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AMPAS-UCLA Restored Short Subjects

Bored of Education (1936)
March 17, 2013 - 7:00 pm
Billy Wilder Theater

The Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive have long enjoyed a productive and mutually beneficial relationship. In keeping with their history of cooperation and collaboration, AMPAS (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and UCLA have undertaken a joint project to restore and preserve the short films featured in this program, which were nominated for, or won, one or more Academy Awards.

The breadth of genre and subject matter presented speaks to the range of motion pictures honored and recognized by the Academy, going back to its earliest years. In the one-reel short subject category of the 7th Academy Awards, Bosom Friends delivers a message of tolerance through the adorably persuasive antics of a menagerie of animals. Two years later, the musical short Moscow Moods, which brought the singing and dancing of Yasha Bunchuk and his "musical memories of old Russia" to American audiences, would be recognized, as well as Bored of Education, an Our Gang comedy directed by Gordon Douglas and presented in a new-to-the-series one-reel format. Animals and exotic talents were well-represented, with 1939 short subject winner Busy Little Bears capturing the mischief of bear cubs in the Sierra Nevadas, and 1945 nominee White Rhapsody exploring a run of New Hampshire's White Mountains with Swiss skier Hans Thorner.

The short subject category recognized animated as well as live-action films, including Max Fleischer's Color Classics western Hunky and Spunky (1938), in which sure-footed Hunky rescues young Spunky from the clutches of a nefarious prospector, and George Pal's Puppetoon Jasper and the Beanstalk (1945), notable for its technique of replacement animation.

The AMPAS-UCLA restoration program also includes prominent newsreels and motion pictures documenting American war efforts in World War II. 1942 nominee Winning Your Wings features Lieutenant Jimmy Stewart guiding viewers through the recruitment process of the Army Air Forces and inside a B-17 bomber, and Operation Vittles (1948) chronicles the relief operations of the Berlin Airlift.

UCLA is pleased to partner with the Academy in this program to preserve and present motion pictures of significance from such a variety of film genres and traditions, enriching our collective film heritage.

Nina Rao

TRT: Approx. 98 min. 

Preservation funded by The Packard Humanities Institute

Bosom Friends (1934)

Through the adorably persuasive antics of a menagerie of cats, dogs, monkeys, lion cubs, and other animals great and small, Bosom Friends delivers a species-transcending message of tolerance. 

Skibo Productions/Educational Films Corporation of America. Producer: E. W. Hammons. Editor: Sam Citron. With: James F. Clemenger (narrator).

35mm, b/w, 10 min.

Preserved by the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive from a 35mm nitrate composite dupe negative. Laboratory services by The Stanford Theatre Film Laboratory, Audio Mechanics, DJ Audio, Simon Daniel Sound.

Preservation funded by The Packard Humanities Institute

Bored of Education (1936)

Directed by Gordon Douglas

Reluctant to return to school after summer, Spanky and Alfalfa hatch a plan to get out of class, but when the ice cream man arrives at school, they are faced with a difficult decision, in this Our Gang comedy.

Hal Roach Studios, Inc./Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Producer: Hal Roach. Screenwriter: Jack Jevne. Cinematographer: Art Lloyd. Editor: William Ziegler. With: Carl Switzer, George MacFarland, Rosina Lawrence, Darla Hood, Jack Egan.

35mm, b/w, 10 min.

Preserved by The Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive from a 35mm nitrate composite lavender print, a 35mm nitrate reissue version composite fine grain master positive, and a 35mm nitrate composite print. Laboratory services by The Stanford Theatre Film Laboratory, Audio Mechanics, DJ Audio, Simon Daniel Sound.

Preservation funded by The Packard Humanities Institute

Moscow Moods (1936)

Directed by Fred Waller

Yasha Bunchuk brings his "musical memories of old Russia" to American audiences with singing and dancing in the vigorous musical short, featuring stirring traditional songs such as ""The Volga Boatmen," "Dark Eyes" and "Rare Old Wine." 

U.M. & M. TV Corp. / Paramount Pictures. Cinematographer: William Steiner Jr. Editor: Leslie Roush. With: Yasha Bunchuk.

35mm, b/w, 10 min.

