The Van Beuren Corporation was a
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
-based
animation
Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
studio that produced theatrical cartoons as well as live-action
short-subjects from the 1920s to 1936.
History
In 1920, the
Keith-Albee organization formed Fables Pictures for the production of the
Aesop's Film Fables
''Aesop's Fables'' (later renamed ''Aesop's Sound Fables'') is a series of animated short subjects, created by American cartoonist Paul Terry. Produced from 1921 to 1933, the series includes '' Closer than a Brother'' (1925), ''The Window Wash ...
cartoon series with
Paul Terry, who himself owned 10 percent of the studio.
Producer
Amedee J. Van Beuren
Amedee J. Van Beuren (born Amedee Vignot; July 10, 1879 – November 12, 1938) was the producer of Frank Buck's first three films, as well as many cartoons and short films.
Early years
Van Beuren was born in New York, the son of Alfred Vignot ...
bought out the studio in 1928, retaining Terry and renaming the business after its new owner.
Van Beuren released Terry's first sound cartoon ''
Dinner Time'' (1928) (a month before Disney's ''
Steamboat Willie'') through
Pathé Exchange, which later became part of
RKO Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
. Terry ran the animation studio while Van Beuren focused on other parts of the business. In 1929, Terry quit to start his own
Terrytoons
Terrytoons was an American animation studio in New Rochelle, New York, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in name only). Terrytoons was founded by ...
studio and John Foster took over the animation department.
Van Beuren released his films through
RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
. The early sound Van Beuren cartoons are almost identical to the late silent cartoons: highly visual, with little dialogue and occasional sound effects. Bandleaders
Gene Rodemich and
Winston Sharples supervised the music. The company's main cartoon characters were "
Tom and Jerry
''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
", a tall-and-short pair, usually vagrants who attempted various occupations. They share no relation to
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
's more successful
Tom and Jerry
''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
, a cat and mouse, and the older series has been renamed "Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry" and "Dick and Larry" in various future incarnations. Van Beuren was keenly aware that successful cartoons often featured animated "stars," and urged his staff to come up with new ideas for characters. Cubby, a mischievous little bear, resulted.
In 1932, Van Beuren planned to release a series of wild-animal shorts featuring celebrity explorer
Frank Buck. RKO executives were so impressed by these Van Beuren shorts that they decided to combine them into a feature film, ''
Bring 'Em Back Alive''. This was a very successful business move, but it left both Van Beuren and RKO with a void in their short-subject schedule. Van Beuren, forced to act quickly, found an existing series of two-reel comedies:
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
's 12 productions for the Mutual film company, produced in 1916-17. Van Beuren paid $10,000 each for the shorts, and assigned his animation department to create new music and sound effects for the silent films. Bandleader
Gene Rodemich and Rodemich's assistant and successor
Winston Sharples assembled new scores. RKO released the Van Beuren Chaplins in 1933-34. Chaplin did not own these films; author Michael J. Hayde discloses that Chaplin had declined several opportunities to purchase them.
The Van Beuren Corporation acquired and produced live-action features such as ''
Adventure Girl
''Adventure Girl'' is a 1934 American adventure documentary directed by Herman C. Raymaker, based on dialogue written by Ferrin Frazier, starring and narrated by Joan Lowell. The screenplay is based on the autobiography of Lowell, ''The Cradle ...
'' (1934) and two more Frank Buck safaris, ''Wild Cargo'' (1934) and ''Frank Buck's Fang and Claw'' (1935). Other Van Beuren live-action productions included a "Van Beuren Vagabond" travelogue series, a series of novelty shorts narrated by the radio comedy team
Easy Aces
''Easy Aces'' is an American serial radio comedy (1930–1945). It was trademarked by the low-keyed drollery of creator and writer Goodman Ace and his wife, Jane, as an urbane, put-upon realtor and his malaprop-prone wife. A 15-minute program, a ...
(
Goodman Ace
Goodman Ace (January 15, 1899 – March 25, 1982), born Goodman Aiskowitz, was an American humorist, radio writer and comedian, television writer, and magazine columnist.
His low-key, literate drollery and softly tart way of tweaking trends ...
and Jane Ace) and musical comedy shorts featuring
Bert Lahr,
Shemp Howard, among others.
Van Beuren remained unsatisfied, and agreed to license the popular comic-strip character ''
The Little King
''The Little King'' is a 1930-1975 American gag-a-day comic strip created by Otto Soglow, telling its stories in a style using images and very few words, as in pantomime.
Publication history
Soglow's character first appeared on June 7, 1930, in ...
'' and the radio comedy act,
Amos 'n' Andy
''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...
to adapt into animated cartoons. Neither series was successful. Van Beuren then hired
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
director
Burt Gillett
Burton F. Gillett (October 15, 1891 – December 28, 1971) was a Film director, director of animation, animated films. He is noted for his Silly Symphonies work for Walt Disney Pictures, Disney, particularly the 1932 short film ''Flowers and Tree ...
and animator
Tom Palmer to create a new series of color cartoons. These "Rainbow Parade" cartoons featured established characters:
Felix the Cat,
Parrotville Parrots Parrotville was a theatrical cartoon series that was featured in the Rainbow Parade series. The series debuted on September 14, 1934 and made its last episode on June 28, 1935. All of the three episodes in the series were featured in the 200 Classi ...
