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53-588: Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes , Song Car-Tunes , or (as some sources erroneously say) Sound Car-Tunes , is a series of short three-minute animated films produced by Max Fleischer and Dave Fleischer between May 1924 and September 1927, pioneering the use of the " Follow the Bouncing Ball " device used to lead audiences in theater sing-alongs. The Song Car-Tunes also pioneered the application of sound film to animation. 47 Song Car-tunes were produced and released between 1924 and 1927. The first, Come Take

106-548: A Paramount Pictures contract. Former Fleischer partner, Alfred Weiss re-released some of the silent Song Car-Tunes between 1929 and 1932 with new soundtracks, new animation, and new main titles that exploited the reputation of the popular song films with the elimination of the names of Max and Dave Fleischer. With the sound era established, the Fleischers revived the song film series as Screen Songs in February 1929 on

159-503: A TV special , a few films from the studio have added theatrical shorts as well. Warner Bros. often includes old shorts from its considerable library, connected only thematically, on the DVD releases of classic WB movies. From 2010–2012, Warner Bros. also released new Looney Tunes shorts before family films. Shorts International and Magnolia Pictures organize an annual release of Academy Award -nominated short films in theatres across

212-480: A low budget or no budget at all. They are usually funded by one or more film grants, nonprofit organizations , sponsors , or personal funds. Short films are generally used for industry experience and as a platform to showcase talent to secure funding for future projects from private investors, a production company , or film studios . They can also be released with feature films, and can also be included as bonus features on some home video releases. All films in

265-646: A Nation . By the 1920s, a ticket purchased a varied program including a feature and several supporting works from categories such as second feature , short comedy, 4–10 minute cartoon, travelogue , and newsreel. Short comedies were especially common, and typically came in a serial or series (such as the Our Gang movies, or the many outings of Charlie Chaplin 's Little Tramp character). Animated cartoons came principally as short subjects. Virtually all major film production companies had units assigned to develop and produce shorts, and many companies, especially in

318-573: A Trip on My Airship , was released on March 9, 1924. Beginning in 1925, an estimated 16 Song Car-tunes were produced using the Phonofilm sound-on-film process developed by Lee DeForest . The remaining 31 titles were released silent, designed to be played with live music in theaters. The Fleischer brothers partnered with DeForest, Edwin Miles Fadiman, and Dr. Hugo Riesenfeld to form Red Seal Pictures Corporation, which owned 36 theaters on

371-471: A commercial category. The year 1938 proved to be a turning point in the history of film comedies. Hal Roach , for example, had discontinued all short-subject production except Our Gang , which he finally sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938. The Vitaphone studio, owned by Warner Bros. , discontinued its own line of two-reel comedies in 1938; Educational Pictures did as much that same year, owing to its president Earle W. Hammons unsuccessfully entering

424-405: A flapper and attempts to seduce him, but her effort fails. Eventually, Trevor sees Miss Dorothy and falls in love with her, and vice versa, leaving Millie heartbroken. Meanwhile, Jimmy's attempts to talk to Millie are continually thwarted by no-nonsense head stenographer Miss Flannary. He eventually climbs up the side of the building and when he finally gets to talk to Millie, she tells him that she

477-527: A form of the "Bouncing Ball" for the ending of Thoroughly Modern Millie where he shot cutout animation to "bounce" the head of Beatrice Lillie over the lyrics to the title song. Screen Songs for sound reissues in Cinephone were released independently by Alfred Weiss. 1924 1925 1926 Short film In the United States, short films were generally termed short subjects from

530-440: A regular series in 1946 and lasted until 1956. By and large, however, the movies' one-reel subject of choice was the animated cartoon, produced by Walt Disney , Warner Bros. , MGM, Paramount , Walter Lantz , Columbia, and Terrytoons . One of the movies' oldest short-subject formats was the adventure serial , first established in 1912. A serial generally ran for 12 to 15 chapters, 15 to 20 minutes each. Every episode ended with

583-453: A short along with each of its feature films during its initial theatrical run since 1995 (producing shorts permanently since 2001). Since Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, Disney has also produced animated shorts since 2007 with the Goofy short How to Hook Up Your Home Theater and produced a series of live-action ones featuring The Muppets for viewing on YouTube as viral videos to promote

