Another highlight is the sinking of the lusitania, an antigerman world war i propaganda masterpiece from 1918. Book depository books with free delivery worldwide. Working from photographs and firsthand accounts, mccay recreated the incident from the time the ship left new york harbor through the rescue of passengers. Oct 28, 2002 winsor mccay is well known as the creator of the first animated cartoon star, gertie the dinosaur, 1914. On may 7, 1915, the lusitania was struck by a torpedo from a german uboat off the southern coast of ireland. Both the 1914 janes fighting ships plus the british naval packet book listed lusitania and mauritania, among others, as armed merchantmen. And the beautiful, breathtaking sinking of the lusitania is worth two times the price of the dvd. Winsor mccays the sinking of the lusitania remains on of the most astonishing pieces of animation youre ever likely to see. Michael morpurgo shares the story of the sinking of the lusitania in 1915 and photographs he has taken in the isles of scilly, the setting of his latest book. Though mccay was incensed by the attack, hearst was an isolationist and demanded that he draw antiwar cartoons. Sinking of the lusitania 1918 winsor mccay, with an improvised. Books both fiction and nonfiction about the lusitania. As the new york times reported in its headline, a grave crisis was at hand.
Mar 05, 2015 the lusitania is about to sink and sink, and sink all over again. Before mickey and daffy, cartoons were much more than a way to keep children quiet. It would be one of the first of many such american images not only to use the sinking of the lusitania as a battle cry, but to do so, like destroy this mad brute, with an image of the feminine victim. May 06, 2015 in june of 1915, just a month after the sinking of the lusitania, the boston committee of public safety published spears poster. Winsor mccay s 1918 cartoon the sinking of the lusitania was designed to make the us population enter world war i.
It is likely the first animated propaganda ever made, the first animated documentary ever made and most importantly the first true attempt at pulling off a dramatic animated film. Around 1910 he began to create animations with his drawings. In 1916, mccay himself adopted the cel method, beginning with his fourth film the sinking of the lusitania 1918. As the ship nears its destination, she is struck and severely damaged by a torpedo from a german uboat. Audiences watched the sinking of the lusitania as much to see winsor mccay at work as they did to be informed about the ship torpedoed three years before. The sinking of the lusitania, released in 1918, is an animated short film by american artist winsor mccay. Why the germans torpedoed the lusitania when german uboat commander walther schwieger ordered a torpedo strike on the lusitania, he didnt know it would be the shot that eventually led the u. At 12 minutes, it was the longest animated film on record at the time.
Which are the 3 best books detailing the story of the lusitania. Winsor mccay s the sinking of the lusitania posted on february 9, 2016 by devilofhistory the first two chapters of hillary l. This grated on the artist more and more until finally he decided to follow up on his hugely successful gertie the dinosaur by making the sinking of the lusitania 1918, which you can see above. Winsor mccays the sinking of the lusitania spectacular attractions. Among the dead were 128 americans, citizens of a neutral country. They were used to teach a skill such as how to use the. Winsor mccay animates the sinking of the lusitania in a. An animated dramatization of the notorious world war i german torpedoing of the ocean liner, lusitania.
The sinking of the lusitania on saturday 1st may 1915 a luxury british liner, the lusitania, left new york. Lusitania was the next film after gertie, and there werent any others in that four year period because william randolph hearst at the american was restricting mccay from producing animation, performing on vaudeville, and creating comics. The sinking of the lusitania animated film by mccay. Neither a fulltime animator nor part of a movie studio, mccay was. It was an animation that he would interact with in front of an audience. He did not produce another animated film until the sinking of the lusitania 1918, which was one of the first films to utilize cel animationthe process in which individual elements of a scene are. Winsor mccays the sinking of the lusitania and the origins of animated. Winsor mccay animates the sinking of the lusitania in a beautiful. As this was written by a survivor of the sinking, his book stands above the rest, as he was there.
