Entertainment to Grow On...
...the story of Xerox Films
by Rob Craig
Any aficionado of world children's cinema is likely familiar with THE WISHING MACHINE, THE MAGIC OF THE KITE and KINGDOM IN THE CLOUDS, three films released in the U.S. and Canada in the early 1970's to the Kiddie Matinee market. These excellent fantasies have earned an august reputation amongst fans of the genre, and rightly so. However, little was known about the folks who released this trilogy, Xerox Films, other than the assumption that it was a subsidiary of the photocopy giant, Xerox Corporation, of Stamford, Connecticut.
At first blush, it might appear that distributing kiddie films was an atypical activity for a major manufacturing and service corporation, but when you consider Xerox's overall history, it makes perfect sense. Joseph C. Wilson, the fellow that turned Haloid Co. into Xerox Corporation, was a staunch supporter of education, having served on the board of trustees for the University of Rochester and donating liberally to the institution.
Xerox Films was a small part of the Xerox Education Group (XEG), which began in early 1962 with the acquisition of University Microfilms, Inc., and by 1965 included Basic Systems, Inc. and American Education Publications, Inc. BSI operated the Women's Job Corps Training Center in Huntington, West Virginia for the Office of Economic Opportunity and also created schooling materials designed for many different levels of achievement. AEP, best known for producing the legendary educational newspapers My Weekly Reader and Current Events, also published many educational materials covering all levels of primary and elementary education. American Education Publications changed its name to Xerox Education Publications in 1972.
According to Ann A. Neal of the Xerox historical archives, Xerox Films was first mentioned in Xerox's 1970 annual report to shareholders: "Another new company, Xerox Films, completed its first full year of operation in 1970 and has begun production and acquisition of motion pictures and audio-visual materials both for the education and consumer markets."
Heading the Xerox Films project was Thomas D. Anglim. Anglim enlisted the aid of audio-visual guru Robert Braverman to help acquire and ready the films for market. Knowing that their budget did not allow for the creation of original productions, Anglim sought out foreign film properties which could be purchased inexpensively and reworked for an American audience. In this, Xerox Films followed the lead of other players in the Kiddie Matinee field such as K. Gordon Murray and Barry Yellen's Childhood Productions.
Like these importer-producers, Anglim and Co. sought out the services of one Gerald Rappoport, long considered one of the most successful "brokers", or importers, of films from Eastern Europe. Rappoport had strong ties with many film exchanges in Europe and elsewhere, and was able to round up almost a dozen above-average children's films from France, Canada, Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere.
Xerox Films purchased U.S. distribution rights to the package, and enlisted the aid of Belluci Productions in New York to translate the films to the English-Language, for the U.S. and Canadian Kiddie Matinee market. Janet Waggener worked on the scripts, while Robert Braverman wrote theme songs for the films.
The original Xerox Film package included the following films:
THE WISHING MACHINE (Automat na prání) (1967, Czech)
THE MAGIC OF THE KITE (Cerf-volant du bout du monde) (1958, France/China)
Cast: Patrick de Bardine, Sylviane Rozenberg, Gerard Szymanski, Monique Hoa, Tchen-Ming-Tchen, Lou-P'Ung, Alain Astie, Raphael Hassan.
KINGDOM IN THE CLOUDS (Tinerete fara batrînete) (1968, Romania)
THE HERO PRINCE: THE LEGEND OF HARAP ALB (De-as fi Harap Alb) (1965, Romania)
BLIND BIRD (Slepaya ptitsa) (1963, USSR)
GRANDPA CHILLE CHALLA (A Varázsló) (1969, Hungary)
DOGS TO THE RESCUE (aka Silent Friends) (1969, Canada/Romania)
THE CHRISTMAS MARTIAN (Le Martien de Noël) (1971, Canada)
JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE GROWN UP (Dospeláci muzou vsechno) (1969, Czech)
A CHILD FOR TONY (Tony, tobe preskocilo) (1968, Czech)
***
This worldwide potpourri of eclectic children's cinema is certainly impressive, and Xerox no doubt had high hopes for this series of "art films for kids".
