Bring 'Em Back Alive: The Movie #1

Frank Buck2, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. With his book a best seller, Frank Buck made the rounds of the major film studios in hopes of selling them on the idea of making a movie based on his adventures capturing wild animals. The only studio that was interested was the Van Beuren Corporation, a small outfit that specialized in producing cartoons and short films used by theaters to fill out their film programs. (Back then, when you went to the movies you typically saw, in addition to the feature film, a newsreel, a cartoon, a short comedy, previews of coming attractions, and perhaps a serial chapter. It was a full evening’s entertainment!) Buck’s original agreement with Van Beuren was that the studio would pay for a camera crew to go on location with him and obtain enough footage to produce 13 one- or two-reel moving-picture shorts. Rather than a salary, Buck was to receive a percentage of the profits. (This proved to be a most fortunate arrangement for him!) The shoot lasted 9 months and used some 125,000 feet of film (running some 20 hours!) Once back in New York, Buck pointed out to the Van Beuren Corporation that they would make a lot more money if this footage was released as a feature film rather than as a series of short subjects.