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636-489: A successful stage musical of the same name . In 1922 New York City, flapper Millie Dillmount is determined to find work as a stenographer to a wealthy businessman and then marry him – a "thoroughly modern" goal. Millie befriends the sweet yet naive Miss Dorothy Brown as the latter checks into the Priscilla Hotel. When housemother Mrs. Meers learns that Miss Dorothy is an orphan, she remarks, "Sad to be all alone in

689-615: Is a 1967 American musical - romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews . The screenplay, by Richard Morris based on the 1956 British musical Chrysanthemum , follows a naïve young woman who finds herself in a series of madcap adventures when she sets her sights on marrying her wealthy boss. The film also stars Mary Tyler Moore , James Fox , John Gavin , Carol Channing , and Beatrice Lillie . The soundtrack interpolates new songs by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn ("Thoroughly Modern Millie", "The Tapioca"), and Jay Thompson ("Jimmy") with standard songs from

742-483: Is absolutely darling – deliciously spirited and dry ... Having had previous experience at this sort of Jazz-age hyperbole in the British musical, The Boy Friend ... she knows how to hit the right expressions of maidenly surprise and dismay, the right taps in a flow of nimble dances, and the right notes in a flood of icky songs." He concluded "A few faults? Yes. There is an insertion of a Jewish wedding scene ... which

795-416: Is an orphan. Mrs. Meers spots Trevor sitting in his car in front of the hotel, becomes suspicious, and shoots him with a tranquilizer dart . Mary James is subsequently captured by Mrs. Meers and her henchmen, and Millie follows them to Chinatown , where the unconscious Jimmy has been hidden in a room in a fireworks factory where Miss Dorothy is sleeping. Trying to look casual, Millie smokes a cigarette outside

848-413: Is just one of several girls who have vanished without a word to anyone, except to Mrs. Meers. Together with Trevor Graydon, they try to piece the puzzle together. When Jimmy asks what all the missing girls had in common, Millie mentions that they were all orphans. Jimmy disguises himself as a woman named Mary James seeking accommodations at the Priscilla Hotel, and "casually" mentions to Mrs. Meers that she

901-449: Is not an hour-and-a-half movie, and its final 50 minutes only demonstrate that what can start out as the berries, can finish up as a lemon." Leo Sullivan of The Washington Post wrote "Highly insignificant and deliberately old-fashioned, the film veers and comments in a broadly stylized way ... All [Ross Hunter] may have produced is a commercial movie but enhancing the entire film is his own personal enthusiasm. He seems to be saying this

954-399: Is phony and gratuitous. There's a melodramatic mishmash towards the end, which has Mr. Fox dressing up like a girl and acting kittenish. That is tasteless and humorless. And the whole thing's too long. If they'll just cut out some of those needless things, all the faults will be corrected and it'll be a joy all the way." Variety observed "The first half of Thoroughly Modern Millie (sic)

1007-429: Is quite successful in striking and maintaining a gay spirit and pace. There are many recognizable and beguiling satirical recalls of the flapper age and some quite funny bits. Liberties taken with reality, not to mention period, in the first half are redeemed by wit and characterization. But the sudden thrusting of the hero ... into a skyscraper-climbing, flagpole-hanging acrobat, a la Harold Lloyd , has little of Lloyd but

1060-531: Is quitting her job as Mr. Graydon is no longer available. Mrs. Meers makes several attempts to kidnap Miss Dorothy and hand her over to her Chinese henchmen Bun Foo and Ching Ho, but Millie manages to disrupt her every time. When Mrs. Meers finally succeeds, Millie finds Trevor drowning his sorrows, and he tells her that Miss Dorothy stood him up and checked out of the hotel. Jimmy climbs into Miss Dorothy's room, lets Millie in, and they find all of Miss Dorothy's possessions still there. Millie realizes that Miss Dorothy

1113-430: Is the way it was and yipes, wasn't it delightful. It was and is." The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote "An exploitative film in the sense that it exploits its stars' previous successes as much as their actual talents or the merits of its own script, it nonetheless manages, like the best camp , to make a merit of its defects and to turn the comic-caption corn of its dialogue into a positive attribute." Roger Ebert gave

