1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Frying and I'm Tracy Wilson. This is an 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,600 Speaker 1: exciting time because Tracy is here visiting, so she's right 5 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: across the table from me. It is uh stupendous a day. 6 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: But it's also an exciting time because I have just 7 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: launched a new podcast, Yes you have called Drawn the 8 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,519 Speaker 1: Story of Animation, which is about animation. It is. And 9 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: to prep for that podcast, producer Nolan I actually traveled 10 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: all over the place and interviewed dozens and dozens of 11 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: people in the animation industry. And one of the interviews 12 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: we did that was just an utter delight was Rebecca Sugar, 13 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: who is the creator of Stephen Universe. I would like 14 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: to say it does not surprise me at all that 15 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: this was an utter delight. It was an absolute delight. 16 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: And she is such a thoughtful and interesting speaker in 17 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: her approach to animation, and frankly, the world is so 18 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,479 Speaker 1: unique and really like thoughtful doesn't give it enough credit, 19 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: but she thinks about everything and and what it means 20 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: and it's import in this really beautiful way. But one 21 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: of the people that she mentioned really loving uh in 22 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: terms of the work that they had done, was a 23 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:21,119 Speaker 1: lot of Reineger, who was an animator in Germany at 24 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 1: the turn of the twentieth century, and a lot of 25 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:26,839 Speaker 1: Reineger is one of those people that if you're into animation, 26 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,039 Speaker 1: you have heard of her, probably because she did some 27 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: really important stuff and was really a trailblazer. But if 28 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: you are not into animation, you may have never heard 29 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: of her unless she saw that Google doodle a couple 30 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: of years ago and went who is that? That was 31 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,320 Speaker 1: a lot of Reineger, and so I thought she merited 32 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: her own episode. Yes, you may have seen bits of 33 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: her work or things that were influenced by her work. 34 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: Her work is influential. Yeah, there's actually a segment in 35 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: an episode of Stephen Universe that's based on her work. Um, 36 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: there are a couple of other cartoons where you see 37 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: things that show up because her is unique and it 38 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: was pretty much the same her entire career, so it's 39 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: really easy to spot. Would people have been influenced by it? 40 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: So A Lotta was born Charlotte Elizabeth eleanor Reineger at 41 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: the very end of the nineteenth century on June two eight. 42 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: She was born in Berlin, Charlottenburg, Germany, and Latta was 43 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: interested in silhouettes and paper cutting from the time she 44 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 1: was a child. She was also interested in other forms 45 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,079 Speaker 1: of art. She painted, and she put on plays there 46 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: in the house. She really loved acting, but her scissors 47 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: and her skill with them would dominate her life, and 48 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: to her this was just something she did almost unconsciously. 49 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: Paper Cutting as a folk art was really common in 50 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: Germany and Switzerland at the time that had been influenced 51 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: largely by Asian artwork that had had been kind of 52 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: migrated its way over, and that interest was very big 53 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: in Europe, but a lot of really excelled at it 54 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 1: in a way that seemed effortless. She wrote an article 55 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: for Site and Sound magazine in nineteen thirty six, and 56 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:07,400 Speaker 1: here's something that she wrote in it quote, I will 57 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: attempt to answer the questions which I am nearly always 58 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: asked by people who watch me making the silhouettes. Firstly, 59 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: how on earth did you get the idea? And secondly, 60 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: how do they move? And why are your hands not 61 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: seen on screen? The answer to the first is to 62 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 1: be found in the short and simple history of my 63 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 1: own life. I never had the feeling that my silhouette 64 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:29,399 Speaker 1: cutting was an idea. It so happened that I could 65 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: always do it quite easily, as you will see from 66 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: what follows. I could cut silhouettes almost as soon as 67 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: I could manage to hold a pair of scissors. I 68 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: could paint, too, and read and recite. But these things 69 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: did not surprise anyone very much. But everybody was astonished 70 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: about the scissor cuts, which seemed a more unusual accomplishment. 71 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: She also, as she said, enjoyed theater. She loved to 72 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: put on plays well into her teens, and at one 73 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: point she described her early attempts at staging plays in 74 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: her family's small apartment to be a little bit chaotic 75 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: because of the space limitations. But then when she started 76 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: using her silhouettes to put on shows, it solved the problem. 