George Pal

February 1, 1908 (age 72)

Cegled, Hungary

At the age of twenty-two, George Pal became the head of the cartoon department at the Berlin UFA film studio. He established his own small studio in 1932, the first of several studios he would create in Europe before his move to America in 1939. His wife encouraged their initial move from Budapest to Berlin because of a lack of financial opportunity there. They left Germany in 1933, when the Nazis assumed political control, to go to Prague, where he opened a studio, only to move once again. He set up studios in Paris in 1934, and later in Holland in 1935. Supported in his work by commercial advertisers in Holland, Pal developed some of his early special-effects animation techniques that would eventually make him internationally famous. Initially using tobacco products such as cigarettes and tobacco leaves to provide unusual photographic images in making commercials that were shown in movie theaters, Pal began experimenting with animating puppets for film. He employed a stop-motion animation process with wooden puppets and quickly discovered a new commercial potential outlet for his creative impulses: eight-minute movies featuring animated puppets, which he termed "Puppetoons". Pal's film studio in Einhover, Holland, was devoted to producing these animated movies, and it became the largest animation production facility in Europe prior to World War II. Pal created more than two hundred Puppetoon films in Europe; later Puppetoons produced in America were designed for children and frequently espoused a moral or a lesson. In fact, several of the forty-two Puppetoons that Pal produced for Paramount Pictures in America were heavily propagandistic, attacking the Nazi militarism of that time. In part because of this growing Nazi threat in Europe, the Pals decided to move to America. George Pal had produced a special-effects-laden commercial in the 1930's entitled The Ship of the Ether, which caught the favorable attention of an American audience. He delivered a lecture at Columbia University in 1938, and when Columbia invited him back for another lecture in 1939, after Germany had just invaded Poland, the Pals decided that it was an appropriate time to make a permanent move to the United States. Approximately a decade later, George Pal became a naturalized American citizen. In America, Paramount hired Pal to head his own animation studio, where he was encouraged to continue making his Puppetoons. Unlike his earlier films in Europe, which were merely animated commercials, the Puppetoons he made in America during the 1940's were strictly for entertainment. Pal received both critical and popular acclaim for his early efforts in Hollywood. However, because of the increased costs involved in producing the Puppetoons, as well as the growing popularity of television, Pal turned his attention away from short film subjects around 1948 in order to work on feature-length movies. Paramount backed George Pal's production of Destination Moon in 1949, and despite his difficulty in getting firm support from the studio, the film was released to critical acclaim in 1950. Subsequently, Destination Moon has been cited by numerous film critics as a seminal movie in the development of the science-fiction film. Satisfied with his work, Paramount backed Pal in another science-fiction feature, When Worlds Collide (1951). Pal went on to produce a number of other important films, including The Great Rupert (1949), War of the Worlds (1953), Houdini (1953), The Naked Jungle (1954), The Conquest of Space (1955), The Power (1968), and his last movie, Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze (1975). Pal's forte in the motion pictures that he produced was designing special effects. The first film that Pal directed was Tom Thumb in 1958, which he also produced. Projects that he had hoped to film, but could never find the appropriate financial support for, included sequels to both The Time Machine and When Worlds Collide, the latter entitled After Worlds Collide, which, like its predecessor, was based on the novels of science-fiction author Phillip Wylie. His great strength as both producer and director was his ability to have superior special effects in his movies despite being hindered by relatively low production budgets. Pal helped to transform science fiction, a cinematic genre that was typically regarded as second-rate, into something worthy of being taken seriously. His science-fiction films ranged from the highly realistic, documentary type, to slap-dash adventure, to folklore-inspired fantasy, to classic interpretations of H. G. Wells. Pal's important contributions to early special-effects moviemaking during the 1950's and 1960's helped to pave the way for later producer-directors such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Pal died on May 2, 1980 at his home in Beverly Hills.

George Pal Edit Profile

animator director producer

Background

George Pal was born on February 1, 1908 in Cegléd, Hungary. He was the son of George Pal, Sr. , a noted Hungarian actor. His mother, Maria Pal, was also an actor.

Education

George Pal received his formal education in architecture at the Budapest Academy of Arts.

