Jackson Beck
Selections include Kelley's Plasticon Pictures, the earliest extant 3-D demonstration film from 1922 with incredible footage of Washington and New York City; New Dimensions, the first domestic full color 3-D film originally shown at the World’s Fair in 1940; Thrills for You, a promotional film for the Pennsylvania Railroad; Stardust in Your Eyes, a hilarious standup routine by Slick Slavin; trailer for The Maze, with fantastic production design by William Cameron Menzies; Doom Town, a controversial anti-atomic testing film mysteriously pulled from release; puppet cartoon The Adventures of Sam Space, presented in widescreen; I’ll Sell My Shirt, a burlesque comedy unseen in 3-D for over 60 years; Boo Moon, an excellent example of color stereoscopic animation…and more!
In honor of the squint-eyed seaman's 75th anniversary, this three DVD set is a no-frills packaging of Popeye the Sailor's color King Features cartoons of the sixties.
The Popeye Show is a cartoon anthology series that premiered on November 11, 2001, on Cartoon Network. Each episode would include three unedited Popeye theatrical shorts from Fleischer Studios and/or Famous Studios. The show was narrated by Bill Murray, who would give the audience short facts about the history of the cartoons as filler material between each short. Animation historian Jerry Beck served as a consultant and Barry Mills served as writer and producer. A total of 45 episodes were produced, consisting of a total of 135 shorts.
The Narrator tells us how the radio influenced his childhood in the days before TV. In the New York City of the late 1930s to the New Year's Eve 1944, this coming-of-age tale mixes the narrator's experiences with contemporary anecdotes and urban legends of the radio stars.
G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra is the second G.I. Joe miniseries based on the successful Hasbro Toys and Marvel Comics property. Using a laser core stolen from G.I.Joe, Cobra activates the Weather Dominator, an incredible weapon which controls the forces of Nature itself, Cobra Commander targets Washington for destruction, but the Joe team repels the attack and the Weather Dominator explodes into three parts setting off a chain reaction of natural disasters around the world. Can G.I.Joe recover the Weather Dominator in time to beat Cobra and save the world. It aired in 1984 and most of the 1984 and even some 1985 products are given plenty of screen time. Like the first miniseries, A Real American Hero, The Revenge of Cobra was written by Ron Friedman who created the series for television, and wrote all four miniseries.
Human torture. Factories of death. War atrocities. The crimes that haunt the pagse of history are chronicled in the piercing documentary Camps of Death. Following Hitler's murderous career, the film traces his rise to power, his ultimate demise, and the subsequent nuremberg trials that publicized the horrors of Hitler's regime. Concentration camp footage combines with chilling POW interviews to graphically create the nazi nightmare that few could hope to survive. A powerful look at the third reich adn the horrifying fate of its enemies.
Private detective Jack Masters takes on a case and gets mixed up in murder, sex and blackmail.
Virgil Starkwell is intent on becoming a notorious bank robber. Unfortunately for Virgil and his not-so-budding career, he is completely incompetent.
The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure is a Filmation animated series that aired on CBS from 1967 to 1968. Premiering on September 9, 1967, this 60-minute program included a series of six-minute adventures featuring various DC Comics superheroes.
The Adventures of Superboy is a series of six-minute animated Superboy cartoons produced by Filmation that were broadcast on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The 34 segments appeared as part of three different programs during that time, packaged with similar shorts featuring The New Adventures of Superman other DC Comics superheroes. These adventures marked the animation debut of Superboy, as well as his teenage alter ego Clark Kent, who acted as the bespectacled, mild-mannered disguise for the young hero, Lana Lang, and Krypto the super-powered dog who would accompany his master on every dangerous mission. Other characters such as Pa and Ma Kent, foster parents of the Boy of Steel, and the town of Smallville were also faithfully recreated from comic book adventures. As a result of the production's budget, the show featured a great amount of stock animation as well as limited movement from the characters. Each episode featured the Boy of Steel ducking out of high school and racing into action to battle a wide array of adversaries, from dognappers in "Krypto, K-9 Detective," androids run amok in "The Revolt of Robotville," and alien menaces in "The Spy from Outer Space," to another young hero with similar powers in "Superboy Meets Mighty Lad," and a slew of otherworldly monsters. He even wound up being captured and successfully having to fight a gang of small-time crooks—all while in his disguise as Clark Kent—in "The Gorilla Gang." Most of the stories were written by DC writers such as Bob Haney and George Kashdan, while character designs were based closely upon the Superboy comic books of the time.
