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Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and screenwriter, who mostly worked in animation. Co-creator of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion and traditional animation features such as ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'', ''Frosty the Snowman'', ''Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town'', and the 1977 cartoon special of ''The Hobbit''. He is credited on over 1,000 television programs. Early life Rankin was born in New York City, the son of actors Arthur Rankin and Marian Mansfield. His paternal grandmother was actress Phyllis Rankin, and his paternal step-grandfather, who adopted his father, was actor Harry Davenport, who played Dr. Meade in the film ''Gone with the Wind''. Career Rankin began his career as an art director for the American Broadcasting Company in the 1940s. In 1955, he and Jules Bass formed the production company Videocraft International to produce television commercials ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with a respective county. The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the United States by both population and urban area. New York is a global center of finance and commerce, culture, technology, entertainment and media, academics, and scientific output, the arts and fashion, and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations, international diplomacy. With an estimated population in 2024 of 8,478,072 distributed over , the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gone With The Wind (film)
''Gone with the Wind'' is a 1939 American epic historical romance film adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. The film was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara ( Vivien Leigh), the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, following her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland), and her subsequent marriage to Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). The film had a troubled production. The start of filming was delayed for two years until January 1939 because Selznick was determined to secure Gable for the role of Rhett, and filming concluded in July. The role of Scarlett was challenging to cast, and 1,400 unknown women were interviewed for the part. Sidney Howard's original screenpl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' New York Herald Tribune'' for best juvenile fiction. It is recognized as a classic in children's literature and is one of the best-selling books of all time, with over 100 million copies sold. ''The Hobbit'' is set in Middle-earth and follows home-loving Bilbo Baggins, the titular hobbit who joins the wizard Gandalf and the thirteen dwarves of Thorin's Company on a quest to reclaim the dwarves' home and treasure from the dragon Smaug. Bilbo's journey takes him from his peaceful rural surroundings into more sinister territory. The story is told in the form of a picaresque or episodic quest; several chapters introduce a new type of monster or threat as Bilbo progresses through the landscape. Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mad Monster Party?
''Mad Monster Party?'' is a 1967 stop-motion animated musical comedy film produced by Rankin/Bass Productions for Embassy Pictures. The film stars the voices of Boris Karloff, Allen Swift, Gale Garnett and Phyllis Diller. It tells the story of a mad scientist who achieves the secret of total destruction as he summons all the monsters to his island home to show it off while planning to retire as the head of the "Worldwide Organization of Monsters". Although less well known than Rankin/Bass's holiday specials, it has become a cult film. The film is a camp homage to the classic monster movies of the 1930s-1940s. It was one of Karloff's final projects, and his last film in connection to ''Frankenstein''. Plot Scientist Baron Boris von Frankenstein achieves his ultimate ambition, the secret of total destruction. Having perfected and tested the formula, he sends out messenger bats carrying invitations to summon all monsters to the Isle of Evil in the Caribbean Sea. The Baron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Daydreamer (film)
''The Daydreamer'' is a 1966 stop motion animated–live action musical fantasy film produced by Videocraft International. Directed by Jules Bass, it was written by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Romeo Muller, based on the stories of Hans Christian Andersen. It features seven original songs by Jules Bass and Maury Laws. The film's opening features the cast in puppet and live form plus caricatures of the cast by Al Hirschfeld. Among the cast were the American actors Paul O'Keefe, Jack Gilford, Ray Bolger and Margaret Hamilton (both from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1939 classic film '' The Wizard of Oz''), and the Australian actor Cyril Ritchard as the voice of the Sandman. Three of the voice actors: Burl Ives, and Canadian actors Billie Mae Richards and Larry D. Mann, were the voice suppliers for Videocraft's stop motion Christmas television special, ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' (1964). Some of the character voices were recorded at RCA Studios in Toronto, Ontario, under Bernard C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Frost (TV Special)
''Jack Frost'' is a 1979 Christmas, Winter and Groundhog Day stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. It is directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., written by Romeo Muller, narrated by Buddy Hackett, and starring the voices of Robert Morse, Debra Clinger and Paul Frees. The special premiered on NBC on December 13, 1979, and tells the tale of Jack Frost and his adventures as a human. It airs annually on AMC as part of its Best Christmas Ever programming block. Plot The story is narrated by a groundhog named Pardon-Me-Pete who has a deal with Jack Frost to extend winter by 6 weeks, letting him sleep that much longer. Pete starts to talk about the legend of Jack Frost. It all starts when Jack Frost, an immortal winter sprite, falls in love with a human girl named Elisa, who proclaims her love for Jack after he rescues her when Kubla Kraus, an evil Cossack king, cracks the ice she is standing on. Jack asks Father Winter if he can become hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
'Twas The Night Before Christmas (1974 TV Special)
''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' is a 1974 animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions that features Clement Clarke Moore's famous 1823 poem '' A Visit from St. Nicholas'', the opening line of which is the source of the title of this animated special. The special first originally aired on CBS on December 8, 1974, and the network aired it annually until 1994, when The Family Channel (now Freeform) took over its syndication rights. AMC took over syndication rights for the special in 2018. Although the opening credits mention "told and sung by Joel Grey", it is really narrated by George Gobel, as there is more emphasis on the point of view of Father Mouse, with Moore's poem read by Grey as a secondary plot. Plot Santa Claus is offended by an anonymous letter printed in a Junctionville, USA newspaper claiming that he does not exist. In response, Santa returns all of the townspeople's letters unopened. Upon reading the letter, Father Mouse, an as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudolph's Shiny New Year
''Rudolph's Shiny New Year'' is a 1976 Christmas and New Year's stop motion animated television special and a standalone sequel to the 1964 special ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The special premiered on ABC on December 10, 1976. Plot Just after the events of ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'', Santa Claus receives a letter from his friend Father Time asking for help to find Happy the Baby New Year before midnight ("the 12th bong") on New Year's Eve or else it will be December 31 forever. Santa sends Rudolph out to find him due to the snowstorm currently happening outside. An evil giant vulture named Eon the Terrible is supposed to live for exactly one eon after which he will turn into ice and snow and disintegrate. As this particular eon will end January 1 of the New Year, he plans to kidnap Happy to keep the year from ending and stop time, thus preventing his predestined death. General Ticker (a military clock) and the great Quarte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
