Oh, Buck! Wasn't that a battle!

In 1934 an obscure movie short called "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century -- An Interplanetary Battle with the Tiger Men of Mars" was released, but not in theaters. David Stelle accurately describes it in the IMDb: “A signal from Buddy Deering on Mars warns Earth that the Tiger Men of Mars and their cruel king have broken their treaty and are attacking. Buck Rogers and Wilma Deering go to rendezvous with the Earth battlefleet before setting off to fight the tigerships. Baldpated genius inventor Dr. Huer uses the ‘cosmic radiotelevision’ to watch the space battle. Which side will be victorious? The tigerships and their paralysis ray? Or our Earth forces, armed with the flash ray and Dr. Huer's new magnetic ray?”

You might well ask -- “What the heck is this anyway?” -- either before or after you watch it. While not exactly a Hollywood movie, it is a jaw-dropping curiosity.

The first Buck Rogers film was shown to the public during the second year, 1934 edition, of the Chicago World’s Fair. The Century of Progress International Exposition was held in Chicago in 1933 and 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation. Its motto was "Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Conforms" and its architectural symbol was the Sky Ride, a transporter bridge perpendicular to the shore on which one could ride from one end of the fair to the other. After a winter break, the 1934 Fair ran from May 26 through Oct. 31 and included a new Island Midway area that faced Lake Michigan. The "Buck Rogers Show," as it was called on admission tickets, was located on the Enchanted Island playground for children, at #125 on the left hand section of the 1934 Fair Map. It is unknown whether this film was the entire show, or if fans were treated to some live action event as well for their dime. It is certain that after watching the movie, visitors could purchase the very same toy spaceships and ray guns they had just seen. Pretty tricky, huh?


Buck first appeared as Anthony Rogers in an issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories in August, 1928. John F. Dille, president of the National Newspaper Service syndicate, saw the potential of the futuristic adventure and arranged for the author, Philip Francis Nowlan, to turn it into a comic strip for Dille's syndicate. The strip was re-named "Buck Rogers," inspired by the name of cowboy star Buck Jones, and that name was used for the character from then on. Dille assigned staff artist Lt. Dick Calkins to the project, and he successfully drew the strip for the next 18 years.

The 1934 film on a zero budget resembles a “home movie” hastily thrown together with lots of spirit but little skill by amateurs. It was in fact produced by the John F. Dille Co. and filmed in the studios of the Action Film Company of Chicago. Dick Calkins appears briefly at his drawing board. The actor playing Buck is John Dille, Jr., the son of the strip’s owner! While Junior looks the part, his, um acting, um, speaks for itself. The actress playing Wilma Deering was Junior’s girlfriend when the film was being shot. Their onscreen chemistry hints at the length of the relationship. The listless delivery of her last line -- “Oh, Buck, wasn’t that a battle!” -- is priceless. Dr. Huer is played by Harlan Tarbell, a stage magician and illustrator, who also “directed” the film but never directed or acted in any other film. His baldpate make-up positively flops around on his head. The sets and special effects are equally impressive. This camp classic must be seen to be believed, so we won’t give away more of the fun!

The film may well have thrilled fair goers, particularly young kids who had never seen anything quite like it. The futuristic serials The Phantom Empire, Undersea Kingdom and Flash Gordon did not hit movie screens until 1935 and 1936, while the Buck Rogers serial with Buster Crabbe came later in 1939. Also keep in mind that Buck’s fans in 1934 avidly listened to his weekly radio exploits. The narrated space battle sounds much like a radio show and is actually more exciting, though far less funny, with your eyes closed! If the spaceships in the big battle look like toy models, that’s exactly what they are, and darned good ones we all wish we had today. To top it off, the show neatly fit into the futuristic theme of the Century of Progress.

There is no indication this first Buck Rogers film was ever shown in movie theaters, where even matinee audiences might have found it laughably amateurish. The June 1936 issue of the trade magazine “Toys and Novelties” reports that the film had a second life by being shown in department stores to promote Buck Rogers merchandise. More Buck toys were sold in the 1930s than Mickey Mouse, with countless games, puzzles, figurines, Big Little Books, ray guns, spaceships and even a full costume for boys. Toy stores devoted entire sections and Christmas displays to Buck and the film doubtless attracted even more customers.

A granddaughter of John Dille discovered a 35mm print of this forgotten film in her basement around 1983 and donated it to UCLA, who struck a new print. It was unleashed on the modern world at the 1984 Cinecon convention in San Francisco. The auditorium rocked with laughter beyond compare. Despite the copyright notice at the head, the film was never registered with the Library of Congress and so is in the public domain for all the world to enjoy.

Mini-Matinee #31 - A Pop Culture Potpourri

The Mummy Strikes and Lucky Strikes and Betty Boop gets naked. A comedy duo tackles a trio of terror and our Bijou Mini-Matinee of pop culture potpourri is off and running. This week we’ve programmed an eclectic mix of short subject treats designed simply to amuse and entertain.

THE MUMMY STRIKES (1943)
We begin with an exquisite and stylish Max Fleischer Superman cartoon in Technicolor. This one involves an ancient Egyptian Mummy’s curse and the murdered dead body of a distinguished scientist discovered in a tomb of Mummies. Lois Lane follows Clark Kent into the Egyptian tomb, attempting to scoop Clark as he investigates a frame-up for the murder, which involves the slain scientist’s assistant. The ancient Mummies who guard the tomb are awakened, of course, and have a few bones to pick with the intruders. Only Superman can handle this much bad Karma and produce the predictable Happy Ending.

ABBOTT & COSTELLO TRAILER TRIO
Next up, enjoy a trio of trailers from the Abbott & Costello “Meet the Monsters” series of comedy-horror films from Universal. The first trailer features a live-action mummy from 1955 on the loose and terrorizing A&C in “Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy.” This one was produced late in the comedy duos career, but still delivered plenty of laughs. Then enjoy the original trailer for “Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” from 1953, which featured Boris Karloff as the mad man with the split personality. This is followed by the trailer for what critics considered A&C’s best ever effort “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein” from 1948, which featured Lon Chaney as the wolf Man, Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula, but Glenn Strange rather than Karloff as the Frankenstein Monster.

