Sunset Productions (found silent animated short; 1930-1943)

[[File:Guild_end_title.jpg|thumb|300px|A Guild Films Presentation end title card]]

'''Sunset Productions, Inc.''' was a subsidiary of [[Warner Bros.]] that licensed the television distribution rights to 192 black-and-white ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' and ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' to Guild Films in February 1955.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/variety197-1955-02/page/n185/mode/2up "Guild Acquires 191 WB Cartoons" - Variety (2/16/1955)]</ref><ref name="htv">[https://books.google.com/books?id=TLNkAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA176 "Hollywood TV: The Studio System in the Fifties" (page 176)]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/broadcastingtele48unse/page/n1103/mode/2up "Film Distribution" - Broadcasting Telecasting (3/7/1955)]</ref>

== Background ==

Jack Warner, Jr. was in charge of Sunset Productions during its operatation.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/independentfilmj3435unse/page/n737/mode/2up "Trio of Majors Accelerate Television Plans" - The Independent Film Journal (4/16/1955)]</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | url = books.google.com/?id=5R0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=191+%2B+%22guild+films%22+%2B+1955#v=onepage&q=191%20%2B%20%22guild%20films%22%20%2B%201955&f=false | title = Billboard | author1 = Nielsen Business Media | first1 = Inc | date = 1955-02-19}}</ref> The package included all black-and-white ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons except the ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons produced by Harman-Ising Productions solely directed by Rudolf Ising (the very first, "[[Lady, Play Your Mandolin!]]", was directed by both Harman and Ising and part of the Sunset package). 

Unlike the sale of the copyrights of the remaining cartoons released before July 24, 1948, to [[Associated Artists Productions]] (a.a.p.) in 1956, Warner Bros. did not sell the copyrights to the cartoons in the Sunset package. Instead, they transferred them to Sunset Productions to facilitate the licensing to Guild Films, while also using the Sunset name on the cartoons' copyright notices, supposedly because studio executives feared that theater owners would not be pleased if the "Warner Bros." name was used on television.<ref name="htv"/> New opening and closing titles were made to remove any references to Warner Bros., and any Warner Bros. references in the cartoons themselves were removed. One example is in "[[Porky in Wackyland]]", where [[Yoyo Dodo]] zooms up with the WB shield to hit [[Porky Pig]] with a slingshot, then zooms back out. Additionally, the Leon Schlesinger Productions building sign from the start of "[[You Ought to Be in Pictures]]" and the ending gag from "[[Porky's Duck Hunt]]" are cut from these television prints for the same reason. The copyright dates on the new title cards use incorrect Roman numerals, with the first part rendered as "MXM" instead of the correct "MCM". 

In April 1957, Sunset Productions was turned into a subsidiary for the production of TV commercials, with Jack Warner Jr. remaining in charge.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TLNkAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA227 "Hollywood TV: The Studio System in the Fifties" (page 277)]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/broadcastingtele53unse_0/page/n647/mode/2up "Jack M. Warner" - Broadcasting Telecasting (11/4/1957)]</ref> 

Guild Films shut down amid a financial scandal in 1961.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/broadcastingtele60unse/page/n1021/mode/2up "SEC Charges Guild Films Failed to Show True Facts" - Broadcasting Telecasting (3/6/1961)]</ref> The TV rights to the Sunset package were sold to [[Seven Arts Productions]] instead.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/sponsor151426spon/page/n469/mode/2up "Film on Tap at NAB Convention" - Sponsor Publications (5/8/1961)]</ref> Eliot Hyman, who had previously been president of a.a.p. when it acquired the copyrights to that company's package of cartoons,<ref>[http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-06-11-BC.pdf#page=52 "AAP Buys "Popeye" Films for Tv Station Release" - Broadcasting Telecasting (6/11/1956)]</ref> was the president of Seven Arts at the time.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/broadcastingtele60unse/page/n141/mode/2up "$1 Million in Warner Films to WOR-TV: 'Eliot Hyman, president of Seven Arts Associated Corp.'" - Broadcasting Telecasting (1/9/1961)]</ref> In 1967, Seven Arts bought Warner Bros. and became [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]], resulting in Warner Bros. regaining the TV distribution rights to the Sunset package.

