PLUTO'S JUDGEMENT DAY - publicity flyer 1935

This by far has got to be one of my favorite Mickey shorts, the art deco design of the layouts and just plain entertainment value of the film. The pencil test available on MICKEY MOUSE IN LIVING COLOR - Volume 1 is real treat.



GULLIVER MICKEY - 1934 publicity flyer

 

Finally after much fussing around, moving house, work etc here is the publicity flyer for GULLIVER MICKEY.

MICKEY'S SERVICE STATION - 1935 publicity flyer

1935's MICKEY'S SERVICE STATION has got to be one of my favorite Mickey shorts along with THE BAND CONCERT, THE MAD DOCTOR and PLUTO'S JUDGEMENT DAY. It is also the last Mickey to be produced in black and white.

I recently purchased a few of the publicity flyers which were sent out to theater owners. This one is for MICKEY'S SERVICE STATION,  as you can see there were stories for the local newspapers and the opportunity to order posters and 8x10s to promote the film. I think one could write about how Disney developed it's marketing machine. Here's an early glimpse.

I've scanned as best as my A4 scanner can without damaging the aging paper, some minor pieces may be cut off. I'll post the other two in the coming weeks.

Early Walt

October 1917

The freshmen are determined to make a great success this year, and from the early results, we may conclude that their boasts and determination have not been asserted in vain. They are already taking part in the vim and excitement of high school life.

Walter Disney, one of the newcomers, has displayed unusual artistic talent, and has become a Voice cartoonist . . .

And so Walt Disney saw his first public introduction in the McKinley High School magazine The Voice.

Why do I bring that up? Well as you all know I'm a sucker for early Disney material and every now and then I still stumble across something I haven't seen before like the image below which I recently bought from the Chicago Tribune Photo Archive.

A photo of a page from The Voice which I imagine was about April/May 1918 considering Walt started drawing for the magazine in October 1917. I find it interesting how Walt seems to be trying to emulate some of the cartoonists of his day, looking at the faces, the eyes in particular I'm reminded of George McManus' BRINGING UP FATHER strip which began in 1913.

Walt would have probably been exposed to all the great strips of his day.

On the back of the photo is a sample of the printed article, I think dated April 27, 1937. I'd be curious to see the rest of the article.

One Time Alice

I have a huge collection of old Hollywood photos alongside my Disney photos, in thumbing through I noticed the name Anne Shirley, I remembered her name being mentioned in Walt in Wonderland . She was one of 4 girls to play Alice in the Alice Comedies as Dawn O'Day, but for only one film.

Who was she? Here's what I found on IMDB.com:

Date of Birth

17 April 1918, New York City, New York, USA

Date of Death

4 July 1993, Los Angeles, California, USA (lung cancer)

Birth Name
Dawn Evelyeen Paris

Height
5' 2" (1.57 m)

Manhattan-born Anne was christened Dawn Evelyeen Paris on April 17, 1918. Her father died while she was still a baby and she and her widowed mother lived a very meager New York existence at first. At the age of 16 months, the child was already contributing to the household finances as a photographer's model, using a sundry of different monikers including Lenn Fondre, Lindley Dawn and Dawn O'Day. With this source of monetary inspiration, her mother sought work for her daughter in films as well, and at the age of 4, Anne (billed as Dawn O'Day) made her first feature with The Hidden Woman (1922). She showed enough promise in the film Moonshine Valley (1922), as a young girl who manages to reunite her separated parents, that she and her mother made a permanent move from New York to California. Scarce work for such a young child but Anne managed to find it with minor roles in The Rustle of Silk (1923) and The Spanish Dancer (1923) for Paramount Pictures. (1925 - APPEARED IN WALT DISNEY'S ALICE'S EGG PLANT) During her adolescence she often appeared in films as the leading stars' daughter such as Mother Knows Best (1928) with Madge Bellamy, The Sins of the Father (1923) starring Jean Arthur and Liliom (1930) with Charles Farrell. Often times times she would play the female star of the film as a child such as Janet Gaynor's in 4 Devils (1928), Frances Dee's in Rich Man's Folly (1931) and Barbara Stanwyck's in So Big! (1932).

After a rash of unbilled parts, Anne was used by Vitaphone for a series of 1930s short subjects. By her teen years she had developed before the very eyes of Hollywood into a petite and lovely young brunette. Casting agents took notice. Following roles in Rasputin and the Empress (1932) (ALSO APPEARED WITH VIRGINIA DAVIS IN 1932s THREE ON A MATCH) with the three Barrymores and The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Loretta Young, Anne was tested among hundreds of young aspirants and captured the role of Anne Shirley in Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic novel Anne of Green Gables (1934) imbuing the character with all the spirit and charm (not to mention talent) necessary. She officially became a teen celebrity after changing her moniker for the final time in conjunction with the release of the film.

