s Astra TV print.


Second, a 30s Terrytoon bootlegged by Cinepix Inc. They used a silent Castle print as they did with all their Terrys I've seen, so they had to substitute with a Winston Sharples music track and notice the splices where the Castle intertitles would have been.
So there you have it, two vintage 1950s TV prints. Gotta love 'em!

P.S. Sorry for any cut-off portions of the picture and other inconsistencies...this is all very amateurish, but a fun way to sample some of my silents and for those of you out there who haven't had the joy; a taste of what it's like to screen 16mm prints.

Bonzo

Here's a cartoon I tinkered with way back in 2004. I must have been 15 at the time.
"Tanked" is a reissued and probably edited version of Bonzo in the Army (1925).
Hope you enjoy my SFX and stuff....I had lots of fun doing these "enhancements" back then. Shame I didn't save more of them.

Two cartoons on Youtube

I've finally figured out how to rip cartoons from my DVDs and upload them to youtube. Here is HOUSE THAT DINKY BUILT (1925) from my new Dinky Doodle DVD, and a silent Farmer Alfalfa cartoon: The Picnic (retitled for TV) available on one of my Farmer Al DVDs.
Enjoy!

Special Requests

Well, I'm still learning how to use iMovie. It doesn't seem to be the most versatile editing program, but it's uber convenient to have a camera built in to this macbook.
If any one has special requests for me to talk about on youtube, please post them and I'll see what I can do based on what the request is.
Don't forget to take advantage of the new DVD releases and sale, folks. :-)
Tom

8 New Releases and Sale!

Dear friends and fans,
I'm announcing the release of EIGHT new early animation DVD compilations!

Here goes:
Rare Silents Volume 2:
Keeping Up with the Joneses (Men's)
Keeping Up with the Joneses (Women's)
Never Again! The Story of a Speeder Cop
Mr. Nobody Holme Buys a Jitney
AWOL
Policy and Pie with The Katzenjammer Kids
Professor Bonehead is Shipwrecked
The Fresh Lobster (Novelty starring Billy Bletcher with some animation)
Phable of the Phat Woman

Rare Silents Volume 3:
Tommy Tucker's Tooth (Disney)
Cartoons in a Seminary (Animated Grouch Chasers)
Cartoons On Tour (Animated Grouch Chasers)
Taking A Ride with The Gumps (Fragment0
Celebrity Caricatures
Charley Out West (Chaplin cartoon, illegible intertitles.)
Auto Race (abbreviated Life Cartoon Comedy)
Hurry the End of the War (WWI short animation)
Twas but a Dream (International Film Service)

The Magic Lantern:
1960s documentary on early optical toys and a brief history of animation.
Also includes Cartoon Craft, a 1936 short showing the Disney studio
working on Snow White.

Bray Rarities Volume 2:
Thrilling Drill (Jerry on the Job)
Swinging His Vacation (")
Mad Locomotive (")
Without Coal (")
Dud the Circus Performer (Us Fellers)
Dud the Lion Tamer (")
Chip off the Old Block (")
Dud Leaves Home (")

Bray Rarities Volume 3:
Tail of a Kangaroo (Happy Hooligan)
Getting the Goods (Happy Hooligan, short fragment)
Turn to the Right Leg (Judge Rummy)
Fish Story (", fragment)
Joy Ride (")
His Country Cousin (")

Dinky Doodle and Friends:
Red Riding Hood
House that Dinky Built
For the Love O' Pete (Pete the Pup debut)
Lunch Hound (Pete the Pup)
Jungle Belles (Pete the Pup excerpt)
The Tail of the Monkey (Unnatural History)

Out of the Inkwell Volume 3:
The Show
Pay Day
Fies
Koko's Queen
Fade Away
Koko the Kid
Koko Hops Off
Koko Makes 'Em Laugh
Koko's Courtship

Winsor McCay Sampler:
Little Nemo
Gertie
Sinking of the Lusitania
The Flying House
Bug Vaudeville
The Pet
***
These new compilations are $20.00 each plus shupping.

ALSO
All of my previous DVDs are HALF OFF ($10.00 each) until 1 December 2007. The list is located at http://farmeralfalfa.tripod.com

This is a great opportunity to pursue some new material and to build up your library of early animation.

As always, thank you all for supporting my cause in the past, present, and future. If you are interested in any of these DVDs, please email me your order and information to cartoonsonfilm@gmail.com or fill out the "Order Form" on my sales website at http://farmeralfalfa.tripod.com

Yours,
Tom Stathes

P.S. It may take a couple weeks to ship these initial orders due to my busy schedule. Thank you for understanding.

