International Film Service
Encyclopedia
International Film Service was an American
animation studio
created to exploit the popularity of the comic strips controlled by William Randolph Hearst
.
wire syndicate into the International Picture Service, a syndicate formed to create newsreels, when newsreels were an entirely new idea. The success of the Hearst Newsreel led the media magnate to create International Film Service (IFS) in 1915. The purpose of this company was to translate Hearst's top comic strip properties into "living comic strips", to be added to the tail-end of the newsreels. For Hearst, the purpose of these cartoons was to be the same as the comics: to increase the circulation of his newspapers. The fact that former Hearst employees Winsor McCay
, George McManus
, and Bud Fisher
were all doing very well with animated cartoons based on their Hearst comic strips ("Little Nemo
", The Newlyweds, and Mutt and Jeff) may have had something to do with it as well, since Hearst was a sore loser.
To lead this new studio, Hearst did what he usually did: lured the best talent away from his competitors with the promise of the kind of huge salary only a Hearst could afford. The supervisor was Gregory La Cava
, who had animated for the Raoul Barré
studio. La Cava was given director credit for all of the IFS cartoons. IFS cartoons were the first comic strip properties to give proper credit to the director and animators, as opposed to just the creator of the comic (their credit was in tiny print on the screen, but it was there). With him came William Nolan and Frank Moser, the fastest animators in the business. Hearst even hired Raoul Barré
, head of another animation studio, to animate his first series and teach the new hires how animation was done.
IFS jumped into eight different series right from the start. This was possible only because of Le Cava's extraordinary organization skills. On the other hand, the quality suffered. IFS cartoons are indeed "living comic strips", with little motion and lots of dialog balloons instead of the intertitles used by most other animation studios. As a result, they are not very interesting to look at today. The studio did give birth to one enduring series, however: Krazy Kat
. IFS was also the first studio for a whole host of future animation talent: Vernon Stallings, Walter Lantz
, Ben Sharpsteen
, Jack King
, John Foster
, Grim Natwick
, Burt Gillett and Isadore Klein.
World War I
proved the death-knell for IFS. Hearst had been pursuing an aggressive pro-German
position for decades under the assumption that German immigrants were the core of his newspaper consistency. As a result, International News Service lost its credibility. The spiraling debt this created forced Hearst to cut out his least-profitable business, and that was IFS. The entire staff was laid off on July 6, 1918, a date referred to in animation history as "Black Monday". But Hearst still cared about his animated properties, so he licensed them to John C. Terry's studio. When that studio folded a year later, he licensed his former competitor, Bray Productions
, to make the IFS cartoons.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
animation studio
Animation studio
An animation studio is a company producing 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 or rentals of the media produced...
created to exploit the popularity of the comic strips controlled by William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
.
History
In 1914, William Randolph Hearst expanded his International News ServiceInternational News Service
International News Service was a U.S.-based news agency founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.Established two years after the Scripps family founded the United Press Association, INS scrapped among the newswires...
wire syndicate into the International Picture Service, a syndicate formed to create newsreels, when newsreels were an entirely new idea. The success of the Hearst Newsreel led the media magnate to create International Film Service (IFS) in 1915. The purpose of this company was to translate Hearst's top comic strip properties into "living comic strips", to be added to the tail-end of the newsreels. For Hearst, the purpose of these cartoons was to be the same as the comics: to increase the circulation of his newspapers. The fact that former Hearst employees Winsor McCay
Winsor McCay
Winsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator.A prolific artist, McCay's pioneering early animated films far outshone the work of his contemporaries, and set a standard followed by Walt Disney and others in later decades...
, George McManus
George McManus
George McManus was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Irish immigrant Jiggs and his wife Maggie, the central characters in his syndicated comic strip, Bringing Up Father....
, and Bud Fisher
Bud Fisher
Harry Conway "Bud" Fisher was an American cartoonist who created Mutt and Jeff, the first successful daily comic strip in the United States....
were all doing very well with animated cartoons based on their Hearst comic strips ("Little Nemo
Little Nemo
Little Nemo is the main fictional character in a series of weekly comic strips by Winsor McCay that appeared in the New York Herald and William Randolph Hearst's New York American newspapers from October 15, 1905 – April 23, 1911 and April 30, 1911 – July 26, 1914; respectively.The...
