Shamus Culhane

[frizfrelengfan]

I read somewhere that Shamus Culhane (whether he was known as James, Jimmy, or Shamus) worked for 13 animation studios including his own. Can anyone name the studios in chronological order?

[cbrubaker]

This is as chronological as I can get

Fleischer Studios
Van Beuren
Walt Disney
Walter Lantz
Warner Bros.
Shamus Culhane Productions
Famous Studios
Hal Seeger Productions
Hubley Production
Gamma Film (The Night the Animals Talked)
M.G. Films (Prof. Kitzel)

There are more, I think.

[frizfrelengfan]

Cbrubaker,

I think one of the missing ones was Grantray Lawrence (an MGM spinoff that made Spider-Man for TV).

I didn't know he worked at WB. Do you know what cartoons he worked on?

[Sogturtle]

I BELIEVE this is about right...

Bray
Harrison-Gould Studio (aka Mintz)
Fleischer Studios
Ub Iwerks
Van Beuren
Walt Disney
Fleischer (2nd time)
Schlesinger/WB
Walter Lantz
Shamus Culhane Productions
Hal Seeger Productions
Storyboard (Hubley) Production
Paramount Studios
Krantz (while at Paramount studios)
Gamma Film (The Night the Animals Talked)
M.G. Films (Prof. Kitzel)
Westfall Productions

[cbrubaker]

I didn't know he worked at WB. Do you know what cartoons he worked on?
He animated a Chuck Jones cartoon "Inki and the Minah Bird". His only animation credit at Warners, according to davemackey.com

[Frank]

He animated a Chuck Jones cartoon "Inki and the Minah Bird". His only animation credit at Warners, according to davemackey.com

He also animated the Bugs Bunny cartoon, "Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears".

[Sogturtle]

,
I think one of the missing ones was Grantray Lawrence (an MGM spinoff that made Spider-Man for TV).
I didn't know he worked at WB. Do you know what cartoons he worked on?

He animated a Chuck Jones cartoon "Inki and the Minah Bird". His only animation credit at Warners, according to davemackey.com

Frizfrelengfan and Charles~

Shamus never to my knowledge worked for Grantray-Lawrence, but as I indicated up above, he did do work for Steve Krantz on "The Mighty Thor" though this was really done while he was in charge of the Paramount cartoon studio. Krantz then came and also offered a contract to Culhane and Paramount to make the original animated Spiderman series, but Paramount's new owner Gulf & Western turned it down. The job was then assigned to Ralph Bakshi on the East Coast and Grantray-Lawrence on the West Coast. (Keep in mind that Shamus' work in this era was sometimes as producer other times as both producer and director).

Annnnnd sadly, Dave Makey is in error. In my collection I have some Shamus animation drawings that he did not only for "Inki And Minah Bird" (Jones), but also for "Fin 'N' Catty" (Jones) and "Puss 'N Booty" (Tashlin). In addition to these three named cartoons, he definitely did some animation for Bob Clampett while at Schlesingers!! And he animated on "Bugs Bunny And The Three Bears" as well.:bugs2:

Annnnnd he evidently had ample exposure to both Friz Freleng and Norm McCabe who he described as "talented directors". This MIGHT well imply that he did some animation for both of them as well... And lastly, allegedly a bunch of Jones-unit animation drawings (vintage 1943-44) were found in the estate of of Grim Natwick, strongly implying that Shamus was having his old friend and mentor Grim do some animation on the Jones cartoons, which was then turned in with his own!!!

Now if our ol' buddy Larry T. would be interested in going through all of the 1943-44 Warners toons to ID ALL of the ones with Culhane animation lurking in them...:)

[Daffysleftfoot]

Annnnnd he evidently had ample exposure to both Friz Freleng and Norm McCabe who he described as "talented directors". This MIGHT well imply that he did some animation for both of them as well...

Not necessarily. He could have just peeked through a door to watch them work and said "damn, they're good." Remember, the WB directors weren't exactly secretive with their films. During a storyboard pitch, every director was invited to give suggestions and whatnot. I'm sure Shamus, being a distinguished guest, was most likely invited to the pitches as well.

Then again, I have no documented proof to back this up, but it sounds right to me.

[cbrubaker]

When I said "Inki" was Culhane's only animation credit, I meant that it was the only cartoon where Culhane was actually credited. No doubt, he did some uncredited animations.

Too bad that particular short is Blue Ribbon'd. Does UCLA or any film library have this short with original titles?

[Sogturtle]

When I said "Inki" was Culhane's only animation credit, I meant that it was the only cartoon where Culhane was actually credited. No doubt, he did some uncredited animations.