Career

At the age of twenty-two, George Pal became the head of the cartoon department at the Berlin UFA film studio. He established his own small studio in 1932, the first of several studios he would create in Europe before his move to America in 1939. His wife encouraged their initial move from Budapest to Berlin because of a lack of financial opportunity there. They left Germany in 1933, when the Nazis assumed political control, to go to Prague, where he opened a studio, only to move once again. He set up studios in Paris in 1934, and later in Holland in 1935. Supported in his work by commercial advertisers in Holland, Pal developed some of his early special-effects animation techniques that would eventually make him internationally famous. Initially using tobacco products such as cigarettes and tobacco leaves to provide unusual photographic images in making commercials that were shown in movie theaters, Pal began experimenting with animating puppets for film.

He employed a stop-motion animation process with wooden puppets and quickly discovered a new commercial potential outlet for his creative impulses: eight-minute movies featuring animated puppets, which he termed "Puppetoons". Pal's film studio in Einhover, Holland, was devoted to producing these animated movies, and it became the largest animation production facility in Europe prior to World War II. Pal created more than two hundred Puppetoon films in Europe; later Puppetoons produced in America were designed for children and frequently espoused a moral or a lesson. In fact, several of the forty-two Puppetoons that Pal produced for Paramount Pictures in America were heavily propagandistic, attacking the Nazi militarism of that time. In part because of this growing Nazi threat in Europe, the Pals decided to move to America. George Pal had produced a special-effects-laden commercial in the 1930's entitled The Ship of the Ether, which caught the favorable attention of an American audience. He delivered a lecture at Columbia University in 1938, and when Columbia invited him back for another lecture in 1939, after Germany had just invaded Poland, the Pals decided that it was an appropriate time to make a permanent move to the United States.

Approximately a decade later, George Pal became a naturalized American citizen. In America, Paramount hired Pal to head his own animation studio, where he was encouraged to continue making his Puppetoons. Unlike his earlier films in Europe, which were merely animated commercials, the Puppetoons he made in America during the 1940's were strictly for entertainment. Pal received both critical and popular acclaim for his early efforts in Hollywood. However, because of the increased costs involved in producing the Puppetoons, as well as the growing popularity of television, Pal turned his attention away from short film subjects around 1948 in order to work on feature-length movies.

Paramount backed George Pal's production of Destination Moon in 1949, and despite his difficulty in getting firm support from the studio, the film was released to critical acclaim in 1950. Subsequently, Destination Moon has been cited by numerous film critics as a seminal movie in the development of the science-fiction film. Satisfied with his work, Paramount backed Pal in another science-fiction feature, When Worlds Collide (1951).

Pal went on to produce a number of other important films, including The Great Rupert (1949), War of the Worlds (1953), Houdini (1953), The Naked Jungle (1954), The Conquest of Space (1955), The Power (1968), and his last movie, Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze (1975). Pal's forte in the motion pictures that he produced was designing special effects.

The first film that Pal directed was Tom Thumb in 1958, which he also produced. Projects that he had hoped to film, but could never find the appropriate financial support for, included sequels to both The Time Machine and When Worlds Collide, the latter entitled After Worlds Collide, which, like its predecessor, was based on the novels of science-fiction author Phillip Wylie.

His great strength as both producer and director was his ability to have superior special effects in his movies despite being hindered by relatively low production budgets. Pal helped to transform science fiction, a cinematic genre that was typically regarded as second-rate, into something worthy of being taken seriously. His science-fiction films ranged from the highly realistic, documentary type, to slap-dash adventure, to folklore-inspired fantasy, to classic interpretations of H. G. Wells. Pal's important contributions to early special-effects moviemaking during the 1950's and 1960's helped to pave the way for later producer-directors such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Pal died on May 2, 1980 at his home in Beverly Hills.

Achievements

George Pal was a leading figure in the science-fiction genre, especially noted for his work with special effects. He also created Puppetoons, a popular series of animated shorts. He won an Academy Award in 1943 for his Puppetoon animation, and a comic book of his entitled George Pal's Puppetoons made its appearance. For his contributions to film industry he received Academy Awards for special effects for Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide, and War of the Worlds.