October 6th, 2017 
Jerry Beck 
Producer-Director Arnold Leibovit guest hosts on Turner Classic Movies with Ben Mankiewicz next Wednesday and Thursday Oct. 11th and Oct. 12th, 2017 introducing his films The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal and The Puppetoon Movie, both produced and directed by Leibovit, plus 8 George Pal features for this Special 2 Day Tribute. Pal was the Academy Award winning Sci-Fi Fantasy pioneer of such classics as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, When Worlds Collide, Houdini, Tom Thumb, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, Destination Moon and many others.
Among the legends of Hollywood, George Pal takes his place as a true visionary, an innovator and a showman who profoundly shaped the art of motion pictures. A peer and friend of Walt Disney, Pal pioneered stop motion animation and went on to virtually invent the modern science fiction and fantasy film genre. Pal’s extraordinary genius molded a dazzling array of films which earned 8 Academy Awards and left a cinematic legacy that served as formative inspiration for the movies of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Gene Roddenberry and many more.
George Pal
On Wednesday October 11th, TCM will screen The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal at 8pm EST/5pm PST, followed by The Puppetoon Movie at 10pmEST (7pm PST). Four of Pal’s classics will follow into the night – Destination Moon, The Time Machine, Atlantis The Lost Continent and The Power.
On Thursday October 12th, the evening programming will include Pal favorites Tom Thumb, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, Doc Savage and an encore of The Puppetoon Movie at 4:30amEST (1:30am PST).
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal which premiered at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences – George Pal Lecture on Fantasy in Film covers “The Time Machine” (Rod Taylor, Alan Young), “The War of the Worlds” (Ann Robinson, Gene Barry), “When Worlds Collide” (Barbara Rush), “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” “7 Faces of Dr. Lao” (Barbara Eden), “Tom Thumb” (Russ Tamblyn, Peter Sellers), “Houdini” (Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh), “The Naked Jungle” (Charlton Heston), [“The Power” (George Hamilton), “Doc Savage” (Ron Ely) – as extras], “The Great Rupert” (Jimmy Durante), “Destination Moon”, “The Conquest of Space”, “Atlantis the Lost Continent” and of course, the Puppetoons.
Full Cast (in Alphabetical Order): Bob Baker (Bonus Interview), Robert Bloch, Chesley Bonestell, Ray Bradbury, Wah Chang, Tony Curtis, Jim Danforth, Joe Dante, Roy Edward Disney, Barbara Eden, Paul Frees (Narrator), Duke Goldstone, Gae Griffith, Ray Harryhausen, Charlton Heston, Walter Lantz, Janet Leigh, Albert Nozaki, George Pal, Mrs. George (Zsoka) Pal, David Pal, Tony Randall, Ann Robinson, Gene Roddenberry, Russ Tamblyn, Rod Taylor, William Tuttle, Gene Warren, Robert Wise, Alan Young, Ward Kimball (Bonus Interview), Yvette Mimieux (Film Footage).
The Puppetoon Movie – Academy Award winning genius George Pal created a series of stop motion animated shorts in the 1930’s and 1940’s called “Puppetoons”. Brilliant even by today’s standards, they are visual feasts that need to be seen to be believed. Pal’s invention of replacement figure puppets in stop motion animation have been copied but never equaled. These works have been the a seminal markers for animators to aspire since they were created which continues today with Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks etc.
The Puppetoon Movie 2 Disc Blu-ray and 2 Disc DVD stars Gumby and Pokey with Oscar Winning Puppetoons “Tubby the Tuba”, “Tulips Shall Grow”, “John Henry and the Inky Poo”, “Jasper In A Jam”, “Together In The Weather”, “Philips Broadcast 1938”, “Philips Cavalcade”, “Sleeping Beauty” and others plus seven restored Puppetoons not seen in well over half a century and done with the cooperation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and UCLA Film Archives and includes the very first Dr. Seuss films ever made i.e. “500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” and “To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street” plus “Date with Duke” (Duke Ellington), “Rhapsody in Wood” (Woody Herman), “Jasper and the Beanstalk”, “The Sky Princesss”, and “Rhythm in the Ranks” plus hours of extra content including The Great Rupert Pal’s first feature starring Jimmy Durante in HD, The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (produced and directed by Leibovit), rare archival footage, expanded interviews, many more Puppetoons.
Arnold Leibovit was Executive Producer of the Dreamworks/Warner Bros. remake of The Time Machine (2002) with Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons, Special Effects by Industrial Light & Magic/Digital Domain/Stan Winston.
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