IS MY PALM READ (1933)
Next, everyone’s favorite vamp Betty Boop takes the spotlight, and shares it with Bimbo and KoKo the Clown. All are featured in this provocative Max and Dave Fleischer concoction that must have raised some eyebrows when an infant version of Betty Boop appears naked and strikes some curious poses for the camera. It is surprising that the Hays Office didn’t strike the entire Baby Boop sequence. Bimbo plays a fortune teller, and KoKo is his doorman. Betty shows up for a reading and the crystal ball reveals more than a prognostication.

LUCKY STRIKE MEANS FINE TOBACCO (1950)
This past week the Bijou Blog has been showcasing short films created for the purpose of selling commercial products or ideas. Here is yet another film made to promote cigarette smoking. This one was produced by the Jam Handy Organization on behalf of the American Tobacco Company’s Lucky Strike brand of deadly carcinogens. In 1950, Lucky Strike's big radio shows were "Your Hit Parade," starring then ”American Idol” Frank Sinatra and "Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge," starring a young Kay Kyser. Such radio shows were often underwritten by sponsors seeking to identify their products with soft sell celebrity identification. Sinatra may have allegedly preferred Camels, but here he sings a cool version of “Stardust” on behalf of Lucky Strike - accompanied by full orchestra and chorus. We’ve chosen to edit out the three minute “commercial” that was central to this short and that slyly suggested how important was Lucky Strike’s selection and processing of “fine tobacco” acquired from their successful bidding at the “tobacco auction.”

If you really want to see the uncut version, which includes the tobacco selection and processing sequence, you can view it here.

ALL’S FAIR AT THE FAIR (1938)
Lastly, we join “Elmer and Mirandy,” rural visitors to a 1930’s cartoon version of the World’s Fair, which features then-new technologies and innovations in this futuristic fantasy from the Fleischer Color Classics series. Join us again this coming Friday when we screen a forgotten and long lost “Buck Rogers” short subject that was presented at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. This cartoon, and the complete Fleischer Superman cartoon series are available here.

To enter the Bijou Mini-Matinee Theater, click here.

And remember, the Bijou Mini-Matinee changes every Wednesday. You can enjoy any of the prior shows via the link under the marquee on the right.

Matinee at the Bijou - An Update

The time has come to provide our faithful readers an update on the status of Matinee at the Bijou. Here is a complete behind-the-scenes report on our progress to date, and some timely words about the challenge that lies ahead.

Two years ago PBS gave the green light to the Matinee at the Bijou sequel series, with the beloved Debbie Reynolds as host, subject to the securing of sponsorship. Due to the history and success of the series, we expected that with a little hard work and patience, corporate sponsorship would follow. After all, during the 1980s, Matinee at the Bijou was one of the most popular programs on PBS and for five consecutive seasons often ranked among the top ten shows (even though it was a fringe time show) with a weekly audience often exceeding ten million viewers.

After many months of attempting to get the attention of obvious sponsor targets, and in most cases not getting any response at all, we came to the realization that we lacked the necessary expertise to attract a sponsor ourselves. We further learned that most corporations do not review unsolicited proposals, but instead send them on to a mega-agency that does this for them. So we contacted one of these agencies to inquire which of their clients might find interest in MATB. To our dismay, we learned that sponsorship proposals today are initially processed by computer. Specific data is fed into the computer and it does the analysis. The person we spoke to, in a kind-hearted attempt to spare us further wasted time, told us that if the project is for PBS, the computer automatically spits it out because: “If it’s a PBS show, further consideration is unwarranted, as PBS ratings and key demographics fall below required thresholds.”

We also learned that to succeed we needed to incorporate the emerging new Web 2.0 associations - now essential for TV series sponsorships. Web 2.0, as it relates to television shows, includes a blog or website, a presence on YouTube, and a variety of other social networking applications. So in November, 2006, we launched the Bijou Blog, and last year began our weekly series of Bijou Mini-Matinees on YouTube.

We further realized that we needed professional representation, so we approached the WGBH Sponsorship Group for help. We talked with Suzanne Zellner, only to learn that, ironically, the WGBH Sponsorship Group had temporarily ceased taking on new clients until they overhauled their operation and adjusted their contracts to incorporate all the new Web 2.0 language and codices. Suzanne complimented us on our MATB Web 2.0 development and graciously took the time to review our pitch package and provide some tips and suggestions.

Last fall we approached Adam Gronski at PBS affiliate WETA for advice. WETA is the venerable PBS station that brings us Washington Week and the Ken Burns’ documentaries, and has a separate sponsorship department much like WGBH. Adam was impressed with how we had integrated the MATB series content into the new Web 2.0 demands. He described MATB as having “all the arms and legs” and ripe for pitching to sponsors. Adam agreed to rep the series and he and his talented associates spent several months attempting to secure a sponsorship, but without success.

We learned from WETA that for MATB to achieve corporate sponsorship on PBS alone would require what is known as “common carriage.” Common carriage means that a show is on all (or nearly all) PBS stations on the same day and at the same time. We proposed to PBS the idea of airing MATB on Friday nights at 10:00 pm in common carriage, but were told that the competition was already too keen for what little PBS prime time was not already booked with established PBS shows.

Based on the foregoing experience and education, we believe we have figured out the key to successfully funding MATB. Our new approach follows the emerging pattern of establishing two separate broadcast (or webcast) homes for a single series. As an example, “Dexter,” the Showtime original series, recently established a separate broadcast home on commercial CBS. Showtime premieres each episode first, and a few months later the episodes begin showing on CBS – along with commercials. Accordingly, we are seeking a commercial network to become a “dual home” broadcast partner with public television stations in bringing back the MATB series.