77 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: She made herself a small, little shadow theater, and she staged, 78 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: among other things, Shakespearean plays in it. When she started 79 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,119 Speaker 1: studying under theatrical director Max Reinhardt, she would watch all 80 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,039 Speaker 1: of the plays staged the theater from the wings, and 81 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: she was so taken by the actors as seen from 82 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: that angle, that she started cutting out silhouettes of them 83 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: while she was watching the shows. Yeah, it really was 84 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: like one of those things. It's almost how if you 85 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: know someone who knits and they take their knitting everywhere 86 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: with them and they'll have full, long conversations with you 87 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: while they're banging out a sweater or something very similar. 88 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: She would just show the scissors in paper all the time. 89 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: She started her professional career at seventeen, when she was 90 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: hired first to make title cards and then to make 91 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: rat puppets for director Paul Wegener. Those rats were for 92 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 1: the film The Pied Piper of Hamlin, and Lata had 93 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: actually been inspired to study with Reinhardt at the theater 94 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: after attending a lecture by Veganer, which had led her 95 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: to the decision to become an actress. Veganer had first 96 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,600 Speaker 1: tried to use live rats for his film, but they 97 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: panicked and they ran everywhere except after the actor playing 98 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: the Pied Piper, which was what the action called for, 99 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: so he ended up having to go with the wooden rats, 100 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: which had earlier been dismissed as two time consuming a possibility. 101 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: Veganer had seen lots of backstage at the theater run 102 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 1: by Max Reinhardt cutting out all her silhouettes, and he 103 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: was fascinated. He liked the way she captured movement with 104 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 1: paper and shadow, and he introduced her to other artists 105 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: who were experimenting with the new medium of animation, and 106 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 1: just as Veganaer had been fascinated with her cutouts, she 107 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 1: was fascinated with animation, later writing quote, this was in 108 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:47,159 Speaker 1: and the work was so interesting that from that time 109 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: I have rarely done anything else. Within a couple of years, 110 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: Lata was making her own films, short silhouette animations for 111 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: the German Institute of Cultural Research, and this institute was 112 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,480 Speaker 1: set up to be sort of a workshop where art 113 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: and science came together in film, and it quickly became 114 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: identified as a nexus of experimental animation. So during those 115 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: early years, a lot of love of fairy tales was 116 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:15,280 Speaker 1: a prime force in this creative endeavor. Her short animation 117 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 1: of the Cinderella story is captivating. It starts out with 118 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: the animator's hands visible as silhouettes, shows Cinderella being cut 119 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: from the paper to come to life, almost as if 120 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,720 Speaker 1: by magic. Yeah. I was watching this last night while 121 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: I was prepping, and my husband did not know what 122 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:35,720 Speaker 1: I was watching because I had my headphones on. It's silent, 123 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: but there's often you'll see it posted with music attached 124 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:41,279 Speaker 1: to it. And I was really squirming in my seat 125 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:42,720 Speaker 1: and he's like, what are you watching? And I was 126 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: like a lot of rhydingers Cinderella, and he's like, is 127 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 1: it that troubling? And I was like, somehow with cutout 128 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 1: silhouette paper, the cutting of the foot is really upsetting, 129 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:58,920 Speaker 1: Like she really like animates, like the spurty blood in silhouette, 130 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 1: and it was it could just be that I was 131 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: in one of those states where I was highly susceptible 132 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:08,160 Speaker 1: to just being kind of squeamish about something. But it's 133 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: oddly affecting to see it in that stark contrast. And uh. 134 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 1: One of the people in that art scene that Paul 135 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: Wegener introduced Lat too was art historian Carl Koch, who 136 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: was also part of that experimental animation group, and the 137 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: pair meant in nineteen nineteen, and they were married two 138 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: years later on December six. Lata's and Carl's relationship was 139 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: not just romantic. They were artistic partners, and they worked 140 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: together for the rest of their lives on projects. Lata 141 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: tended to lead artistically, while Carl helmed the technical aspects 142 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 1: of their various projects and handled the camera. In the 143 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,239 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties, they spent their time between Berlin and Paris, 144 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: and they were deep in the modern art scene. German 145 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: playwright and poet bertle Brecht was a friend and an 146 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: avid supporter. Film director and author Genre Noir was also 147 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: a friend and a fan, and aimless Lee said of 148 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: Ranneger quote she was born with magic hands. Logic described 149 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 1: Berlin at the time as a place of quote many 150 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: artists who went their own ways and tried out new 151 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 1: methods of animating films. Yeah, it was a you know, 152 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 1: that unique time that throughout Europe. I think in any 153 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: of the the sort of capital cities, there was a 154 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:23,679 Speaker 1: lot of really interesting art happening post World War One, 155 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: as everybody was kind of recovering just the way people 156 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: looked at the world had changed, and so a lot 157 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 1: of really interesting stuff was going on. Louis Hagen was 158 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: another important male figure in lat of his early career. 