Editing Screen Gems (animation studio) (section)

== History ==

=== Founding (1921–1926) ===
When producer [[Pat Sullivan (film producer)|Pat Sullivan]] came to [[Harry Warner]] to sign a contract with him on [[Otto Messmer]] and his series [[Felix the Cat]]; he declined and instead told his soon-to-be former secretary [[Margaret J. Winkler]] that she should form her own company and take control of the distribution of the series. Winkler formed M.J. Winkler Productions, funding the Felix the Cat series and soon also took control of [[Max Fleischer|Max]] and [[Dave Fleischer]]'s series ''[[Out of the Inkwell]]''. By 1923, Winkler cut ties with the Fleischer brothers. Winkler saw an unreleased short called ''[[Alice's Wonderland]]'', a cartoon produced and directed by [[Walt Disney]] at [[Laugh-O-Gram Studio]], and was impressed with the short. The two agreed to make a [[Alice Comedies|series about the cartoon]]. In 1924, [[Charles Mintz]] married Winkler, and the latter's career began to decline. Mintz quickly assumed Winkler's role in the company, later rebranding it Winkler Pictures.  In 1925, Winkler's renewal contract for the Felix shorts was written, yet Winkler declined to renew due to her dispute with Sullivan. To take the place of the Felix shorts, Mintz struck a deal for a series of [[Krazy Kat filmography|''Krazy Kat'']] shorts with animator [[Bill Nolan (animator)|Bill Nolan]]. 

=== Winkler Pictures (1926–1931) ===
M.J. Winkler Productions became known as Winkler Pictures after Mintz took over in 1926, shutting down their distribution services and switching to production; Mintz had [[Film Booking Offices of America|FBO]] distribute the Krazy Kat and Alice Comedies for the 1926-1927 season. The Alice Comedies concluded in 1927 and [[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit]] was created in its place<ref name="gabler">{{cite book |last=Gabler |first=Neal |url=https://archive.org/details/waltdisneytriump00gabl |title=Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-6794-3822-9 |location=New York |page=183 |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/waltdisneytriump00gabl/page/183 |archive-date=June 7, 2013}}</ref>. Mintz would drop FBO for the 1927-1928 season, having [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] distribute the Oswald shorts, while [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] distributed the Krazy Kat cartoons. Bill Nolan’s studio was replaced by Ben Harrison’s and [[Manny Gould|Manny Gould’s]] in the move to Paramount. In February 1928, when Oswald cartoons proved more successful than expected, Disney sought to meet with Mintz over the budget, wanting to spend more on the cartoons. Mintz refused and hired away all of Disney's animators except Iwerks, Les Clark, and Johnny Cannon, who all refused to leave Disney, accompanying him to create [[Mickey Mouse]]. He moved the production of the Oswald cartoons to Winkler Productions, along with his brother-in-law, George. A dispute started by [[Hugh Harman]] and [[Rudolf Ising]] led to [[Carl Laemmle]] firing Mintz in favor of Winkler employees [[Walter Lantz]] and [[Bill Nolan (animator)|Bill Nolan]].

Mintz partnered with [[Columbia Pictures]] for distribution of the Krazy Kat cartoons in 1929, ironically sharing distributors with [[Walt Disney Productions]]. In 1931, when the studio moved from New York to California, it was renamed Charles Mintz Productions.<ref>[[iarchive:filmdailyvolume55657newy/page/1260|"Winkler Pictures Moves West" - The Film Daily (12/14/1931)]]</ref>

After losing Oswald to the [[Walter Lantz Productions|Universal Cartoon Studio]] in 1929, Mintz would hire animators [[Dick Huemer]] and [[Sid Marcus]] from the [[Fleischer Studios|Fleischer Brothers]], and teamed them up with animator [[Arthur Davis (animator)|Art Davis]], who had been animating on the Krazy Kat cartoons. The result was a series of 12 ''[[Toby the Pup]]'' cartoons for the 1930-1931 season distributed by [[RKO Pictures]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Complimentary Mintz: Krazy Kat and Toby the Pup: 1929-31 {{!}} |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/complimentary-mintz-krazy-kat-and-toby-the-pup-1929-31/#:~:text=By%20April,%20a,working%20alongside%20them. |access-date=2026-03-08 |website=cartoonresearch.com}}</ref> The series would be cancelled and replaced by a series of cartoons featuring [[Scrappy (cartoon character)|''Scrappy'']] beginning in 1931 and distributed by Columbia.