An important message from Michael Perlman

For those of you architecture fans out there, here is a preservation situation and petition needing your support.
Appropriately enough, we are rallying to save a historic Manhattan theater.
Below is the info as shared with me by good friend and fellow preservationist Michael Perlman.
"Please sign an online petition to save NYC’s oldest vaudeville & silent films theater, the Playpen on 8th Avenue between 43rd & 44th Streets, which was known as the Ideal Theatre in 1916. The clock is ticking, and the Committee To Save The Playpen Theater amongst other preservationists, need all the help we can get to spare this intact Beaux Art gem. Demolition permits are pending, and we’re trying to convince developer Daniel Tishman to donate the theater entirely or in part to a non-profit who has submitted a proposal. Please sign, post a brief comment, & forward the following petition to as many contacts as possible. Your assistance is invaluable!
Sign the Petition!.

For the latest updates, photos, history, & the provisions which challenge its scheduled demolition:
http://groundlinks.org/savetheplaypen.html.

Bray Studios on 1940s and 1950s Television

As a hardcore fan of the Bray Studios cartoons, their lengthy (yet mildly obscure) exposure on 1940s and 1950s television is of great interest to me. Film collector and animation enthusiasts who may be "purists" usually are very dismissive of television versions of theatrically released films. As I will stress again and again, television-era prints of such films are in many cases the only circulating (or even extant) sources for these masterpieces.
J.R. Bray's cartoon studio had a powerful yet seemingly short life...approximately 15 years (1913-1928). Regardless, Bray was unlike his peers in that he had confidence that there would be some sort of perpetual interest in the films produced at his studio. As a result, he would make dozens and dozens of films available to schools, libraries, and other interested parties in the 1920s first by offering (now obsolete) 28mm prints. Later he offered them in 16mm which became something of an educational and amateur standard by the 1930s.

As television caught on in the late 1940s, Bray revitalized some of his cartoon stock and offered over 80 vintage titles in the form of newly titled 16mm prints, some with music and narration soundtracks. In the New York area particularly, baby boomers may recall seeing Farmer Alfalfa (Bray and or independent-Terry produced), Bobby Bumps, and possibly Out of the Inkwell on Fred Sayles' "Uncle Fred" kiddie TV show. According to one website, the station purchased and amassed a collection of 300 silent-era cartoon prints which would be used by Sayles to narrate in his show starting in 1948.
Although televised in limited amount when compared to Non-BRAY packages of Farmer Alfalfa (Gray), Out of the Inkwell, so on and so forth, it did mean that part of a new generation was given access to these cartoons.
You ask, what cartoons were these? Well, have a look! (Special thanks to Mark Kausler for sharing this with me a few years back.)

(Note: Both Dinky Doodle and Pete the Pup shorts were packaged as "Dinkey Doodle")

Amazing, eh? What is more interesting is that these cartoons were still available directly from Bray up until the early 70s. Unfortunately, by then some of the TV negatives had already decomposed and some titles were unavailable. Even so, with so many available rather recently, it is a shocker that most of those titles remain as good as lost...but if I have anything to do with it, let's hope that changes soon.
Here is an example of what the title art looked like:

(Special Thanks to Ray Pointer. To read about Ray's exposure to silent animation in his childhood, please read FINDING KO-KO.)
For anyone interested, so far I have four TV versions of these cartoons on my DVDs. BOBBY BUMPS' GOATMOBILE (1916) and BOBBY BUMPS' HYPNOTIC EYE (1919) are on my Bobby Bumps DVD while PERPETUAL MOTION (70s dupe) and CIRCUS (with original narration!) are on my Out of the Inkwell DVDs. Click the Tom's Vintage Film banner on top to find the DVD list.
-Tom

Back soon!

Dearest bloggers and surfers,
Let me formally excuse myself for being so silent lately...it has been a somewhat busy Summer o'er here. Not to mention, my freshman college classes are starting later this month.
I'll be back soon with more rare and forgotten animation stuff ;-)
Tom

Off Topic: Queens Crap

As some of you may know, I'm a native of Queens, New York. While technically located on Long Island, Queens is within the limits of the City of New York (rather than the State).
The past few years have been painful as I watch my neighborhood deteriorate into a developer's paradise. Founded in the mid-1600s, this area is known as the birthplace of absolute religious freedom in America. It should have been one of the first areas in the city designated as a historical district, but no such luck. At this point, is there much left to designate? I'm an optimist, so yes...though the Manhattaners hardly take much interest in Queens.
Anywhoo, there is a fantastic blog dedicated to exposing the crimes committed on historic Queens soil, and it is Queens Crap.
Though it is a mostly anonymous blog where anyone can contribute, HERE is a link to my first contribution. Oh, the pain.