Preserved by the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in cooperation with Paramount Pictures from the 35mm nitrate original picture and track negatives. Laboratory services by The Stanford Theatre Film Laboratory, Audio Mechanics, DJ Audio, Simon Daniel Sound.

Preservation funded by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Paramount Pictures

Hunky and Spunky (1938)

Directed by Dave Fleischer

In the old west, the carefree life of mother burro Hunky and son Spunky is threatened when young Spunky is captured by a nefarious prospector, but sure-footed Hunky comes to the rescue in Max Fleischer's Color Classic cartoon. 

Fleischer Studios / Paramount Pictures. Producer: Max Fleischer. Animation: Myron Waldman, Graham Place.

35mm, color, 9 min.

Preserved by Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in cooperation with Paramount Pictures from the original 35mm nitrate picture and track negatives and an acetate composite print. Laboratory services by Cinetech, Deluxe Media Services, Chace Audio by Deluxe. 

Preservation funded by The Packard Humanities Institute

Busy Little Bears (1939)

Directed by John A. Haeseler

The Academy Award short subject winner Busy Little Bears captures the mischief of bear cubs in the Sierra Nevadas, as they explore their natural habitat and also the natural habitat (specifically, the enticing kitchen) of some two-legged neighbors. 

Paramount Pictures. Screenwriter: Justin Herman. With: Joe Laurie, Jr. (narrator).

35mm, b/w, 10 min. 

Preserved by The Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in cooperation with Paramount Pictures from the 35mm nitrate original picture and track negatives, and a 35mm acetate composite print. Laboratory services by The Stanford Theatre Film Laboratory, Audio Mechanics, DJ Audio, Simon Daniel Sound.

Preservation funded by The Packard Humanities Institute, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Winning Your Wings (1942)

Directed by John Huston

Lieutenant Jimmy Stewart lends his reassuring charm to this World War II short, answering the questions of would-be cadets and taking viewers through the recruitment process of the Army Air Forces and inside a B-17 bomber. 

United States Army Air Forces/Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. Producer: Jack L. Warner Screenwriter: Owen Crump With: James Stewart.

35mm, tinted, 18 min.

Preserved by The Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in cooperation with Warner Bros. from a 35mm nitrate composite print. Laboratory services by The Stanford Theatre Film Laboratory, Audio Mechanics, DJ Audio.

Preservation funded by The Packard Humanities Institute

White Rhapsody (1945)

Directed by Russell Ervin

This Grantland Rice sports short whisks viewers off to the snowy slopes of New Hampshire's White Mountains for wintertime frolicking and a thrilling race down Mt. Cannon with Swiss skier Hans Thorner. 

Grantland Rice Spotlight / Paramount Pictures. Producer: Jack Eaton. With: Ted Husing (narrator).

35mm, b/w, 10 min.

Preserved in cooperation with Paramount Pictures by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and UCLA Film & Television Archive from a nitrate composite dupe negative. Laboratory services by The Stanford Theatre Film Laboratory, Audio Mechanics, DJ Audio.

Preservation funded by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The AFI/NEA Film Preservation Grants Program

Jasper and the Beanstalk (1945)

Directed by George Pal

In this animated Puppetoon fairy tale, a scarecrow tricks Jasper into trading his mouth harp for "magic beans," but the joke's on the scarecrow: Jasper soon finds himself in a giant's castle, where he encounters a much more intriguing harp.

George Pal Productions / Paramount Pictures, Inc. Producer: George Pal.

35mm, color, 7 min.

Preserved by The Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in cooperation with Paramount Pictures from the 35mm nitrate original successive exposure picture negative, a 35mm acetate track master positive, and a 35mm nitrate composite print. Laboratory services by YCM Laboratories, Audio Mechanics, DJ Audio.

Preservation funded by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Operation Vittles: Berlin Airlift (1948)

United States Army Air Force.

Operation Vittles chronicles the relief efforts of the Berlin Airlift, the massive multinational undertaking that accomplished the daunting and logistics-defying task of sustaining the humanitarian needs of an entire city by air.

35mm, b/w, 14 min.

Preserved in cooperation with Warner Bros. by The Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive from a 35mm acetate composite print. Laboratory services by Film Technology Company, Inc., Audio Mechanics.

Part of: 
2013 UCLA Festival of Preservation