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James Algar
James Algar (June 11, 1912 – February 26, 1998) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked at The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Productions for 43 years and received the Disney Legends award in 1998. He was born in Modesto, California and died in Carmel, California. Controversy In 1958, Algar directed an Oscar-winning documentary ''White Wilderness (film), White Wilderness'', which contains a scene that supposedly depicts a mass lemming migration, and ends with the lemmings leaping into the Arctic Ocean. In 1982, the CBC Television news magazine program ''The Fifth Estate (TV), The Fifth Estate'' broadcast a documentary about animal cruelty in Hollywood called ''Cruel Camera'', focusing on ''White Wilderness'', as well as the television program ''Wild Kingdom''. The host of the CBC program, Bob McKeown, discovered that the lemming scene was actually filmed at the Bow River near Canmore, Alberta, and further that the same small group of lemming ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modesto, California
Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in California, 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is located in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley List of regions of California, region, south of Sacramento, California, Sacramento and north of Fresno, California, Fresno. Distances from other places include: north of Merced, California, east of San Francisco, west of Yosemite National Park, and south of Stockton, California, Stockton. The city, in the San Joaquin Valley, is surrounded by rich farmland. Stanislaus County ranks sixth among California counties in farm production. It is home to E & J Gallo Winery, Gallo Family Winery, the largest Family business, family-owned winery in the United States. Led by milk, almonds, chickens, walnuts, and corn silage, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seal Island (film)
''Seal Island'' is a 1948 American documentary film directed by James Algar. Produced by Walt Disney, it was the first installment of the ''True-Life Adventures'' series of nature documentaries. It won an Oscar in 1949 for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel). Cast * Winston Hibler as Narrator Production In 1947, Walt Disney contracted with Alfred and Elma Milotte to shoot documentary footage of the wildlife and culture of Alaska. Disney did not see the theatrical value in the footage of human activity in Alaska, but he was intrigued with footage that the Milottes shot of the seal population at the Pribilof Islands. Disney himself coined the title ''Seal Island'' for the film, and planned it as the first in a new series of nature documentaries called ''True-Life Adventures''. The Milottes shot more than 100,000 feet of film and spent over a year filming the seals. The total production cost Disney a little over $100,000. Release RKO Pictures, the studio distributing Disney's films ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ten Who Dared
''Ten Who Dared'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by William Beaudine and starring Brian Keith, Ben Johnson, John Beal and James Drury. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. It tells the story of United States Army officer John Wesley Powell, who was the first to travel down the Colorado River, and the dangers that he and nine other men had to face while making a map of the region during their 1869 expedition. Hired by Walt Disney Studios in 1959 as a technical adviser, Otis R. Marston led a film crew through the Grand Canyon to film river running and background scenes for the film. Plot The film is set in the United States, in 1869. Thanks to the activity of explorers, soldiers and trappers, the American territory is now well known. On the cards, there are few places marked with an explicit Unexplored (unexplored). One of these places shrouded in mystery and avoided because they are believed to be full of danger is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jungle Cat (film)
''Jungle Cat '' is a 1960 American documentary film written and directed by James Algar. The documentary chronicles the life of a female jaguar in the South American jungle. The film was released on August 10, 1960, and was the last of Walt Disney Productions' ''True-Life Adventures'' series of documentary feature films. Synopsis An amazing adventure to Brazil to discover the supreme ruler of the Amazon jungle: the jaguar. The film offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of a jaguar family in life-and-death struggles with a caiman, a peccary, a pirarucu, and an anaconda. Release The film was shown during the 10th Berlin International Film Festival in June 1960 and was one of a few to also be screened in East Berlin. Reception Howard Thompson of ''The New York Times'' wrote: "As written and directed by James Algar, this is one of Mr. Disney's best—intimate, tasteful, strong and matter-of-fact".Thompson, Howard (August 18, 1960)"Disney Double Bill".''The New York Times''. 19. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Canyon (1958 Film)
''Grand Canyon'' is a 1958 American short documentary film directed by James Algar and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The film producer was Ernst Heiniger, assisted by his wife Jeanne. It was shown as a supplement during '' Sleeping Beauty's'' initial run. The short won an Oscar at the 31st Academy Awards in 1959 for Best Short Subject (Live Action). It is also included as a bonus feature on the 1997 laserdisc, 2003 DVD, and 2008 DVD & Blu-ray releases of ''Sleeping Beauty''. According to the opening credits, ''Grand Canyon'' is "a pictorial interpretation of Ferde Grofé's ''Grand Canyon Suite The ''Grand Canyon Suite'' is a suite for orchestra by Ferde Grofé, composed between 1929 and 1931. It was initially titled ''Five Pictures of the Grand Canyon''. It consists of five movements, each an evocation in tone of a particular scen ...''", much as the animated segments in '' Fantasia'' are pictorial representations of music, and the film is strongly related to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secrets Of Life
