Louise Beaudet, film curator and head of the Animation Department at the Cinematheque Quebecoise, has been instrumental in the recent rediscovery and revival of the films of Charles R. (Charley) Bowers (1889-1946). Tonight she discusses the odd life and career of this “notorious figure of animation's early days, considered one of the cleverest cartoonists and animators of his time,” and presents six rare Bowers films.
Bowers began producing animated cartoons around 1912, translating to the screen the Katzenjammer Kids, Happy Hooligan, Jerry on the Job and Bringing Up Father cartoons. In association with Raoul Barre and cartoonist Bud Fisher, he created the successful Mutt & Jeff cartoon series in 1916, which continued for many years. By 1927, Bowers was making short live-action films in which he starred and interacted with marionnettes and animated objects. By 1928, he had perfected the “Bowers Process,” with which he achieved astonishing special effects. In these surrealistic Bowers Comedies, eggs hatch Ford automobiles, a Christmas tree grows out of a farmer, a mouse shoots a cat with a revolver, Charley grows a bush which in turn sprouts cats.... “Bowers can conceive the most glorious idiocy,” noted a contemporary Photoplay review. “He is a master of camera wizardry. Every short feature bearing his name proves the camera is a monumental liar.”
The films included in tonight's program are: A Kick for Cinderella: Written and Animated by Charles R. Bowers (Mutt & Jeff series, 1916-1922, 9 mins, Silent (18 fps), 35mm). Egged On: Directed and Written by Bowers, H. L. Muller and Ted Sears. With Bowers. (Whirlwind Comedy series, 1926, 20 mins, Silent (22 fps), 35mm). A Wild Roomer: Directed by Bowers and Muller. With Bowers. (Whirlwind Comedy series, 1926, 20 mins, Silent (22 fps), 35mm). Now You Tell One: Directed by Bowers and Muller. Story by Bowers, Muller and Sears. With Bowers. (1926, 20 mins, Silent (18 fps), 35mm). Pete Roleum and His Cousins (excerpt): Puppets: Cohn, Lou Bunin & brother, Set and Puppet Design by Howard Bay, Photographed by Muller, Animation by Bowers, Music by Hanns Eisler, Lyrics by Eisler and Joseph Losey, A Presentation of Joseph Losey for the Petroleum Exhibition at the World's Fair in New York. (1939, 5 mins, 35mm, Color). It's a Bird: Directed and Photographed by Muller. Produced under the Bowers Process. Animation by Bowers. Sound by Clarence Wall. With Bowers. (A Lowell Thomas Tall Story, 1930, 15 mins).