8mm Forum: Steve's Treasure Hunt 1935

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Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on September 13, 2007, 06:19 AM:

STEVE’S TREASURE HUNT 1935

Many moons ago when the world was a simpler place, just about every cartoonist were having a go at producing animated films. Enter the Roland Davies and friend Carl Giles (OBE) who was later famous for his Daily Express cartoons.

In the mid 30’s these two young talented men produced a series of six animated cartoons featuring a cartoon character from the Sunday Express newspaper called Steve the Horse. All six of the cartoons had sound, and were largely created in nothing more than an elaborate shed with a fairly basic stop motion camera. Steve the Horse gained his name from the cries of the race-going crowd as Jockey Steve Donoghue rode to victory. The crowd would be heard to cry “come on Steve”, hence the opening film title for each cartoon and the name for the horse.

Of the six cartoons only one made it onto super 8mm film thanks to what was Buckingham Movie Museum and this is a very nice find if you can locate a print. All six sound films were issued on the vintage 9.5mm sound film gauge and 16mm prints can also be sound from time to time, along with a limited edition DVD containing all six films.

Made in 1935 STEVE’S TREASURE HUNT is as good an example of Steve the Horse as you need hunt for and thankfully it was available on super 8mm film with the original sound track. This print was issued on colour film stock although in black and white and runs for around 7 minutes. Steve finds himself in a haunted castle and gets himself into all sorts of bother. The story revolves around Steve hunting for buried treasure with his friend which ultimately they find, but not before a few fun and games.

These B&W cartoons were simply made and with a simple sound track to accompany the images. With music, sound FX and voices they were and to my mind still are highly entertaining. If you can locate this print it is well worth adding to your classic collection as a representation of low budget animation which was taking place here in the UK in the mid 30’s.

The super 8mm Sound print is very crisp with a good sound track for that time. In spite of being printed on colour film stock it was a very good black and white with a good running time. This print was taken from a 35mm master so we can expect a nice print even for the age of the cartoon and low production methods. A very nice one to have in your collection..

If you would like to learn more about Steve the Horse or Roland Davies please have a peep at my web site.

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/fans-of-steves/index.jhtml

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on September 15, 2007, 01:05 PM:

Very nice review Lee! Steve is a uniquely British cartoon charachter. I would love to get hold of a 'Steve' film, but I imagine they are truly rare to find.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on September 17, 2007, 04:35 AM:

Thanks Paul. The Super 8 film does crop up from time to time and if I ever see one I always buy just in case someone askes in the future. Sort of a stock title..

9.5mm wise they are gold dust and the last one I sold on 9-5 sound went for £30. Quite rare obviously as mostly printed prior to the war and a nice collectors item.

A good item to have is the steve the Horse DVD which can be found from time to time on UK ebay. This has all the 9.5mm sound films on and a rare French version. Keep an eye on ebay every now and again as its well worth having.

Best wishes.
Lee.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on September 17, 2007, 11:04 AM:

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