A research blog on the history of radio, film, television and classroom media geared towards children and young audiences through most of the 20th century.
Front and back cover for Dell paperback adaptation of Little Women (1949).
I have heard that this 1949 version of Louisa May Alcott's story is not as good as the 1933 version with Katherine Hepburn, or the 1994 version with Wynnona Rider, but a film with a young Elizabeth Taylor and Margaret O'Brien had to be entertaining.
Ad for Mattel Switch 'N' Go. From Jack And Jill magazine, July 1966.
Does anyone remember seeing a TV commercial for this toy while watching Saturday Morning cartoons or a local kids show 50 years ago. Maybe even during one of the cartoon series that will turn 50 on Saturday.
I will try to have this feature on the first of each month. It has been said that people cannot resist celebrating any anniversary divisible by the number 25. This December is especially going to be fun with the 50th anniversary of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" (TV Special), and the 100th anniversary of "Snow White" (1916) (the first film Disney saw as a boy), and many more.
This is my first post with this theme so please forgive the lack of video,s links or images to go with the facts. By all means there are too many anniversaries to acknowledge, so don't be upset if there is a great book, program or film missing.
Also I hope to have a follow up article on these events throughout the month.
25 Years Ago
September 20, 1991 - Step by Step was added to the TGIF line up.
1966 is sometimes regarded as the single coolest year in television history. It was the year that all programming transitioned to color, and several iconic programs premiered or were on the air at the same time (Batman, Star Trek, Gillian's Island, Get Smart, I Spy, Addams Family, a long long, long, long ongoing list).
It was also the ultimate year that children's Saturday morning programming was almost completely animation (no more reruns of B&W series like Lassie, or Sky King, and Captain Kangaroo left Saturdays), and controversy would grow over the new action adventure series, especially in 1967 (Spider-Man, Dino Boy, ...), plus the advertising and the quality of children's television.
Yonkers NY Herald Statesman, September 2nd, 1966
September 9, 1966 - Radio, comic book and Saturday Matinee vigilante The Green Hornet transitioned to television for one (memorable) season.
September 10, 1966 - Yes, all of these shows debuted on the same day!
(ABC) King Kong Show
(CBS) New Adventures of Superman - Bud Collyer was back as the Man of Steel. (See 75 years ago below). Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles The Lone Ranger (Halas & Batchelor) - It is interesting that radio's most famous hero and icon for boys and girls was played in animated form by radio veterans. Micheal Rye in this version and in the 1980s version it would be radio's Marshall Dillon, William Conrad. Speaking of radio, the last original Lone Ranger radio drama aired 60 years ago in 1956.
Exact date unknown -
Animal Secrets (NBC, 1966 - 1968) Educational series hosted by Dr. Loren Eisely, professor of anthropology and history at the University of Pennsylvanina.
The Smithsonian (NBC, 1966 - ?)
75 Years Ago
September 5, 1941 - Reg'lar Fellers, the live action film based on the comic strip by Gene Brynes starring Billy Lee as Pinhead Duffy and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as Bump Hudson. Also an Ub Iwerks animated short Happy Days premiered 80 years ago on September 30, 1936.
Showman's Trade Review - September 28, 1940. Ad for the series a full year earlier.
September 26, 1941 - Max Fleischer's first Superman cartoon hits theaters, the first animated comic book superhero film ever made, just 6 months after the live-action "Captain Marvel" serial. The cast of the Superman radio program do the honors: Clayton "Bud" Collyer (Superman/Clark Kent), Joan Alexander (Lois Lane), Julian Noa (Perry White). Moving from comics, to comic strips, then on radio, in merchandise, the 1939 World's Fair, and then theatrical cartoons further showed the mass market appeal and success of the "superhero" concept.
16 more Technicolor adventures with the Man of Steel would follow. DC (National) Comics failed to renew the copyright for the series in the 1960s and they have been in the public domain ever since. From local kiddie TV hosts to bargain VHS & DVDs, children have been reintroduced to this series over and over again. Just how many superhero cartoons have there been over the last 75 years?
Perils of the Wild. (1925, August 27). 15 chapter serial. Director: Francis Ford.
