Robert Swarthe (partially found short films from animator/special effects artist; 1960-1982)

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Animator and special effects artist, Robert Swarthe.

Status: Partially Found


Robert Swarthe is an animator and special effects artist. He spent his time as a freshmen studying animation at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He went on to work as a special effects artist on films such as Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the First Kind and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Swarthe has seemingly retired from the film industry, due to his last credit on a motion picture being The Outsiders from 1983.[1]

Swarthe has also made several short films during his time at UCLA and afterwards independently, many of which have still not been made available to the public.

List of Known Short Films

# Tiltle Year Notes Status
1 Don't Panic 1960 No plot details are known.[2] Lost
2 Attack of The Sea Beast 1962 No plot details are known other than it being animated.[3] Lost
3 Uncle Walt 1964 An unauthorized experimental parody short featuring multiple Disney characters alongside various racial stereotypes and disturbing visuals. In 2024, stills from the short ended up emerging through an eBay listing and Thunderbean Animation, who where going to include the short as part of a special Blu-Ray titled "Public Domain Mouse Adventures!" but ended up getting excluded when it released for unknown reasons.[4] Lost
4 Minor Discrepancies 1964 No plot details are known.[5] Lost
5 Vamos Al Cine 1965 No plot details are known.[6] Lost
6 Inglewood Sniper 1966 No plot details are known.[7] Lost
7 The Oil Refinery 1966 A spoof on industry-sponsored documentary films, with it being about the oil refining industry as a symbol of American pride.[8] Lost
8 The Unicycle Race 1966 An animated short about two stick figures racing for the championship in a unycicle race.[9] Lost
9 One Eye 1967 No plot details are known other than it being animated.[10] Lost
10 K-9000 A Space Oddity 1968 A spoof on 2001: A Space Odyssey about a dog getting sent to outer space and encountering various surrealistic characters. Found
11 The Thrilling Adventures of the Chameleon in Color 1969 A psychedelic animated short. Judging from its title, it would've starred a chameleon.[11] Lost
12 The Boss 1971 No plot details are known.[12] Lost
13 Radio Rocket Boy 1973 A live-action spoof of republic serials about an alien from a planet named Arkola 347, chosen to be sent to earth for their space colonization project, and features him in his adventures and problems when he lands on earth.[13][14] Lost
14 The Lone Dragnet 1973 A hybrid film of 'The Lone Ranger" and "Dragnet" using footage and music from the shows. Alongside clips from "Amos and Andy", "Beat the Clock" and advertisements for cigarettes and bananas.[15] Lost
15 Kick Me 1975 A surrealist animated short about a pair of legs going on misadventures. The short was nominated at the 1976 Oscars for "Best Animated Short Film"[16] and was released as a part of a compilation of animated shorts called "Fantastic Animation Festival" in 1977.[17] Found
16 Ink, Paint, Scratch 1979 A tutorial given by Swarthe on how to make animated films without a camera. Utilizing tecniches such as painting and scratching directly onto leader.[18] Lost
17 Double Suicide 1982 An experimental comedy short featuring Edie McClurg and Amercan comedian Gallagher.[19] Lost

Availability

Out of all known short films directed by Swarthe, only two have resurfaced in their enterity. With the rest (outside of "Uncle Walt") not having any material being available. However, a majority of his films can be viewed at the Academy Film Archive, who own copies of some of Swarthe's work.[20] According to Swarthe, he has thought about making a DVD containing all of his shorts at some point in the future.[21]

References

  1. ↑ An episode of the New York Stereoscopic Association podcast with Robert Swarthe. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  2. ↑ Academy Colletion listing for Don't Panic. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  3. ↑ Academy Colletion listing for Attack of The Sea Beast. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  4. ↑ Blameitonjorge's The Lost "Uncle Walt" Short Was Almost Found. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  5. ↑ Academy Collection listing for Minor Discrepancies. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  6. ↑ Academy Collection listing for Vamos Al Cine. Retrieved 04 Oct '24
  7. ↑ Academy Colletion listing for Inglewood Sniper. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  8. ↑ Alternative Projections page for The Oil Refinery. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  9. ↑ Alternative Projections page for The Unicycle Race. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  10. ↑ Academy Colletion listing for One Eye. Retrieved 04 Oct '24
  11. ↑ Alternative Projections Page on The Thrilling Adventures of the Chameleon in Color. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  12. ↑ Academy Collection listing for The Boss. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  13. ↑ Page 34 on a Cinefantastique article on Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which breifly mentions the short. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  14. ↑ Alternative Projections page on the Radio Rocket Boy. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  15. ↑ Alternative Projections page on The Lone Dragnet. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  16. ↑ Short Film Winners: 1976 Oscars. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  17. ↑ Fantastic Animation Festival (1977). Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  18. ↑ Alternate Projections page for Ink, Paint, Scratch. Retrieved 04 Oct '24
  19. ↑ Academy Colletion listing for Double Suicide. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  20. ↑ The Robert Swarthe Collection. Retrieved 05 Oct '24
  21. ↑ An episode of the New York Stereoscopic Association podcast, in which Swarthe mentions the possibility of a DVD (06:32). Retrieved 05 Oct '24
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