Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1942)

October 3. 1942 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 35 Bach Stage in Short Shops — Walter Lantz WALTER LANTZ One cartoon producer who still handles the drawing board. TO MAKE audiences forget they are seeing pen and ink drawings, to make them imagine the characters are real — that's the present eilort of Universal's cartoon producer, Walter Lanlz. And this effort must be progressing, for kiddies are writing in to find out what kind of food is served Andy Panda. That sort of query pleases Lantz, one of the few independent pioduceis releasing through a major company who actually works on his material, handling the pen and drawing board, selecting stories and spending hours each day with the story department. For 26 years Walter Lantz has been in active service in the animated cartoon field. During that time he has drawn, or supervised the drawing of al least 5,000,000 sketches. Today, in addition to his commercial output, he is making cartoon insignias for planes and schools and troops for use as mascots. He is also making army training films in animation in response to the army's discovery that visual instruction is far better than manual. Acting as expert on these films is a representotivo oi the particular branch of service for which each film is being made. Because they are confidential, Lantz personally supervises their production. Born in New Rochelle, N. Y., Lantz enrolled in the Art Students League in New York in 1914 after a year oi high school. He left art school in 1915, worked as an assistant to the artists on the New York Sunday American, where his duties consisted mainly of washing out artists' brushes, rushing the beer can, sweeping out the place. In 1914 Winsor McKay had created the first animated cartoon, "Gertie." There were over 20,000 drawings in the film, which was such a huge success other newspaper cartoonists were knocking themselves out trying to discover how McKay made the drawings animated. That wos a secret McKay carefully guarded, until the latter part of 1915, when a Frenchman named Bairie, John Bray, and Gregory La Cava (now a topnolch director) solved the mystery and were able to draw cartoon characters that moved. They were jerky, but they moved. Only 16 years of age at the time, Walter decided this was his chance to get in on the ground floor of a new art. He applied to La Cava, who had started an Animated Cartoon Studio for Publisher William Randolph Hearst. Lantz was put to work at a weekly salary of ten dollars. At the age of 18, he was making his own cartoons. His record to date: 695. Lantz's first animated characters were Mutt and Jeff. Then followed The Katzenjommer Kids, Bringing Up Father, Maude the Mule and Tad's famous Silk Hat Harry. For five years, starting in 1922, he animated a series of cartoons for the Bray Studios in New York. It was while producing lot Bray a series called "Dinky Doodle" that Lantz made the first test sound cartoon at the Fox studios — several years before sound films actually made their appearance. Popularity of the silent animated cartoon dipped sharply in 1927, so Lantz decided to journey to Hollywood. There he worked as a gag man with Frank Capra at the Mack Sennett studios. Later he joined the Hal Roach story department, wrote gags for Laurel & Hardy. When sound came in, the late Carl Laemm'e, then president of Universal, sent for Lantz to produce a series of black-and-white sound cartoons, Oswald the Rabbit. When Universal produced its first Technicolor musical extravaganza, "The King of Jazz," in 1930, Uncle Carl wanted a novel opening. Lantz suggested a color cartoon for the introduction, in v/hich Paul Whiteman was caricatured, with Bing Crosby vocalizing. Said to be the screen's first Technicolor cartoon, it made a hit. From then on, Walter Lantz was "in." With such characters as Andy Panda, Woody Woodpecker, Homer Pigeon, and a musical series, "Swing Symphonies," to his credit, the producer is now in his 15th year with Universal, has moved into a new cartoon building on the Universal lot. Lantz emphasizes the personalities of his cartoon characters, attempts to create this effect by making the animator feel the personality and what it will do before he starts to draw. Only the finest talent for voices is acceptable — voices of those who are professionals and know how to read lines. Lantz has an interesting slant on cartoons during the war and during a depression. Says he: "During the last war and during the worst periods oi the depression, cartoon films were in strong demand. Thus, the tougher the times, the greater Ihe public's demand for cartoons and other escape entertainment." He looks forward to his next five million drawings. Set Release Date on 'We Refuse to Die ; Campaig n is Outlined "We Refuse to Die," Paramount's Victory Short dramatizing the brutal Nazi massacre at Lidice, Czechoslovakia, will be released nationally on October 25, according to Neil Agnew, vice-president in charge of distribution. The date selected for the release has been designated Lidice Memorial Day throughout the United States and in a number of other United Nations. According to the Lidice Lives Committee of the Writers' War Board, towns in England, the Soviet Union, China, Canada and Brazil will be renamed Lidice on that day. The film features Barry Sullivan and Ellen Drew. On October 23, just two days before national release, the Victory Short will be accorded a world premiere showing in Lidice, 111., the community named recently in honor of the town in Czechoslovakia destroyed by the Germans. At a luncheon held by Paramount at the Astor Hotel Wednesday following a screening of the film and another Victory Short, "A Letter From Bataan," trade press representatives were apprised of the campaign being prepared for "We Refuse to Die." National magazines, such as Time, Nezursweek, Life, Look, etc., will review and otherwise carry material on it. A two-page spread is scheduled to appear in The New Yor)< Times. Though not definitely completed, plans are also being made for two broadcasts on national release date ; one, a dramatization of the film, and the other an international broadcast with former Czechoslovakian President Edward Benes speaking from London. "A Letter From Bataan," already playing in theatres throughout the nation, will open on October 18 at all first-run Broadway theatres. Discussing the distribution of Paramount's Victory Shorts, Oscar Morgan, short subjects and new sales manager, declared that upwards of 7,000 contracts had been closed with exhibitors for the four films at a rental of $1 per day per film. Any profits accruing from the showings will be turned over to the War Activities Committee by Paramount. Every effort is being made to see that the subjects get "fast and wide distribution," Morgan said. 'Men of the Sky' Garners Good Newspaper Breaks in Wilkes-Barre Centered around the induction of eighteen local boys into the Air Corps for cadet training, campaign for the Warner Service Special, "Men of the Sky," at the Comerford Theatre, WilkesBarre, Pa., garnered large newspaper breaks. The Technicolor two-reeler ties in perfectly with this theme, for it relates the intimate story of the average young man enlisting in the Air Corps. A special screening was held for the young men just before they left for San Antonio, Texas, for their flight training. . They were present as guests of the management, as were their immediate families. Dooling's Ice Cream Giveaway For the showing of Universal's "Junior G-Men of the Air" at the Kennedy Theatre, Washington, Manager R. J. Dooling used an ice cream giveaway to all children attending the opening chapter of the serial. Three thousand heralds carried announcement of the giveaway. Feeling that some kids might not be able to see the first episode, Dooling inserted lines ih herald copy promising Junior G-Men pins to youngsters attending the second. Good business on both cp.apters. Alterman's Page of Publicity Looks like those Texas showmen are always on their short-subject toes, so to speak. John Alterman of the Elm Street Telenews, Dallas, promoted for himself a full-page — get that, a full-page — publicity story on Warner Bros.' tworeel analysis of Hitler's fifth column plans, "Divide and Conquer." In the layout was twocolumn art. Boy, that's promotion that IS promotion !