Fortunately, there are now emerging a number of niche networks highly suited to MATB content. For example, Retirement Living TV is a new and dynamic commercial cable TV network catering specifically to the underserved senior demographic. We recently pitched them MATB, with very encouraging results. RLTV is soon to expand from a weekday-only to a 24/7 broadcast schedule, but it all won’t be in place until next year. We were encouraged to revisit discussions with RLTV in the fall if we have not found our home by that time.

Another growing niche network that is currently expanding its programming prowess is RFD-TV. RFD is filling the void left when the Nashville Network was replaced by Spike TV. RFD’s demographic appeal is to rural America. Once during the 1980s, The Nashville Network expressed interest in MATB, but we were already committed to PBS as the series home. Perhaps the second time around.

The new Smithsonian Channel accepts advertising and is programmed by Showtime, so the same “dual-home” combination fueled by commercial ads and underwriting spots would have potential here as well. America’s classic movie heritage is a key asset among America’s treasures. And after all, where else on television but on Turner Classic Movies or TV Land can you watch classic cartoons, shorts and serials? The Hallmark Channel owns the Laurel & Hardy shorts, but doesn’t show them. Even The Cartoon Network has pretty much abandoned the showing of classic pre-1960 cartoons.

The Bijou Team is currently preparing pitches to the various pay-cable movie networks, since they depend upon original programming to attract new subscribers, but until now have not tried showcasing a weekend daytime original series. Matinee at the Bijou, with the wonderful Debbie Reynolds hosting, would surely attract new subscribers to HBO, Showtime or Starz channels.

Then there are doors to knock on across the pond. The British love classic American movies and we are preparing a pitch to BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel Four. Web casting networks continue to emerge with unique new advertising models which we are also investigating.

In the days and weeks ahead, the Bijou Team will continue our quest for a commercial-based network as a second home along with public television. Adam Gronski of WETA will continue to represent the series.

Meanwhile, through the Bijou Blog we will continue to share what we learn along the way and introduce our readers to the passionate people we encounter who are also working effectively to preserve our classic movie heritage. And the weekly Bijou Mini-Matinees will continue to change on Wednesdays. We welcome comments and suggestions (or leads) from our readers. Please address your correspondence to executive producer Ron Hall at fesfilms@aol.com.

Mini-Matinee #30 - Short Subjects That Sell

Commercial advertising or “commercials” have been around almost forever. The Egyptians used papyrus to create sales messages as well as wall posters. The printing press moved the images from walls and rocks to the handbill, books and newspapers. Then motion pictures introduced commercials to the movie screen and eventually television and computer screens. Last Friday we looked at how a tobacco company in 1935 created an entire cartoon designed to promote cigarette smoking to the youngest and most impressionable of audience members. For today’s Bijou Mini-Matinee we present five more examples of short subjects that sell products or deliver messages. Subjects include a 1930s breakfast cereal commercial, the soft selling of cars as product placements in cartoons, a comedy icon starring in a highway safety film, a 1948 environmental message from the Forest Service, and a wildly enthusiastic promotion of unfettered American capitalism.

BREAKFAST PALS (1939)
First up is a colorful commercial produced by the Kellogg’s company to influence audience members to buy Rice Krispies. After a sleep-over, Bobby is complaining to friend Billy about his morning cereal being mushy, not like what his Breakfast Pals – Snap, Crackle & Pop – serve him and his dad every morning. Bobby demonstrates how this works when he whistles and in from the window comes S. C. & P. Things start popping when Toughy and his Bedlam Pals, Mushy & Soggy, pop up out of the Brand X cereal box to rumble with the Breakfast Pals. This was shown in movie theaters in 1939 along with the shorts and feature. Imagine sitting through this before watching Gone with the Wind. At least they weren’t selling cigarettes in this cartoon commercial that runs a minute and a half.

A COACH FOR CINDERELLA (1936)
The Chevrolet Division of General Motors commissioned this soft sell theatrical advertising short from the Jam Handy Organization. It was the first industrial film produced in Technicolor and received widespread praise from audiences and critics alike. It holds up nicely today and presents a charming and whimsical take on the classic Cinderella story, which Disney wouldn’t tackle until 1950. Cinderella must get to the ball, of course, so she needs the dress and the wheels. Elves and forest critters make the dress from woodland materials, caterpillars roll into circles and become the automobile tires, fireflies become the spark plugs and mice power the motor. The transportation won’t turn out to be a coach, of course, but rather the latest deluxe model Chevrolet, which magically appears when the coach goes in the “Modernizer” and comes out the finished “product.” Audiences had a good time and got their happy ending and Chevrolet sold a lot of cars.

THE OTHER FELLOW (1937)
Bijou favorite Edgar Kennedy plays multiple roles in this rarely seen highway safety film, another example from the Jam Handy Organization. This one was also produced by the Chevrolet Motor Division of GM. Edgar plays a reckless, ill-tempered driver who takes the audience on a ride to demonstrate how it’s not always the “other fellow” who doesn’t know how to drive. Among the characters we see briefly, all played by Edgar, are the farmer driver, the sport driver, the truck driver, the newlywed driver and a careless driver. Edgar does a little singing from “I’m Sitting on Top of the World” and does a great “slow burn.”

THE ADVENTURES OF JUNIOR RAINDROP (1948)
The Forest Service division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture produced this animated and live-action environmental theatrical short concerning watershed management. Junior Raindrop leaves Papa Cloud to visit Mother Earth. Along the way, Junior becomes a juvenile delinquent and gets mixed up with some hoodlum raindrops plotting to gang up and create a flash flood. The H2O Gang escalates the chaos and the next thing you know they’re flooding the landscape and the countryside. Live action segments supplement the animation. The message is to preserve the trees, avoid over-grazing and soil erosion, protect vegetation and maintain the natural ecology as a general rule - and to spread the word about good watershed management.