159 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 1: Hagen was a banker and he saw a lot of potential, 160 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,320 Speaker 1: so much so that he provided his own money for 161 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 1: her to make her first feature links film. He had 162 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: also invested in film stock at the time, and this 163 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:50,680 Speaker 1: was actually a pretty unique situation because a lot of 164 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: it wasn't pitching a movie to potential investors or anything. 165 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: It wasn't like she said, I have a project and 166 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,560 Speaker 1: I need someone to fund it. She, like other animators, 167 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 1: was making short fun film holmes at the institute, and 168 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 1: at the time, a ten minute animated film was considered long. 169 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 1: So when Haggins saw a lot of work and then 170 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: asked if it was possible to make a feature length 171 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 1: shadow puppet film, it was pretty visionary on his part, 172 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 1: although the initial reaction amongst most people was that it 173 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 1: was a terrifying idea because it was so ambitious, but Reineger, 174 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 1: Coke and the collaborators that they worked with all thought 175 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,160 Speaker 1: that it was a really interesting idea and they decided 176 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,079 Speaker 1: to try it. The Adventures of Prince Ahmed was the result, 177 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: and this is often cited by film historians as the 178 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,360 Speaker 1: first animated feature film, rather than Snow White, which is 179 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: the what is the popular memory was the first one. 180 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 1: Prince Ahmed pre dates Disney's Snow White by more than 181 00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: a decade. Rinneger's film came out in while Disney's movie 182 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 1: had in nineteen thirty seven release. Whether that discrepancy is 183 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: due to lat of film being a smaller release or 184 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:00,559 Speaker 1: simply having been foreign and not picked up by English 185 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:03,680 Speaker 1: language press is not quite clear. Yeah, we'll talk about 186 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:05,960 Speaker 1: it in a bit, but getting distribution for that film 187 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:07,719 Speaker 1: was a little bit tricky, so that may have been 188 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: part of it. But also I think some of it 189 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:12,920 Speaker 1: too is just the Disney engine of pr right, Like, 190 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: at that point in the nineteen thirties, Disney was well known. 191 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,200 Speaker 1: He had already done uh you know, Steamboat Willie of 192 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:21,679 Speaker 1: course had happened, and he was already seen in the 193 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:24,560 Speaker 1: the US as really a visionary and so I think 194 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: that story kind of balloon and poor Lotta's work was 195 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 1: left a little behind in terms of historical record. As 196 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: an asside to we should mention that there's actually a 197 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 1: third film that sometimes comes up as a possible precursor 198 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: to both Snow White and Prince Ahmed as a feature 199 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:44,199 Speaker 1: length animation, and that is a project completed in Argentina 200 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventeen titled l Apostole, and that film was 201 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:52,160 Speaker 1: created by Carrie no Christianity. And the problem in this 202 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: one lies with verification because While Apostole may have been 203 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: the first animated feature no Prince of the film survived, 204 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,080 Speaker 1: so we don't actually know whether it was long enough 205 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 1: to qualify for the title of first feature length animated film. 206 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: We're going to talk more about the specifics of the 207 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: Adventures of Prince Ahmed and how it was made, but 208 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: first we are going to pause for a sponsor break. 209 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: The production of Prince Ahmed ran from three to nineteen 210 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: twenty six. Lata and her husband Carl thought that in 211 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:31,000 Speaker 1: telling the story as a silhouette puppet animation, they could 212 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,079 Speaker 1: side step the technical problems that a live action version 213 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 1: of that story would have, and they could be completely 214 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 1: creative in ways that would be stifled if they had 215 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:42,240 Speaker 1: to worry about things like sets and actors and logistics. 216 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:45,400 Speaker 1: Having a huge crew. For example, a demon made with 217 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: a paper cutout wouldn't have any of the limitations that 218 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: it would in live action. You would have to worry 219 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 1: about a costume looking right or realistic or any of that. 220 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 1: And similarly, carpets and horses could take flight without a 221 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 1: massive crew wrangling pulleys or worrying about act or safety. 222 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: The film wasn't made by the two of them alone. 