Too bad that particular short is Blue Ribbon'd. Does UCLA or any film library have this short with original titles?

Not necessarily. He could have just peeked through a door to watch them work and said "damn, they're good." Remember, the WB directors weren't exactly secretive with their films. During a storyboard pitch, every director was invited to give suggestions and whatnot. I'm sure Shamus, being a distinguished guest, was most likely invited to the pitches as well.

Then again, I have no documented proof to back this up, but it sounds right to me.

Charles and Daffysleftfoot~

Dave Mackey's listing of "Inki And The Minah Bird" bearing a credit showing James (Shamus) Culhane is almost certainly based NOT on any extant film print, but on the fact that "Inki..." was the ONLY Warner's title that Culhane could remember animating on when he wrote his autiobiography. When the film was made it was NEVER copyrighted proper thus it has neither a 1943 copyright date OR any credits showing in the U.S. Catalog of Copyright Entries. [edited here] It shows up years later being copyrighted as a Blue Ribbon though!!! And strangely with the notation that it was "In notice in 1942":eek:

According to the NORMAL rotation pattern of the Jones unit at the time though, the FILM credit would've most likely gone to Robert Cannon. And on the basis of Culhane quitting Schlesinger's in March 1943 (and joining Lantz immediately) we can in all liklihood look for a pretty BIG bloc of Warner cartoons up through late '44 or early '45 having uncredited Culhane animation.

As to whether Shamus actually animated for either Norm McCabe or Friz Freleng... The theory of Shamus just looking at storyboard sessions or finished cartoons is an okay one. Buuuuuut only scene by scene analysis of the period's cartoons will likely answer the question of whether he animated for others besides Jones, Tashlin and Clampett. Also, Shamus had many years before had ample exposure to Friz as a young master animator, and had viewed him as being the best animator at the very late Silent-Era Mintz studio which he MAY have extended to him as director.

However despite Culhane's recollection that he was assigned "temporarily" to Chuck's unit (pending the formation of Snafu unit just for him to head up), his REAL status seems to have been identical to that of Phil Monroe (before being drafted), i.e. as a "floater" where and when needed. Thus his turning up animating on cartoons for Tashlin and Clampett (Freleng had plenty of animators at the time but ya never can tell).

[Nick]

In addition to Shamus Culhane, didn't Art Babbit also do some (uncredited) animation for Warners around 1942 - 1943? I've heard that he animated some scenes in "The Wise Quacking Duck" and "A Tale Of Two Kitties". Of course, 20 years later he did a lot of animation for the pilot of "Philbert", also done at WB.

[Sogturtle]

In addition to Shamus Culhane, didn't Art Babbit also do some (uncredited) animation for Warners around 1942 - 1943? I've heard that he animated some scenes in "The Wise Quacking Duck" and "A Tale Of Two Kitties". Of course, 20 years later he did a lot of animation for the pilot of "Philbert", also done at WB.

Nick~

Yep, absolutely true that Babbitt worked uncredited but very briefly on some Clampett cartoons due to his troubles at Disney. And besides his much later work on "Philbert" he also animated UNCREDITED on "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" way under his old Disney (and Terrytoons) buddy Bill Tytla (Supervising Director)!

[J. J. Hunsecker]

I read an interview with Clampett where he stated that Art Babbitt animated the scene of So White eating the apple in "Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs". I think it was in an issue of The Velvet Light Trap, but I'm not sure.

[Timber Wolf]

Dave Mackey's listing of "Inki And The Minah Bird" bearing a credit showing James (Shamus) Culhane is almost certainly based NOT on any extant film print, but on the fact that "Inki..." was the ONLY Warner's title that Culhane could remember animating on when he wrote his autiobiography.


Same thing with George Cannata: Dave credits him as an animator for "Swooner Crooner", but his name doesn't appear in any WB cartoons that weren't reissued.

[Sogturtle]

Same thing with George Cannata: Dave credits him as an animator for "Swooner Crooner", but his name doesn't appear in any WB cartoons that weren't reissued.

Timber Wolf~

Welllll it's not quite the same thing... I meticuously went through the U.S. Catalog of Copyright Entries (waaaaaay back in in 1977-78) for basically the whole of the sound era cartoons. Annnnnnnd the Copyright Catalog IS the source of me and of course Jerry Beck and Dave Mackey listing George Cannata as the credited animator on "Swooner Crooner".

HOWEVER... IF and when a non-Blue Ribbon print of it is ever found we just may be in for a surprise... The reason being that in a few VERY RARE instances Schlesinger actually listed DIFFERENT animation credits on the released film and in the Copyright Catalog!!! But then again it may indeed list Cannata in the films credits... Pity he didn't hang around longer to get his name on more Warner toons.