The Van Beuren Corporation was a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animation, animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales ...

that produced theatrical cartoons as well as live-action short-subjects from the 1920s to 1936.

History

In 1920, the Keith-Albee organization formed Fables Pictures for the production of the

Aesop's Film Fables ''Aesop's Fables'' (previously titled ''Aesop's Film Fables'' and ''Aesop's Sound Fables'') is a series of animated short subjects, created by United States, American cartoonist Paul Terry (cartoonist), Paul Terry. Produced from 1921 to 1934, th ...

cartoon series with Paul Terry, who himself owned 10 percent of the studio. Producer Amedee J. Van Beuren bought out the studio in 1928, retaining Terry and renaming the business after its new owner. Van Beuren released Terry's first sound cartoon '' Dinner Time'' (1928) (a month before Disney's ''

Steamboat Willie ''Steamboat Willie'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black-and-white by Walt Disney Animation Studios and was released by Pat Powers (producer), Pat Powers, under the name of Cele ...

'') through

Pathé Exchange Pathé Exchange, commonly known as Pathé, was an American film production and distribution company, largely of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's silent film, silent era. Known for its trailblazing newsreel and wide array of short film, s ...

, which later became part of

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

. Terry ran the animation studio while Van Beuren focused on other parts of the business. In 1929, Terry quit to start his own

Terrytoons Terrytoons, Inc. was an American animation studio headquartered in New Rochelle, New York, which was active from 1929 until its closure in December 1972 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in-name only). Founded by Paul Te ...

studio and John Foster took over the animation department. Van Beuren released his films through

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

. The early sound Van Beuren cartoons are almost identical to the late silent cartoons: highly visual, with little dialogue and occasional sound effects. Bandleaders

Gene Rodemich Eugene Frederick Rodemich (April 13, 1890 in St Louis, Missouri – February 27, 1934 in New York) was a pianist and orchestra leader, who composed the music for numerous films in the late 1920s and early 1930s, mostly cartoons and live-action sh ...

and

Winston Sharples Winston Singleton Sharples (March 1, 1909 – April 3, 1978) was an American composer known for his work with animated short subjects, especially those created by the animation department at Paramount Pictures. In his 35-year career, Sharples ...

supervised the music. The company's main cartoon characters were "

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...

", a tall-and-short pair, usually vagrants who attempted various occupations. They share no relation to

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

's more successful

, a cat and mouse, and the older series has been renamed "Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry" and "Dick and Larry" in various future incarnations. Van Beuren was keenly aware that successful cartoons often featured animated "stars", and urged his staff to come up with new ideas for characters. Cubby, a mischievous little bear, resulted. In 1932, Van Beuren planned to release a series of wild-animal shorts featuring celebrity explorer Frank Buck. RKO executives were so impressed by these Van Beuren shorts that they decided to combine them into a feature film, '' Bring 'Em Back Alive''. This was a very successful business move, but it left both Van Beuren and RKO with a void in their short-subject schedule. Van Beuren, forced to act quickly, found an existing series of two-reel comedies:

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

's 12 productions for the Mutual film company, produced in 1916-17. Van Beuren paid $10,000 each for the shorts, and assigned his animation department to create new music and sound effects for the silent films. Bandleader

and Rodemich's assistant and successor

assembled new scores. RKO released the Van Beuren Chaplins in 1933–34. Chaplin did not own these films; author Michael J. Hayde discloses that Chaplin had declined several opportunities to purchase them. The Van Beuren Corporation acquired and produced live-action features such as '' Adventure Girl'' (1934) and two more Frank Buck safaris, ''Wild Cargo'' (1934) and ''Frank Buck's Fang and Claw'' (1935). Other Van Beuren live-action productions included a "Van Beuren Vagabond" travelogue series, a series of novelty shorts narrated by the radio comedy team

Easy Aces ''Easy Aces'' is an American serial radio comedy (1930–1945). It was trademarked by the low-keyed drollery of creator and writer Goodman Ace and his wife, Jane, as an urbane, put-upon realtor and his malaprop-prone wife. A 15-minute program ...

(

Goodman Ace Goodman Ace (January 15, 1899 – March 25, 1982), born Goodman Aiskowitz, was an American humorist, radio writer and comedian, television writer, and magazine columnist. His low-key, literate drollery and softly tart way of tweaking trends an ...

and Jane Ace) and musical comedy shorts featuring

Bert Lahr Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American stage and screen actor and comedian. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Z ...

Shemp Howard Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz; March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955) was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the third Stooge in The Three Stooges, a role he played when the act began in the early 1920s (1923–1932), while i ...