MEET KING JOE (1949)
“Meet Joe, the king of the workers of the world.” Thus begins this controversial animated propaganda short created to unabashedly promote American capitalism and industry. Narrator to Joe: “It must be the American way of doing things that makes you the luckiest guy in the world.” The short was produced by John Sutherland Productions as part of Harding College’s “Fun and Facts about America” film series. The narrator continues: “Joe’s the king, because he can buy more with his wages than any other worker on the globe.” The message and the statistics presented here from the world of 1949 are ironic, given the advent of globalization, the current condition of the American work force and the declining value of the dollar. The narrator informs us that Americans own 72% of the cars in the world, 54% of the world’s telephones, 92% of the bathtubs, and "practically all the refrigerators in existence." The condescending attitude taken by the narrator with respect to the King Joe “worker” character is reminiscent of that between the narrator and Private Snafu from the wartime propaganda cartoons (who Joe happens to resemble). The film was reportedly financed by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and created by the chairman of General Motors.

KOOL PENGUINS (1935)
This uncool and disgraceful cartoon was featured in last Friday's feature post. Read the complete story and watch the cartoon here.

To enter the Bijou Mini-Matinee Theater, click here.

And remember, the Bijou Mini-Matinee changes every Wednesday. You can enjoy any of the prior shows via the link under the marquee on the right.

Product Placement in Movies

Product placement didn’t start with Austin Powers, James Bond or E.T. Before this annoying phenomenon became ubiquitous in movies and on television, it had long been a controversial concept dating back to the birth of the movies. For captive audiences to see a client’s product on the big movie screen is every product marketer’s dream.

As early as 1896, French film pioneers the Lumiere brothers were mixing it up with the Lever Bro’s when they featured Sunshine Soap in their films in what was surely a mutually beneficial exchange.

The original Matinee at the Bijou series featured a 1938 theatrical cartoon produced by Walter Lantz that was actually a commercial short made for Bristol Myers. It featured colorful characters from the syndicated comic strip “Reg’lar Fellers” promoting Ipana Toothpaste on the big screen.

Soap and toothpaste and other benign consumer products take a back seat in the controversy over product placement in movies. Cigarettes and smoking remain in the driver’s seat when it comes to outrage among social critics, consumer activists and health-care professionals.

In 1989, much media attention accompanied the prominent integration of Lark cigarettes into the screenplay for the James Bond movie, License to Kill. This commercial transaction between Philip Morris and United Artists led to the inclusion of a “United States Surgeon General Warning” in the closing credits of the film, along with calls for an outright ban on the practice.

However, long before James Bond drew fire, White Owl Cigars paid out $250,000 for a tie-in to WB’s 1932 "Scarface" gangster movie in exchange for the right to claim that star Paul Muni smoked them in the movie. Chesterfield got a similar deal with Columbia on behalf of "You'll Never Get Rich," a 1941 movie starring Fred Astaire.

And long before Joe Camel was indicted for influencing kids to start smoking, cigarette companies had been subtly and secretly targeting kids as young as 2 years to eventually adopt the addictive habit. The cigarette companies always denied this, of course, but as evidence, the British Medical Journal published the following in their review of previously secret tobacco advertising:

The tobacco industry recruits new smokers by associating its products with fun, excitement, sex, wealth, and power and as a means of expressing rebellion and independence. One of the ways it has found to promote these associations has been to encourage smoking in entertainment productions. Exposure to smoking in entertainment media is associated with increased smoking and favourable attitudes towards tobacco use among adolescents 2–8.

While the tobacco industry has routinely denied active involvement in entertainment programming, previously secret tobacco industry documents made available in the USA show that the industry has had a long and deep relationship with Hollywood. Placing tobacco products in movies and on television, encouraging celebrity use and endorsement, advertising in entertainment oriented magazines, designing advertising campaigns to reflect Hollywood's glamour, and sponsoring entertainment oriented events have all been part of the industry's relationship with the entertainment industry.


Case in point is an outrageous and bizarre 1935 cartoon called "Kool Penguins", created by Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company and promoted to theater managers and chains as "amusing for grown-ups and a real laugh for the youngsters". The cartoon depicts an animated penguin battalion flying in from the South Pole to Kentucky where they participate in the production of Kool cigarettes. The penguins then drop cartons of cigarettes over New York City until the skyscrapers are blanketed in snowdrifts -- of Kools. The final shot depicts the Statue of Liberty lighting up a Kool before the camera pans up to show a pack of Kools in Liberty’s hand in place of the torch.

Brown & Williamson marketing campaigns were strategically engineered to include window displays and placards advertising the “Kool” cartoon and how theaters could get the cartoon for free, along with advertising displays that integrated the name of the feature movie being shown. The theater got a free cartoon and display, and the cigarette company got a priceless association with the latest hit movie.

Fortunately, when cooler heads prevailed, the studios would occasionally offer a more positive message in their cartoons, shorts and features. One such example is an anti-smoking cartoon and a Bijou favorite called Wholly Smoke, starring a very young Porky Pig. A neighborhood bully convinces Porky to take a puff from his cigar, causing Porky to hallucinate and conjure up a character named Nick O. Teen, who teaches Porky about the dangers of smoking. A song “Little Boys Shouldn’t Smoke” accompanies a lively musical soundtrack with performing cigars, cigarettes and pipes, along with celebrity caricatures of Cab Calloway, Bing Crosby, The Three Stooges and many others. Following a very brief ad, AOL provides a screening of "Wholly Smokes", albeit a colorized version, here.

And here you can watch the only copy known to exist of Kool Penguins, courtesy of our friend and colleague Steve Stanchfield and Thunderbean Animation.

