Film showcase series
CBS Children's Film Festival (also known asCBS Children's Hour ) is a 1967–1984 television series of live action films from several countries that were made for children (several of themdubbed intoEnglish ). Originally a sporadic series airing on Saturday mornings, Sunday afternoons, or weekday afternoons beginning in February 1967, it became a regularly scheduled program in 1971 on the CBS Saturday-morning lineup, running one hour with some films apparently edited down to fit the time slot. The program was hosted by 1950s television actKukla, Fran and Ollie , a.k.a.puppeteer Burr Tillstrom and actressFran Allison .[ 1]
Kukla, Fran and Ollie were dropped from the series in 1977 and the program was renamedCBS Saturday Film Festival .[ 2] In 1978 CBS canceled the show in favor of the youth-targeted magazine30 Minutes which was modeled after its adult sister show60 Minutes . CBS canceled30 Minutes in 1982 and brought backSaturday Film Festival which ran for two seasons until CBS cancelled it for good in 1984.
Perhaps the most famous "episode" of the series was the 1960 British filmHand in Hand , the story of a deep friendship between two elementary school students, one aRoman Catholic boy and the other aJewish girl.
In addition to manyAmerican andBritish films, the series also featured motion pictures fromRussia ,France ,Bulgaria ,Japan ,Sweden ,Italy ,China ,Australia ,South Africa , andCzechoslovakia , as well as several other countries.
Other films that aired during the series run include theAcademy Award -winning French filmThe Red Balloon ;Skinny and Fatty from Japan;Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World from Great Britain;Tillie, the Unhappy Hippopotamus from Czechoslovakia; andMi-Mi, the Lazy Kitten from China.
ActorRay Bolger , a star ofThe Wizard of Oz , served as narrator for some of the episodes during the show's 1980s run.[citation needed ]
Joel Hodgson ofMystery Science Theater 3000 fame stated that the characters of Kukla, Fran and Ollie were an early influence on his show.[ 3]
Following is a partial list of films aired on the program:[ 4] [ 5]
Adventure in Golden Bay – Czech, 1956Adventure in the Hopfields – British, 1954Angel and Big Joe – American, 1975Anoop and the Elephant – British, 1972Bag on Bag – Soviet, 1974A Bird of Africa – Japanese, 1975Birds Come Flying To Us – Bulgarian, 1971Black Mountain – Soviet, 1970The Blind Bird – Soviet, 1963The Boy and the Airplane – French, 1965The Boy Who Owned a Melephant – American, 1959The Boy Who Wore Spectacles – Soviet, ?The Boy With Glasses – Japanese, 1962Bunnie – Polish, 1973The Camerons – Australian, 1974Captain Korda – Czech, 1970Captain Mikula, the Kid – Yugoslavian, 1974Carole, I Love You – French, 1971Charlie the Rascal – Swedish, 1972Chimpmates – British, 1976The Chiffy Kids – British, 1976Circus Adventure – Dutch, 1972Circus Angel – French, 1965Clown – Spanish, 1969Cold Pizza – Canadian, 1972Countdown to Danger – British, 1967Cry Wolf – British, 1968Danger Point – British, 1971Death of a Gandy Dancer – Canadian, 1977Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World – British, 1973Doggie and Three – Czech, 1955Egghead's Robot – British, 1970Elephant River – Ceylon, 1956Felipa: North of the Border – American, 1971The Firefighters – British, 1975Flash the Sheepdog – British, 1966Fly Away Dove – American, 1982The Flying Sorcerer – British, 1973For Boys Only Is For Girls, Also – Czech, 1964A Friend – Italian, 1967Friend or Foe – British, 1969Friends for Life – Soviet, 1971Funny Stories – Soviet, 1962Geronimo Jones – American, 1970Get Used to Me – American, 1976Ghost of a Chance – British, 1968The Giant Eel – Czech, 1971Glamador – French, 1955The Goalkeeper Also Lives on Our Street – Czech, 1957The Golden Fish – French, 1959Gosha the Bear – Soviet, 1971Hand in Hand – British, 1960Headline Hunters – British, 1967Heidi – German/Austrian, 1965J.T. (1969)[ 6] [ a] Joey – American, 1978John and Julie – British, 1954The Johnstown Monster – British, 1971Jumping Over Puddles – Czech, 1970The Legend of John Henry – American, 1974The Legend of Paul Bunyan – American, 1973Lionheart – British, 1968The Little Bearkeepers – Czech, 1957The Little Ones – British, 1965Little Pig – Hong Kong, 1976The Little Wooden Horse – French, 1966Lone Wolf – Yugoslavian, 1972Lost in Pajamas – Czech, 1966Lucy and the Miracles – Czech, 1970The Magnificent 6-1/2 – British, 1967Mauro the Gypsy – British, 1972Me and You, Kangaroo – Australian, 1974A Member of the Family – British, 1971Miguel's Navidad – Mexico, 1976Miguel: Up From Puerto Rico – American, 1970Mischief – British, 1968Mr. Horatio Knibbles – British, 1971My Father, Sun-Sun Johnson – Jamaican, 1976My Main Man – American, 1975Nikkolina – Canadian, 1977Nina and the Street Kids – Swedish, 1974Nunu and the Zebra – South African, 1973On Snow White – Czech, 1972The Orange Watering Cart – Hungarian, ?1973Paddle to the Sea – Canadian, 1966Paganini Strikes Again – British, 1974Pero and His Companions – Yugoslavia, 1970The Promise – American, 1977The Ransom of Red Chief – Soviet, 1963The Red Balloon – French, 1956Scramble – British, 1969A Seafaring Dog – Soviet, 1973The Secret – American, 1977The Seven Ravens – German, 1937Shok and Sher – Soviet, ?Shopping Bag Lady – American, 1975The Show Must Go On – Soviet, ?Six Bears and a Clown – Czech, 1972Sirius – Czech, 1974Skinny and Fatty – Japanese, 1959Soapbox Derby – Canadian, ?Stowaway in the Sky – French, 1959Strange Holiday – Australian, 1969That's My Name, Don't Wear It Out – British, 1975Three Wishes for Cinderella – Czech, 1973Thunderstorm – French, ?Ticko – Swedish, ?Tiko and the Shark – Italian/French, 1965Tjorven, Batsman, and Moses – Swedish, 1964Tony and the Tick-Tock Dragon – Hungarian, ?Turniphead – Italian, 1965Tymancha's Friend – Soviet, 1970Up in the Air – British, 1969The Violin – Canadian, 1974What Next? – British, 1974Where's Johnny? – British, 1974White Mane – French, 1952Winter of the Witch – British, 1969The Yellow Slippers – Polish, 1961Informational notes
^ J.T. was so critically acclaimed as a Saturday-morning entry, it was rebroadcast in Prime Time by CBS several times over the next decade.[ 6] Citations
First-run animated series First-run live-action series Rebroadcasts Related
First-run live action series Rebroadcasts Related
First-run animated series First-run live-action series Rebroadcasts Related topics
Motion picture television series on CBS
Movie umbrella titles