In 1971, Xerox Films released the first three films in the series. Starting with THE WISHING MACHINE in February, followed by THE MAGIC OF THE KITE and KINGDOM IN THE CLOUDS in November. Marketed under the banner "Entertainment to Grow ON", Xerox Films emphasised in their publicity material that these were "Special" films for kids, not the run of the mill Kiddie Matinee product, which by now likely had a bad reputation. In the case of the three inagural releases, they were certainly correct; all three are exceptional fantasy films with much to recommend them. However, Xerox was perhaps not prepared for the radical change in the Kiddie Matinee market a full decade after its inception by K. Gordon Murray with his 1960 release SANTA CLAUS.
By 1971, the influence of 1960's culture had hit full force, with psychedelic imagery, pop art design and stroboscopic editing appearing even in children's film and TV product (witness "Sesame Street" and "The Electric Company"). Thus, the charming but quaint Xerox releases, with their overt European patina, likely seemed "corny" or "old-fashioned" to the somewhat sophisticated Kiddie Matinee audience of the 1970s.
At any rate, boxoffice business on all three films was dismal. It was decided to shelve the remaining releases, and the first three films were leased to Paramount Pictures, were they were re-released a few years later under Paramount's "Family Matinee" series of new films and classic film revivals.
Meanwhile, the Xerox subsidiaries providing educational materials continued to grow, producing and distributing varied educational products of high quality, many of which won awards. Following is a list of Xerox Education Publications film releases, circa 1980, with producers and dates where known:
BETWEEN RATIONAL NUMBERS (1969) Davidson films, William Van Horn
GRAMMAR ROCK (1975)“Based on the TV program of happy foot tapping sessions of what might otherwise be dull grammar lessons. Titles are - A Noun Is A Person, Place Or Thing, Conjunction Junction - Interjections - Verb, That's Where The Action Is - Lolly, Lolly, Lolly - Get Your Adverbs Here.”
ADVANCED EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP SKILLS LEADERSHIP/SUPERVISION (1981) “Learn to support, understand, enhance value, and manage conflict.”
THE EYE OF THE STORM: EQUAL EMPLOYMENT & DIVERSITY (1970) with William Peters and Bill Beutel. “Teacher in an Iowa farm community teaches children what it feels like to be discriminated against.” shows how a teacher introduces her class to the realities of prejudice and the reaction of the students and community to the exercise. (video release of the ABC-TV program “Now!”)
TEACHING GUIDE TO THE ANCIENT GAMES, narrated by Erich Segal, and featuring Rafer Johnson and Bill Toomey.
CHILDREN OF THE FIELDS (1973) “The story of a migrant working family, with attention a the middle daughter.”
A WOMAN'S PLACE. (1974) Producer ABC. “Gives a comprehensive look at the many and varied ways that the traditional role of women is changing in American society. Traces the influences which created and perpetuate the old image of women, presenting examples of children's books, toys, film clips, TV commercials and advertisements, as well as personal statements from women in all walks of life. Contrasts the opposing viewpoints on the question of biological differences and role differences between men and women through interviews with Estelle Ramey, Lionel Tiger, and others. Details examples of how women are rethinking their roles and reaching out to cope with their many new potentials and freedoms through courses on women's studies, encounter groups, and conferences.”
THE MYSTERIOUS NOTE : WORD POWER (1978) “Uses a mystery-adventure format to reinforce vocabulary.”
A CRICKET IN TIMES SQUARE (1976) “A cricket, a cat, a mouse and a boy named Mario help the boy's parents revive their newsstand business. Realistic city sound effects heighten the drama of this modern fantasy.”
BIG BROWN EYES, LITTLE BROWN EYES: A COUNTRY ADVENTURE (1975). “A story about a young girl who explores a dairy farm while her father changes a flat tire.”
HINDUISM, THE MANY PATHS TO GOD, (1974), ABC News. ”Explores several facets of the Hindu religion as practiced in India. Shows how people worship many different gods in festivals, celebrations, and in private meditation.”