=== Becoming Screen Gems (1933–1942) ===
Charles Mintz Productions was renamed '''Screen Gems, Inc.''' in 1933, although the name had been used in copyrights as early as 1931<ref>{{Cite book |last=Office |first=Library of Congress Copyright |url=https://books.google.com.au/books?redir_esc=y&id=Yc5DAAAAIAAJ&q=Gems#v=snippet&q=Gems&f=false |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries. New Series: 1931 |date=1931 |publisher=Copyright Office, Library of Congress |language=en}}</ref>. The name was originally used in 1933, when [[Columbia Pictures]] acquired a stake in Charles Mintz's animation studio.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 12, 1999 |title=History of Gems |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-12-ca-45573-story.html |access-date=September 17, 2020 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> The name was derived from an early Columbia Pictures slogan, "Gems of the Screen", itself a takeoff on the song "[[Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean]]".<ref>{{cite news |date=October 8, 1939 |title=Juvenile Stars Of These Movies Work As Long As Asked |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3206549/juvenile_stars_of_these_movies_work_as/ |access-date=September 17, 2020 |newspaper=[[Independent Record|The Helena Daily Independent]] |page=4 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> Mintz was nominated for two [[Academy Awards]] for Best Short Subject. His first nomination was in 1934 for ''[[Holiday Land]]'', and he was nominated again in 1937 for ''[[The Little Match Girl#Adaptations|The Little Match Girl]]''. For about a decade, [[Charles Mintz]] produced ''[[Krazy Kat]]'', ''[[Scrappy (cartoon character)|Scrappy]]'', and the ''[[Color Rhapsody]]'' animated short series for Columbia Pictures. Also between 1936 to 1940, several Color Rhapsody films were subcontracted to former contractor Ub Iwerks and produced by his [[Iwerks Studio|animation studio]]. 

The studio's color cartoons were well received, while some other cartoons were not, mainly the later ''Krazy Kat'' and ''Scrappy'' shorts. Animator Isidore Klein was particularly frustrated with the ''Krazy Kat'' cartoons, as they bore little resemblance to Herriman's comic strip by the mid-1930s (despite attempting to make a more faithful cartoon with the 1936 short ''[[Lil' Ainjil]]'', with which Klein was disappointed by the final product).<ref>Maltin 210–11.</ref> Furthermore, Columbia gave Mintz strict financial obligations where they advanced a certain amount of money, resulting in Mintz repeatedly running [[over budget]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Of_Mice_and_Magic/xp9PEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA217&printsec=frontcover |title=Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons; Revised and Updated |last2=Beck |first2=Jerry |date=1987-12-01 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-452-25993-5 |language=en}}</ref> In 1939, after becoming indebted to Columbia and suffering from declining health, Mintz relinquished ownership of his studio and the Screen Gems name to Columbia to settle longstanding financial problems.<ref name="Dobson2010">{{cite book |last=Dobson |first=Nichola |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVeK2elZxTcC&pg=PA47 |title=The A to Z of Animation and Cartoons |date=April 1, 2010 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-1-4616-6402-4 |pages=47–48}}</ref> He would later pass away on December 30, 1939, from a heart attack. Both ''Krazy Kat'' and ''Scrappy''’s series ended that year and were replaced by the [[Phantasies|Phantasy]] and [[Columbia Fables|Fable]] cartoons in which they were both featured.

By 1940, Columbia oversaw management of the studio following ownership. Director Ben Harrison was let go while the studio's production manager, Jimmy Bronis, became the general manager, but was shortly replaced by Mintz's brother-in-law, George Winkler. In March 1941, Columbia hired [[Frank Tashlin]], previously a writer for [[Walt Disney Productions]] and director for [[Leon Schlesinger Productions]], as the studio's producer.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Barrier |first=Michael |title=MichaelBarrier.com -- Interviews: Frank Tashlin |url=http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/Tashlin/tashlin_interview.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415163731/http://michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/Tashlin/tashlin_interview.htm |archive-date=April 15, 2019 |access-date=2023-07-31 |website=www.michaelbarrier.com}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Barrier |first=Michael |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hollywood_Cartoons/zDJXnzMh7bkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Home+Explore+Hollywood+Cartoons+American+Animation+in+Its+Golden+Age&pg=PA383&printsec=frontcover |title=Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age |date=2003-11-06 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-802079-0 |language=en}}</ref> Tashlin had a profound effect to the studio, as he planned to revitalize it as a serious rival to other West Coast studios. He hired a large number of displaced animators from the 1941 [[Disney animators' strike]], which included artists such as Phil Duncan, Grant Simmons, Louie Schmitt, [[Volus Jones]], William Shull, Howard Swift, [[John Hubley]], Zack Schwartz, Chic Otterstrom and Basil Davidovich, and returning animators such as [[Emery Hawkins]] and [[Ray Patterson (animator)|Ray Patterson]]. He also directed the short ''The Fox and the Grapes''. Based on the [[The Fox and the Grapes|Aesop fable of the same name]]; the short inadvertently spawned Columbia's most successful characters with ''[[The Fox and the Crow (animated characters)|The Fox and the Crow]]'', a comic duo of a refined Fox and a streetwise Crow. 