", The Newlyweds, and Mutt and Jeff) may have had something to do with it as well, since Hearst was a sore loser.
To lead this new studio, Hearst did what he usually did: lured the best talent away from his competitors with the promise of the kind of huge salary only a Hearst could afford. The supervisor was Gregory La Cava
Gregory La Cava
Gregory La Cava was an American film director best known for his films of the 1930s, including My Man Godfrey and Stage Door....
, who had animated for the Raoul Barré
Barré Studio
Barré Studio was, in all probability, the first film studio dedicated to animation . It was founded by Raoul Barré and William Nolan in 1914. They began with advertising films , then got a series with Edison called the Animated Grouch Chaser...
studio. La Cava was given director credit for all of the IFS cartoons. IFS cartoons were the first comic strip properties to give proper credit to the director and animators, as opposed to just the creator of the comic (their credit was in tiny print on the screen, but it was there). With him came William Nolan and Frank Moser, the fastest animators in the business. Hearst even hired Raoul Barré
Raoul Barré
Raoul Barré was a Canadian and American cartoonist, animator of the silent film era, and artist.Barré was born in Montreal, Quebec, the only artistic child of an importer of communion wine...
, head of another animation studio, to animate his first series and teach the new hires how animation was done.
IFS jumped into eight different series right from the start. This was possible only because of Le Cava's extraordinary organization skills. On the other hand, the quality suffered. IFS cartoons are indeed "living comic strips", with little motion and lots of dialog balloons instead of the intertitles used by most other animation studios. As a result, they are not very interesting to look at today. The studio did give birth to one enduring series, however: Krazy Kat
Krazy Kat
Krazy Kat is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George Herriman, published daily in newspapers between 1913 and 1944. It first appeared in the New York Evening Journal, whose owner, William Randolph Hearst, was a major booster for the strip throughout its run...
. IFS was also the first studio for a whole host of future animation talent: Vernon Stallings, Walter Lantz
Walter Lantz
Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, film producer, and director, best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.-Early years and start in animation:...
, Ben Sharpsteen
Ben Sharpsteen
Ben Sharpsteen was an American film director and producer for Disney. He directed 31 films between 1920 and 1980....
, Jack King
Jack King (animator)
James Patton "Jack" King was an American comics artist and animator best known for his work at Walt Disney Productions.Born in Alabama, King began his animation career in the silent era in 1920 working at Bray Productions animation studio...
, John Foster
John Foster
John Foster may refer to:* Rev. John Foster, 18th century American clergyman* John Foster , MP for Dunleer 1790–1792, son of 1st Baron Oriel* John Foster , American, also engraver...
, Grim Natwick
Grim Natwick
Myron "Grim" Natwick was an American artist, animator and film director. Natwick is best known for drawing the Fleischer Studio's most popular character, Betty Boop.-Background:...
, Burt Gillett and Isadore Klein.
World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
proved the death-knell for IFS. Hearst had been pursuing an aggressive pro-German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
position for decades under the assumption that German immigrants were the core of his newspaper consistency. As a result, International News Service lost its credibility. The spiraling debt this created forced Hearst to cut out his least-profitable business, and that was IFS. The entire staff was laid off on July 6, 1918, a date referred to in animation history as "Black Monday". But Hearst still cared about his animated properties, so he licensed them to John C. Terry's studio. When that studio folded a year later, he licensed his former competitor, Bray Productions
Bray Productions
Bray Productions was the dominant animation studio based in the United States in the years before World War I.- History :The studio was founded in December 1914 by J. R. Bray, perhaps the first studio entirely devoted to animation, and series animation at that...
, to make the IFS cartoons.
Filmography
- Phables (1915-1916): directed by Gregory La CavaGregory La CavaGregory La Cava was an American film director best known for his films of the 1930s, including My Man Godfrey and Stage Door....
; animated by Raoul BarréRaoul BarréRaoul Barré was a Canadian and American cartoonist, animator of the silent film era, and artist.Barré was born in Montreal, Quebec, the only artistic child of an importer of communion wine... - Joys and Glooms (1916): directed by Gregory La Cava; animated by Frank Moser and Raoul Barré
- Maud the Mule (1916): directed by Gregory La Cava; animated by Bert Green
- Krazy KatKrazy KatKrazy Kat is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George Herriman, published daily in newspapers between 1913 and 1944. It first appeared in the New York Evening Journal, whose owner, William Randolph Hearst, was a major booster for the strip throughout its run...