223 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 1: They had a small team to help them bring the 224 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,679 Speaker 1: idea to life. The banker Lewis Hoggins set up an 225 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 1: attic studio for the production. Carl Coke was the producer 226 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:16,480 Speaker 1: a lot it designed, cut and animated all the characters 227 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 1: in the backgrounds. Walter Ruthman headed up the special effects, 228 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 1: creating the fire and the volcanoes and the magic, and 229 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:26,640 Speaker 1: bert Old Bartosh created a sea storm for the film. 230 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: Alexander Karden and Walter Turk worked as a lot as 231 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 1: assistants since her workload was huge. Yeah, and these were 232 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:35,359 Speaker 1: all people that had come out of that same institute 233 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:39,400 Speaker 1: of animation, so they were all friends and collaborators. And 234 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,880 Speaker 1: they had decided early on in the process that they 235 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:44,560 Speaker 1: were going to adapt something from the Arabian Nights, and 236 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:46,840 Speaker 1: the idea was that they wanted to select a subject, 237 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 1: like we were saying above, that could only be done 238 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: with the unique opportunities that a lot of shadow puppets offered. 239 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:55,800 Speaker 1: The team poured over the stories of the Arabian Nights 240 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: and they finally selected the elements that they felt would 241 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 1: be perfect for the film style all that they were planning, 242 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: and then they assembled those elements into a narrative, and 243 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 1: they refined their script until Prince Ahmed's story emerged. As 244 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: the team worked, they were really breaking new ground. The 245 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: idea of making a film and stop motion with silhouette 246 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 1: puppets was new. They didn't even know if what they 247 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: were filming would work until they had the film developed, 248 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 1: so they were working with the knowledge that all the 249 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 1: effort they were putting in could turn out to be 250 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,600 Speaker 1: for nothing. Yeah. Nowadays, when people do stop action, they 251 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,360 Speaker 1: can look right back at it on digital and be like, oh, yeah, 252 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: that one. We're oh no, we gotta go back. It 253 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:34,199 Speaker 1: would be like, we spent twelve hours setting up these 254 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 1: shots and we have garbage to be a heartbreaking way 255 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 1: to do it. Uh. And this was understandably really stressful 256 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 1: for a lot of Uh. There's a lot of talk 257 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: anytime you're reading about the production of Prince Achmed about 258 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 1: how she was having some very real anxiety issues. Uh. 259 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 1: In addition to the unknown nature of the outcome, the 260 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,800 Speaker 1: attic studio that Hoggins set up wasn't very tall. To 261 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: set up the camera that they needed over the animation table, 262 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:02,719 Speaker 1: they had to use all of the vertical space available, 263 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,160 Speaker 1: which meant that Lata was working on a table that 264 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: was very close to the floor, and she actually sat 265 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:10,680 Speaker 1: on a seat that had been removed from a car 266 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:13,920 Speaker 1: and then placed directly on the floor as she assembled shots. 267 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: And this vertical setup was actually very similar but again 268 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 1: predated the multiplane camera that was used by Disney. When 269 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: snow White was being made in the nineteen thirties, volfgang 270 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 1: Zeller was brought in to compose the film's music, and 271 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: because film didn't have embedded sound at this point, it 272 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:33,280 Speaker 1: was common for an orchestra to play live with the films. 273 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,920 Speaker 1: Frames with hues for the conductor were spliced into the 274 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: Adventures of Prince Ahmed so that the score would perfectly 275 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,560 Speaker 1: compliment the visuals on screen. Yeah, the score was one 276 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 1: of those things that latter really felt like would provide 277 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 1: this support structure for the story and like just give 278 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 1: it that extra little something that it might need. Uh. 279 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 1: So that was also a kind of ambitious thing in 280 00:14:56,320 --> 00:15:00,160 Speaker 1: the midst of of early animation. And we'll talk a 281 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: little bit about how she timed that out in a bit. Uh. 282 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 1: There were also some financial challenges that happened during the 283 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:09,080 Speaker 1: three years of film production. So the German economy, of 284 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:11,280 Speaker 1: course was still in a period of recovery from the 285 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 1: First World War, and as the country tried to stabilize, 286 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: there were times when it looked like there Backer Hoggin 287 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:18,960 Speaker 1: might not be able to keep paying for the project, 288 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:22,680 Speaker 1: but he was really quite dedicated, even though in the 289 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: end he never made any money off of this investment, 290 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 1: but he really was devoted to it. Uh And they 291 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,440 Speaker 1: managed to pull it through, and they finished the film 292 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: in early nine six. But even once the film was complete, 293 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 1: there was a problem. No theaters wanted to show it. 294 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: They felt like it didn't look like a complete film. 295 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: So Lata and her team took on a second project, 296 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 1: which was staging a premiere in May of nineteen six. 297 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 1: The Adventures of Prince Akhmed was shown in a small 298 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 1: theater in northern Berlin, who had delighted audience, with