Seed Sprouts at Filmex

Several UPA fans mounted the first UPA Tribute at the Filmex International Film Festival in Culver City, in fact, in Century City, which was still under construction back then.  There was a full slate of important UPA films, just shy of two hours, which included; home movies of the 1941 Disney picket line, with recorded comments by Art Babbitt, Bill Littlejohn and Steve Bosustow, UPAs first two films, FDRs 1944 campaign film, Hell Bent for Election, directed by Chuck Jones, and Brotherhood of Man, directed by Robert “Bobe” Cannon, plus, a WWII Navy training films, Flat Hatting, directed by John Hubley.

There was a Fox & Crow short for Columbia Pictures, The Magic Fluke, and the first Magoo, Ragtime Bear, plus another early Magoo, Grizzly Golfer.  Of course no program would be complete without, Gerald McBoing-Boing, written by Ted “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, and directed by Bobe Cannon. An interview followed with Bobe Cannon from KTLAs 1952 “City at Night”.  Madeline followed, directed by Bobe Cannon, from a story by Ludwig Bemelmans, then, Rooty Toot-Toot, John Hubley’s masterpiece, and Unicorn in the Garden, directed by Bill Hurtz, and Tell Tale Heart, directed by Ted Parmalee, and designed by Paul Julian, the, When Magoo Flew, to wind up the Columbia theatrical shorts.

Then there were three shorts from the television series for CBSs Gerald McBoing-Boing show, Miserable Pack of Wolves, the Twiliger Twins, and Wounded Bird.  The Tribute screening ended up with one of the Mr. Magoo commercial for General Electric Light Bulbs from the Burbank studio, one of the a Peil Brothers commercials, a series of spots from the NY studio, onoe of the Aurora Kiora commercial from a series created at the London studio, and finally a commercial for Ford Motors, their only live action job in nearly two decades of animation output.

An impromptu discussion followed, with a hastily organized panel, including, Dave Hilberman, Steve Bosustow, Herb Klynn, Bill Hurtz, Jules Engel, and others.  The first photo shows Tee Bosustow with father, Steve Bosustow, and the second photo shows Filmex Director, Gary Essert, UPA Co-Founder, Dave Hilberman, and Tee Bosustow.  The theater was standing room only, and the impromtu panel was also jammed packed …. and no one recored it, but then videotape was still in it’s infancy.  Oh and no, they weren’t at the Playboy mansion, Playboy was the big Filmex sponsor that year.

Category: Tributes