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Auction archive: Lot number 1504A

HUBLEY, JOHN. 1914-1977. 399 original

Estimate
US$0
Price realised:
US$8,365
Auction archive: Lot number 1504A

HUBLEY, JOHN. 1914-1977. 399 original

Estimate
US$0
Price realised:
US$8,365
Beschreibung:

HUBLEY, JOHN. 1914-1977. 399 original charcoal, crayon, and pencil drawings, various sizes, being the original storyboards for a planned animated version of the hit Broadway musical Finian's Rainbow, some smudging to charcoal, stains from adhesive, pinholes, many drawings detached from boards. Together with 5 original gouache illustrations, of characters in Finian's Rainbow including the Geologist, Finian, Buzz, Judge Rawkins and Howard, identified in pencil at lower margin, tape remnants at corner, otherwise very fine. Present also is a photocopy of the screenplay for the animated version, as well as a partial copy of the sountrack featuring Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and others. Hubley is regarded by many as the most influential animator of the post-war era. He began his career at Walt Disney Studios working on features such as Snow White, Fantasia, and Bambi. In 1941 he left WDS to explore a more contemporary approach in animation. He signed on with UPA for several years before leaving in 1952 to establish his own Storyboard Studios. Hubley favored modern art techniques including unusual angles and textures and his work seems the very essence of mid-century modern style. Though Hubley enjoyed a distinguished career, which includes the 1951 classic Gerald McBoing Boing, the Mr. Magoo series, and three Academy Awards(trademark) for Best Animated Short, the feature length film which would have established him as a household name was a victim of the Communist witch hunt of the 1950s. In 1953 Hubley's Storyboard Studios was tapped to produce the full-length animated version of the hit Broadway musical, "Finian's Rainbow." The producers wanted to adapt the play into an animated film in order to fully exploit the magical elements of the story, which include leprechauns chasing after pots of gold and an angry white racist transmogrified into a poor black sharecropper. The producers also assembled an all-star cast to lend their voices to the film, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and others from the original Broadway cast. Hubley went to work on "Finian's Rainbow" in 1953. The production process was complicated, to say the least. The show's original authors were not entirely happy with the jazz arrangements (featuring Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Herb Ellis), as they felt the lyrics were obscured. Others were worried that Hubley's animation vision would be too advanced for the American public. Additionally, the film faced a complicated union situation. Hubley's studio belonged to the Screen Cartoonists Guild, which was not a member of the IATSE: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, without which membership the film could not play in theaters. It was Roy Brewer, the leader of the IATSE, who told producer Fred Schwartz that Hubley needed to appear before HUAC or else. Schwartz called Hubley and, though it was immensely distasteful to him, asked the director if he had ever been a member of the Communist Party. Hubley emphatically denied the allegation, though he did admit that he had been involved in several front organizations. Schwartz then asked why Hubley refused to testify before the Senate committee, and the director replied that while he would be happy to talk about his own history, he refused to name other names. When the financial backers of "Finian's Rainbow" learned that Hubley had refused to testify before the committee, they withdrew their financial support of the film. Schwartz scrambled to find other financing, but could only come up with a fraction of the amount. Schwartz and the other producers had no choice but to close down the production. Today all that remains of this mythical production are these 400 storyboard sketches, 5 gouache illustrations of major characters, a copy of the original script and a partial copy of the soundtrack.

Auction archive: Lot number 1504A
Auction:
Datum:
25 Jun 2006
Auction house:
Bonhams London
Los Angeles 7601 W. Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles CA 90046 Tel: +1 323 850 7500 Fax : +1 323 850 6090 info.us@bonhams.com
Beschreibung:

HUBLEY, JOHN. 1914-1977. 399 original charcoal, crayon, and pencil drawings, various sizes, being the original storyboards for a planned animated version of the hit Broadway musical Finian's Rainbow, some smudging to charcoal, stains from adhesive, pinholes, many drawings detached from boards. Together with 5 original gouache illustrations, of characters in Finian's Rainbow including the Geologist, Finian, Buzz, Judge Rawkins and Howard, identified in pencil at lower margin, tape remnants at corner, otherwise very fine. Present also is a photocopy of the screenplay for the animated version, as well as a partial copy of the sountrack featuring Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and others. Hubley is regarded by many as the most influential animator of the post-war era. He began his career at Walt Disney Studios working on features such as Snow White, Fantasia, and Bambi. In 1941 he left WDS to explore a more contemporary approach in animation. He signed on with UPA for several years before leaving in 1952 to establish his own Storyboard Studios. Hubley favored modern art techniques including unusual angles and textures and his work seems the very essence of mid-century modern style. Though Hubley enjoyed a distinguished career, which includes the 1951 classic Gerald McBoing Boing, the Mr. Magoo series, and three Academy Awards(trademark) for Best Animated Short, the feature length film which would have established him as a household name was a victim of the Communist witch hunt of the 1950s. In 1953 Hubley's Storyboard Studios was tapped to produce the full-length animated version of the hit Broadway musical, "Finian's Rainbow." The producers wanted to adapt the play into an animated film in order to fully exploit the magical elements of the story, which include leprechauns chasing after pots of gold and an angry white racist transmogrified into a poor black sharecropper. The producers also assembled an all-star cast to lend their voices to the film, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and others from the original Broadway cast. Hubley went to work on "Finian's Rainbow" in 1953. The production process was complicated, to say the least. The show's original authors were not entirely happy with the jazz arrangements (featuring Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Herb Ellis), as they felt the lyrics were obscured. Others were worried that Hubley's animation vision would be too advanced for the American public. Additionally, the film faced a complicated union situation. Hubley's studio belonged to the Screen Cartoonists Guild, which was not a member of the IATSE: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, without which membership the film could not play in theaters. It was Roy Brewer, the leader of the IATSE, who told producer Fred Schwartz that Hubley needed to appear before HUAC or else. Schwartz called Hubley and, though it was immensely distasteful to him, asked the director if he had ever been a member of the Communist Party. Hubley emphatically denied the allegation, though he did admit that he had been involved in several front organizations. Schwartz then asked why Hubley refused to testify before the Senate committee, and the director replied that while he would be happy to talk about his own history, he refused to name other names. When the financial backers of "Finian's Rainbow" learned that Hubley had refused to testify before the committee, they withdrew their financial support of the film. Schwartz scrambled to find other financing, but could only come up with a fraction of the amount. Schwartz and the other producers had no choice but to close down the production. Today all that remains of this mythical production are these 400 storyboard sketches, 5 gouache illustrations of major characters, a copy of the original script and a partial copy of the soundtrack.

Auction archive: Lot number 1504A
Auction:
Datum:
25 Jun 2006
Auction house:
Bonhams London
Los Angeles 7601 W. Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles CA 90046 Tel: +1 323 850 7500 Fax : +1 323 850 6090 info.us@bonhams.com
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