===Colorization===

{{Main|Colorized versions}}

Soon after the WB-7A merger was complete, the studio had 78 of these black-and-white cartoons redrawn in color. These colorizations were produced by Fred Ladd.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040626075300/http://cztoondb.tripod.com/cztoondb/laddqaart.htm "A Short Q&A With Fred Ladd" - The Colorized Cartoon Database]</ref> In almost all cases, the Sunset TV prints were used as the source material, resulting in their titles being redrawn in color. In some cases, the Sunset titles are altered, usually with the WB-7A (or, in some cases, [[Warner Communications]]) opening logos plastered over these titles. Similarly, prints distributed by [[Kit Parker Films]] replace them with proper (non-Seven Arts) Warner Bros. cards.

The same 78 cartoons were colorized again in the early 1990s (along with approximately 24 other cartoons not previously redrawn in 1968). This time, computer software was used to add color to the cartoons. Unlike the retraced colorizations that preceded them, however, the Sunset TV prints were not used here; instead, the original master negatives, which preserve their original titles, were used.

Some of the computer-colorized versions of 1937–43 cartoons use the 1936–37 ''Looney Tunes'' theme (also known as the "[[Porky Pig|Porky]] Signature") instead of "[[The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down]]".

==== Purported public domain status ====

{{Main|List of Warner Bros. cartoons that are currently in the public domain in the United States}}

The hand-redrawn color versions of the cartoons that were in the Sunset package are claimed by some to be in the public domain and are often seen in public domain compilations (be it from home video releases or online sources). However, the reasoning for this purported legal status is somewhat dubious.

When the copyrights of the original black-and-white cartoons were transferred to Sunset Productions, the new prints created that replaced the original Warner Bros. title cards with ones assigning copyright to Sunset featured incorrect Roman numeral dates on their title cards, reading "MXM[....]" instead of the proper "MCM[....]", which results in nonsensical numbers.

Prior to the Copyright Act of 1976, any work that failed to properly disclose the year of its copyright would, effectively, instantly fall into the public domain. However, this did not affect the original black-and-white shorts, as the date errors on the new prints had no effect on their still-valid original 1930s–40s copyrights.

Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, however, registered every redrawn-in-color cartoon under a new copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. As the color versions were redrawn from Sunset prints, they also contain the dating error, and conceivably, their copyright registrations would be invalid. (This is likely why subsequent Warner-issued prints of the colorized shorts replaced the Sunset title cards, with the replacements featuring a proper 1968 copyright.) However, as the U.S. Copyright Office accepted the registrations in the first place, the dating mistake was not considered to be a forfeiture of rights. Also, copyrights extend to "derivative works" under international law, and the colorized copies are considered "derivative works" for these purposes.

Therefore, claims that every Sunset-package cartoon that was redrawn in color is in the public domain are based on faulty reasoning, and only cartoons in which the black-and-white equivalent is also in the public domain for other reasons are legally clear.

==List of cartoons in the "Sunset Productions" package==

#{{ShortList|Sinkin' in the Bathtub|y}}

#{{ShortList|Congo Jazz|y}}

#{{ShortList|Hold Anything|y}}

#{{ShortList|The Booze Hangs High|y}}

#{{ShortList|Box Car Blues|y}}

#{{ShortList|Big Man from the North|y}}

#{{ShortList|Ain't Nature Grand!|y}}

#{{ShortList|Ups 'n Downs|y}}

#{{ShortList|Dumb Patrol (1931 short)|y}}

#{{ShortList|Yodeling Yokels|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko's Holiday|y}}

#{{ShortList|The Tree's Knees|y}}

#{{ShortList|Lady, Play Your Mandolin!|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko Shipwrecked!|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko the Doughboy|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko's Soda Fountain|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko's Fox Hunt|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko at the Zoo|y}}