(1916-1917): directed by Gregory La Cava; animated by Frank Moser, Leon Searl, Bill Nolan, Bert Green, Edward Grinham, Earl Klein, Isadore Klein, Sid Marcus, Al Rose - Happy HooliganHappy HooliganHappy Hooligan was a popular and influential early American comic strip by Frederick Burr Opper.Happy Hooligan, the first major comic strip by already celebrated cartoonist Opper, debuted with a Sunday strip on March 11, 1900 in the William Randolph Hearst newspapers, and was one of the first...
(1916-1919): directed by Gregory La Cava; animated by Frank Moser, Bill Nolan, Ben SharpsteenBen SharpsteenBen Sharpsteen was an American film director and producer for Disney. He directed 31 films between 1920 and 1980....
, Jack KingJack King (animator)James Patton "Jack" King was an American comics artist and animator best known for his work at Walt Disney Productions.Born in Alabama, King began his animation career in the silent era in 1920 working at Bray Productions animation studio...
, Isadore Klein, Grim NatwickGrim NatwickMyron "Grim" Natwick was an American artist, animator and film director. Natwick is best known for drawing the Fleischer Studio's most popular character, Betty Boop.-Background:...
; screenwritten by Louis De Lorme - Jerry on the Job (1916-1917): directed by Gregory La Cava; animated by Will Powers, Walter LantzWalter LantzWalter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, film producer, and director, best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.-Early years and start in animation:...
; screenwritten by H.E. Hancock, Louis De Lorme - Bringing Up FatherBringing up FatherBringing Up Father was an influential American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus . Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 12, 1913 to May 28, 2000....
(1916-1917): directed by Gregory La Cava; animated by Frank Moser, Bert Green, Edward Grinham, Grim Natwick; screenwritten by Louis De Lorme - The Katzenjammer Kids (1916-1918): directed by Gregory La Cava; animated by Gregory La Cava, John Foster, George (Vernon) Stallings, Isadore Klein; screenwritten by H.E. Hancock, Louis De Lorme
- Abie the AgentAbie the AgentAbie the Agent was a popular early American comic strip about a Jewish car salesman by Harry Hershfield. When Hershfield had success with a Yiddish character in his comic strip Desperate Desmond, he was encouraged by his editor to create a new strip centered around Yiddishism and Jewish immigrants...
(1917): directed by Gregory La Cava - Judge Rummy (1918-1919): directed by Gregory La Cava; animated by Gregory La Cava, Grim Natwick, Jack King, Burton GillettBurton GillettBurton F. Gillett was a director of animated films. He is noted for his Silly Symphonies work for Disney, particularly the 1933 short film Three Little Pigs.-Early life:He was born in Elmira, New York...
, Frank Moser, and Isadore Klein - Tad Cartoons (1918-1920): directed by Bill Nolan and Walter Lantz
Distributors
- Vitagraph StudiosVitagraph StudiosAmerican Vitagraph was a United States movie studio, founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. By 1907 it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros...
(1916-1917) - PathéPathéPathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
(1916-1917) - Educational PicturesEducational PicturesEducational Pictures was a film distribution company founded in 1919 by Earle Hammons . Educational primarily distributed short subjects, and today is probably best known for its series of 1930s comedies starring Buster Keaton, as well as for a series of one-reel comedies featuring Shirley...
(1918-1919)
Staff
- Producer: William Randolph Hearst (1916-1918), John C. Terry (1918-1919)
- Directors: Gregory La Cava, Bill Nolan, Walter Lantz
- Animators: Raoul Barré, Frank Moser, Leon A. Searl, Bert Green (1916-18), Bill Nolan (1916-18), Edward Grinham, Ben Sharpsteen, Jack King (1920-21), Will Powers, Walter Lantz, John Foster, George (Vernon) Stallings (1916-18), F. M. Follett, Leighton Budd, Hal Coffman, Grim Natwick (1916-18), Burton Gillett, Isadore Klein (1916-18), Earl Klein (1917-17), Sid Marcus (1916-17), Tom Norton (1916-18), Al Rose (1916-17), George Rufle (c. 1916)
- Story: Tom Powers, Louis De Lorme, H. E. Hancock