Wolfgang 299 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:58,280 Speaker 1: Zeller himself conducting the orchestra. Yeah, apparently he got his 300 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:00,840 Speaker 1: usual orchestra to kind of do it is a favorite 301 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,320 Speaker 1: him because they were basically doing this whole thing on 302 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:06,120 Speaker 1: a shoe string. And this screening turned out to be 303 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 1: something of a comedy of errors. Reineger and her team 304 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,000 Speaker 1: had asked everyone they knew in the arts community to 305 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 1: invite people, and they did that, and they were thinking, oh, 306 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: it's on a Sunday afternoon, no one's going to come anyway, 307 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,280 Speaker 1: But it turned up that way. More people showed up 308 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:23,160 Speaker 1: than they were expecting. Uh, so many so that there 309 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,400 Speaker 1: were arguments among attendees as they tried to jockey for seats, 310 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:29,080 Speaker 1: and then the lens on the projector broke, so Carl 311 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 1: Koch went on a desperate adventure to try to get 312 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 1: a replacement, even though it was Sunday afternoon and all 313 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 1: the shops were closed. He did manage to, however, because 314 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: of the kindness of a shopkeeper. Police arrived and they 315 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,320 Speaker 1: tried to shut the whole event down because the theater 316 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: was overcrowded. And then towards the end when all of 317 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,480 Speaker 1: that was taken care of, a lot of spotted smoke 318 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 1: and she thought that the nitrate film had actually caught fire, 319 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: but thankfully that smoke was coming from damp sacks that 320 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 1: had been stacked on a heating vent who was more 321 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 1: of a steam situation, although probably not terribly safe, uh, 322 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 1: but it was at least not the film catching on 323 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:03,880 Speaker 1: fire and did not cause a panic and stampede of 324 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 1: people running out of the overcrowded theater exactly. She was 325 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:10,600 Speaker 1: very aware that the theater was not a safe place 326 00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:13,560 Speaker 1: for something like that to happen. Despite all this mayhem, though, 327 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:17,000 Speaker 1: the film went on and this was basically an invitation screening, 328 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:20,240 Speaker 1: similar to a press event that might happen today. The 329 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: reviews from the press were spectacular. Yeah. The next day 330 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 1: was like a lot of Reineger celebration day in the press. 331 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 1: Basically uh. Two months later there was another screening in Paris, 332 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:33,440 Speaker 1: which was also a complete success, and this is considered 333 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 1: the film's public opening. It had a three month run 334 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 1: in one theater and then it transferred to another in Paris, 335 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 1: where it ran for six more months. It gained a 336 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 1: worldwide audience, but it still was not shown in a 337 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: lot of own country of Germany. Eventually, a German distributor 338 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 1: bought it and touted it as a detective film. It 339 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: was super weird, but eventually a lot of Reineger took 340 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 1: legal action. She got all the rights to the film 341 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: back and she was able to show it as intended 342 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:01,639 Speaker 1: in her home country. After the success of the Prince 343 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 1: Ahmed project, she turned to the story of doctor Doolittle 344 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,359 Speaker 1: and his animals for her next project. That film, which 345 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:12,280 Speaker 1: has a thirty three minute runtime, debuted in nine. In 346 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,200 Speaker 1: nine she started a new film, this time a live 347 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,719 Speaker 1: action feature called The Pursuit of Happiness. Her live action 348 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:22,439 Speaker 1: directorial debut fell victim to poor industry timing. Between the 349 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:25,160 Speaker 1: start of the film and the finish of it, sound 350 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 1: had become part of the cinema experience, so what had 351 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:30,600 Speaker 1: started out as a silent film was delayed so that 352 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:34,120 Speaker 1: the dialogue could be dubbed in. But that effort went 353 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: really poorly and the film was a failure. After that, 354 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: she made no more live action or feature linked films 355 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:44,120 Speaker 1: and went back to animated shorts for good. And as 356 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: is the case with anyone that we talked about from 357 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,159 Speaker 1: this time period in Europe, the rise of the Nazi 358 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,680 Speaker 1: Party in Germany impacted Reineger's life and work. In the 359 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,480 Speaker 1: nineteen thirties, she and Carl left Germany, in her words 360 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 1: quote because I didn't like this whole Hitler thing, and 361 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,600 Speaker 1: because I had many Jewish friends whom I was no 362 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 1: longer allowed to call friends. In the process, a number 363 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,359 Speaker 1: of her films were lost. She had left the Negatives behind. 