Whipped Cream Difficulties

Science Sunday!

When last we left the Bell System Science Series, Frank Capra had departed, and the films were being produced “under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner.” What this actually amounted to was: Owen Crump was producing, and also directed the first three of the four Warner films.

Geoff Alexander and Rick Prelinger have written, “From the perspective of overall cohesion, writing, and set design, Crump’s Bell series films are superior to those of Capra. Crump did not overtly proselytize, relied less on animated characters interacting with Dr. Baxter, and utilized the set design as almost a character in itself, as exemplified by William Kuehl’s sound stage set for Gateways to the Mind, and his madcap carnival-like set for Alphabet Conspiracy.” See the screenshot for one example of Kuehl’s work. Marcel LaFollette has commented that, while the “spiritual tone” of the Capra films wasn’t present the Warner films, “overt appeals to religion also appeared in the four created by Warner Brothers”.

The fifth film in the series, from 1958: “Gateways To the Mind”, about the five senses and how they work. This one was written by Henry F. Greenburg. As Wikipedia notes, the sound stage is kind of trippy. Also, the animation was directed by Chuck Jones.

Film number six, from 1959: “The Alphabet Conspiracy”. “A young girl named Judy is having trouble with her English homework. She has a dream were she means The Mad Hatter and The Jabberwock from Alice In Wonderland.” She joins up with the Mad Hatter in a conspiracy to get rid of the alphabet until “Dr. Linguistics” shows her the error of her ways.

Hans Conried plays the Mad Hatter, and Friz Freleng directed the animation. Leo Salkin and Richard Hobson did the writing.

Next week: Time and DNA. And a special guest appearance from one Dr. Richard P. Feynman.

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