Frame Grabs 10 Nov 2009 08:37 am
Cosmic Rays
- I posted many frame grabs for Our Mr. Sun, the Bell Science series premium program. That show gave families information about the Sun and the solar system.The show, Hemo the Magnificent, was about the blood system and the body. Both were two of the star episodes of this series.
There were also the lesser shows, of which this program is one. The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays talks about radiation. Of course, 
the information available in the early Fifties, when this show was produced, was somewhat limited. Consequently, they don’t talk about the negative effects radiation and atomic medicine have on the body.
Frank Capra produced this series for the Bell Laboratories. He wrote in his autobiography that he loved making it. He’d graduated from college with a degree in engineering, and he felt he was finally putting some of that knowledge to use.
During the early Thirties, Capra befriended Walt Disney. He was instrumental in getting Columbia to distribute the Disney shorts, which gave Mickey an even wider venue than it had at the time. The deal between Disney and Columbia eventually went sour, and Disney didn’t sign with them again when the contract expired. Capra remained close with Walt. It was a natural for him to ask Disney to get involved in some of the animation, and his studio did – working on Our Mr. Sun.
The animation for this show was done by Shamus Culhane productions in New York. It’s markedly inferior. The progressive style falls back on traditional rounded artwork at varied points, and the artwork doesn’t have a unified look. Although the animation is serviceable, it never soars.
A1The show starts with series host, Frank Baxter, talking with actor,
Richard Carlson (who appeared in many Sci Fi films of the period.)
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They interact with three early mystery writers –
Edgar Allan Poe, Dostoevsky and Charles Dickens.
These were marionettes from Bil and Cora Baird.
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Within a few minutes, the animation comes in to tell
the more complex parts of the science.
From the start it’s a tale told as a cowboy film.
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It’s all told with metaphors and similes.
They dumb down the science as much as possible.
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It does make sense, though the telling
in this particular show is somewhat convulted.
Perhaps it’s the complicated material involved.
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From here on they go back and forth to live action
then animation etc. The live ultimately dominates
with some few blinks of the animation.
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A barely serviceable credit these corporate credits.
Today it’d be a swirl of hundreds of names squeezed into the
lower third of the screen with less than ½ a blurred frame per name.
on 10 Nov 2009 at 3:43 pm 1.Bill Perkins said …
Hi Michael. Again a great post, I very clearly remember seeing these films around 1963/1964 in my then grade school. I would have been in grade three or four but I was just captivated by these films and never forgot them. They planted the first ” I’d like to do something like this when I grow up thoughts” and as well the beginnings of my interest in design. As Amid wrote on the Cartoon Brew site today ” I can’t get enough of mid-century educational and safety related shorts” same applies to me. I did a search a few years back for “Dr. Frank Baxter” and found an obit included in a article where the author mused about how many people went into science based on early exposure too these films. I couldn’t help but wonder how many people went into Animation based on early exposure to these films. Speaking of design you’ve got to love Bill Baird’s marionettes. Great stuff.
on 10 Nov 2009 at 4:04 pm 2.Michael said …
You’re right about the Bil Baird marionettes. I’ve been working on a Poe character for my film. Seeing the simple and graceful design for that puppet makes me want to scrap everything I’ve done.
on 10 Nov 2009 at 10:03 pm 3.Pierre said …
Articles like this is one of the reasons why I like to come to this website. This one article pretty much incorporates nearly all my passions: you’ve got that great 1950′s modern design, storytelling through the use of metaphor, and Bill Baird’s marionettes.
One of my favorite books growing up was a book on puppetry that heavily featured Mr. Baird’s work. Now truth be told, I really haven’t seen much of his work, beyond the “Lonely Goat-herd” sequence from film adaptation of “The Sound Of Music”. However, this book showed alot of his work and it really sparked my imagination as a young boy.
BTW, are these Capra films available on DVD?
on 11 Nov 2009 at 3:17 pm 4.Bill Perkins said …
Pierre, much like you I only knew of Bil Baird by his “Lonely Goat-Herd” sequence in the Sound of Music. A couple of years later I stumbled across his “Art of The Puppet” in my local library and like yourself it really sparked my imagination. I bought a copy several years ago (abebooks or ebay) and its well worth having if your a fan. The Bell Science series is indeed available on DVD, Go to Amazon.com / Movies and TV / Search using “Bell Science” and you find them all plus related Items. Both Frank Capra’s and as well Shamus Culhane’s autobiography’s are well worth a read and both touch upon the Bell Science series.
Michael, I was aware that you were working on a Edgar Allan Poe feature and am really interested in seeing what your take, style wise is on it. Speaking of style, Jenny Lerew recently posted clips from Richard Williams “A Christmas Carol” on her site, again just terrific stuff however the contrast between Williams work and Robert Zemeckis take on the same couldn’t be greater. Also a small treasure of a book I ran across when I was about nine years old and still have simply because the illustrations captivated me is “Tales of Edgar Allan Poe” illustrated by Ati Forberg, published by Whitman Publishing Company/ 1963. You can probably locate it on Abebooks for less the ten dollars, but again worth having. A very Paul Julian / “Tell-Tale Heart” feel to it. I think you’d enjoy it.
on 11 Nov 2009 at 3:53 pm 5.Michael said …
Thanks for the info on the book, Bill. If you go to http://www.Poestory.net you can see some pieces of our work. No final style has been determined as yet, but we’re getting close.