Clutch Cargo
Encyclopedia
Clutch Cargo is an animated television series
produced by Cambria Productions
and syndicated
beginning on March 9, 1959. Notable for its very limited animation
, yet imaginative stories, the series was a surprise hit at the time, and could be seen on 65 stations nationwide in 1960.
Spinner and his pet dachshund
, Paddlefoot. Actress Margaret Kerry
, who provided the look, style, and movement of Tinker Bell in the 1953 Walt Disney Studios production of Peter Pan
, provided both the voices and lips of Spinner and Paddlefoot. Live-action footage of an airplane was used as well, specifically that of a rare 1929 Bellanca C-27 Airbus. The attention to detail shown to the aircraft in the series is no doubt due to the fact that the creator of the series, Clark Haas
, was a pioneer jet pilot.
Hal Smith
, who voiced Owl in Disney's Winnie the Pooh series and played Otis Campbell
on The Andy Griffith Show
, was the voice of Clutch's grizzled, pith-helmeted friend Swampy, as well as numerous other characters.
In all, 52 Clutch Cargo adventures were produced and then serialized in five five-minute chapters each. The first four chapters naturally ended in cliffhanger
s, with the fifth chapter concluding the adventure. Haas explained the format of the show: "Each story is done in five five-minute segments so the stations can run one a day on weekdays, then recap the whole for a half-hour Saturday show. It's flexible and works very well."
" optical printing system. Syncro-Vox was invented by television cameraman, and partner in Cambria Studios, Edwin Gillette
, as a means of superimposing real human mouths on the faces of animals for the popular "talking animal" commercials of the 1950s. Clutch Cargo employed the Syncro-Vox technique by superimposing live-action human lips over limited-motion animation or even motionless animation cels
.
To further cut costs, Gillette and special-effects man, Scotty Tomany supplemented Syncro-Vox with other time- and money-saving tricks. Haas explained, "We are not making animated cartoons. We are photographing 'motorized movement' and — the biggest trick of all — combining it with live action. This enables us to produce film at about one-fifth what it costs Hanna and Barbera. Footage that Disney does for $250,000 we do for $18,000."
Gillette and Tomany simulated action not by animation but in the real-time movement of either the camera or the cel itself. Other live-action shots were superimposed as a means of adding a certain degree of realism and to keep production costs down. For example, footage of real smoke was used for explosions.
Gillette said, "We are constantly discovering new dimensions. We have used real balloons to simulate bubble gum, developed windmills that really turn - mechanically; and Scotty can come up with the darndest snowstorms you've ever seen - on a turning drum. With a camera capable of zooming, walkers that jog, and judicious cutting away from costly animated movement we manage to do things which otherwise would be impossible. With fewer than a dozen men we produce the equivalent of a half-hour film every week."
Occasionally traditional animation was also employed in the series, notably in the episode The Lost Plateau, in which brief segments of animated dinosaurs stood out. The character Paddlefoot, with his scratching and comical movements, was singled out as the most common cause of "skyrocketing" animation costs at Cambria.
The musical soundtrack to Clutch Cargo was, in its own way, as limited, and yet as inventive within those limitations, as the animation. Jazz musician Paul Horn
provided a score using nothing more than bongos
, a vibraphone
and a flute
.
Haas summed up the lasting appeal of Clutch Cargo: "Let's face it, Clutch is a square. But there's a place for him. One thing about this kind of business: It's fun. That's because what you can do is limited only by your ingenuity."
, one of the first shows to air on the Comedy Channel (later Comedy Central
). They plugged it with "If it weren't for the lips, it'd be a filmstrip!" In 1994, the film Pulp Fiction
included a scene in which a character was watching Clutch Cargo. And, for several years, the late-night television talk show Late Night with Conan O'Brien
frequently included fake interviews with celebrities in which live video of the impersonator's lips is superimposed over a still photo of the celebrity; this routine has consequently been referred to as "Clutch Cargo."
Steve Oedekerk
has cited Clutch Cargo as one of the inspirations behind his "Thumbs" series.
The person in the Max Headroom pirating incident
can be heard humming the theme song, pausing halfway to say "I still see the X," a reference to the last episode of Clutch Cargo. (Some people hear the line as "I stole CBS
," but reasoning for him saying that is less clear.)
In the Doug Anthony All Stars
' DAAS Kapital
, TV hero Wayne Kerr's sidekicks were called Spinner and Paddlefoot.
