[AMIA-L] Missing Film Search

[Charles Cohen <oolongblue@SPRINTMAIL.COM>]

Can anyone help me locate copies of the 1931 short animated films "Neath
the Bababa Tree" and "Put On The Spout?"  I've recently seen some
similar requests receive helpful suggestions, along with the very
informative messages concerning the lubricating of film drawers and
obtaining of film leader stock, so I'm hopeful that one of you out there
may have some information to share.

According to information garnered from the 1951 Catalog of Copyright Entries
from the Library of Congress for Motion Pictures 1912-1939 and the New York
Archives, Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. released both 'Neath the Bababa Tree
(MP2689, WI-1003) and Put On The Spout (MP2737, WI-1002) on 06/01/1931. On
07/24/1931, Vitagraph, Inc. applied for a license to be able to show those
films in NY. One original and three duplicates of each film were reviewed
and "approved without eliminations" but the NY Archive does not have copies
of either of the scripts. Both were one reel, black & white, sound films.
The information gathered from various sources lists the following credits
for each film:

Irving A. Jacoby as writer (story for Bababa, adaptation for Spout)

Dr. Seuss as animator [In addition to the LOC citation of Dr. Seuss as
the animator of these films, other sources have claimed that the films
were based on stories by Dr. Seuss (J.Lenburg), that he was the writer
(G.Righini), or that he was the director (G. Webb). In short, there is
much confusion and no one seems to have seen the films for themselves,
nor can they find a copy to view (although I am still waiting to hear
from Graham Webb from England.]

Philip Schieb as music scorer (that is the spelling of his name in the
Library of Congress citations, although I see it more frequently as
"Scheib." The Scheib and the East Coast connections have led to several
people suggesting that these were Terrytoon pieces.)

For reference, authors Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald, Warner Bros.
archivist Richard May, 1930s animation experts Mike Barrier and Marc
Kausler, Ron Hutchinson with the Vitaphone Project, cartoon voice expert
Keith Scott, UCLA archivist Jere Guldin, the NY Archives, the Library of
Congress, the National Archives, film critic Leonard Maltin, and author
Donald Crafton are among those whom I have already consulted.

I am a Seuss researcher and preservationist. If any of you have come
across copies of either of these films, or can suggest any other sources
of information concerning them, perhaps through the Terry, Jacoby, or
Scheib families, I will be most grateful. There are now many of us who
would love to know the real story behind these cartoons and, if they are
not lost already, I would love to obtain copies and insure that they are
preserved appropriately for posterity!

Appreciatively,
Charles Cohen
Curator of "The Seuss, The Whole Seuss, and Nothing But the Seuss"
Connecticut Valley Historical Museum
Springfield, Massachusetts
email: oolongblue@sprintmail.com
fax: 413 665 7423