, among others. Van Beuren remained unsatisfied, and agreed to license the popular comic-strip character ''

The Little King ''The Little King'' is an American gag-a-day comic strip created by Otto Soglow, which ran from 1930 to 1975. Its stories are told in a style using images and very few words, as in pantomime. Publication history Soglow's character first appear ...

'' and the radio comedy act,

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' was an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago then later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio sho ...

to adapt into animated cartoons. Neither series was successful. Van Beuren then hired

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

director

Burt Gillett Burton F. Gillett (October 15, 1891 – December 28, 1971) was a Film director, director of animation, animated films. He is noted for his Silly Symphonies work for Walt Disney Pictures, Disney, particularly the 1932 short film ''Flowers and Tree ...

and animator Tom Palmer to create a new series of color cartoons. These "Rainbow Parade" cartoons featured established characters:

Felix the Cat Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Otto Messmer and Pat Sullivan (film producer), Pat Sullivan during the silent film era. An anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic young black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, ...

, Parrotville Parrots, Molly Moo-Cow, and the

Toonerville Folks ''Toonerville Folks'' ( ''The Toonerville Trolley That Meets All the Trains'') is a newspaper comic strip feature by Fontaine Fox, which ran from 1908 to 1955. It began in 1908 in the ''Chicago Post'', and by 1913, it was syndicated nationally by ...

Closure

These full-color Van Beuren efforts were well received, and Van Beuren had finally succeeded in sponsoring a popular cartoon series, but RKO later entered into a deal to distribute new color cartoons produced by industry leader

. RKO, no longer needing Van Beuren's cartoons, abandoned the Rainbow Parade shorts. Amedee J. Van Beuren fell ill during this time. In July 1938, he had a stroke that would eventually lead to his death on November 12 of the same year by heart attack. During his recovery from his stroke, Van Beuren closed his studio rather than accept unionization that had caused the studio problems in 1935. The Van Beuren library was sold to various television, reissue, and home-movie distributors in the 1940s and 1950s, including Unity Pictures, Walter Gutlohn/Library Films, Commonwealth Pictures, and

Official Films Official Films, Incorporated (Inc.) was founded by Leslie Winik in 1939 to produce educational shorts. Soon, after buying some negatives of public-domain Keystone Chaplin films, the company found itself in the 16mm/8mm home movie business. Home ...

. The library eventually lapsed into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

Productions

Animation: * ''

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a Slavery in ancient Greece, slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 Before the Common Era, BCE. Of varied and unclear origins, the stor ...

'' (1921–1934) ** ''Cubby Bear'' ** ''Sentinel Louey'' ** ''Lucky Leo and Lily Lion'' (unfinished series, never released in cinemas) * ''

'' (1931–1933) * ''

'' (1933–1934) * ''

'' (1934) * '' Burt Gillett's Toddle Tales'' (1934) * ''

Rainbow Parade ''Rainbow Parade'' is a series of 26 animated shorts produced by Van Beuren Studios and distributed to theaters by RKO between 1934 and 1936. This was the only color cartoon series produced by Van Beuren, and the final series of the studio. His ...

'' (1934–1936) (color series) ** ''

'' ** '' Molly Moo-Cow'' Live-action: * '' Bring 'Em Back Alive'' (1932) * '' Adventure Girl'' (1934) * '' Wild Cargo'' (1934) * '' Fang and Claw'' (1935) Live-action shorts: * ''The Grantland Rice Sportland'' (1928–1932) * ''Curiosities'' (1928–1929) * ''Smitty and His Pals'' (1928–1929) * ''Topics of the Day'' (1928–1930) (inherited from Timely Films) * ''The Swan'' (1929) (''Walter Futter Overtures'' series) * ''Song Sketches'' (1930) * ''Vagabond Adventures'' (1930–1935) * ''Floyd Gibbons Supreme Thrills'' (1931) * ''Liberty Short Short Stories'' (1931–1932) * ''

'' (1932–1934) (reissued shorts with sound) * ''Musical Comedies'' (1933–1934) * ''Dumb-Bell Letters'' (1934–1936) * ''Easy Aces'' (1935–1936) * ''Struggle to Live'' (1935–1937) * ''World on Parade'' (1935–1937) * ''Sports with Bill Corum'' (1935–1937)

References

External links

Full list of Van Beuren cartoons
from the Big Cartoon Database

Swiss Trick on Archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Beuren Corporation, The American animation studios Mass media companies established in 1920 Mass media companies disestablished in 1936 American companies established in 1920 1921 establishments in New York City 1936 disestablishments in New York (state) American companies disestablished in 1936