Prominant misty-eyed ingénue leads came her way as a result playing a swamp girl in Steamboat Round the Bend (1935) alongside Will Rogers and in M'Liss (1936) opposite John Beal, but her resume became littered with such meek "B" level comedies and/or weak dramas as Chasing Yesterday (1935), Too Many Wives (1937) and Meet the Missus (1937), that did little to advance her career. Finally at age 19, she found a role to match her "Green Gables" success playing Barbara Stanwyck's daughter in the classic weeper Stella Dallas (1937). The interaction between the two was magical and both Barbara and Anne were nominated for Oscars for their superb portrayals (Anne was listed in the supporting category). Both lost, however, to Luise Rainer and Alice Brady, respectively.

During this time of major success, Anne met and eventually married actor John Payne in 1937. The popular Hollywood couple had one child, Julie Payne, who became an actress of her own for a time in the 1970s. Her subsequent career was full of promise but with every quality picture bestowed upon her, such as Vigil in the Night (1940) and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), came a faltering one that hurt her career, including Career (1939) and West Point Widow (1941). Especially disappointing was her long-anticipated "Green Gables" sequel Anne of Windy Poplars (1940), which received very lackluster reviews.

The still-young actress finished on top, however, opposite Dick Powell in the classic movie mystery Murder, My Sweet (1944). Divorced from John Payne in 1943, Anne decided to end her career after her second marriage to the movie's producer Adrian Scott in 1945, tiring of the Hollywood rat race she had endured since a child. Never an ambitious actress, Anne stayed with her career as long as she did primarily to please her mother. Her three-year marriage to Scott was unable to sustain the legal troubles of her husband's 1947 blacklisting (he was one of the "Hollywood 10" imprisoned during the McCarthy era for his communist affiliations). Her 1949 marriage to screenwriter Charles Lederer, the nephew of actress Marion Davies, was her longest and most fulfilling. Their son, Daniel, was born the following year. He inherited his father's writing talent and grew up to become a poet.

Never tempted to resume her career at any time, she remained a charming and gracious socialite in the Hollywood circle. A painter on the side, she at one point entertained the thought of becoming a behind-the-scenes worker, such as a dialogue coach, but it was never pursued aggressively. Her husband's sudden death in 1976 triggered a severe emotional crisis for Anne, who turned for a time to alcohol. Recovered, she lived the rest of her life completely out of the limelight, dying in 1993 of lung cancer at age 75. Her granddaughter by daughter Julie (via her marriage to screenwriter Robert Towne) is the actress Katharine Towne, who has appeared in such films as Mulholland Dr. (2001).

As a side note, she was a contract player at RKO in the late 30s and early 40s, Walt was releasing through RKO at the tim.

My New Blog

For anybody interested I have started up a new blog designed to document the making of my animated short film and introduce the main character. Just click the title of this post to be taken there. Hope to see you there.

Walt and animal protection.

Here is a photo I bought some time ago, the snipe on the reverse says:

DISNEY HONORED FOR KINDNESS TO ANIMALS



In recognition of his strong appeal for kindness to animals in his film, "Bambi" Walt Disney was given one of the few gold medals ever awarded by the American Humane Association for the Promotion of Kindness to Animals. Joan Bennett is shown making the award on behalf of the association.
 
I e-mailed this photo to Walt's daughter Diane, she noted that "Joan Bennet was married at that time, I believe, to dad's good friend Walter Wanger." Joan Bennet by the way was a well known actress at the time and Walter Wanger an independant producer the classic "Stagecoach" being one of many productions he produced.
 
I am very interested in hearing more about Walt and his views on animal welfare if anybody has any stories to tell. Clearly he loved animals but he was well ahead of his time in many ways and in some ways still is

Walt - 1933

This photo is stamped December 12, 1933 and reads:

Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse read over the elaborate diploma of honor recently presented to the artist by the National Academy of Fine Arts of Buenos Aires, in token of Disney's artistry.

Unfortunately, areas of the photo have been whited out for publishing purposes - I think spoils the shot, I'm not quite sure what they were thinking when it came to Mickey's ears.

Walt - late 30s?

I recently picked up this photo from e-bay, it looks like a candid from the late 30s or early 40s. Does anybody have any ideas as to where and when the photo was taken?

BUCKY BUG - June 25, 1933

It's been a while since I last posted, to be honest the past year has been a busy one, directing does take a lot out of one . . . then there's the issue of a broken down scanner. I am working on a couple of posts including a post about Alice's Day At Sea.

Tell that's ready, here is a production proof  I just aquired for the  June 25, 1933 Silly Symphonies Sunday strip, I have a few of these I hope to post soon.

Can anyone who the artist was?  I believe it was Al Taliafero.