F Gandolphi

(18??–19??)

In 1914 F Gandolphi made a series of Kine Kartoons (not to be confused with Anson Dyer's later Kine Komedy Kartoons) for Barker Motion Photography. In an article in The Cine Technician in 1938, referring to some photographs taken in 1915, photographic technician P Dennis wrote:

    Another picture of considerable interest is that of the artist, L. Gandolphi, who was the first to make cine cartoons in this country. [...] Most of his work was done with cut-out drawn figures, with pin jointed limbs. A Moy camera was used and with the photographic collaboration of L. Eversleigh he turned out two 300 ft. cartoons per week. As no automatic device had then been thought of, every picture was turned by hand. The camera man wasc stuck up in an awkward corner near the ceiling and it was a fight for him between concentrating and falling asleep, with the monotonous one, two, one, one, one, two, two, for hours.

I can find no other mention of Mr Gandolphi, either F. or L. (I'm assuming the initial in the article is a typo, and that Gifford's source was correct, although Gifford has been wrong before). The first four films were reviewed in the magazine Bioscope, 21 May 1914:

    The first few numbers deal in a humerous way with such subjects as 'How a Budget is Made' (showing Lloyd George drawing his inspiration from an animated mangel worzel), 'The Dress Germ' (offering an ingenious bacteriological explanation of the various phenomena in modern dress), 'How I killed My First Jaguar by Colonel Teddy' (depicting the manner in which the ex-President of the United States makes a successful kill), and 'Broncho Billy Loops the Loop' (illustrating some surprising aeronautical feats by a cowboy). The cartoons are very well drawn, and they are set in motion by means of exceedingly clever trick effects. The extent of their animation is, in fact, one of their most notable and unique features.




Filmography

How a Budget is Made (Kine Kartoon)(Barker Motion Photography, 1914) Writer/Director/Animator
The Dress Germ (Kine Kartoon)(Barker Motion Photography, 1914) Writer/Director/Animator
How I Killed My First Jaguar by Colonel Teddy (Kine Kartoon)(Barker Motion Photography, 1914) Writer/Director/Animator
Broncho Billy Loops the Loop (Kine Kartoon)(Barker Motion Photography, 1914) Writer/Director/Animator

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Peter Hale
Last updated 2015