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1166-401: The 2011 movie of the same name . In 2009 the horror short film, No Through Road, that would go viral was released, creating analog horror. The short film would spark 3 sequels, creating No Through Road (web series) DreamWorks Animation often produces a short sequel to include in the special edition video releases of major features, and are typical of a sufficient length to be broadcast as

1219-489: The silent and very early sound era, produced mostly or only short subjects. In the 1930s, the distribution system changed in many countries, owing to the Great Depression . Instead of the cinema owner assembling a program of their own choice, the studios sold a package centered on a main and supporting feature, a cartoon and little else. With the rise of the double feature , two- reel shorts went into decline as

1272-404: The 1910s and 1920s, including " Baby Face " and " Jazz Baby ". For use of the latter, the producers had to acquire the rights from General Mills , which had used the melody with various lyrics to promote Wheaties for more than 40 years. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards . It ranked eighth among high-grossing films of 1967. In 2000, it was adapted for

1325-465: The 1920s into the 1970s when confined to two 35 mm reels or less, and featurettes for a film of three or four reels. " Short " was an abbreviation for either term. The increasingly rare industry term "short subject" carries more of an assumption that the film is shown as part of a presentation along with a feature film. Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals and made by independent filmmakers with either

1378-507: The 1960s before exiting the short film business in 1969 (by which point the shorts had been in televised reruns for years ). MGM continued Tom and Jerry (first with a series of poorly-received Eastern European shorts by Gene Deitch , then a better-received run by Warner Bros. alumnus Chuck Jones ) until 1967, and Woody Woodpecker lasted to 1972; the creative team behind MGM's 1940s and 1950s cartoons formed Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1957, mainly focusing on television. The Pink Panther

1431-615: The 1960s. Her next two films, Star! (1968) and Darling Lili (1970), were financial failures. Andrews did not star in another film until 1974 when she co-starred with Omar Sharif in The Tamarind Seed . The film opened to good reviews and good box office. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called the film "a thoroughly delightful movie," "a kidding satire, in a rollicking song-and-dance vein," "a joyously syncopated frolic," and "a romantic-melodramatic fable that makes clichés sparkle like jewels." He added, "Miss Andrews

1484-645: The East Coast of the U.S., extending as far west as Cleveland, Ohio . In September 1926, the U.S. division of DeForest Phonofilm and Red Seal Pictures Corporation filed for bankruptcy, and the Fleischers ended their use of the Phonofilm system, releasing their last sound Song Car-Tune , By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1927), just as the sound era was about to begin. In early 1929, the Fleischers signed

1537-548: The Screen Songs series focused on the big bands of the "Swing Era", such as Abe Lyman , Shep Fields , Gus Arnheim , Hal Kemp , Jack Denny , Vincent Lopez , Henry King , Jay Freeman , Jerry Baline, Bert Block, Frank Dailey, and Jimmy Dorsey . The "Screen Songs" concept was revised in a special edition of the Technicolor Noveltoons series in 1945 with When G. I. Johnny Comes Home Again , and

1590-540: The US, UK, Canada and Mexico throughout February and March. Shorts are occasionally broadcast as filler when a feature film or other work does not fit the standard broadcast schedule. ShortsTV was the first television channel dedicated to short films. However, short films generally rely on film festival exhibition to reach an audience. Such movies can also be distributed via the Internet . Certain websites which encourage

1643-484: The attractive but self-absorbed Trevor Graydon. Jimmy later takes her and Miss Dorothy on an outing to Long Island, where they meet eccentric widow Muzzy Van Hossmere. Jimmy tells the girls that his father was Muzzy's former gardener. Millie begins to fall for Jimmy, but she sees him summon Miss Dorothy from her room for a late-night rendezvous, and assumes the worst. Millie is even more determined to stick to her plan and marry Trevor. One morning, she goes to work dressed as

Song Car-Tunes - Misplaced Pages Continue

1696-452: The beginning of cinema were very short , sometimes running only a minute or less. It was not until the 1910s when films started to get longer than about ten minutes. The first set of films were presented in 1894 and it was through Thomas Edison 's device called a kinetoscope . It was made for individual viewing only. Comedy short films were produced in large numbers compared to lengthy features such as D. W. Griffith 's 1915 The Birth of

