Calvin and the Colonel

1961

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP2 Calvin Gets Psychoanalyzed Oct 10, 1961

EP8 Colonel Traps A Thief Jan 01, 0001

EP18 Thanksgiving Dinner Jan 01, 0001

6.6| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

Calvin and the Colonel is an animated cartoon television series in 1961 about Colonel Montgomery J. Klaxon, a shrewd fox and Calvin T. Burnside, a dumb bear. Their lawyer was Oliver Wendell Clutch, who was a weasel. The colonel lived with his wife Maggie Belle and her sister Sue, who did not trust the colonel at all. Colonel Klaxon was in the real estate business, but always tried get-rich-quick schemes with Calvin's unwitting help. The series was an animated remake of Amos 'n' Andy [or, more or less, "Andy and The Kingfish"] and featured the voices of Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll from the radio series. Using animals avoided the touchy racial issues which had led to the downfall of Amos 'n' Andy. Because of low ratings, the show was cancelled after two months, but returned two months later to complete the first season contract. For a year afterward reruns were seen on Saturday mornings, and eventually syndicated through the 1960s. It was also adapted as a comic book by Dell Comics, and as such the first of two issues was the final installment in the company's extremely prolific Four Color anthology series.

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Reviews

LouHomey From my favorite movies..
Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.
Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
John T. Ryan BEING THAT WE had no independent recollection of "the Golden Age of Radio", the only familiarity that we had with AMOS 'N' ANDY was via the television series. We were aware that: a) It had been a highly successful Radio Series for an extended period.b) That the series characters had been the invention of a pair of Vaudevillians; Freeman Gosden & Charles Correll.c) That although the characters as well as the actors who portrayed them on screen were Black, the creators were White.WITH ALL OF this in mind, we watched, observed and drew some conclusions.IT APPEARED TO us, the series sought to walk a sort of cultural tightrope as to the characters ethnic classification. Whereas the accents, locals and humor came across as definitely Southern, there is no particular indication that they are supposed to be Black, White or Green. The resulting "neutrality" created a sort of blandness in the personality of the characters; as well as a reduction in the range of humor and the degree that gags could be developed. IN SHORT, THE series was the victim of a sort of "Political Correctness" in an era long before the term "Political Correctness" had become known; let alone Politically Correct.IT WAS WORTH a try to utilize both the concept and the talents of Gosden & Correll; if only for Historical perspective. Perjhaps it would have succeeded in sustaining a viewer ship that earned a more extended run for the cartoon series. That may well have been possible if they had gone with the original Black characterizations, utilizing Black Actors.BUT OF COURSE, we'll never know; for "if" is such a big word.
zsenorsock This was a black and white made for TV cartoon that was created and voiced by Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden of "Amos and Andy" fame. Huge stars on radio for decades, the decline of radio and the political incorrectness of their blackface characters finally ended the "Amos and Andy" run in 1960. Inspired by the success of many radio stars in Hanna-Barbera cartoons, "Calvin and the Colonel" was their attempt to resurrect their popular characters in the disguise of a fox and a bear. The attempt didn't work. The animation was second rate and as a kid, the show always seemed kind of slow and boring. The two retired for good after the failure of this cartoon.