The New Adventures of Superman is a series of six-minute animated Superman adventures produced by Filmation that were broadcast on CBS between 1966 and 1970. The 68 segments appeared as part of three different programs during that time, packaged with similar shorts featuring The Adventures of Superboy and other DC Comics superheroes.
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales is a semi-educational animated cartoon TV series that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1966. It was produced by Total Television, the same company that produced the earlier King Leonardo and the later Underdog, and primarily sponsored by General Mills. The title is a play on “tuxedo and tails” formal wear.
Wise guy Jeepers tries to "help" pal Creepers get a raise from his boss.
Popeye tells Swee'Pea the story of how Eugene the Jeep got his special powers. He tells a fairy tale about a mama jeep and her four children- three good girls and a mischievous boy named Jeepers. One day, they go to eat spinach in the good farmer's garden. Jeepers goes into the bad farmer's garden and eats weeds. The farmer catches Jeepers and locks him up, but mama rescues him that night. The next day, the bad farmer tries to chop down the jeep tree, but mama jeep foils him completely. Afterward, the good farmer invites them over for more spinach.
Brutus is an egotistical French director making a film about Antony and Cleopatra, starring Popeye and Olive Oyl. But Popeye may not survive the production.
King Leonardo and his Short Subjects is an animated cartoon series released in 1960 by Total Television, sponsored by General Mills.
Popeye runs a pizza restaurant. Wimpy wants to pay him Tuesday for some hamburger pizzas, but Popeye says "No money, no pizzas! Cash on the line!" Wimpy would pay Brutus Tuesday if he gave him money for pizzas, but Popeye yells "No money, no pizzas!" Brutus tells Popeye to fix Wimpy some pizzas. Popeye makes a pizza making machine, and asks Brutus what kind of pizzas he wants. Brutus wants a tamale pizza, but Popeye says he never serves tamale pizzas. Brutus then rolls Popeye into some pizza dough, but Popeye eats some spinach pizza and turns Brutus into a pizza-bread man, then kicks him out. Popeye sees Wimpy eating pizza, and has him pay for it.
Creepers tries to get Jeepers to get the courage to ask for a date with a bathing beauty that Jeepers knew as a "puppy." Jeepers helps Creepers look for his old girlfriend.
Popeye the Sailor is an animated TV series produced for ABC through King Features Syndicate that ran from 1960 to 1962 for 220 episodes. Episodes were animated by various production studios: Larry Harmon Pictures, Rembrandt Films/Halas and Batchelor, Gerald Ray Studios, Jack Kinney Productions and Paramount Cartoon Studios. The executive producer of the series was Al Brodax.
Popeye is walking across the street, while Wimpy is practicing his hamburger-mooching talk. Brutus notices him and puts growth pills on a hamburger. Wimpy then eats it, and it causes him to grow very big. Brutus takes the towering moocher to the circus, but they refuse to hire him. Wimpy seeks help from the Sea Hag, who puts him in a baby carriage. Popeye sees his friend's large size and tries to shrink him down by feeding him spinach, but it only makes him grow bigger. He gives Wimpy a hamburger, which turns him back to normal. Wimpy thanks Popeye and promises to pay him Tuesday for today's hamburger.
Jonathan P. Grisley, the president of a toy company, is sent to a psychiatrist to find out why he plays with toys. He goes back to childhood and thinks that he's got "toy phobia".
A far-fetched tale about a baby who doesn't want to be delivered and a stork who goes a little goofy in the process. The stork has a rush delivery, but the baby isn't ready to settle down yet.
Bluto muscles out Popeye to take Olive to the fair. Popeye rushes ahead and poses as a fortune teller, luring Olive in. He shows Olive her future (actually, her past) in the crystal ball.
A hungry fox disguises himself as Santa Claus, and arms himself with deadly gifts, hoping to make a duck dinner out of Baby Huey.
Bluto sabotages Popeye's date with the superstitious Olive Oyl on Friday the 13th.
Olive is so captived by "The International", a radio personality with a French accent, that she'd rather stay home than go out on a date with Popeye. Bluto, overhearing this, comes to the door as the character.
Popeye and Bluto are running for president; it's election day, the vote is tied, and Olive is the only remaining voter. But she won't vote until her chores are done, so Popeye and Bluto compete to cut her wood, plow her fields, and store her hay. And then it's just an old-fashioned fight.
Popeye's training for his boxing match with Bluto by jumping rope with a massive chain. Bluto, who's lazy about everything except sabotage, decides he needs to stop Popeye.