Mini-Matinee #29 - Cinema Varietal

Last week’s Bijou Mini-Matinee focused on wartime propaganda films, so this week we balance the solemnity with five cinematic attractions decidedly upbeat and entertaining. You can’t top Tex Avery for cartoon laughs, or a celebrity-filled Hollywood on Parade for a glimpse of the “Golden Age.” To that we add animation mixed with real-life big band music to syncopate a sensational Max Fleischer bouncing-ball sing-a-long short. Cliffhanging serials take center stage to tie it all together in two action-packed serial trailers followed by a chilling cliffhanger from "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. "

JERKY TURKEY (1945)
The laughs come fast as the masterful MGM animation team presents Tex Avery’s twisted version of Thanksgiving Day at Plymouth Rock. After the narrator establishes some wacky anachronistic history, the camera follows a Pilgrim as he tracks down a plucky turkey that acts and sounds suspiciously like Jimmy Durante. A madcap chase leads to “dinner at Joe’s.”

RED RYDER & ZORRO TRAILERS
Next we present the trailers for a pair of action-packed Republic serials; each featuring plots centering on high-level corruption in the building of the nation’s railroads, and each directed by the dynamic team of John English and William Whitney.

THE ADVENTURES OF RED RYDER (1940)
Red Ryder was adapted for the screen from a famous comic strip and features actor Don “Red” Barry as the weekly hero. The serial proved a success and was followed by a string of Red Ryder B-movies. A corrupt banker is the bad guy in this 12-chapter horse opera, as he bullies the ranchers off their properties so he can take title of the land for its cross-country railroad right-of-way value. Red escapes certain death numerous times before the day is saved.

ZORRO RIDES AGAIN (1937)
Control of the California-Yucatan Railroad is the prize and precisely why it is under siege by a gang of frontier terrorists hoping to force its sale. Corrupt profiteer “Marsden” and his henchman “Lobo” are the surly antagonists, and the great-grandson of the original Zorro (John Carroll) is the whip lashing protagonist. In this one, the masked-man on horseback is up against enemies with airplanes, bombs and machine guns at their disposal, along with such other anachronistic Zorro challenges as trains and New York skyscrapers.

HOLLYWOOD ON PARADE (1933)
Cliff Edwards sings about the Hollywood on Parade theme song to kick off a fanciful Paramount Hollywood on Parade newsreel featuring appearances by Jean Harlow, Cary Grant, William Powell Carol Lombard, Joan and Constance Bennett, Wheeler & Woolsey and Lupe Velez, among others.

FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE (1940)
The exciting cliffhanging conclusion from Chapter 3 “Walking Bombs” is shown, along with the resolution at the beginning of Chapter 4. Sinister Ming is at his most Merciless when he dispatches an army of iron men rigged as “walking bombs” to destroy Flash and his entourage, who are encamped in the frozen planetary wasteland known as Frigia. Witness Flash get blown up on camera, only to pull himself together to struggle on in Chapter 4 “The Destroying Ray.”


SCREEN SONG (1936)
Max Fleischer produced and Brother Dave directed this Max Fleischer Screen Song featuring Vincent Lopez and his orchestra accompanied by the “Famous Bouncing Ball.” An uncredited soloist is featured singing “I Don’t Want to Make History” in the live-action centerpiece. The wrap-around cartoon sequences makes liberal use of puns to parody theatrical newsreel reports at the New News Theatre.

To enter the Bijou Mini-Matinee Theater, click here.

And remember, the Bijou Mini-Matinees change every Wednesday. You can enjoy any of the prior shows via the link under the marquee on the right.

Todd Gault-Serious About Serials

Every once in a while, when researching a Bijou related topic in cyberspace, we run across a website so fascinating and worthy that we are compelled to share it with our readers. Todd Gault’s Serial Experience is just such a site and a joy to browse. Here you will find reviews, articles and comprehensive film descriptions for a vast majority of the movie serials ever made. Since 1999, Todd has featured a “serial of the month” along with a hero, heroine and villain of the month, complete with actor biographies. His stated mission is to introduce a new generation of hobbyists to serial collecting. We asked Todd to share with us how his hobby got started and what he would consider to be the top five serials the studios ever produced - and why. (We had no idea that the original Matinee at the Bijou series played a pivotal role)

”I've been an outsider most of my life, a Doctor Who fan when everyone else was a Trekker. Serials have been a sense of wonder to me since I first caught a weekly showing of Dick Tracy (1937) on a local Saturday afternoon creature feature show called Mad Theater with Superhost out of Lorain, Ohio. The serial, along with a Three Stooges short, was a lead in to two horror films, usually a Universal classic from the thirties or forties followed by a low budget AIP film from the fifties or a Godzilla epic from Toho. I was fascinated and a little frustrated by the whole cliffhanger concept of having to watch week after week to find out what happened, something not always easy to accomplish when your parents want you to turn off the TV and go play outside.

As a kid, everybody I knew watched this show and talked about them Monday at school. But then adolescence hit and suddenly I'm Lou Costello in Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953) when they land in the middle of Mardi Gras -- I look like I fit in but I don't. Everyone else is catching the latest Jason Voorhees slice and dice flick on cable and I'm off to the side hoping to catch a late night broadcast of The Devil Bat (1940) or The Man They Couldn't Hang (1939), which is not something you can really talk about with someone else in study hall. My parents sure didn't know what to make of a fifteen-year-old in the early eighties who was more interested in Gene Autry than Michael Jackson.

Which is why Matinee at the Bijou was such a comfort for me. The host was someone who seemed to understand my fascination with movies made decades before I was born. I could sit in my room on Sunday nights and not feel embarrassed or self conscious about watching an episode of Phantom Empire (1935) or Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939) followed by Buster Keaton's Parlor, Bedroom, & Bath (1931), Gene Autry's The Big Show (1936), or Lionel Atwill's The Vampire Bat (1933). Listening to the host talk about these films made me feel less of an outsider and more like I belonged, which was important to a lonely, socially awkward and chubby teen with a popular star athlete for an older brother.

Of course things change and people grow up. I went to college where I found other people who shared an interest in older films, though surprisingly not serials. I was still a one man fan club in that area.