1749-471: The building, and when she begins to choke on it, she tosses it into a window, setting off the fireworks. As a series of explosions tear through the building, Millie dashes into the factory and finds several girls tied up, about to be sent off to Beijing. She unties a couple of them, who then free the others, and then bumps into Miss Dorothy. They carry Jimmy out of the building and head for Long Island and Muzzy. Mrs. Meers, Bun Foo, and Ching Ho follow Millie and

1802-605: The earlier series, such as Daisy Bell , Good Bye, My Lady Love , Mother Pin a Rose On Me , Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning , and Come Take a Trip in My Airship , released by Paramount Pictures for nine years. Many of the Screen Songs featured popular stars of stage, radio, and records such as Ethel Merman , Rudy Vallee , Lillian Roth , The Mills Brothers , and the Boswell Sisters . Starting in 1934,

1855-406: The feature-film field. With these major comedy producers out of the running, Columbia Pictures actually expanded its own operations and launched a second two-reel-comedy unit in 1938. Columbia and RKO Radio Pictures kept making two-reel comedies into the 1950s. Theater managers found it easier and more convenient to fit shorter, one-reel (10-minute) subjects into their double-feature programs. In

1908-442: The film a perfect four stars in his original review, a decision he later admitted in hindsight he was "no longer certain about." TV Guide rated the film three out of four stars and commented "Although it ultimately runs out of steam, this charming spoof of the 1920s is still one of the 1960s' better musicals ... Andrews is a comic delight, Moore is charming, and Channing steals scene after scene in this enjoyable feature." The film

1961-464: The film was scored and finished. Elmer Bernstein composed the incidental score, for which he won his only Academy Award . The songs were arranged and conducted by André Previn . The film earned $ 8.5 million in rentals in North America during 1967. At this time, Julie Andrews was the number one box office star in motion pictures. Thoroughly Modern Millie was her last hit film of

2014-491: The first 90 minutes, 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' is really swell, a pip, a humdinger, the bee's knees, a doozy. And that's no raspberries. Spoofing the Fitzgerald folks of the 1920s, the musical comedy bounces and bubbles along as a snappy send-up of the days of roadster ramble seats, Tapioca dances, and unflappable flappers with turned-down hose and turned-on beaux who sometimes were 'fresh as paint'. Unfortunately, 'Millie'

2067-483: The gang, but under Muzzy's leadership, everyone manages to subdue the nefarious trio. Millie then discovers that Jimmy and Miss Dorothy are actually millionaire siblings and that Muzzy is their stepmother who sent them out into the world to find partners who would love them for who they were and not for their money. After consulting with a Chinese soothsayer , Millie marries Jimmy, Miss Dorothy marries Trevor, and Muzzy marries one of her instructors. Jimmy Bryant provided

2120-519: The hero or heroine trapped in a life-threatening situation; audiences would have to return the following week to see the outcome. These "chapter plays" remained popular through the 1950s, although both Columbia and Republic Pictures were now making them as cheaply as possible, reusing action highlights from older serials and connecting them with a few new scenes showing identically dressed actors. Even after Republic quit making serials in 1955 and Columbia stopped in 1956, faithful audiences supported them and

2173-448: The live-action field, humorist Robert Benchley had been making short comedies since the dawn of sound; his various series for Fox, Vitaphone, MGM, and Paramount ran from 1928 to 1944. MGM's Pete Smith Specialties had been a standard "added attraction" in moviehouse programming since 1935 and lasted through 1955. RKO's Flicker Flashbacks revivals of silent films ran from 1943 to 1956, and Warner Bros. ' Joe McDoakes comedies became

Song Car-Tunes - Misplaced Pages Continue

2226-563: The myth. This sequence is forced all the way." Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film was "at its best a fresh-as-paint, cute-as-bees-knees, just swell enchantment" with Andrews "altogether superb," though he found the dance numbers "strangely uninspired" and that the second half suffered from "a slapstick but singularly uncomical chase." Clifford Terry of the Chicago Tribune wrote that "for

2279-415: The oldest film festivals dedicated to short films are Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival , France (since 1979), Tampere Film Festival , Finland (since 1969) and International Short Film Festival Oberhausen , Germany (since 1954). All of them are still considered the most important short film festival in the world to date. Thoroughly Modern Millie Thoroughly Modern Millie