Later in October, Columbia reorganized the studio by dismissing the rest of its Mintz-era staff (including Arthur Davis, Manny Gould, [[Lou Lilly]], [[Sid Marcus]], Allen Rose and George Winkler).<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Animator Profiles: ARTHUR DAVIS {{!}} |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/animator-profiles-arthur-davis/ |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=cartoonresearch.com}}</ref> Ben Schwalb replaced Winkler as general manager and later Tashlin as producer in April 1942.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2022-08-13 |title=Pegbar Profiles : Pegbar Profile: Emery Hawkins (Part 2) |url=https://pegbarprofiles.blogspot.com/2022/08/pegbar-profile-emery-hawkins-part-2.html |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=Pegbar Profiles}}</ref> Tashlin delegated directorial duties to Bob Wickersham and Alec Geiss, but would act as a creative supervisor for their cartoons.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=MOONLIGHTING ANIMATORS IN COMICS: Bob Wickersham {{!}} |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/moonlighting-animators-in-comics-bob-wickersham/ |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=cartoonresearch.com}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> 

=== Decline and closure (1942–1946) ===
Tashlin's tenure at Screen Gems, despite being an influential figure, would be short-lived as he left in June 1942 following an argument with Columbia higher-ups.<ref name=":5" /><ref name="Sigall3">Sigall (2005), pp. 71–72</ref> When interviewed by Michael Barrier, he said that the management "can't stay happy long when things are going well, so we ended up in another fracas and I left."<ref name=":3" /> He soon returned to [[Warner Bros. Cartoons|Leon Schlesinger Productions]], joining several ex-Columbia artists who successfully made the transition. Meanwhile, Schwalb was replaced by Dave Fleischer, previously the co-founder and head supervisor of [[Fleischer Studios]]. Fleischer had already been hired as an executive producer in April of that year, with him producing the 1942 WWII short ''Song of Victory'' under Tashlin's supervision. By the end of the year, though, he took full control of studio amid Tashlin's absence. To further increase cartoon production, Hubley and animator Paul Sommer were teamed up as co-directors, though Hubley later left when he enlisted in the [[United States Army]], leaving Sommer to direct solo.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 11, 2023 |title=The National Archives |url=https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=3&cat=all&tf=F&q=John+hubley&bc=&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=1775207&rlst=3604667,3969509,1775207}}</ref>

Hubley described Fleischer as being very detached from his employees, and called him "one of the world's intellectual lightweights".  Howard Swift also recalled how Fleischer fancied himself as a good editor by editing completed cartoons in a way that broke continuity.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=MichaelBarrier.com -- Interviews: John Hubley |url=http://michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/Hubley/Hubley.html |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=michaelbarrier.com}}</ref> Fleischer's hands-off involvement gave the staff having more creative freedom, albeit without a clear direction to where the studio should go. He was fired in late-1943 and was succeeded by a revolving door of producers.<ref name=":7" /> Initially, Fleischer was replaced by studio musician Paul Worth, who was then replaced by ''[[Three Stooges]]'' producer [[Hugh McCollum]] after Worth was convicted of [[forgery]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yowp |date=2021-04-24 |title=Tralfaz: Finding a Columbia Favorite |url=https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2021/04/finding-columbia-favorite.html |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=Tralfaz}}</ref> and then by ex-Schlesinger assistants Ray Katz and Henry Binder. Geiss was also fired following a series of poorly received cartoons, with his role as director given to Swift. The studio also created several more recurring characters during this time period, including ''Tito and His Burrito, [[Flippity and Flop|Flippy and Flop]], Igor Puzzlewitz, [[Willoughby's Magic Hat|Willoughby Wren]], Professor Small and Mr. Tall'', and an adaptation of [[Al Capp|Al Capp's]] comic series ''[[Li'l Abner]]'', with varying levels of success.