A popular rock group that worked in Northeastern Ohio (specifically, Youngstown and north to Geneva-on-the-Lake) in the late 70s/early 80s was the Spinner and Paddlefoot Trio. They were known for a generally irreverent approach to the songs they covered, and also for the many gag props they used in the course of their show.
A nod to Syncro-Vox is used in the talking pirate painting seen in the opening sequence of the SpongeBob SquarePants
television program, and briefly on the alien clone of Daffy Duck
in the 1990s Warner Brothers cartoon short Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers.
Another nod to Syncro-Vox can be seen in current Coors Light commercials, featuring "talking" pictures of Mike Ditka and Dick Butkus.
Clutch Cargo's
is the name of a nightclub and music venue in Pontiac, Michigan
.
The DVD release of the Disney/Pixar film The Incredibles
includes a short cartoon called Mr. Incredible and Pals
featuring Mr. Incredible and Frozone animated in Clutch Cargo style.
A short clip from the Clutch Cargo episode "Space Station" is shown on a TV screen in the opening credits of the Futurama
episode "A Flight to Remember
".
In the April 18, 2011 strip of Retail
, Marla's fiancé Scott suggests "Clutch Cargo" for the name of her new handbag business. The strip's cartoonist, Norm Feuti
, also posted a video explaining it to his fans.
' other two Syncro-Vox series, Space Angel
and Captain Fathom
.
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
produced by Cambria Productions
Cambria Productions
Cambria Productions was the West Hollywood, California animation production studio most famous for its wide usage of the Syncro-Vox technique of animation developed by Edwin Gillette, who was a co-partner in the studio.Owned by Clark S. Haas, Jr...
and syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
beginning on March 9, 1959. Notable for its very limited animation
Limited animation
Limited animation is a process of making animated cartoons that does not redraw entire frames but variably reuses common parts between frames. One of its major trademarks is the stylized design in all forms and shapes, which in the early days was referred to as modern design...
, yet imaginative stories, the series was a surprise hit at the time, and could be seen on 65 stations nationwide in 1960.
Plot
The stories centered around Clutch Cargo (voiced by radio actor Richard Cotting), described as "a writer and pilot with a muscular build, white hair and rugged good looks". As was typical of adventure serials, Clutch Cargo was sent around the world on dangerous assignments. Accompanying him on the assignments were his young wardWard (law)
In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. A court may take responsibility for the legal protection of an individual, usually either a child or incapacitated person, in which case the ward is known as a ward of the court, or a ward of the state, in the United States,...
Spinner and his pet dachshund
Dachshund
The dachshund is a short-legged, long-bodied dog breed belonging to the hound family. The standard size dachshund was bred to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was developed to hunt smaller prey such as rabbits...
, Paddlefoot. Actress Margaret Kerry
Margaret Kerry
Margaret Kerry is an American actress, motivational speaker and radio host best known for her 1953 work as the model for Tinker Bell in the Walt Disney Pictures animated feature, Peter Pan.-Career:...
, who provided the look, style, and movement of Tinker Bell in the 1953 Walt Disney Studios production of Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
, provided both the voices and lips of Spinner and Paddlefoot. Live-action footage of an airplane was used as well, specifically that of a rare 1929 Bellanca C-27 Airbus. The attention to detail shown to the aircraft in the series is no doubt due to the fact that the creator of the series, Clark Haas
Clark Haas
Clark S. Haas, Jr. was a cartoonist and, from 1957 to 1965, owner of Cambria Studios, which produced the limited animation series, Clutch Cargo .-Career:...
, was a pioneer jet pilot.
Hal Smith
Hal Smith (actor)
Harold John "Hal" Smith was an American character actor and voice actor. Smith is best known as Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show, and was the voice of many characters on various animated cartoon shorts...
, who voiced Owl in Disney's Winnie the Pooh series and played Otis Campbell
Otis Campbell
Otis Campbell is the fictional "town drunk" in Mayberry on the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. Otis was played by Hal Smith and made frequent appearances on the show from 1960 to 1967,...
on The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, was the voice of Clutch's grizzled, pith-helmeted friend Swampy, as well as numerous other characters.
In all, 52 Clutch Cargo adventures were produced and then serialized in five five-minute chapters each. The first four chapters naturally ended in cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
s, with the fifth chapter concluding the adventure. Haas explained the format of the show: "Each story is done in five five-minute segments so the stations can run one a day on weekdays, then recap the whole for a half-hour Saturday show. It's flexible and works very well."