Screenplay: Isadore Bernstein & William Lord Wright. Based on the story by Johann David Wyss
Joe Bonomo as Frederick Robinson.
Margaret Quimby as Emily Montrose
Jack Mower as Sir Charles Leicester
Alfred Allen as Captain William Robinson
Eva Gordon as Frau Mitilla Robinson
Jack Murphy as Jack Robinson
Howard Enstedt as Ernest Robinson
Francis Irwin as Francis Robinson
William Dyer as Black John
Albert Prisco as Tonie
Fanny Warren as Bonita (as Fannie Warren)
John Wallace as Pirate
James Welsh as Pirate
Philip Ford as Pirate (as Phil Ford)
Sammy Gervon as Pirate
Boris Karloff (unknown)
This silent-era adventure serial that starred strongman, actor, and stuntman Joe Bonomo (1901 - 1978) was the first live-action adaptation of Johann David Wyss's 1812 novel "The Swiss Family Robinson". The serial's widely given premiere date was August 27, 1925 - 91 years ago today; although it may have been available as early as August 1, 1925.
By the mid 1920s the serials or "cliffhangers" were increasingly geared to younger audiences (especially boys) who flocked to movie houses each week to see the latest exciting chapter with leading actors Walter Miller, William Desmond, Ben F. Wilson and Eddie Polo. The idea of this famous story (a family shipwrecked on an unknown island) being serialized (told in chapters, with an exciting cliffhanger at the end) and starring one of the first great strongmen of the cinema sounds very appealing even after 90 years. "Perils Of The Wild" was one of six serials released by Universal Studios that year under the production label of "Adventure Pictures" or the "Lucky 6 Adventure Serials".
A page from Joe Bonomo's autobiography, "The Strongman" with stills from "Perils of The Wild", the first screen version of Johann Wyss' novel "The Swiss Family Robinson". Bonomo played Frederick Robinson.
Like most silent serials "Perils Of The Wild" hasn't been seen since its original run. Reviews of the serial by two theater owners suggest that it may have been a "fairly good serial", but some audiences may not have been so receptive to a non-western serial or one from a non-contemporary setting. As a serial from Universal Pictures, the last known existing prints were most likely scrapped around 1948, when the studio began to become more prominent and many of its silent films were discarded. Many sources claim anywhere from 75 to 90% of films made during the silent era are lost. The closest one can come to seeing this film today is to check out Bonomo's autobiography Strongman: A True Life Pictorial Autobiography of the Hercules of the Screen, which includes several photos, chapter summaries and behind the scenes stories of the production. It is not impossible that a print of this serial, if only one reel, may surface again one day.
Chapter Titles:
The Hurricane
The Lion's Fangs
The Flaming Jungle
The Treasure Cave
Saved by the Sun
The Jungle Trail
Pirate Peril
Winds of Fate
Rock of Revenge
The Rescue
The Stolen Wedding
Marooned
Prisoners of the Sea
The Leopard's Lair
In the Nick of Time
"The Swiss Family Robinson" has fascinated audiences through movies and television for over 90 years. Which version of the story are you most familiar with?
Motion Pictures
Swiss Family Robinson (1940)
Swiss Family Robinson (1960) Television Series
Lost in Space (1965)
Swiss Family Robinson (1974)
Swiss Family Robinson (1975)
The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island (1981 Japanese anime)
The Swiss Family Robinson (1975) - TV movie
Brainstorm*
What other classic adventure story could be retold as an exciting serialized story with suspenseful cliffhanger endings?
The Children's Media Archive blog and channel is a resource for parents, teachers, ministers, and media lovers to view and learn about films, radio programs, television programs and other forms of audio-visual media produced mainly between 1910 - 1990 that were consumed by or produced for children, adolescents and teenagers.
Entertainment and educational media alike can be seen here with respect to copyright and f
air use. The channel is maintained by archivebuilder, a researcher and finder of children's media.
More posts and added features will be coming soon. I hope to add more Mel-O-Toons, commercials, educational films, and old time radio programs. In the meantime please enjoy some of my uploaded videos