I’M GOING TO BE THE LION’S HEAD. “An ‘ABC’ (American Born Chinese) from San Francisco explains some of the Chinese New Year customs while training for his part in the lion dance.”
Ironicaly, Xerox did better in this arena than it did in the cutthroat and mercurial Kiddie Matinee market. Xerox Educational Products lists releases through the early 1980s, when it was likely disbanded due to the upcoming video cassette revolution.
***
Curiously, the original Xerox Films package has surfaced on a little-known videotape series called "Specially For Kids". These rare titles, released in 1993, can still be found at some public libraries (which is where we stumbled on them, thanks to our detective in the field, Marc Berezin).
Xerox Films was a great idea, possibly launched at the wrong time or in a market that simply didn't care about quality, but the features they imported surely deserve a better fate than they received. These wonderfully progressive "art films for kids" extolled the virtues of knowledge, brotherhood, education, and creative thought in vehicles both entertaining and enlightening. In our humble opinion, if the English-language prints could be located and restored, an "Entertainment to Grow On" DVD release is definitely in order!
For further reading about the invention of xerography, and Xerox Corporation's early history:
(Our thanks to Ann A. Neal, Ron Merk, Marc Berezin and Gerald Rappoport for their assistance in compiling material for this article.)
first posted 02-16-05
produced by Ceskoslovensky Filmexport and Societe Generale de Production.
Original scenario, director, Josef Pinkava ; adaptation, Jiri Blazek ; director of photography, Jiri Kolin.
Cast: Rudolf Deyl, Karel Effa, Frantisek Filipovsky, Josef Hlinomaz, Miloslav Holub, Oldrich Velen, Milan Zeman, Vit Weingartner.
Summary "Two young boys, Charlie and Tom attend a world's fair and gather up every available piece of literature about the world of tomorrow. While telling their friends of the visit to the fair, they invent a wishing machine that will make anyone's wish come true. They wish for a trip to the moon ..." 75m
a co-production of Garance, Tourane Films S.A., Cocinor, Studio de Pekin.
Based upon a story by Roger Pigaut. Credits Scenario and adaptation, Roger Pigaut, Antoine Tudal, Wang-Kia-Yi ; music, Louis Bessieres ; additional Oriental music, Tuan-Se-Tchung ; director of photography, Henri Alekan ; director, Roger Pigaut ; associate director, Wang-Kia-Yio
Summary "Several Parisian children discover a magnificent kite that contains a message written in Chinese. They take it to a Chinese antique dealer who tells them that it is from a boy in China who let the wind carry the kite away in hopes that he would make contact with someone in a far-away land. That night, a legendary Chinese magician appears to the children, and flies them off for a series of adventures in the ancient city of Peking."- 74m
a production of Bucharest Film Studio
Written for the screen & directed by Elisabeta Bostan ; music, Temistocle Popa ; director of photography, Julius Druckman ; producer, Nicolae Codrescu.
Cast: Mircea Breazu, Ana Szeles, Ion Tugearu, Carmen Stanescu.
Summary "A young man searches for the Kingdom in the Clouds, an enchanting land where no one ever grows old. During many strange and wonderful adventures, he performs several good deeds and is rewarded by those he helps" 88m
a production of Bucuresti Film Studios
Music, Dumitru Capoianu ; additional music, Arthur De Cenzo ; director of photography, Grigore Ionesco ; written & directed by Ion Popesco-Gopo.
Cast: Florin Piersic, Lica Gheorghiu, Christea Avram, Irina Petresco, George Demetru, Eugenia Popovici.
Summary "Full of magic and fantasy, this exciting adventurous tale is about the true nature of bravery and courage. A young, timid prince, guided by the actions of a legendary hero, saves the world from evil by a brilliant display of spirit and judgment and emerges as a noble hero himself" 78m
produced by Science Film Studios U.S.S.R.
Director, Boris Doline ; photography, Youri Berenstein.
Summary "Pelka can't fly South with the rest of the pelicans because he is blind. Vasya, a young boy, takes the bird home and cares for him. A strong and touching friendship develops as the boy and bird travel far to find a cure for blindness. A moving story of a young boy's joys and sorrows in caring for another living being." 47m
a production of Mafilm Studio ; executive producer, Otto Elek.