Technique
Because of budgetary limitations and the pressure to create television animation within a tight time frame, the show was the first to use the "Syncro-VoxSyncro-Vox
Syncro-Vox is a filming method which combines static images with moving images, the most common use of which is to superimpose talking lips on a photograph of a celebrity or a cartoon drawing. It is one of the most extreme examples of the cost-cutting strategy of limited animation...
" optical printing system. Syncro-Vox was invented by television cameraman, and partner in Cambria Studios, Edwin Gillette
Edwin Gillette
Edwin "Ted" Gillette was a cameraman and inventor notable for the development of the Syncro-Vox technique of limited animation, which was used in the series Clutch Cargo.-Early life:...
, as a means of superimposing real human mouths on the faces of animals for the popular "talking animal" commercials of the 1950s. Clutch Cargo employed the Syncro-Vox technique by superimposing live-action human lips over limited-motion animation or even motionless animation cels
Cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable it was largely replaced by cellulose acetate...
.
To further cut costs, Gillette and special-effects man, Scotty Tomany supplemented Syncro-Vox with other time- and money-saving tricks. Haas explained, "We are not making animated cartoons. We are photographing 'motorized movement' and — the biggest trick of all — combining it with live action. This enables us to produce film at about one-fifth what it costs Hanna and Barbera. Footage that Disney does for $250,000 we do for $18,000."
Gillette and Tomany simulated action not by animation but in the real-time movement of either the camera or the cel itself. Other live-action shots were superimposed as a means of adding a certain degree of realism and to keep production costs down. For example, footage of real smoke was used for explosions.
Gillette said, "We are constantly discovering new dimensions. We have used real balloons to simulate bubble gum, developed windmills that really turn - mechanically; and Scotty can come up with the darndest snowstorms you've ever seen - on a turning drum. With a camera capable of zooming, walkers that jog, and judicious cutting away from costly animated movement we manage to do things which otherwise would be impossible. With fewer than a dozen men we produce the equivalent of a half-hour film every week."
Occasionally traditional animation was also employed in the series, notably in the episode The Lost Plateau, in which brief segments of animated dinosaurs stood out. The character Paddlefoot, with his scratching and comical movements, was singled out as the most common cause of "skyrocketing" animation costs at Cambria.
The musical soundtrack to Clutch Cargo was, in its own way, as limited, and yet as inventive within those limitations, as the animation. Jazz musician Paul Horn
Paul Horn (jazz musician)
Paul Horn is an American jazz flautist, and is considered by some to be a pioneer of New Age music.-Biography:Paul Horn was born in New York City, and began playing the piano at the age of 4 and the saxophone at the age of 12...
provided a score using nothing more than bongos
Bongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
, a vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
and a flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
.
Haas summed up the lasting appeal of Clutch Cargo: "Let's face it, Clutch is a square. But there's a place for him. One thing about this kind of business: It's fun. That's because what you can do is limited only by your ingenuity."
Legacy
Perhaps because of its unique style, Clutch Cargo has been referred to and parodied many times in contemporary pop culture. In 1990, clips from Clutch Cargo were run on The Higgins Boys and GruberThe Higgins Boys and Gruber
The Higgins Boys and Gruber was an American cable television show that aired on weekday afternoons on The Comedy Channel, the precursor to the cable network Comedy Central, from 1989 to 1991. It was one of the first television shows to air on the channel...
, one of the first shows to air on the Comedy Channel (later Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
). They plugged it with "If it weren't for the lips, it'd be a filmstrip!" In 1994, the film Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
included a scene in which a character was watching Clutch Cargo. And, for several years, the late-night television talk show Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
frequently included fake interviews with celebrities in which live video of the impersonator's lips is superimposed over a still photo of the celebrity; this routine has consequently been referred to as "Clutch Cargo."
Steve Oedekerk
Steve Oedekerk
Stephen Brenton "Steve" Oedekerk is an American comedian, director, editor, producer, screenwriter and actor. Oedekerk is best known for his collaborations with actor Jim Carrey and director Tom Shadyac , his series of "Thumbmation" shorts and his film Kung Pow: Enter the Fist .-Life and...
has cited Clutch Cargo as one of the inspirations behind his "Thumbs" series.
The person in the Max Headroom pirating incident
Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion incident
The Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion was a television signal hijacking in Chicago, Illinois, on the evening of November 22, 1987. It is an example of what is known in the television business as broadcast signal intrusion. The intruder was successful in interrupting two television stations...
can be heard humming the theme song, pausing halfway to say "I still see the X," a reference to the last episode of Clutch Cargo. (Some people hear the line as "I stole CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
," but reasoning for him saying that is less clear.)
