Meet Clutch Cargo, hero of television's first comic strip.
Clutch Cargo was a daily television comic strip which first aired on March 9, 1959: a suspense-filled, action-packed humorous adventure series featuring the titlular character: a square-jawed, dashingly handsome gentleman who travels the world to rescue friends from exotic perils. This animated television cartoon was made by Hollywood-based Cambria Productions, and created by veteran cartoonist and illustrator Clark Haas. In the best of taste, it was a wonderful entertainment for the whole family. Each serialized adventure consisted of five 4-minute episodes, with the first episode beginning on Monday and the adventure concluding on Friday. Each daily episode ended with an exciting cliffhanger, building to the fifth episode on Friday which was the climax and conclusion of each week's story.
The series came with a colorful array of characters: Clutch Cargo himself, who was always ready to help his friends out of a jam: whether it's going the extra mile or flying his 1929 Bellanca C-27 Airbus 3,000 miles to the far side of the globe, he would be there. His freckle-faced buddy, Spinner, is always at Clutch's side, listening and learning to ensure the spirit of Clutch Cargo lives on. The ever-alert Paddlefoot, a long-eared dachshund that is the team's trusted sidekick, keeps Clutch and Spinner on their toes. Swampy has called upon Clutch several times when the jungle is in turmoil; in return he has helped Clutch and Spinner when they had nowhere else to turn. Joe Popionagous is just waiting to return the favor after Clutch helped Joe out of a couple of tight spots on the Guppie. Fifi isn't your typical damsel in distress: she's been known to spot details Clutch may have otherwise overlooked.
This cleverly written and beautifully drawn series is fondly remembered by many of its original fans and is mostly remembered for "the entirely new patented television cartoon production technique" SYNCHRO-VOX, where real lips speaking the lines would be filmed and then superimposed on the drawings. This technique is still used today, most notably on
The Late Show with Conan O'Brien and in the opening credits of
Spongebob Squarepants. Nobody who saw
Clutch Cargo will ever forget the bizarre juxtaposition of still drawings with real, moving human lips.
Synchro-Vox was developed by cameraman Ed Gillette for use in "talking animal" commercials. In the Synchro-Vox process, heavy makeup is applied around the actor's mouth to match the color of the cartoon character's face. The actor then speaks his/her lines with the camera focused tightly on the mouth. Colored animation cells are positioned over this video so that the mouth is in the proper place, creating the illusion that the character is actually speaking. The voice of Clutch Cargo was provided by Richard Cotting. Spinner and Paddlefoot were acted by Margaret Kerry, who was also the model for Tinkerbell in Walt Disney's production of
Peter Pan. Hal Smith, who voiced the Owl on
Winnie the Pooh and played Otis Campbell on
The Andy Griffith Show, appeared as Swampy. Cambria, the studio that also produced the tradionally animated series
The New Three Stooges, produced
Clutch Cargo and three other series using the Synchro-Vox technique:
Space Angel, Captain Fathom, and a pilot for
Doc Potts.
Clutch Cargo is also famous for its bare-bones animation techniques. Characters are cut off at the waist to simplify animation while they walk, and other motion is simulated by simply agitating the cells. Smoke is blown into the camera lens to simulate explosions. Individual cells are used more than once during a story. But not all details are ignored: Clutch's plane is a rare 1929 Bellanca C-27 Airbus, recognizable by its distinctive wing struts and wheel covers. There are only a few dozen of these planes in existence. Clips from
Clutch Cargo appeared in the Quentin Tarantino film
Pulp Fiction, and also on an episode of television's
Futurama.
Clutch Cargo was syndicated to most of the top 100 in the USA back in 1959, including all the Top 10 markets. It was considered one of the most successful syndicated children's shows of the time. Original sponsors of
Clutch Cargo included Pepsi-Cola & Kellogg's. Original merchandise included T-Shirts, Buttons, Trading Cards, Kites, Masks, Dolls, and Hand Puppets.
Now this lost (but not forgotten) cartoon series makes its DVD debut in these two 3-disc special edition sets from BCI Eclipse. The entire collection of 52
Clutch Cargo episodes - over seventeen hours in all - are available for the first time ever, loaded with over 80 minutes of all new special features! Each 3-DVD set has a cost of just $14.95 SRP, so you can get every episode for less than $30! These ship on
March 22nd, and here's the box art and the complete contents:
Clutch Cargo - The Complete Series:, Volume 1
Amazon $10.49,
DVDPlanet $10.47
DISC 1 (single-sided)
- The Friendly Head Hunters
- The Arctic Bird Giant
- The Desert Queen
- The Pearl Pirates
- The Vanishing Gold
- BONUS: The Story of Clutch Cargo - provides detailed information chronicling the history and success of this innovative cartoon series.
DISC 2 - Side A
- The Race Car Mystery
- The Rocket Riot
- Mystery in the Northwoods
- Twaddle in Africa
- The Lost Plateau
- BONUS: Clutch & Company - mini-biographies and details of the cast of characters from Clutch Cargo.
DISC 2 - Side B
- The Ghost Ship
- The Rustlers
- The Missing Train
- The Devil Bird
- Pipeline to Danger
- Mister Abominable
- BONUS: 1959 Facts and Trivia - some fun and informative trivia information from the year of Clutch's premier, 1959.
DISC 3 - Side A
- Operation Moon Beam
- Air Race
- The Haunted Castle
- The Elephant-Nappers
- Dragon Fly
- BONUS: Clutch Memorabilia - a slideshow of the creative and innovative marketing behind the Clutch Cargo series.
DISC 3 - Side B
- Sky Circus
- The Midget Submarine
- Cliff Dwellers
- Jungle Train
- Space Station
- BONUS: SPACE ANGEL episode "The Ghost and Crystal Mace" (Space Angel is another cartoon series, created by Cambria Productions, which utilizes the patented Syncro-Vox technology).
Clutch Cargo - The Complete Series: Volume 2
Amazon $10.49, DVDPlanet $10.47
DISC 1 (single-sided)
- The Swamp Swindlers
- The Dinky Incas
- Kangaroo Express
- The Shipwreckers
- The Ivory Counterfeiters
- Dynamite Fury
- BONUS: Making of Clutch Cargo - showcasing the unique animation techniques and the secrets behind SYNCHRO-VOX technology.
DISC 2 - Side A
- Alaskan Pilot
- Swiss Mystery
- Pirate Isle
- Crop Dusters
- The Smog Smuggler
- BONUS: 1959 Trailers - a host of popular film trailers from the era.
DISC 2 - Side B
- Global Test Flight
- Dead End Gulch
- The Missing Mermaid
- Flying Bus
- Road Race
- BONUS: Politically Incorrect - a collection of the not-so-politically correct stereotypes commonly found in cartoons from the 50s and 60s.
DISC 3 - Side A
- Feather Fuddle
- Water Wizards
- The Terrible Tiger
- The Circus
- Bush Pilots
- BONUS: As Seen in Pulp Fiction - featuring the episode, "The Arctic Bird Giant" that was featured in director Quentin Tarantino's critically acclaimed feature film.
DISC 3 - Side B
- Cheddar Cheaters
- The Blunderbird
- The Case of Ripcord Van Winkle
- Fortune Cookie Caper
- Big "X"
- BONUS: CAPTAIN FATHOM episode "Pisastro's Private War" (Captain Fathom is yet another cartoon series, created by Cambria Productions, which utilizes the patented Syncro-Vox technology).