Popeye and Bluto are, believe it or not, pals and partners in a moving company. (Maybe it's because Popeye isn't squinting here.) Anyhow, Olive has made the mistake of hiring them. She hasn't finished packing yet, so the boys, smitten as soon as she answers the door, compete to help her. Once packed, they compete to move more impressive piles of her belongings. Popeye easily wins these contests, even though Bluto locks him in the van at one point. At the end, Bluto socks Popeye into the piano, then into a table; though he hardly seems to need it, Popeye still eats his spinach, then thrashes Bluto.
Bluto is accusing Popeye in judge Wimpy's courtroom. Bluto tells a sad tale of how Popeye attacked him without provocation, but Popeye tells his side, in detail
Through the use of a Time Machine, Casper the Friendly Ghost gets transported back in time, In the stone-age, Casper frightens cave-men and women. Robert Fulton's steamboat makes a successful first trip when Casper's ghostly form frightens it into action. Casper assists Paul Revere on his famous ride when Revere's horse, frightened by Casper, ceases to balk and breaks into a gallop. George Washington, crossing the Delaware River, is sped up by Casper's appearance, and Casper becomes a hero by besting the British Redcoats.
Popeye's nephews try to sneak a birthday present for their Uncle Popeye into his house.
Set in a nightclub in Sugarland---not the one in Texas---the bon-bons, lollipops, taffy and other sweet-and-sticky citizens perform in a musical show. The grand finale features the Sugar Lump Orchestra playing "Ain't She Sweet" while the bouncing-ball leads the theatre audience in a sing-along.
Olive is reading ghost stories to the boys. Popeye scoffs; Bluto decides to take advantage of this by staging various pranks (a headless man, an animated skeleton, and a sheet-over-balloon ghost). He pins the blame on Popeye and then goes to comfort Olive. Popeye retaliates by turning invisible, thanks to a jar of vanishing cream.
Popeye and Bluto stop by to see Olive and fix her leaky faucet. Popeye does it better, and Bluto gets jealous, so he starts rerouting Olive's plumbing and causing all sorts of leaks.
Popeye is trying to get his nephews to eat their spinach, so he tells them about how Hercules (Popeye) defeated a bully (Bluto).
Singalong about an all-animal orchestra, spoofing the musicians and various instruments of the orchestra.
It's the middle ages (sort of); Popeye is working in Bluto's Beanery. Bluto is going to the ball where Princess Olive will choose her mate. Popeye's fairy godpappy appears and it's a reverse Cinderella story, with a car created from a can of spinach.
Screen Song with spot gags about newsreels (including Paramount's own newsreel division).
Singalong with spot gags about the Mississippi River as it runs from Minneapolis/St. Paul through Davenport and St. Louis down to New Orleans.
Casper befriends a bear cub with a natural talent for juggling. Soon the cub is in the circus, but a gorilla proves to be much scarier than any ghost.
Little Billy and Isabel catch Red Lantern, the Magic Fish. He takes them to the Land Of The Lost to meet King Find All, Rosita Wristwatch, and Wally Pocketwatch.
Two children are fishing when they catch a talking fish named Red Lantern. He takes them underwater with him to the Land of the Lost, where missing items can be found again. They meet King Find All, a walrus, and a singing cricket (Hoppy-Go-Lucky) that used to be the girl's pin. He's deemed to be a special jewel (since he's made of emerald) and is brought to the jewel storage room, despite his wishes to be in the Land of the Toys...
A song-filled Noveltoon featuring the antics of the Irish Leprechauns during their annual gold-washing ceremony. It depicts the wee people of Ireland who flavor its traditions with laughs and legend.
"Little Brown Jug" is a short cartoon about various woodland creatures...
A yarn about the mythical Leprechauns who reside in Ireland and their crock of gold. The legend says that if anyone succeeds in capturing one of the wee men, the little person must then lead them to where the gold is hidden. Young Patrick, on his 121st birthday---that is correct, his 121st birthday---is permitted to do a good deed, and delivers new shoes to the homes of the poor. But, alas, the town miser spots him and succeeds in capturing him. Patrick leads the miser to the spot of the gold, a tree stump, and promises, as the legend says, not to remove it while the old miser rushes home for a shovel. But, when he returns he now finds hundreds of tree stumps, and is foiled. Young Patrick is welcomed back home with a birthday cake...with 121 candles.
