The Hearst-Vitagraph News Pictorial or Hearst-Vita graph (also known as the Hearst-Vitagraph News Reel) was a short-lived company producing newsreels which were coupled with
animated cartoon
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...
s. It was established on 29 October 1915 by the Brooklyn-based
Vitagraph Studios
Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...
and the
Hearst Corporation
Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televis ...
, and produced its first reel in February 1916, but folded in 1916. Previously, Hearst had produced newsreels together with the
Selig Polyscope Company
The Selig Polyscope Company was an American motion picture company that was founded in 1896 by William Selig in Chicago. The company produced hundreds of early, widely distributed commercial moving pictures, including the first films starring Tom ...
from 1914 on, and after the deal with Vitagraph ended Hearst teamed up with
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...
.
The cartoons which were added to the newsreels were created by Hearst's animation studio
International Film Service
International Film Service (IFS) was an American animation studio created to exploit the popularity of the comic strips controlled by William Randolph Hearst.
History
In 1914, William Randolph Hearst expanded his International News Service wire ...
, led by Gregory La Cava, which converted popular comic strips from the Hearst newspapers to the big screen. Included in the News Pictorial were ''Parcel Post'' cartoons created by Frank Moser (who animated most of the other ones as well),
George Herriman
George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip ''Krazy Kat'' (1913–1944). More influential than popular, ''Krazy Kat'' had an appreciative audience ...
's ''
Krazy Kat
''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-American, New Yor ...
'' (at least eight shorts), ''
And Her Name Was Maud
''And Her Name Was Maud'' is a comic strip by Frederick Burr Opper. It first appeared in the Hearst newspapers on July 24, 1904.Happy Hooligan'' by
Frederick Burr Opper
Frederick Burr Opper (January 2, 1857 – August 28, 1937) is regarded as one of the pioneers of American newspaper comic strips, best known for his comic strip ''Happy Hooligan''. His comic characters were featured in magazine gag cartoons, cov ...
Harold Knerr
Harold Hering Knerr (September 4, 1882 – July 8, 1949) was an American comic strip creator, who signed his work H. H. Knerr. He was the writer-artist of the comic strip ''The Katzenjammer Kids'' for 35 years.
Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, H ...
, ''
Bringing Up Father
''Bringing Up Father'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 2, 1913, to May 28, 2000.
The strip was later titled ''Jiggs and Maggie'' (or ''M ...
'' by
George McManus
George McManus (January 23, 1884 – October 22, 1954) was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Irish immigrant Jiggs and his wife Maggie, the main characters of his syndicated comic strip, ''Bringing Up Father''.
Biography
...
, ''Joys and Glooms'' by T. E. Powers, and ''Jerry on the Job'' by Walter Hoban.
The newsreels were created by a staff of about 56 cameramen, and produced a number of scoops, including images of the sinking of the British ship HMS ''Audacious'' in 1914, and the sinking of the German ship SMS ''Blücher'' in 1915.