A comic book licensing deal with Harvey Comics would, in a few years, become the biggest thing that Famous Studios ever did for itself. Here’s the original contract between Harvey and Famous from 1951.
Sam Buchwald passed away on January 8th, 1951. His share in the partnership known as Famous Studios went to his estate. Buchwald was not replaced – Seymour Kneitel and Isadore…
In some ways, the 1950-51 season was the zenith of Famous Studios existence. Perhaps not creatively, but in their role as Paramount’s in-house cartoon studio they had certainly established a…
For the 1949-50 season, Paramount gave Famous Studios a repeat of its previous year’s order of 30 cartoons: Eight Popeye, twelve Screen Songs and ten Noveltoons. Screen Songs Strolling Thru…
Gather ‘round, folks! It’s a Bugs Bunny jungle “pitcher”! Precarious journeys in a mysterious jungle proved successful in newsprint and screen throughout the first half of the 20th century, as…
For the 1948-49 season, Paramount had complete faith in the popularity of Screen Songs. The studio was now required to deliver 12 for this season – one per month. Inside…
Gilliam and Pinocchio. In the Guardian newspaper April 27, 2001, filmmaker and animator Terry Gilliam was asked about what he thought the ten best animated films of all time were….
The 1947-48 season was one of transition. The contractual arrangement with Marge, and the license for Little Lulu, had come to an end. The cartoons had not caught on with…
More Noveltoons! The 1946-47 season brought about eight Noveltoons which broke down into three “Screen Songs”, one (still lost) “Snuffy Smith” cartoon, a “Herman & Henry”, a “Blackie”, and two…
EDITOR’S NOTE: This week Steve Stanchfield takes a break from his weekly column to visit Los Angeles to dig through a few new archives. Filling in is our resident expert…