364 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,440 Speaker 1: From ninety five until the end of World War Two, 365 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,240 Speaker 1: Lata and Carl lived a pretty nomadic life. They moved 366 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 1: from country to country, but continued their work and continued 367 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: collaborating with other artists. In nineteen forty three they did 368 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: return for a while to Germany. Lata's mother was ill 369 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:25,919 Speaker 1: and the couple took care of her during that time. 370 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: When the war ended, they became British citizens, and once 371 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:32,840 Speaker 1: they settled north of London, they opened a production studio 372 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,720 Speaker 1: called Primrose Production. Their business partner in this venture was 373 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,479 Speaker 1: Louis Haggan Jr. That was the son of the banker 374 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:43,520 Speaker 1: who had funded the adventures of Prince Akman. And this 375 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: was a really prolific time. Lata was incredibly productive in 376 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 1: her new home and she was churning out about a 377 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,639 Speaker 1: half dozen shorts a year initially. Carl died in nineteen 378 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 1: sixty three and Latta was devastated. She started to become 379 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,119 Speaker 1: more withdrawn. She stopped working. She made no films for 380 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:03,000 Speaker 1: the next decade as she mourned her partner in life 381 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,280 Speaker 1: and art. But Lata did not stay hidden away forever. 382 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:08,640 Speaker 1: And when we come back, we'll talk about her later 383 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,199 Speaker 1: career a little bit. But first we're going to pause 384 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:19,360 Speaker 1: for a word from one of our sponsors. In nineteen nine, 385 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:22,440 Speaker 1: Lata Reineger returned to Germany for the first time since 386 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,359 Speaker 1: the end of the war. Her work was being rediscovered 387 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,760 Speaker 1: by art enthusiasts in Germany and abroad, and this really 388 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,479 Speaker 1: led to a second phase of her career. She started 389 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 1: a lecture tour in the United States. She loved sharing 390 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 1: her knowledge with others and wasn't the least bit secretive 391 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,239 Speaker 1: about telling people exactly how her films were made. Then 392 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:43,679 Speaker 1: doing so, she got excited about making animation again, and 393 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: in these talks, Reineger described her animation technique is very simple. 394 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:51,199 Speaker 1: She would literally use words like primitive and caveman to 395 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: describe her art. Even though the look of her animation 396 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: feels almost enchanted. It does not seem primitive at all, 397 00:20:57,320 --> 00:20:59,800 Speaker 1: even to modern eyes, I don't think, But to her 398 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 1: it was just a matter of following a series of 399 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,199 Speaker 1: simple steps, time consuming, but she didn't think there was 400 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,240 Speaker 1: anything special or difficult or unique about it. This reminds 401 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: me of um like people who are really really skilled 402 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:15,680 Speaker 1: and adept at at something will be like, oh it's easy, 403 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:19,800 Speaker 1: you just do this, and well, okay, that's easy. For you, 404 00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: not not for me so much so. She would cut 405 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,919 Speaker 1: her figures out of black cardboard and thin lead. The 406 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:30,360 Speaker 1: lead sections helped keep the paper flat. She would attach 407 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: the limbs that hinged joints with the pieces wired together, 408 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,680 Speaker 1: and then to create the appearance of movement, the figures 409 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:40,200 Speaker 1: were photographed frame by frame with minuscule shifts in their 410 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 1: postures and limbs, so that once the frames were run 411 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,160 Speaker 1: all in succession, the characters moved. This is really similar 412 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: to how stop motion animation is filmed, but in this 413 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:53,119 Speaker 1: case the puppets are flat. The backgrounds were also cut paper, 414 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,119 Speaker 1: but that medium was transparent and it was layered to 415 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,919 Speaker 1: create shifts in the background. Yeah. Her background stuff is 416 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: so beautiful and looks so rich to me. I just 417 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,679 Speaker 1: encourage everybody to watch one of hers, because you'll be like, 418 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 1: that's just paper, but it's really really beautiful. Uh. The 419 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:14,879 Speaker 1: figures and the backgrounds were laid on a backlit glass 420 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,760 Speaker 1: table for photography, and the light was bright enough that 421 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 1: it caused the various wires at the hinges to disappear 422 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,680 Speaker 1: visually as the frames were captured one by one on 423 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: that camera suspended over the glass table to keep the 424 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,120 Speaker 1: soundtrack and the animation timed together. A lot of would 425 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:33,200 Speaker 1: time out the soundtrack and then use that to calculate 426 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 1: how many frames she needed for the piece of music 427 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 1: she was using. Based on needing twenty four frames per second. 428 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:43,640 Speaker 1: That calculation was basically a shot list as she advanced 429 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:45,879 Speaker 1: her camera one frame at a time to create the 430 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:49,440 Speaker 1: finished piece of film. There are an estimated three hundred 431 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:53,280 Speaker 1: thousand shots in Prince Ahmed. Yeah, to elaborate on that 432 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:55,640 Speaker 1: just a little. So basically she'd be like, Okay, this 433 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 1: music has four bars of this melody that I want 434 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:04,160 Speaker 1: to use, and it takes six seconds or whatever. I'm 435 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: probably coming up with completely, um ridiculous numbers here. But 436 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:11,040 Speaker 1: then she would multiply that by twenty four and realized 437 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:13,560 Speaker 1: that was the number of frames she had for you know, 438 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:16,719 Speaker 1: this character to gesture carefully or whatever. And so she 439 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:18,960 Speaker 1: would break that down and be like, that means I 440 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,440 Speaker 1: have to move it this much per frame to complete 441 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 1: this gesture. Painstaking, yes, but to her it's so simple. Um. 442 00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:29,480 Speaker 1: There's a really good video that I will include in 443 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 1: the show notes that was made kind of later in 444 00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:33,960 Speaker 1: her life that is a little bit of a mind 445 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,040 Speaker 1: blower because it is that thing where it's somebody that 446 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,720 Speaker 1: goes it's so easy. And you see her cutting out 447 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:44,159 Speaker 1: a character from one of her things, and she draws 448 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 1: like the most rudimentary guide before she starts cutting, but 449 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 1: then she's really fast and then it comes out and 450 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,199 Speaker 1: it looks perfect. And then she doesn't even draw, and 451 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,119 Speaker 1: she's cutting legs and arms and putting it all together, 452 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 1: and she looks like a sorceress lady. None of it 453 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:01,720 Speaker 1: seems like a human could be assembling at all and 454 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 1: bringing it to life that quickly. Again, she was clearly 455 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,880 Speaker 1: very skilled. That's why people marveled at her as a child. Um. 456 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,640 Speaker 1: But in nineteen eighty Lata made her last film, which 457 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,480 Speaker 1: was called The Four Seasons, and then she died on 458 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 1: June nineteenth, nineteen eighty one, after having just turned eight two. 459 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:22,240 Speaker 1: In recent years, the Adventures of Prince Ahmed has been restored, 460 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,880 Speaker 1: and this was a painstaking process. As we mentioned earlier, 461 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 1: there was no existing camera negative, and none of the 462 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 1: original German prince survived either, but the British Film Institute 463 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,600 Speaker 1: has a colored nitrate positive of the film with English intertitles. 464 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: Those are those transition cards that appear in older films, 465 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:43,399 Speaker 1: so the audience can read exposition or character dialogue. This 466 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:45,199 Speaker 1: is a copy that is meant to be used to 467 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: create other copies because of its delicate nature and because 468 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,480 Speaker 1: they realized this is an important thing to preserve. Three 469 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,879 Speaker 1: black and white duplicate negatives were made of that nitrate 470 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:59,199 Speaker 1: positive over the years, one in five, one in nineteen 471 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:02,800 Speaker 1: fifty five, one in nine nine, and then those copies 472 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 1: were the ones that were used to make additional copies 473 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:08,160 Speaker 1: of the film. But the nitrate positive has been well 474 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:11,040 Speaker 1: cared for and it is in relatively good shape. So 475 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 1: the film restoration lab Lamagine Retrovata and Bologna, Italy was 476 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,760 Speaker 1: able to make a new, beautiful copy of the film 477 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:22,800 Speaker 1: with the score intact. It was released by Milestone Films 478 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,439 Speaker 1: in two thousand one, and it's now available on home video, 479 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:29,400 Speaker 1: so a whole new audience can discover this very haunting 480 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 1: and imaginative artistry. Yeah, it's a really fun movie. UM, 481 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,200 Speaker 1: I have not been able to find it. I saw 482 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:38,399 Speaker 1: a note somewhere that someone said it had been on 483 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:40,840 Speaker 1: film Struck if you are a subscriber to that service 484 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:42,400 Speaker 1: and you want to see it, but I can't find 485 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:44,240 Speaker 1: it on film struck currently, so I don't know if 486 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,199 Speaker 1: it's like Netflix whereas something's come and go, but it 487 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:49,680 Speaker 1: is available on home video if you are looking for it. 488 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:53,240 Speaker 1: Over the course of her six decade career, a lot 489 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 1: of Reineger made almost sixty films. This is a woman 490 00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:00,919 Speaker 1: working in animation directing all of these films, which is 491 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,840 Speaker 1: why people call her a trailblazer. But she was so 492 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:09,160 Speaker 1: under the radar, I think, particularly for us uh consumers, 493 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:11,919 Speaker 1: that nobody realized like, oh, there's this amazing woman director 494 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:15,080 Speaker 1: making all of these really beautiful films. About twenty of 495 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,879 Speaker 1: her films, unfortunately have been lost. And I wanted to 496 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: close out with a quote from Lata because it illustrates 497 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 1: just how much she preferred to focus on the art 498 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: of her work rather than analyzing the technical aspects of it, which, 499 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,239 Speaker 1: as you recall we mentioned, it's kind of more her 500 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:33,439 Speaker 1: husband Carl's domain. And this quote is again from that 501 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,440 Speaker 1: nineteen six essay that she wrote for Site and Sound magazine. 