This "March of Time" entry examines the many problems, both human and economic, that faced the Allies in their respective zones of Germany -- USA, England and Russia -- following the end of World War II, and the Allied occupation of what was left of the country following the Nazi reign of Adolf Hitler. The Cold War issues had not yet fully surfaced, so this entry, with fleeting glances into each Zone of the time, traced what economic recovery had been made by the end of 1946, and how the average German citizen of 1946 was living...or getting by.
Lulu plans her revenge against a distressed golfer who refuses to give her a lollipop after he promised her one for caddying for him.
Bluto, the daring hot air balloon rider, catches the eye of Olive at a carnival, much to Popeye's chagrin. Bluto manages to make Popeye look bad several times, eventually winning a ring at the ball toss and taking her up in his balloon. Of course, he tries to get fresh with her, and Popeye comes to the rescue with the help of some fireworks. The hot air balloon gets a bit too hot, putting Olive in even more danger.
Lulu goes to a department store to exchange her doll for something else. While looking for a new item Lulu manages to terrorize the section manager, ski down the escalators, and cause a noahic flood in the store.
Olive is building a house when the boys happen by. They show off a bit to convince her to let them build her house for her. She decides to split the job in half by splitting the blueprints in half and having each build one side of the house. Of course, "cooperation" isn't in their vocabulary. Bluto does an extremely sloppy job on his half, and also takes every opportunity to either sabotage Popeye or trick him into doing more work. Meanwhile, Popeye's making enough of his own mistakes, many of which seem to involve wedging Olive into small bent pipes. Eventually, Popeye has his spinach and finishes the house, but the house collapses as they are celebrating with a kiss.
While cats and dogs are natural enemies, such is not the case in the house where Herman the mouse lives. They are very good friends indeed, are work together to make Herman's life a hard life. Herman tries to break up their friendship, and divert their attention from guarding the cheese in the refrigerator, and almost succeeds but they make up in time to prevent Herman getting the cheese. They give chase and Herman takes refuge in a jug of wine.
Little Lulu's daddy gives her a blue posey to exhibit at a flower show. She loses it on the way and a bulldog prevents her from reacquiring it, but she outwits him and proceeds to the show. There she breaks the stalk when she uses her bean-shooter at a hummingbird. She tosses the flower in a barrel of Vigaro and the flower suddenly bursts into bloom again.
Bluto builds a Popeye puppet and manipulates it to treat Olive rudely. Then he comes in and takes Olive away. When Popeye discovers the ruse, knocks Bluto out and ties puppet strings to him.
This cartoon concerns the efforts of a kitten, Gabriel, and a mouse, Peter, who apparently live in peaceful coexistence in the home of Parson Peaseporridge, to get the Parson to wake up at night and feed them their milk and cheese, respectively. The Parson repeatedly rises up, in a fit of sleepwalking, and reaches the cupboard, while muttering the need to feed the "churchkitten" and "churchmouse," but then proceeds to drink the milk and eat the cheese himself. Eventually, the kitten and mouse enlist the aid of a neighboring puppy named Trumpet to achieve their goal.
Bluto disguises himself as Superman in order to impress the comic book hero's biggest fan, Olive Oyl. A jealous Popeye becomes a real superhero by eating his spinach.
A double agent trying to deliver information to Washington, D.C. is chased by Nazi operatives.
Superman has to save Lois Lane from a cult of hawk-people in an homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs's "At the Earth's Core".
Egyptologists are attacked by mummies, drawing the attention of Superman.
A multi-studio effort to show the newsreel audience the progress of the Hollywood war effort.
Using Clark Kent as a cover, Superman travels to Japan as a saboteur during the war.
Robbers target a special train carrying a billion dollars worth of gold, and the only one who can stop them is Superman!
A frozen Tyrannosaurus rex is found and put on display in a museum, but when he thaws out and revives, Superman has to stop his rampage!
A scientist uses an earthquake machine to threaten the city, and only Superman can stop his extortion plan!
When police interfere with a reckless scientist's experiment, it creates a deadly meteor shower only Superman can stop.
Superman has to thwart wartime saboteurs tampering with things at the Metropolis Munitions Plant...who have captured Lois Lane and loaded her into a torpedo!
Criminals with rocket powered car loot and extort the city, and only Superman can stop them!
A "March of Time" presentation of the evolution of movies compiled primarily from film clips of silent movies through the early sound pictures to the present (1939) date. Industry executives such as Jack and Harry Warner, Walt Disney, Cecil B. DeMille, et al are seen taking bows in the live (non-archive) footage.
