Rummaging through Mark Kausler’s film closet, I found several examples of silent animation created by the Carpenter-Goldman film Laboratory. Who or what was Carpenter-Goldman? For that I turn to our Jonathan Boschen who wrote several pieces on Frank Goldman (aka F. Lyle Goldman). I quote:
“Originally an architect with a bachelors degree in science, Frank Goldman (aka F. Lyle Goldman) began his filmmaking career as a technical animation director for the Bray studios in 1918. Goldman’s decision to drop his architect career and pursue filmmaking came after viewing a stop motion training film that was made by his cousin and Bray animator, J. F. Leventhal.
“Following Goldman’s departure from Bray in the early 1920s, he formed a partnership with Arthur Carpenter and established Carpenter-Goldman Laboratories Inc. Here he oversaw the production of several hand drawn animation films and stop motion films.
“Amongst one of these stop motion films was a 1924 film for A.T.&T. in which a telephone assembled itself through stop motion; a film that Goldman would remake in the 1930s and also in the 1940s. In 1929 Goldman, who had acquired Carpenter-Goldman Laboratories Inc. from Arthur Carpenter several years earlier, sold his company and studio to Audio Cinema Inc. (a division of A.T.&T.) and became a Production Supervisor for the company acting as a producer, director, and a stop motion animator.”
According to the Fleischer Studios website, “For about a year in 1928-29, Max Fleischer’s animation studio was housed in the Carpenter-Goldman Film Laboratories in Long Island City, NY. Max and Frank Goldman teamed up to create Finding His Voice, an educational film for Western Electric, that explained how a film could ‘talk’.”
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
This one is quite cute. I think it was made directly for the home movie market. John McElwee, on his excellent Greenbriar Picture Shows blog, says it was released by Kodak-Cinegraph in the early 1930s…
Sailing, Sailing and On Many Shores
Says Mark Kausler: “These two cartoons are both live action and animation travelogs, featuring an animated sailor who looks a bit like an Otto Messmer character to me. If you get bored, just fast forward past the live action scenes.”
If anyone has anymore examples of Carpenter-Goldman animation – or any more info on the studio – we always welcome addendum in the comments below.
NEXT WEEK: Early Japanese and Russian Cartoons
Jerry Beck is a writer, animation producer, college professor and author of more than 15 books on animation history. He is a former studio exec with Nickelodeon Movies and Disney, and has written for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He has curated cartoons for DVD and Blu-ray compilations and has lent his expertise to dozens of bonus documentaries and audio commentaries on such. Beck is currently on the faculty of CalArts in Valencia, UCLA in Westwood and Woodbury University in Burbank – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [
This unknown animator(s?) of sorts. He (they?) must have been great friends with or at least inspired by Frank Moser. Or maybe it was Moser?
The animation in these three shorts are very akin to his style, but the timing and movements are more rough and stiff here. The unknown animator of sorts in these shorts even copies Frank Moser’s unrealistic anatomy and bizarre posing; watch their arms! Despite all of this, the line work in these shorts are less slick and more thin compared to what Moser was already drawing in 1919 in the Hooligan shorts.
Ub Iwerks and friends in California were already copying Moser’s “hop and stretch” technique as seen in ‘Alice Gets Stung’; their characters later on for a brief period of time tended to sometimes look like Moser drawn animals, such as the lady rabbit in ‘All Wet’! It’s no surprise, really; they were taking inspirations from the Fables silents day by day! Thank the East for the West! And Jerry Shields and friends….
After taking a closer look, this is definitely not Moser at all. Looks like a mix between Moser and Messmer. Definitely no Charles Sarka for sure, not even a John Terry. It would be good to have knowledge of who worked at Carpenter at this point.
I have a 16mm print of the Goldilocks cartoon. It’s part of a reel of animation that includes a couple of silent excerpts from early Silly Symphonies and a Kinex film that my grandfather seems to have spliced together in the 1930’s for entertaining the family. It’s gratifying to finally learn the history of that cartoon, which I had not been able to identify before now. Our print has a different opening–it’s live-action footage of hands opening a storybook. I note that this print does have similar footage at the closing. I suspect this film was repackaged by more than one distributor.
Looks like the Official Films “Adventure In Animation” title was simply spliced on from another cartoon. Note that the “Goldilocks” cartoon appears to be amber tinted, but the Official title is not. That title format appeared on Official’s prints of Columbia (Screen Gems) cartoons from the 1940’s.
From Don M. Yowp’s Tralfaz Blog:
October 4, 1929
AUDIO-CINEMA BUILDING NEW L I. CITY STUDIO
Audio-Cinema, Inc., known until recently as the Carpenter-Goldman Laboratory, Inc., has under consideration plans to film theatrical productions presented in New York. Conferences to this end are being held by Joe W. Coffman, president and general manager of the concern, with Broadway producers, including The Theater Guild, Erlanger, A. H. Woods, Arch Selwyn and L. Lawrence Weber. The banking firm of Noah MacDowell & Co., is said to be financing the project. The firm has started construction of a studio near Queensborough Plaza, Long Island City. It is to be finished in January.
https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2013/05/1929-disney-rises.html
Hi! We recently received 18 “2nd Master Cinegraph Eight” reels in boxes. The dates of March, 1934, when presumed made, were inscribed into the emulsion near the head leader. They were told to be rescued by an employee during the 1950s.
Carpenter-Goldman’s “Goldilocks” was in the collection. There is no date on the C-G’s backing card.
I am not exactly sure how to put this photo in the blog. If you can see this photo it is a picture of my Uncle Lenny. Leonard Louis Mc Cormick. February 21, 1911 New York – December 2, 1992 Massepequa, New York. Uncle Lenny was an animation photographer for Fleischer Studios. He moved to Miami with Fleischer Studios. in 1938 and worked on Gulliver’s Travels and went on to work for Famous Studios when Fleischer Studios was taken over by Paramount studios.
I forgot to say that my Uncle Lenny, Leonard Louis McCormick February 21, 1911 New York – December 2, 1992 Massepequa, New York.is second from the right in this photo. Photo taken sometime during 1928 -1929 when Fleischer studios was in the Carpenter- Goldman building in Long Island City. . Uncle Lenny was an animation photographer for Fleischer Studios. Uncle Lenny moved to Miami with Fleischer Studios in 1838 and worked on Gulliver’s Travels among other animation projects. When Fleischer studios was taken over by paramount studios in 1941 Uncle Lenny returned to New York to work for Famous studios until 1967. At the time of this photo my Uncle was only 17 or 18 years old. He went on to make his entire career as an animation photographer. Can anyone identify any of the other Fleischer studio staff in the photo?
My father, Hal Robins, was good friends with Lenny when they worked together at Famous Studios. Amazing to find your blurb about Lenny’s career. My family used to visit Lenny’s family when they lived a few blocks east of Flatbush Avenue in the 1950’s. I remember Lenny as bring a very sharp individual. I even recognized him from the photo you posted. It would great to connect with you to review memories.
… Bob Robins
I would like to connect with you to talk about this Bob. I’m reluctant to post personal information here. I am on Facebook under the name Patricia McCormick.