Little Black Sambo - color - 1940's castle silent cartoon

[David Baker]

I was just amazed at getting my hands on this classic Castle cartoon , in such good condition and probably at least 60 years old !
This is a silent 16mm print , of some type of " Kodak " safety film , with an " o " and a triangle next to the name " Kodak " on the edge of the film , so I'm not sure exactly the stock it is .The color is very good low-fade ( see pics ) . This may have been the 1st in a series .
It is the standard story of Sambo going out with his pet pooch ( who actually makes himself up as a tiger ) and in their adventure the two of them do encounter a real tiger that chases them back home !
This classic is a REAL GEM and ANY film collector would just LOVE it !!

[David Baker]

Oh I forgot to mention it is a full - length 8 minute cartoon .

[Kenneth Horan]

The “0” and triangle on the Kodak stock denote the year of manufacture 1943. The stock is actually black and white chemically toned by the two-color Cinecolor process. It is duplitized stock with an emulsion layer on both sides. One layer toned red-orange and the other layer toned blue-green. It is indeed low fade. Cinecolor was one of the best of the two-color processes using red-orange and blue-green as the two colors. The process was not accurate color, but when handled properly, could produce a pleasing effect that fooled the eye to think it was the full color spectrum.

[Maurice Leakey]

I have this Castle release #C-907 in sound. The track is bilateral variable area and is a bright bluish colour. Edge marked as "Kodak Safety Film" and date coded as triangle/square, which is 1944. The colour is still as good as when it was printed.
This is now quite rare as its release was only 1942 to 1951, whereas #757 in black & white was from 1942 to 1968. Also, the black & white copy was available in the UK from the late 40s for many years as a GB Movie-pak.

Maurice

[Bill Phelps]

I have a silent version of this on 8mm that is Cinecolor...still looks fantastic!

[Douglas Meltzer]

History lesson (cutdown version):

The derogatory term "Sambo" had been around for a least a century before it came to prominence with the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin. It's an offensive caricature that represents the myth of the "happy slave" and was used in an 1899 children's book that the Ub Iwerks cartoon is based on. Castle Films had the home market distribution rights and carried it in their catalogs from 1942 to 1968 (as Maurice stated).


This is from a 1947 Castle Catalog:

[David Baker]

Interesting Doug - and I have THE BIG BAD WOLF , OLD MOTHER HUBBARD , JACK FROST and a 2 minute version of MARY'S LITTLE LAMB , ALL which deserve a review on this forum !

[Douglas Meltzer]

A few comments have been deleted from this thread. Move on, life is short.

[Michael O’Regan]

Nice looking print, David. Cinecolor always looks beautiful to me.

[Lee Mannering]

Boy that is reely nice David. We have some on 16 but all B& W. You could do that to S8 and drop the track on.
always like Cinecol prints collectable.
I applaud the quality of this creative animation and hats of to the craftsmen/girls who made the magic happen.
Willie Whopper is also popular at our 16mm shows. Funny and cute

[Osi Osgood]

Though I don't have a 16mm projector, I bought this film as well! Amazing color. The funny thing is I have seen "restored" prints of this film and the color just doesn't measure up to the original Cinecolor.