Scope Gem was a marketing series title that Warner Brothers used for documentary film shorts produced in Warnercolor and the wide-screen CinemaScope format. Most of these were travelogues.
Overview Warner Brothers favored block-booking these one- and two-reel documentaries with their wide-screen features. The first official title of the series, Sportsman’s Holiday was released with the CinemaScope feature Battle Cry.
Carl Dudley, who contributed to several of these, also independently produced some in Vistarama (which used 16mm instead of 35mm size, perfected by cameraman Edwin Olsen) for Warner distribution just prior to the official inauguration of the Scope Gem series in 1954–1955. Many of these were processed in Warnercolor.Motion Pictures 1950-1959 Catalog of Copyright Entries Library of Congress, (p. 11) states Warnercolor process for Aloha NuiBoxOffice. March 10, 1956 (Shorts Chart) & May 19, 1958 (Shorts Chart, p. 12) list titles under heading "Warnercolor Scope Gems"
Narration was handled by longtime veterans Art Gilmore and Marvin Miller, accompanied by the full orchestra scores of Howard Jackson and William Lava. Cedric Francis produced those not handled by Carl Dudley.
Although Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures and especially 20th Century Fox also released many more shorts in CinemaScope between 1953 and 1964, the Warner product received some of the highest praise in the periodicals of the time. One title by André de la Varre, Time Stood Still, was nominated for an Academy Award. As BoxOffice magazine's reviewer stated on January 8, 1958, of Alpine Glory: "While the Austrian Alps have been filmed before, and well done too, this short subject in color is so beautiful and breathtaking that it can well be the best film ever to deal with the subject". Although seldom shown on TV on account of their frame format and never released on video, they were nonetheless successfully re-released to theaters through 1967, prompting a young Leonard Maltin to write in similar vocabulary in his The Great Movie Shorts (1972) "These are among the most breathtaking travelogues of all time".Maltin, Leonard The Great Movie Shorts 1972 Bonanza Books, page 208
Unfortunately Warner sharply curtailed feature films using wide-screen formats in 1957, using Technirama for only the most expensive productions. The studio's declining interest in CinemaScope, along with the shrinking market for short films, prompted an abrupt end to the series. During this same period, the concurrently released Joe McDoakes, Robert Youngson documentaries, Looney Tune and Merrie Melodie animated cartoons were released in the more standardized ratio but were equally successful at the box office.
The top cameraman of the series, André de la Varre, left Warner to rejoin the Burton Holmes company that same year, but did supply an occasional travelogue for the studio in the 1960s under its World Wide Adventures logo.
List of titles TitleMajor creditsRunning timeRelease dateNotesAloha Nui Carl Dudley (producer) 11 minutes September 19, 1953 “Stereophonic Special” filmed in HawaiiBelow the Rio Grande Carl Dudley (producer) 9 minutes April 1, 1954 “Stereophonic Special” filmed in MexicoConey Island Holiday Carl Dudley (producer); narrator: Art Gilmore 9 minutes April 1, 1954 “Stereophonic Special” filmed in New York CityValley of the Sun Carl Dudley (producer); Richard Goldstone (director); narrator: Art Gilmore 17 minutes July 3, 1954 “Stereophonic Special” filmed in Arizona and New MexicoSportsman's Holiday Carl Dudley (producer); narrator: Art Gilmore 10 minutes February 2, 1955 first official “Scope Gem” shot in Flagstaff, Arizona, and race tracks at Churchill Downs, Hollywood Park Racetrack, Epsom Downs and Belmont ParkHeart of an Empire Carl Dudley (producer); script: Owen Crump; narrator: Marvin Miller 9 minutes September 1, 1955 LondonJourney to the Sea Carl Dudley (producer); script: Owen Crump; narrator: Marvin Miller 16 minutes September 1, 1955 Rhine River in France and EuropeSki Valley André de la Varre (director); narrator: Art Gilmore 9 minutes September 1, 1955 Sun Valley, IdahoSpringtime in Holland André de la Varre (director); story: Owen Crump; narrator: Marvin Miller 9 minutes December 10, 1955 NetherlandsHero On Horseback Carl Dudley (producer): Richard Goldstone (director); narrator: Marvin Miller 17 minutes April 7, 1956 portrait of Kemal Atatürk with modern-day Turkey footageTime Stood Still André de la Varre (director); story: Owen Crump; narrator: Marvin Miller 9 minutes April 21, 1956 DinkelsbühlItalian Memories André de la Varre (director); story: Owen Crump; narrator: Marvin Miller 17 minutes June 9, 1956 Thunder Beach Jack Glenn (director); narrator: Joe King 9 minutes June 23, 1956 Daytona Beach Road CourseViva! Cuba Carl Dudley (producer); narrator: Art Gilmore 9 minutes August 25, 1956 mostly CubaCrossroads of the World André de la Varre (director); story: Owen Crump; narrator: Marvin Miller 9 minutes September 26, 1956 SingaporeEast Is East André de la Varre (director); script: Owen Crump; narrator: Marvin Miller 17 minutes September 26, 1956 Malay, Burma and ThailandSouth of the Himalayas André de la Varre (director); script: Owen Crump; narrator: Marvin Miller 18 minutes October 6, 1956 IndiaMagic in the Sun Carl Dudley (producer); narrator: Howard Culver 8 minutes November 6, 1956 HaitiThe Legend of El Dorado Tom McGowan (director); narrator: Marvin Miller 18 minutes December 29, 1956 ColombiaUnder Carib Skies Carl Dudley (producer); script: Owen Crump; narrator: Howard Culver 9 minutes February 16, 1957 mostly JamaicaTales of the Black Forest André de la Varre (director); script: Owen Crump; narrator: Marvin Miller 18 minutes June 1, 1957 GermanyThe Blue Danube André de la Varre (director); script: Owen Crump; narrator: Marvin Miller 17 minutes June 1, 1957 Austria & GermanyAlpine Glory André de la Varre (director); script: Owen Crump (writer); narrator: Marvin Miller 9 minutes August 3, 1957 Austria
See also André de la Varre Carl Dudley List of short subjects by Hollywood studio#Warner Brothers Travelogue (films)
References Liebman, Roy Vitaphone Films – A Catalogue of the Features and Shorts 2003 McFarland & Company Maltin, Leonard The Great Movie Shorts 1972 Bonanza Books Motion Pictures 1950-1959 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1960 Library of Congress BoxOffice back issue scans
External links Explains the Vistarama process
Notes