#{{ShortList|Battling Bosko|y}}

#{{ShortList|Big-Hearted Bosko|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko's Party|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko and Bruno|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko's Dog Race|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko at the Beach|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko's Store|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko the Lumberjack|y}}

#{{ShortList|Ride Him, Bosko!|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko the Drawback|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko's Dizzy Date|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko's Woodland Daze|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko in Dutch|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko in Person|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko the Speed King|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko's Knight-Mare|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko the Sheep-Herder|y}}

#{{ShortList|Beau Bosko|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko's Mechanical Man|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko the Musketeer|y}}

#{{ShortList|Bosko's Picture Show|y}}

#{{ShortList|Buddy's Day Out|y}}

#{{ShortList|I've Got to Sing a Torch Song|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy's Beer Garden|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy's Show Boat|y}}

# {{ShortList|Sittin' on a Backyard Fence|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy the Gob|y}}

# {{ShortList|Pettin' in the Park|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy and Towser|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy's Garage|y}}

#{{ShortList|Those Were Wonderful Days|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy's Trolley Troubles|y}}

# {{ShortList|Goin' to Heaven on a Mule|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy of the Apes|y}}

# {{ShortList|How Do I Know It's Sunday|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy's Bearcats|y}}

# {{ShortList|Why Do I Dream Those Dreams|y}}

# {{ShortList|The Girl at the Ironing Board|y}}

# {{ShortList|The Miller's Daughter|y}}

# {{ShortList|Shake Your Powder Puff|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy the Detective|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy the Woodsman|y}}

# {{ShortList|Rhythm in the Bow|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy's Circus|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy's Adventures|y}}

# {{ShortList|Viva Buddy|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy the Dentist|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy of the Legion|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy's Pony Express|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy's Theatre|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy's Lost World|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy's Bug Hunt|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy in Africa|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy Steps Out|y}}

# {{ShortList|Buddy the Gee Man|y}}

# {{ShortList|A Cartoonist's Nightmare|y}}

# {{ShortList|Hollywood Capers|y}}

# {{ShortList|Gold Diggers of '49|y}}

# {{ShortList|The Fire Alarm|y}}

# {{ShortList|Plane Dippy|y}}

# {{ShortList|Alpine Antics|y}}

# {{ShortList|The Phantom Ship|y}}

#{{ShortList|Boom Boom|y}}

#{{ShortList|The Blow Out}}

#{{ShortList|Westward Whoa}}

#{{ShortList|Fish Tales|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Shanghaied Shipmates|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Porky's Pet|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Porky the Rain-Maker|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Porky's Poultry Plant|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Moving Day|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Milk and Money|y}}

#{{ShortList|Little Beau Porky|y}}

#{{ShortList|The Village Smithy|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Porky in the North Woods|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky the Wrestler|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Porky's Road Race|y}}

#{{ShortList|Picador Porky|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Romance|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Duck Hunt|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky and Gabby|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Building|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Porky's Super Service|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Badtime Story|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Porky's Railroad|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Get Rich Quick Porky|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Garden|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Rover's Rival|y}}

#{{ShortList|The Case of the Stuttering Pig|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Double Trouble|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Hero Agency|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Poppa|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky at the Crocadero|y}}

#{{ShortList|What Price Porky|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Phoney Express|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Five & Ten|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Hare Hunt|y}}

#{{ShortList|Injun Trouble (1938 short)|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky the Fireman|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Party|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Spring Planting|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky & Daffy|y}}

#{{ShortList|Wholly Smoke|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky in Wackyland|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Naughty Nephew|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky in Egypt|y}}

#{{ShortList|The Daffy Doc|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky the Gob|y}}

#{{ShortList|The Lone Stranger and Porky|y}}

#{{ShortList|It's an Ill Wind|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Tire Trouble|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Movie Mystery|y}}