Tashlin's departure had an immediate effect to the studio's direction, with animation historians noting that the quality of their cartoons had declined soon after. Film historian [[Leonard Maltin]] claimed that after Tashlin left, the studio "tried to maintain some spirit on-screen, with varying results. Screen Gems cartoons of the 1940's feature some of the least-endearing cartoon characters ever created and suffer from misguided story direction."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Of_Mice_and_Magic/xp9PEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA219&printsec=frontcover |title=Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons; Revised and Updated |last2=Beck |first2=Jerry |date=1987-12-01 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-452-25993-5 |language=en}}</ref> Hubley later told Barrier that he disliked his work at the studio, and alluded that Columbia did not like the cartoons they were making.<ref name=":4" /> Capp was also reportedly displeased with the quality of the ''Li'l Abner'' cartoons, which were discontinued after five cartoons.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Of_Mice_and_Magic/xp9PEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA220&printsec=frontcover |title=Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons; Revised and Updated |last2=Beck |first2=Jerry |date=1987-12-01 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-452-25993-5 |language=en}}</ref> Beginning in 1945, all mentions of Columbia were removed in any future cartoons released.

In addition to Tashlin's departure, several of the more daring ex-Disney animators that were hired also left for other studios, including Duncan, Davidovich, Schwartz, Hawkins, and Patterson. Columbia was unable to find any more experienced artists who were willing to stay for the long term, but the studio did manage to gain some leverage. [[Bob Clampett]] was brought in as a gag writer before setting up his own brief animation studio for [[Republic Pictures]], while Warner writers [[Michael Maltese]] and [[Tedd Pierce]] were said to have moonlighted for a few cartoons.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Leonard. |first=Maltin |url=https://archive.org/details/ofmicemagic00leon |title=Of mice and magic : a history of American animated film |date=1980 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=0070398356 |oclc=702546548}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Beck |first=Jerry |author-link=Jerry Beck |author2=Amidi, Amid |author2-link=Amid Amidi |title=It's a Grand Old Nag |url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/brewtv/grandoldnag-8686.html |access-date=2026-03-06 |website=Cartoon Brew |publisher=}}</ref> Sid Marcus also returned as a storyman in 1943, before being promoted to director in 1945 after Bob Wickersham’s departure. [[Alex Lovy]] would succeed director Howard Swift. Walter Lantz composer [[Darrell Calker]] was also brought in to score music when [[Eddie Kilfeather]] retired after suffering a stroke in 1946.<ref>''The Oregonian'', January 14, 1950, page seven, obituary</ref>

Screen Gems, in an attempt to keep costs low, was the last American animation studio to stop producing black-and-white cartoons. The final black-and-white Phantasy shorts appeared in 1946, over three years after the second-longest holdouts ([[Famous Studios]] and [[Leon Schlesinger Productions]]), with the subsequent shorts being produced in [[Cinecolor]]. Columbia, still dissatisfied with the studio's output, decided to shut its doors for good in November, while continuing to release a backlog of shorts until 1949.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Bob |author-link=Bob Thomas (reporter) |date=November 28, 1946 |title=Future of Movie Cartoons Gloomy As Costs Increase |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3206620/future_of_movie_cartoons_gloomy_as/ |access-date=September 11, 2015 |work=[[Paris News|The Paris News]] |page=13 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> The studio name was later reused for a television division, while the former Seward Street facility, which Screen Gems occupied since 1940, was briefly taken over by [[Walter Lantz Productions]] in 1947.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 3, 2019 |title=The 861 Seward Story |url=https://www.scrappyland.com/blog/2019/03/03/the-861-seward-story/}}</ref>

=== Aftermath ===
Following the studio's closure, most of the remaining animators moved to other studios; Grant Simmons would become an animator for [[Tex Avery]] at [[MGM Cartoons]] alongside  ex-Columbia animators Louie Schmitt and William Shull, Paul Sommer would move to the East Cost as an animator for [[Terrytoons]], and Sid Marcus would move to [[Warner Bros. Cartoons]] as a writer for fellow alumnus [[Arthur Davis (animator)|Arthur Davis]] and later [[Robert McKimson]].

In 1948, Columbia agreed to distribute new cartoons from [[United Productions of America]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Finding lost films and materials and producing a documentary feature on UPA |url=http://www.upapix.com/pages/history2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608225452/http://www.upapix.com/pages/history2.htm |archive-date=2011-06-08 |access-date=2011-03-27 |publisher=Upapix.com}}</ref> Founded in 1941 during the wake of the [[Disney animators' strike]], UPA deviated from the typical realistic animation seen from other studios. It presented a newer, [[limited animation|limitedly animated]] art style while also relying on uniquely told stories over slapstick and gags. Hubley and Schwartz had previously experimented with this style in their Screen Gems cartoons and were involved with the studio's early development. UPA's shorts, which included ''[[Gerald McBoing-Boing]]'' and the ''[[Mr. Magoo]]'' series, were major critical and commercial successes, leaving a profound influence on the animation industry by the 1950s. Following UPA, a deal with [[Hanna-Barbera]] was made in 1957, which lasted until 1967.