''Secrets of Life'' is a 1956 American documentary film written and directed by James Algar. The documentary follows the changing world of nature, space and animals. The documentary was released on November 6, 1956, by Buena Vista Distribution. Synopsis Life on Earth is a constant battle, and all of nature is in a constant state of development. As nature has changed over billions of years, so too has life had to change with it. Earth provides both protection and destruction to its species, and these constant processes force the planet’s lifeforms to adapt if they are to survive. The plants surrounding the earth are a key source of life, for they contain seeds which cause new flora to bloom. Some of these seeds can be carried by the wind, such as the cottonwood. Others, like the wild oat, are self-sowing. In the strangest of cases, like the pine some seeds will only blossom at the touch of a forest fire, which serves a purpose in nature’s story despite its destruction. At the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The African Lion
''The African Lion'' is a 1955 American documentary film directed by James Algar. It was released by Walt Disney Productions as part of its ''True-Life Adventures'' series. The film, which was shot over a 30-month period in Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda (as well as South Africa), focuses on the life of the lion within the complexity of the African ecosystem. At the 6th Berlin International Film Festival it won the Silver Bear (Documentaries) award. It was released on DVD in 2006 as part of the Walt Disney Legacy Collection. It can be found on the third volume of the ''True-Life Adventures'' series where it has been fully restored. Reception Bosley Crowther of ''The New York Times'' wrote that "we're fairly certain that no visitor to the famous high plateaus of Kenya and Tanganyika, where the excellent color footage of this picture was exposed, ever succeeds in seeing as much of the local wild life or getting as close to it as one does in this handsome film ... A commendable job ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Vanishing Prairie
''The Vanishing Prairie'' is a 1954 American documentary film directed by James Algar and released by Walt Disney Productions. The theme music was given a set of lyrics by Hazel "Gil" George. It was rechristened as "Pioneer's Prayer" in '' Westward Ho, the Wagons!'', a western film about pioneers on the Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what .... ''The Vanishing Prairie'' was released on video in 1985, and 1993 in United States. Synopsis Cast Awards * 5th Berlin International Film Festival: Big Gold Medal (Documentaries and Culture Films) * Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (1954) References External links * Information at Disney.com* 1954 films Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners Films shot in Oregon True-Life Adve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Living Desert
''The Living Desert'' is a 1953 American nature documentary film that shows the everyday lives of the animals of the desert of the Southwestern United States. The film was written by James Algar, Winston Hibler, Jack Moffitt (uncredited) and Ted Sears. It was directed by Algar, with Hibler as the narrator and was filmed in Tucson, Arizona. The film won the 1953 Oscar for Best Documentary. Production ''The Living Desert'' was the first feature-length film in Disney's ''True-Life Adventures'' series of documentaries focusing on zoological studies; the previous films in the series, including the Oscar-winning '' Seal Island'', were short subjects. The documentary was filmed in Tucson, Arizona. Most of the wildlife shown in the film was donated to what would soon become the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The film was inspired by 10 minutes of footage shot by N. Paul Kenworthy, a doctoral student at the University of California at Los Angeles. Kenworthy's footage of a battle be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prowlers Of The Everglades
''Prowlers of the Everglades'' is a 1953 American short documentary film directed by James Algar. The film was produced by Ben Sharpsteen as part of the ''True-Life Adventures'' series of nature documentaries. It was shot in Technicolor by Alfred Milotte and his wife Elma, who were on assignment for nearly a year, making film reports on ever aspect of the Everglades. This would also be the last of the True-Life Adventure films to be distributed by RKO Radio Pictures before Walt Disney would take his own distribution company Buena Vista International. Summary A photographic study of the wildlife of the Florida Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Ki ... describes the habits of the many birds found in the swamplands and explains that the alligator rules over the area ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bear Country (film)
''Bear Country'' is a 1953 American short documentary film directed by James Algar. It won an Oscar at the 26th Academy Awards in 1954 for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel). The film was produced by Walt Disney as part of the ''True-Life Adventures'' series of nature documentaries, and played with ''Peter Pan'' during its original theatrical run. Cast * Winston Hibler as Narrator Reception Bosley Crowther of ''The New York Times'' wrote that the film "follows in the excellent series of nature films that have been produced by the Disney studio, such as '' Seal Island'' and ''Water Birds''". '' Variety'' called it "one of the more delightful ''True-Life Adventure'' documentaries in the Walt Disney series ... calculated to enchant viewers of all ages". ''The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on rel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Olympic Elk
''The Olympic Elk'' is a 1952 American short documentary film directed by James Algar and produced by Walt Disney as part of the ''True-Life Adventures'' series of nature documentaries. Summary A photographic study of the Olympic elk which abound on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ... describes the life of the herd in winter quarters in the rain forest; the trek to summer feeding grounds; and the placid summer existence of the herd which culminates in the September mating season. Cast * Winston Hibler as Narrator References External links * RKO Pictures short films 1952 short documentary films American short documentary films 1950s English-language films True-Life Adventures Short films directed by James Algar Dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