2332-485: The series officially returned in 1947 with The Circus Comes to Clown and continued until 1951. Paramount attempted to revive the series in 1963 after the television success of Sing Along With Mitch with the cartoon Hobo's Holiday . The concept of the "Bouncing Ball" has become such an established cultural icon, that it has been used in television commercials to sell all sorts of products from sleeping tablets to cat food. Just before retiring in 1968, Dave Fleischer used

2385-474: The singing voice of Jimmy Smith/James Van Hossmere Hunter wanted to make a film of The Boy Friend , which had been a hit on stage with Julie Andrews. Film rights cost too much - $ 400,000 - so Hunter decided to do "his own". He managed to get Andrews to agree to star. The film opens on "Thursday, June 2, 1922," although, in reality, June 2, 1922 was a Friday. Although Pat Morita and Jack Soo each play Chinese henchmen, both were of Japanese descent; Morita

2438-643: The strength of being the holders of the original Patent on the concept. Though Ko-Ko the Clown had been temporarily retired due to complications with the dissolution of the original Inkwell Studios , the "Bouncing Ball" was retained. This new series ran a full seven minutes, with more animation than the early Song Car-Tunes, built around the theme of the featured song. The first films in the new series used standards such as The Sidewalks of New York (released on 5 February 1929) and Old Black Joe . The series continued with new productions of songs previously released in

2491-421: The studios re-released older serials through the mid-1960s. The 1964 revival of Columbia's Batman serial resulted in a media frenzy, spurring a new Batman TV series and a wave of Batman merchandise. With the rise of television , the commercial live-action short was virtually dead; most studios canceled their live-action series in 1956. Only The Three Stooges continued making two-reel comedies; their last

2544-908: The submission of user-created short films, such as YouTube and Vimeo , have attracted large communities of artists and viewers. Sites like Omeleto, FILMSshort, Short of the Week, Short Films Matter, Short Central and some apps showcase curated shorts. Short films are a typical first stage for new filmmakers, but professional actors and crews often still choose to create short films as an alternative form of expression. Amateur filmmaking has grown in popularity as equipment has become more accessible. The lower production costs of short films often mean that short films can cover alternative subject matter as compared to higher budget feature films. Similarly, unconventional filmmaking techniques such as Pixilation or narratives that are told without dialogue, are more often seen in short films than features. Tropfest claims to be

2597-468: The world's largest short film festival. Tropfest now takes place in Australia (its birthplace), Arabia, the US and elsewhere. Originating in 1993, Tropfest is often credited as being at least partially responsible for the recent popularity of short films internationally. Also Couch Fest Films , part of Shnit Worldwide Filmfestival, claimed to be the world's largest single-day short film festival. Among

2650-502: The world." Unbeknownst to Millie, Mrs. Meers is selling her tenants into sexual slavery , and those without family or close friends are her primary targets. At a Friendship Dance in the Dining Hall, Millie meets devil-may-care paper clip salesman Jimmy Smith, to whom she takes an instant liking. However, she carries on with her plan to work for and then marry a rich man, and when she gets a job at Sincere Trust, she sets her sights on

2703-557: Was born in California, and Soo was born on a ship in the Pacific Ocean headed to the U.S. While he received no screen credit, Jimmy Bryant provided the singing voice for James Fox in this film. According to Julie Andrews, the movie's producers at Universal sought to maximize financial returns by having a Roadshow theatrical release and refused to make the artistic cuts desired by director Hill, causing Hill to quit before

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2756-432: Was released in 1959. Short films had become a medium for student, independent, and specialty work. Cartoon shorts had a longer life, due in part to the implementation of lower-cost limited animation techniques and the rise of television animation , which allowed shorts to have both theatrical runs and a syndication afterlife. Warner Bros. , one of the most prolific of the golden era, underwent several reorganizations in

2809-426: Was the last regular theatrical cartoon short series, having begun in 1964 (and thus having spent its entire existence in the limited animation era) and ended in 1980. By the 1960s, the market for animated shorts had largely shifted to television, with existing theatrical shorts being syndicated to television. A few animated shorts continue within the mainstream commercial distribution. For instance, Pixar has screened

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