In the Doug Anthony All Stars
Doug Anthony All Stars
The Doug Anthony All Stars were an Australian musical comedy group who performed together between 1984 and 1994. The band was an acoustic trio comprising Paul McDermott and Tim Ferguson on main vocals and Richard Fidler on guitar and backing vocals...
' DAAS Kapital
DAAS Kapital
DAAS Kapital was an Australian television comedy series written and performed by comedy trio the Doug Anthony All Stars. The show starred Paul McDermott, Tim Ferguson and Richard Fidler, along with Flacco, Michael Petroni, Bob Downe and Khym Lam....
, TV hero Wayne Kerr's sidekicks were called Spinner and Paddlefoot.
A popular rock group that worked in Northeastern Ohio (specifically, Youngstown and north to Geneva-on-the-Lake) in the late 70s/early 80s was the Spinner and Paddlefoot Trio. They were known for a generally irreverent approach to the songs they covered, and also for the many gag props they used in the course of their show.
A nod to Syncro-Vox is used in the talking pirate painting seen in the opening sequence of the SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
television program, and briefly on the alien clone of Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
in the 1990s Warner Brothers cartoon short Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers.
Another nod to Syncro-Vox can be seen in current Coors Light commercials, featuring "talking" pictures of Mike Ditka and Dick Butkus.
Clutch Cargo's
Clutch Cargo's (nightclub)
Clutch Cargo's is the name of a nightclub and live music venue located at 65 E. Huron Street in downtown Pontiac, Michigan. The building—a renovated church—was formerly called "Sanctuary" in the mid-1990s...
is the name of a nightclub and music venue in Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
.
The DVD release of the Disney/Pixar film The Incredibles
The Incredibles
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
includes a short cartoon called Mr. Incredible and Pals
Mr. Incredible and Pals
Mr. Incredible and Pals is an animated short film produced by Pixar, and included as a bonus on the DVD edition of its 2004 feature film The Incredibles....
featuring Mr. Incredible and Frozone animated in Clutch Cargo style.
A short clip from the Clutch Cargo episode "Space Station" is shown on a TV screen in the opening credits of the Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
episode "A Flight to Remember
A Flight to Remember
"A Flight to Remember" is episode ten in the first production season of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on September 26, 1999 as the first episode in the second season. This episode was written by Eric Horsted and directed by Peter Avanzino. Dawnn Lewis guest stars in this episode...
".
In the April 18, 2011 strip of Retail
Retail (comic strip)
Retail is a syndicated comic strip distributed by King Features Syndicate. It is authored and illustrated by Norm Feuti. It made its newspaper debut on January 1, 2006, and then gained quickly in popularity following articles in The New York Times and TIME Magazine - Setting :The strip is set in...
, Marla's fiancé Scott suggests "Clutch Cargo" for the name of her new handbag business. The strip's cartoonist, Norm Feuti
Norm Feuti
Norm Feuti is an American cartoonist and author best known for his nationally syndicated comic strip Retail.-Retail:Having worked in retail for more than 15 years, Norm Feuti started working on the daily comic strip Retail which was eventually launched on January 1, 2006, by the newspaper syndicate...
, also posted a video explaining it to his fans.
DVD releases
On March 22, 2005, BCI Eclipse released the entire Clutch Cargo series in two 3-DVD box sets. Each volume contains 26 5-part episodes, and extras including one episode of Cambria StudiosCambria Productions
Cambria Productions was the West Hollywood, California animation production studio most famous for its wide usage of the Syncro-Vox technique of animation developed by Edwin Gillette, who was a co-partner in the studio.Owned by Clark S. Haas, Jr...
' other two Syncro-Vox series, Space Angel
Space Angel
Space Angel was an animated science fiction television series produced in the United States from early 1962 through 1964. It used the same Synchro-Vox lip technique as Clutch Cargo, the first cartoon produced by the same studio, Cambria Productions....
and Captain Fathom
Captain Fathom
Captain Fathom was an animated television series produced in 1965 by Cambria Studios. Like Cambria's other productions, Clutch Cargo and Space Angel, it was produced in Synchro-Vox. 18 30-minute episodes, all in color, were filmed. The episodes could be broken down into 5 6-minute segments in...
.
| Cover Art | DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1 | 26 | March 22, 2005 |
|
|
| Volume 2 | 26 | March 22, 2005 |
|
Episode list
| Episode and Title |
|---|
|