Though the Bijou was gone by the nineties, the home video market and an incredibly patient wife made it affordable to collect serials. Being a computer techie, she eventually suggested and helped me build a fan site for serials, so that I could talk about my favorites. Here, in ascending order are my top five favorite serials of all time:

5) The Purple Monster Strikes (1945) A truly groundbreaking serial about a Martian invader played by perennial bad guy Roy Barcroft who lands on Earth, kills and takes over the body of a noted scientist and hires gangsters to help lay the groundwork for an invasion. One of the first alien invaders from outer space films, it paved the way for the sci-fi horror films of the fifties. It is an action packed extravaganza with more cliffhangers fashioned around cars than any other. One even involves having a car dropped on hero Dennis Moore during a fight in a garage.

4) Manhunt of Mystery Island (1945) A great mystery serial with Roy Barcroft playing a supposedly reincarnated pirate, but he is really one of several businessmen trying to use an atomic energy invention to rule the world. He affects his disguise by a machine that physically transforms him into the pirate villain. What sets it apart from most serials is that heroine Linda Stirling often rescues hero Richard Bailey from the cliffhangers instead of the vice versa norm.

3) Phantom Empire (1935) A serial that has to be seen to be believed. Singing cowboy Gene Autry, in his first staring role sets two B-Western precedents by one, playing himself, and two, making a musical western. Gene is a radio broadcaster who has to contend with being framed for murder by scientists who want the radium rich land his ranch is on, while avoiding death from the underground futuristic society that doesn't want surface dwellers discovering the entrance to their subterranean world. You haven't lived till you see Gene Autry sword fight a robot in the only sci-fi/ musical western ever made.

2) The Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) To quote the tag line from Richard Donner's Superman (1978), "You will believe a man can fly." One of the first and best superhero serials, with special effect flying sequences that put to shame some of the vaunted CGI work of today. Tom Tyler gives a dynamic performance as the World's Mightiest Mortal out to track down mystery villain The Scorpion in his quest for an ancient statue that can turn base metals into gold and produce an atom smashing death ray. Tyler isn't that happy-go-lucky Big Red Cheese from the comic book, but a serious adversary of evil who throws henchmen into walls and through doors and even tosses an engine block at one when he stupidly tries to drop it on Captain Marvel.

1) Spy Smasher (1942) Arguably the best serial ever made. Kane Richmond does a phenomenal job playing twin brothers, each with a distinct and different personality, trying to track down Nazi spy master The Mask and put a stop to his stateside sabotage of Allied defenses. Non-stop action filled with fist fights, shoot outs, car chases and more exploding buildings than you can shake a stick at, plus the plot moves along in a more linear fashion than usual for a serial. Where the villain often decides on a scheme and the hero prevents it over and over through the course of twelve to fifteen episodes, here the hero methodically works his way through the villain's organization, dismantling it as he goes along.

And it all started with the Bijou getting me interested in serials. Ironically, if not for serials I would never have graduated from college, but that's another story. What? You didn't think I was going to leave you with a cliffhanger? What else would a serial fan do?”

Mini-Matinee #28 – Faces of WW II

Today’s Bijou Mini-Matinee is the next in our occasional series featuring motion pictures produced by the Hollywood studios and the U.S. Government during WWII. In this collection of short wartime films we salute the heroic men and women who put their lives on the line in far away battlefields to assure victory.

NEWSPARADE of 1945
First up we present a newsreel that dramatically covers the pivotal news stories of 1945. Footage and narrative includes the final battle in Europe, Allies in Berlin, the capture of Axis war criminals, the surrender of Germany, the death of FDR, Yanks in Tokyo and millions of G.I.s coming home.

WINGS FOR THIS MAN (1945)
Narrated by Ronald Reagan, this documentary tells the story of the black aviation squadron known as the "Tuskegee Airmen." We follow their training in Alabama and their valuable service in the skies over Europe. The film was part of the Army Air Forces Special Film Project and a product of the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Forces. For the first time in these films minority soldiers were officially recognized for their contributions to the war, for their service and their sacrifices. At the time of its' release, this, and the film that follows, JAPANESE AMERICANS, were meant to boldly, and courageously address the problem of racism in our country, and acknowledge the dedicated service of these men and the families they left behind.

JAPANESE AMERICANS (1945)
This film chronicles the heroic service of Nisei Soldiers of the 442nd Infantry Regiment in the Italian Campaign. Racism was pervasive in the 1940s. Daily Civilian life was racially segregated and so were all Military Units. African-Americans fought in Black Units and Asian-Americans fought in Asian Units, and the White Guys fought in White Guy Units. Ugly racial incidents had occurred on military bases throughout the country. A study by the military called "What the Soldier Thinks" revealed the depth of prejudice held by the white soldier. The Services, themselves, were not officially desegregated until the end of the decade, when, in 1948, President Truman issued the Executive Order.


THE INFANTRY BLUES (1943)
Private Snafu is up to his old antics in this animated film from the Warner Bros. animation department. In this one, Snafu contemplates life in other branches of the military and imagines personally experiencing the challenges of each branch. A highlight of this cartoon series is the brilliant character voice work of Mel Blanc.
(Blogger Kevin Langley has more vintage animation model sheets on display here.)

WHO DIED? (1945)
This 5 minute short was sponsored by the War Finance Division of the US Treasury Department, and shown to millions of movie-going Americans along with the main attraction. The short film was written by Betty Smith, who two years earlier wrote the novel “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” A 1945 version of "the fund-raiser," this film exploits the deaths of fictional American fighting men for the purpose of raising money and is an archetypal example of a propaganda theme widely used toward the end of the war. It asks America to remember the suffering and sacrifice of its fighting men...and, to send money! Who Died? is an effective reminder that numbers (casualty figures) represent people and each life that is lost is important. There’s a time capsule feel to this brief film, yet it still raises a lump in the throat.

To enter the Bijou Mini-Matinee Theater, click here.

And remember, The Bijou Mini-Matinees change every Wednesday. You can enjoy any of the prior shows via the link under the marquee on the right.