#{{ShortList|Chicken Jitters|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Porky and Teabiscuit|y}}

#{{ShortList|Kristopher Kolumbus Jr.|y}}

#{{ShortList|Polar Pals|y}}

#{{ShortList|Scalp Trouble|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Picnic|y}}

#{{ShortList|Wise Quacks|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Hotel|y}}

#{{ShortList|Jeepers Creepers|y}}

#{{ShortList|Naughty Neighbors|y}}

#{{ShortList|Pied Piper Porky|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky the Giant Killer|y}}

#{{ShortList|The Film Fan|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Last Stand|y}}

#{{ShortList|Africa Squeaks|y}}

#{{ShortList|Ali-Baba Bound|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Pilgrim Porky|y}}

#{{ShortList|Slap Happy Pappy|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Poor Fish|y}}

#{{ShortList|You Ought to Be in Pictures|y}}

#{{ShortList|The Chewin' Bruin|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Porky's Baseball Broadcast|y}}

#{{ShortList|Patient Porky|y}}

#{{ShortList|Calling Dr. Porky|y}}

#{{ShortList|Prehistoric Porky|y}}

#{{ShortList|The Sour Puss|y}}

#{{ShortList|Porky's Hired Hand|y}} 

#{{ShortList|The Timid Toreador|y}} 

#{{ShortList|Porky's Snooze Reel|y}}

# {{ShortList|The Haunted Mouse|y}}

# {{ShortList|Joe Glow, the Firefly|y}}

# {{ShortList|Porky's Bear Facts|y}}

# {{ShortList|Porky's Preview|y}}

# {{ShortList|Porky's Ant|y}}

# {{ShortList|A Coy Decoy|y}}

# {{ShortList|Porky's Prize Pony|y}}

# {{ShortList|Meet John Doughboy|y}}

# {{ShortList|We, the Animals - Squeak!|y}}

# {{ShortList|The Henpecked Duck|y}}

# {{ShortList|Notes to You|y}}

# {{ShortList|Robinson Crusoe Jr.|y}}

# {{ShortList|Porky's Midnight Matinee|y}}

# {{ShortList|Porky's Pooch|y}}

# {{ShortList|Porky's Pastry Pirates|y}}

# {{ShortList|Who's Who in the Zoo|y}}

# {{ShortList|Porky's Cafe|y}}

# {{ShortList|Saps in Chaps|y}}

# {{ShortList|Daffy's Southern Exposure|y}}

# {{ShortList|Nutty News|y}}

# {{ShortList|Hobby Horse-Laffs|y}}

# {{ShortList|Gopher Goofy|y}}

# {{ShortList|Wacky Blackout|y}}

# {{ShortList|The Ducktators|y}}

# {{ShortList|Eatin' on the Cuff|y}}

# {{ShortList|The Impatient Patient|y}}

# {{ShortList|The Daffy Duckaroo|y}}

# {{ShortList|Confusions of a Nutzy Spy|y}}

# {{ShortList|Hop and Go|y}}

# {{ShortList|Tokio Jokio|y}}

# {{ShortList|Porky Pig's Feat|y}}

# {{ShortList|Scrap Happy Daffy|y}}

# {{ShortList|Puss n' Booty|y}}

== Notes ==

*Given that there are exactly 78 redrawn-colorized cartoons, they were likely (at least in part) designed to act as a syndication package; as the cartoons could air for 26 half-hours. This would be the same syndication format used for ''[[The Porky Pig Show]]'', which the colorized shorts are known to have aired on in certain regional dubs.

*The artwork used for the Sunset Productions opening/closing screen appears to be comprised of cutouts from theater lobby cards. In particular, the dog in the bottom-right corner is taken from the lobby card for "[[Shake Your Powder Puff]]".

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==

*[http://web.archive.org/web/20091027131542/http://geocities.com/argussventon/cartoondistributors/guildfilms/sunset.html Sunset Productions and Guild Films]

[[Category:Companies]]