502 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,200 Speaker 1: She wrote, quote, there remains a good deal to say 503 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:42,359 Speaker 1: about the artistic problems of this type of film, about 504 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:45,600 Speaker 1: its future, and about its value. But I am content 505 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 1: to leave these matters to those people whose profession it 506 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:51,399 Speaker 1: is to bother about such problems. I feel that I 507 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:53,879 Speaker 1: do better to concentrate on making the films, and on 508 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:57,240 Speaker 1: making as many as my good luck allows. Each new 509 00:26:57,280 --> 00:26:59,960 Speaker 1: film raises new problems and questions, and I can own 510 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,719 Speaker 1: hope to live long enough to do justice to them all. 511 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:06,240 Speaker 1: Kind of a good encapsulation of what she was like, 512 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:10,880 Speaker 1: because she really was like especially I think after she 513 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,240 Speaker 1: you know, did not enjoy trying to get into live 514 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:17,600 Speaker 1: action film and had some some other problems where she 515 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:19,359 Speaker 1: was like, look, this is when I'm good at and 516 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:21,800 Speaker 1: I really like doing it, and I think it's magical 517 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,560 Speaker 1: and fun, and I'm gonna keep going forever. Just an 518 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:27,639 Speaker 1: interesting Very few people have that kind of career focus 519 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:31,200 Speaker 1: their entire lives. Yeah, she had a lot of beautiful stuff. 520 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,360 Speaker 1: I encourage people, Like I said, we'll include that that 521 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:37,119 Speaker 1: video of her, a link to that video in our 522 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,280 Speaker 1: show notes. But if you just tootle around the web 523 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:42,840 Speaker 1: looking at her work, you'll be delighted and probably in 524 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:45,080 Speaker 1: a rabbit hole for a long time. So I apologize 525 00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:47,320 Speaker 1: for any time you may lose, but it's well spent 526 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,880 Speaker 1: in my opinion. You have some listener mail for us 527 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:52,800 Speaker 1: It is from our listener, Patty, and she says greetings 528 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,360 Speaker 1: and salutations. I listened to your podcast while I met 529 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,880 Speaker 1: my full time weekday job at Case Western Reserve University 530 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:02,199 Speaker 1: Medical Library. She works at inter Library Loan, which I 531 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:07,040 Speaker 1: did briefly at Oglethorpe University. Uh. You might notice that 532 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:08,600 Speaker 1: the flip side of this letter is a page from 533 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:10,960 Speaker 1: a photo copied article that is now ready to be 534 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,280 Speaker 1: reused and recycled. I love when people do that, so 535 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:17,240 Speaker 1: thank you. However, you might find my part time weekend 536 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:19,880 Speaker 1: job far more interesting. She works as a gallery guard 537 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:22,480 Speaker 1: at the Cleveland Museum of Art. What I do find 538 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:24,439 Speaker 1: it interesting. I have been to that museum and I 539 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,919 Speaker 1: like it keeps. I've enclosed some booklets from recent and 540 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,720 Speaker 1: ongoing installations I thought you might be interested in, including 541 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:37,919 Speaker 1: Fashionable Mourners. That's good stuff. Uh. Conserving Caravaggio, William Morris 542 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 1: Designing in Earthly Paradise, and my favorite road down one 543 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 1: hundred years his The Thinker is probably one of the 544 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:45,400 Speaker 1: most parodied works of art, and the c m A 545 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:48,400 Speaker 1: has the most notorious copy, the one that was vandalized 546 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:52,040 Speaker 1: by an explosion in nineteen seventy. She bookmarked the page 547 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:54,000 Speaker 1: in the book about it so that we could see 548 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:56,480 Speaker 1: it easily. So there's plenty here to you and over 549 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 1: because the c m A is pretty darned awesome. Awesome, 550 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:01,000 Speaker 1: I agree, And then she may it's a really interesting 551 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:04,160 Speaker 1: um suggestion for a story. But she said us so 552 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:08,320 Speaker 1: much material from the museum that I I love this stuff. 553 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 1: It is no secret. You guys have heard me wax 554 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:14,560 Speaker 1: rapsodic about museums many times on the show for museum catalogs. 555 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,640 Speaker 1: Are like, oh that's good stuff. That's one of my 556 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:20,520 Speaker 1: favorite things on earth. So thank you, thank you, thank you, Patty, 557 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,320 Speaker 1: because this is a delight and I feel very spoiled. 558 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,320 Speaker 1: I love it. I will be kept very busy and 559 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:31,000 Speaker 1: out of trouble hopefully for a while. With these I 560 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:33,200 Speaker 1: saw them sitting here on the table, and because I'm 561 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:37,720 Speaker 1: not in this studio physically with you often, it didn't 562 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:39,880 Speaker 1: occur to me that they were something that you brought 563 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 1: in here for a listener mail. I was like, who 564 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 1: left all this art on the table? That's cool? Huh, 565 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 1: it is cool, and it was Patty. Uh So if 566 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:49,719 Speaker 1: you would like the right, guys, you can do so 567 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:52,640 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at House to works dot com. You 568 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,080 Speaker 1: can also find us across the spectrum of social media 569 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:57,400 Speaker 1: as Missed in History, and we are at missed in 570 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:00,520 Speaker 1: History dot com, where you can visit us to see 571 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 1: all of the episodes, see and listen to all of 572 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,239 Speaker 1: the episodes that have ever existed on the show from 573 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 1: the very beginning, and you can get some show notes 574 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:09,200 Speaker 1: for any of the episodes that Tracy and I have 575 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:11,960 Speaker 1: worked on together. So come and visit us and missed 576 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:20,280 Speaker 1: in History dot com and we'll explore history together. For 577 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics because it 578 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:26,680 Speaker 1: how staff works dot com. M