Ray Pointer To The Rescue

This week the Bijou has been applauding the work of master animator and historian Ray Pointer for the many cartoon treasures he has reconstructed for the entire world to appreciate and enjoy. After watching the five cartoon gems Ray provided for this week's Bijou Mini-Matinee (see below), we had a few questions.

Ray, it's striking that at the same time in the mid 1920s Max Fleischer and Walt Disney were each producing their own unique cartoon series of live-action mixed with animation characters. Was this the start of the Fleischer-Disney rivalry we've heard about?

It is quite apparent that Disney was aware of these combinations of animation and live action, particularly as used in Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell series, which was essentially 3/4 live action with animation inserts integrated with the illusion of interfacing with reality. Disney's concept was the reversal, placing a live action figure into a cartoon environment. The idea of it being a little girl's fantasy was very ambitious and more technically challenging.

Since his pilot film, Alice's Wonderland, was made in 1923, it would seem that Disney's inspiration was certainly due to Out of the Inkwell, but his motivation was really out of a search for a new novelty rather than a calculated plan to compete with Max Fleischer. The assumed "rivalry" came later based on Disney's desire to advance, and his tendency to lure away Fleischer's animators in order to learn the secrets to Fleischer's methods while building his own. For decades people have presented a twisted concept that Fleischer was in competition with Disney. This is not accurate since Fleischer had already been established for a decade before Disney. This concept of "competition" was based on the place both men had in the field. Fleischer was an established presence while Disney was up and coming. Walt eventually surpassed Max because he was driven to succeed, and his visions were more far reaching.

Just how many hats did Max Fleischer wear in the creation of his works?

In the beginning, Max came up with the concepts. At The Bray Studios, he and Roland "Doc" Crandall animated the cartoons, which they were able to produce in a month. This was largely due to the fact that they were mostly live action. Max came up with the story outlines. His concepts were thematic such as "The Clown's Pup," "Ouija Board," "Automobile Ride," "Modeling," etc. Dave Fleischer was not as active in the production of the cartoons at Bray other than acting as the clown for Rotoscoping. When Max left Bray in 1921, Dave came in to learn the business and find his niche. By 1923, when Dick Huemer came in as the Fleischers' lead animator, the nature of the humor changed due to the influence and pairing of Dick with Dave. This is indicated in the titles which also designate the point when the clown was named KO-KO. Previous to this, the character had no name. Pun titles resulted like "KoKo's Kink," "Ko-Ko's Queen," "Ko-Ko Nuts," etc. Max was not as active in the animation by this time, but did contribute occasionally. By this time they started building a staff based on the installation of the In-betweening method of production where assistants did the intermediate drawings to complete the action for the scenes. Art Davis, who later went on to animate and direct for Warner Brothers, was assigned as Huemer's assistant and become the industry's first "In-betweener." This was a very efficient method of production which was eventually adapted by the entire industry.

Did Disney both write and animate the quite sophisticated story for "Alice's Egg Plant?"

By this time, Walt had a staff of animators. Alice's Egg Plant was animated by Ubbe Iwerks, "Ham" Hamilton, and Thurston Harper. Walt was the producer/director and devised most of the stories, including this one. It is curious since rarely did his cartoons reflect political statements. In this case, Alice's Egg Plant suggests Disney's feeling that organized labor was the result of Communist Agitators -- an issue that he came to face 20 years later.

Felix the Cat was the greatest cartoon star of the 1920s. Can you tell us his story?

For decades Felix has been cited as the first personality character of animated cartoons, but he followed Mutt and Jeff by three years. In the silent era the most important cartoon short subjects were Felix the Cat, Out of the Inkwell, and Mutt and Jeff. While Pat Sullivan created Felix, it was the imagination of Otto Messmer that really made him the first major cartoon star of the cinema. He debuted as an installment in the Paramount Screen Magazine Newsreel in 1919. As Felix became a valued commodity, Sullivan wanted out of his contract with Paramount and Adolph Zukor. The story of how he had the contract terminated seems more legend than fact. Accordingly, Sullivan, who was a known heavy drinker, went to Zukor's office "supposedly" drunk, demanding release of the Felix contract. Zukor refused, and Sullivan was supposed to have urinated on Zukor's desk. Out of disgust, Zukor threw the contract and Sullivan out of his office. Sullivan had Felix freed from Paramount and he went to Margaret J. Winkler in 1921. All of this seems too calculated for someone who was intoxicated.

The early Felix was very angular, resembling a dog. Margaret Winkler encouraged Sullivan and Messmer to improve the design, and the image of Felix that is best known evolved during the Winkler years. But as Felix's popularity continued to grow, so did the problems with Sullivan. Miss Winkler started looking for another series as a backup to keep Sullivan at bay. This is what motivated her to take a chance on an unknown producer named Walt Disney. Miss Winkler saw Disney's pilot film, Alice's Wonderland, and ordered a series of six Alice Comedies without ever meeting him or seeing his facilities, which at first consisted of nothing more than a one car garage behind his uncle's home in the Los Feliz Village area of Los Angeles.

Margaret Winkler urged Disney to develop a feline animated co-star to Alice. Disney resisted at first, but after much insistence upon by Miss Winkler, the character of Julius the Cat, a vague Felix look-alike resulted. It was Miss Winkler's intention to develop this character as ammunition against Sullivan. Accordingly, many of the Alice films were distributed with alternate titles. Instead of Alice's Egg Plant, it would sometimes be sold as Felix's Egg Plant. The mere name of Felix guaranteed bookings regardless of whether it was authentic or not. And while Sullivan was certainly aware of Felix's value, it is not certain that he launched any infringement lawsuits, which he clearly would have been entitled to. However, between 1923 and 1925, the M.J. Winkler Company was a successful distributor of three of the most important animated series in cinema history: Out of the Inkwell, Alice Comedies, and Felix the Cat.