Written by Sandor Torok and Eszter Toth ; music, Ferenc Lovas ; director of photography, Otto Forgacs ; film editor, Sandor Boronkay ; director, Gyorgy Palasthy.
Cast: Antal Pager, Ferenc Laluja, Karoly Nagy, Krisztian Novacs.
Summary "Having your own private magician is great while it lasts, as they little hero of this film learns. He can conjure up horses that talk and robots that do housework." 80m
a Canadian-Romanian co-production by Legend Films and Studio Bucuresti.
Produced, directed and written by Paul Fritz-Nemeth ; director of photography, Stefan Horvath ; film editor, Eugenia Gorovei ; associate producer, Charles Eisenmann.
Cast: Toro, London, Tony Kramreitner, Dorin Dron, Draga Olteanu, Gheorghe Gima, Florica Cretu.
Summary "A real adventure film, starring two highly intelligent dogs, who, together, save their young master and his baby sister from treacherous villains by carrying the children to safety." 84m
Written by Roch Carrier.
Performer Marcel Sabourin, Catherine Leduc, Francois Gosselin.
Summary "A brother and sister are snowshoeing through the woods in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Suddenly they see -- green footsteps! They eventually befriend a Martian who can transform himself at will with his magic matches. A charming Christmas special the entire family can appreciate, and brings home a message children already accept -- someone from afar and speaking differently, can still be a warm loving friend."
65m
a production of Kratky Film Praha ; Gottwaldov Film Studio.
Based on a story by Sheila Ochova. Credits Screenplay, Milan Simek, Radim Cvrcek ; script, Josef Strnad ; music, Harry Macourek ; director of photography, Jiri Kolin ; editor, Antonin Strojsa ; director, Radim Cvrcek.
Cast: Radim Cvrcek, Vera Stepanova, Erik Pardus, Martin Trojan.
Summary "What child hasn't wished he or she were a grown up. Wishes come true in this unusual comedy, and children get a hilarious look at what it would be like, with many surprises along the way." 78m
produced for Barrandov Film Studio by Erich Svabik-Jan Prochazka.
Based on a story by Vera Plivova-Simkova. Credits Written by Frantisek Pavlicek, Vera Plivova-Simkova ; director of photography, Vladimir Skalsky ; film editor, Miroslav Hajek ; music, Svatopluk Havelka ; directed by Vera Plivova-Simkova and Drahuse Kralova.
Cast: Ludvik Kroner (Tony) ; Pepik Filip, Jozka Masnicak, Zdenicka Smrckova, Jirina Solcova
Summary "A mild-mannered bachelor, Tony finds himself caring for one young orphan after another. Soon there are four! Money and beds are at a premium, while hungry mouths abound. Tony grumbles, but through his fondness for the exuberant children and their love for him, a family is born.". 60m
THE WEIRD NUMBER (1970) Davidson films, William Van Horn
THE TRUTH ABOUT HORSEFEATHERS (1974) Davidson films, William Van Horn
IDIOM'S DELIGHT (1974) Davidson films, William Van Horn
IF YOU’RE A HORSE (1974) Davidson films, William Van Horn
CONJUNCTION JUNCTION; INTERJECTIONS!; ADJECTIVES
I'M JUST A BILL
NO MORE KINGS
FIREWORKS
SUFFERIN' UNTIL SUFFERAGE
THE PREAMBLE
THREE RING GOVERNMENT
INTERPLANET JANET
MULTIPLICATION: MY HERO ZERO
FOUR-LEGGED ZOO
READING FROM NOW ON
ZERO: SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
POWER WITHOUT END (1977)
IN SEARCH OF ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS Parts 1 & 2 (1975)
THE CASE OF THE MISSING CHICKCOWS: ADDING POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE INTEGERS (1972) Guidance Associates
Copies in Seconds: Chester Carlson and the Birth of the Xerox Machine,
David Owen, Simon & Schuster, 2004.