,
Molly Moo-Cow Molly Moo-Cow was the name of a short-lived animated character appearing in Rainbow Parade shorts created by Burt Gillett and Tom Palmer for Van Beuren Studios in the 1930s. , and the
Toonerville Trolley Toonerville may refer to:
* Toonerville Folks, a 20th-century comic strip
* Toonerville, Colorado Toonerville is an unincorporated community in Bent County, Colorado, in the United States.
History
The community was named after ''Toonerville Folks ...
gang.
Closure
These full-color Van Beuren efforts were well received, and Van Beuren had finally succeeded in sponsoring a popular cartoon series. However, RKO entered into a deal to distribute new color cartoons produced by industry leader
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
. RKO, no longer needing Van Beuren's cartoons, abandoned the Rainbow Parade shorts.
Amadee J. Van Beuren
Amedee J. Van Beuren (born Amedee Vignot; July 10, 1879 – November 12, 1938) was the producer of Frank Buck's first three films, as well as many cartoons and short films.
Early years
Van Beuren was born in New York, the son of Alfred Vignot ...
fell ill during this time. In July 1938 he had a stroke that would eventually lead to his death on November 12, 1938 by heart attack.
During his recovery from his stroke, Van Beuren closed his studio rather than accept unionization that had caused the
studio problems in 1935.
[pp. 116–117 Black, James Eric ''Walt Kelly and Pogo: The Art of the Political Swamp'' McFarland, 30 Dec 2015]
The Van Beuren library was sold to various television, reissue, and home-movie distributors in the 1940s and 1950s, including
Unity Pictures, Walter Gutlohn/Library Films,
Commonwealth Pictures Commonwealth Pictures was a motion picture company that primarily dealt with reissues of old features and shorts.
The company was formed by Samuel Goldstein and Mortimer Sackett in 1937 as division of Guaranteed Pictures Company, Inc. In 1941, the ...
, and
Official Films
Official Films, Incorporated (Inc.) was founded by Leslie Winik in 1939 to produce educational shorts. Soon, after buying some negatives of public-domain Keystone Chaplin films, the company found itself in the 16mm/8mm home movie business. It obta ...
. The library eventually lapsed into the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
.
Productions
Animation:
*
Aesop's Fables
*
Cubby Bear
The Cubby Bear is a sports bar, eatery, and music venue in Chicago, Illinois.
The Cubby Bear is located at Addison and Clark Streets across from Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. It was established in 1953 and is formally known as the ...
*
Amos 'n' Andy
''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...
*
The Little King
''The Little King'' is a 1930-1975 American gag-a-day comic strip created by Otto Soglow, telling its stories in a style using images and very few words, as in pantomime.
Publication history
Soglow's character first appeared on June 7, 1930, in ...
*
Rainbow Parade
''Rainbow Parade'' was a series of 26 animated shorts produced by Van Beuren Studios and distributed to theaters by RKO between 1934 and 1936. This was the all-color series and final series produced by Van Beuren.
History
Many of the ''Rainbow Pa ...
(color series)
*
Felix the Cat
*
Molly Moo-Cow Molly Moo-Cow was the name of a short-lived animated character appearing in Rainbow Parade shorts created by Burt Gillett and Tom Palmer for Van Beuren Studios in the 1930s.
*
Burt Gillett's Toddle Tales
''Burt Gillet's Toddle Tales'' is a theatrical cartoon series which lasted from June 29 to September 7, 1934, and was made by the Van Beuren Studios. All of the films combined live-action and animation.
History
''Burt Gillet's Toddle Tales'' was ...
*
Tom and Jerry
''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
*
Toonerville Trolley Toonerville may refer to:
* Toonerville Folks, a 20th-century comic strip
* Toonerville, Colorado Toonerville is an unincorporated community in Bent County, Colorado, in the United States.
History
The community was named after ''Toonerville Folks ...
*
Parrotville Parrotville was a theatrical cartoon series that was featured in the Rainbow Parade series. The series debuted on September 14, 1934 and made its last episode on June 28, 1935. All of the three episodes in the series were featured in the 200 Class ...
Live-action:
*
James the Cat
* ''
Stung'' (1931)
* ''
Bring 'Em Back Alive'' (1932)
* ''
Adventure Girl
''Adventure Girl'' is a 1934 American adventure documentary directed by Herman C. Raymaker, based on dialogue written by Ferrin Frazier, starring and narrated by Joan Lowell. The screenplay is based on the autobiography of Lowell, ''The Cradle ...
'' (1934)
* ''
Wild Cargo'' (1934)
* ''
Fang and Claw'' (1935)
References
External links
Full list of Van Beuren cartoonsfrom the Big Cartoon Database
Swiss Trick on Archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Beuren Corporation, The
American animation studios
Mass media companies established in 1921
Mass media companies disestablished in 1936
American companies established in 1921
1921 establishments in New York City
1936 disestablishments in New York (state)
American companies disestablished in 1936