Q : I grew up in Southern California so I was very close to the Disney memory. Most of my favorite stories were about horses. I have been working on the history of the horses and riders who appeared in the movie Miracle of the White Stallions. I have been working on all the photographs that I have available. When making a movie like this, I am sure there was tons of footage that was never used. Is it possible to see this footage? There are several riders who are still alive and very helpful. Of course Col. Podhajsky is not, but I do have a letter from him dated 1964 telling him how great the movie was. There is also a lot of controversy about the uniforms used. Can you tell me more about the extra footage and uniforms?
Marcia, Sanger, Texas
A: Normally, unused footage from a film this old would not have been retained, except for generic, stock footage (i.e. scenery), which might be used in a later film. Three actors credited with playing riders are Kurt Jager, Olaf Tschierschke, and Harry Hornisch. We have no information on the uniforms, other than knowing that Viennese costume designer Leo Bei (1918–2005) was given credit for costumes. Bei also did costumes for Disney’s Almost Angels, Emil and the Detectives, and The Waltz King.
Q : I’m looking for more information on a former Swiss producer and cinematographer called Ernst Albrecht Heiniger. He died in Los Angeles July 19th 1993. What I know is that he was working with Walt Disney from 1952–1958 and made different short movies for Disney Studios. For two of those movies (Ama Girls, 1957) (Grand Canyon, 1958) he won an Oscar®. What we also know is that in 1953 he made a short movie in Switzerland, also for Disney Studios. A story about a young boy with a cowbell, based on a famous children book called A Bell for Ursli. This year, Swiss director Xavier Koller, who also won an Academy Award®, made a new version of that movie, which is running in Swiss theaters right now. What we found out is that the main actors from the original movie in 1953 are still alive. They were young kids back then and never got to see that movie in their lives. I'm searching desperately for a copy of that movie, which apparently was a huge success as an opening movie for theaters in America. My question: Do you know where I could find a copy of that movie, or do you have a contact, where I possibly would find more information on that particular film? I have the assumption, that the movie is called Switzerland and was released in 1954.
Curdin, Chur, Switzerland
A: Ernst Heiniger was the cinematographer for the Disney documentary, Grand Canyon (1958), as well as three films in the People and Places series—Ama Girls, Switzerland (1955), and Japan (1960)—and the CircleVision film, The Magic of the Rails, made for the Swiss Federal Railways in 1965. Disney never made a film based on A Bell for Ursli.
Q : Is there any way a member of the general public can suggest or nominate someone to be named a Disney Legend? If so, I’d like to nominate the late film historian John Culhane, who wrote those two superb books on Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. This is in addition to his contribution to the video documentaries on those two films, and who knows what else! It was not for nothing that he served as the inspiration and model for the “Flying John” character in the “Rhapsody in Blue” segment of Fantasia 2000! If you could please pass along my nomination to the Disney Legends selection committee, I would deeply appreciate it! Thanks in advance!
Tom, Fairview, Tennessee
A: Thank you for your suggestion; I shall pass it along.
Q : I’m currently a graduate student at the University of Denver. I am getting my degree in jazz studies with a focus in trombone performance. Over the last several years I have become infatuated with the music of George Bruns (specifically the incidental music used in 101 Dalmatians and The Jungle Book.) I was wondering if there was any way, or any route I could take to be able to view copies of the manuscript used for educational purposes. I am not sure if there are any copies outside of the Archives (I’m not even sure if there are copies in the Archives to begin with!) But I figured a quick question couldn’t hurt.
Alex, Denver, Colorado
A: The Walt Disney Archives does not maintain musical scores for the films. They are instead kept by the Company’s Music Department, whom you could try contacting directly.
Q : I was wondering, do all Disney cartoons and features that were re-released survive with their original titles? I've found a blog by historian David Gerstein where he posts original Mickey Mouse titles and I also found an original title card for El Terrible Toreador (1929) and The Band Concert (1935) in the Disney Wiki. I hope the research team can find them and preserve them since they’re a piece of Disney history. The first sound cartoons were distributed by Celebrity Pictures, then by Columbia Pictures, after that by United Artists Pictures and last, but not least, by R.K.O. Radio Pictures until Walt founded Buena Vista Distribution in 1953.
Arthur, Mexico City, Federal District
A: There should be film negatives, including the original title frames for all of the Disney cartoons in the Disney vaults, though I am aware that sometimes when a film was rereleased (such as by a different distributor), changes were made. I would hope that the original title frame was saved when the revised one replaced it, but I cannot prove that is indeed the case. Disney has still photographs of many of the original title frames for reference.