In 1925, Sullivan went to Educational for distribution and remained there until the beginning of the sound era. This seems to be the most prolific era for Felix with a steady flow of imaginative adventures making use of all sorts of surreal imagery and subtle content. After a decade of success, the ironic twist of fate was that the Cat was dethroned by the Mouse with the coming of sound. Sullivan's resistance to sound got him into the game too late, and the few sound releases by Copley Pictures did not sustain Felix in the sound era. This was largely due to the quality of the soundtracks and the look of the cartoons. By 1930, competing studios Fleischer, Disney, Terry and Harmon-Ising were licensed for the use of cels, which allowed them to make cartoons with toned backgrounds. The Felix sound cartoons continued to be produced in the silent techniques of black ink on white paper. This combined with unimaginative and sometime badly recorded soundtracks brought the end to Felix's screen career. Mickey Mouse continued to advance technically, and once the cat went away, it was the mouse that played.

Mini-Matinee #27 - Pioneers in Animation

In the two decades prior to the sound era, the most distinguished artists in the animation field created incredible masterpieces that few audiences today have seen or heard of. These works are among America’s greatest art treasures, considered by some to rank with the works of Rembrandt, Cezanne, Matisse, and Picasso.

Today the Bijou breaks from our traditional menu of cartoons, shorts, serials, trailers and theater ads to serve up a festival of rare silent-era animation classics. Featured are five vastly entertaining and imaginative cartoons produced between 1922 and 1925 featuring the pioneering work of Max Fleischer and Walt Disney.

Animator and historian Ray Pointer has reconstructed and restored these animated treasures, adding lively period music and sound effects in a manner that would have accompanied the original presentations in theaters.

“BIG CHIEF” KO-KO (1924)
First up we celebrate an early masterpiece from the fertile imagination of pioneer animator Max Fleischer. A live-action Max is drawing Ko-Ko the Clown when a real Indian arrives to sell some drawings to Max. Ko-Ko becomes manic fearing he could be replaced and this could cost him his job. Read more about Max Fleischer here.

ALICE’S EGG PLANT (1925)
While Max was mixing it up with Ko-Ko, Walt Disney was producing his own live-action and animation creations known as the “Alice Comedies.” Alice’s Egg Plant is a very funny sample from the series shown here complete and uncensored. A live-action Alice, played by Margie Gay, interacts with Julius, her cartoon cat, who manages the hens at Alice’s Egg factory. Just as she gets an order for 5000 eggs from the Skinam and Soakem Poultry and Eggs Company, along comes Little Red Henski, a Communist Rooster determined to unionize the factory. The hens go on strike until Alice figures out how a Cock-Fight can save the day. You can read more about the Alice Comedies here.

PUSS AND BOOTS (1922)
While a cartoon Cock-Fight saved the day for Alice, Puss depends on a pair of magic Flapper Boots and a Bull Fight for this adventure to have a happy ending in this fanciful Laugh-O-Grams Fairy Tale. More on this early Walt Disney series is here.


A KICK FOR CINDERELLA (1924)
Magical dancing shoes play a major role in this whimsical, tune-filled version of the famous fairy tale. Jeff fantasizes himself in the Cinderella role and competes with Mutt for the Championship honors at the Charleston Exhibition. The only problem is, Mutt dances like a pro and Jeff can’t dance at all. That is until his Fairy Godsister arrives and waves her magic wand. Read more about Mutt & Jeff here.

FELIX ALL PUZZLED (1924)
Like Alice’s cat Julius, Felix mixes it up with the Russians when his master won’t feed him his milk until he solves a crossword puzzle. The puzzler is: What is a seven letter word found in Russia? So Felix decides to go to Russia to find the answer. The result is trouble. This is the only complete print of this delightful cartoon romp known to have survived. More on the silent Felix the Cat cartoons is here.

We asked Ray to comment about the music and sound effects he adds to the silent cartoons ~~~

I've been exposed to many styles of music, and have always had a "musical ear." Watching the cartoons, I had a mental picture of the visual rhythm, and thanks to musicians and collectors of rare old recordings as well and my own library, I had a lot of great Public Domain material to work with. A lot of the tunes are 1920s dance music, mostly Fox Trots or Charlestons. I would recall certain pieces, keeping them in mind for each cartoon. I would find the start frame, and by feel, find the beat of the action that fit the beat of the music. In some cases we helped it along with a subtle edit in order to maintain the continuity of rhythm.

But the placement of the music is only a mechanical process. There is also a sense for knowing what music is right for the situation. Music has a great deal to do with how we perceive the films we watch. The same applies to cartoons. The difference between whether the audience is going to remain interested or not is dependent upon how entertaining the music is, and how the music compliments the actions on the screen. Much of the music applied by others tends to be boring and sleep inducing. The use of music for comedy and cartoons is a special thing. The music should be humorous and enhancing of gags and not exist to simply "fill air." I have been fortunate that I have been able to select the right cues and edit them in a way that makes them seem originally scored for the cartoons. But for the most part, this is all instinctive.

As for the sound effects, I have collected them for 40 years. Many are authentic acoustical effects used in theaters, circuses, films, and cartoons. Some I have manufactured, or recreated. I made a particular effort to try to use sound effects that are most closely identified with certain brand cartoons or studios. This is particularly the case with the OUT OF THE INKWELL and AESOP'S FABLES cartoons, where I used the same or similar effects to those used on the soundtracks produced by Fleischer or Terrytoons of the 1930s. There's something that just seems right about hearing those authentic sounds that are so identified with their sound cartoons. Many times people have asked me where I found the sound re-releases of these cartoons. The fact is that I have created these soundtracks to make them sound authentic to the period. So when someone thinks they were from that era, this only indicates that my efforts were successful. That is most gratifying.

To enter the Bijou Mini-Matinee Theater, click here.

And remember, the Bijou Mini-Matinees change every Wednesday. You can enjoy any of the prior shows via the link under the marquee on the right.