By michael inman, curator of rare books at the new york public library. In may 1915, the rms lusitania, then the worlds fastest line. Mccay and his assistants worked for twentytwo months on his most ambitious film, the sinking of the lusitania 1918, a patriotic recreation of the german torpedoing in 1915 of the rms lusitania. The question comes to mind often when reading erik larsons harrowing and intriguing resurrection of the infamous but misremembered sinking of the british liner lusitania by a. He also wrote lesson one, but his work as a teacher of the art form he helped to create has. Winsor mccay, originator and inventor of animated cartoons, decides to draw a historical record of the crime that shocked humanity. The world has spent the past year remembering the global conflict, and the lusitania got sunk 100 years ago this month. Mccay turned his creative side to his animation, and created his longest film ever, the sinking of the lusitania, about the attack on a cunard ocean liner by a german submarine in may 1915.
Feb 09, 2016 winsor mccays the sinking of the lusitania posted on february 9, 2016 by devilofhistory the first two chapters of hillary l. In this sense, mccay s film would have been no different than charlie chaplins shoulder anns 1918 or d. At twelve minutes it has been called the longest work of animation at the time of its release. Winsor mccays the sinking of the lusitania the devil of. This may is the 100th anniversary of the attack on the grand british ocean liner by a german submarine, and the expected. Mar 24, 2015 the question comes to mind often when reading erik larsons harrowing and intriguing resurrection of the infamous but misremembered sinking of the british liner lusitania by a german submarine.
The ship was also captained by a royal naval officer. The size of this second explosion caused the lusitania to sink in 18 minutes, killing 1198 passengers and crew. So grateful these beautiful films are restored and available. But his animated output was limited at the demand of his employer, publishing magnate william randolph hearst. An animated depiction of the sinking of the lusitania.
This is the giants shoulders that disney and todays animators stand upon. After the phenomenal success of gertie the dinosaur 1914, cartoonist winsor mccay realized that he had found his passion in animation, and he was eager to create even more films. May 23, 2016 while the titanics tragic story gets a lot of publicity, theres another, lessertold story of another ocean liner that sank just a few years later, and arguably with greater consequences the sinking of the lusitania. The sinking of the lusitania 1918 is an american silent animated short film by cartoonist winsor mccay. Today marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the lusitania. Lusitania did not enjoy as much commercial success as the earlier films, and mccay s later movies attracted little attention. The sinking of the lusitania shocked the conscience of the american public and was later cited as a significant factor that drew the united states into world war i as a combatant. On may 7, 1915, the rms lusitania was just off the coast of ireland, heading towards its destination of liverpool, when a german uboat attacked. Sep 24, 2014 michael morpurgo shares the story of the sinking of the lusitania in 1915 and photographs he has taken in the isles of scilly, the setting of his latest book. It features a short 12 minute explanation of the sinking of rms lusitania after it was struck by two torpedoes fired from a german uboat. The sinking of the cunard liner lusitania, on may 7, 1915, will always play second fiddle, in the ensemble of maritime disasters, to that of white stars titanic, a little more than three years. Winsor mccays the sinking of the lusitania and the. The new book from cartoon research winsor mccays the sinking of the alpena brings that 1880 photograph back to life. The lusitania is about to sink and sink, and sink all over again.
The death of so many innocent civilians at the hands of the germans galvanized american support for entering the war, which eventually turned the tide in favor of the allies. The lusitania story had been on my mind but i thought it was too obvious a story, especially now as it is coming up to the 100th anniversary of its sinking. Score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Chutes new study of comics as visual witness to wars and atrocities are a brief but informative tour of the history of narrative visual depictions of wartime trauma. See more ideas about little nemo in slumberland, animation film and classic comics. Long before mccays famous sinking of the lusitania cartoon, another ship went down that started his professional career. Probably mccays most passionate work, the sinking of the lusitania is a propaganda piece made for wwi. Winsor mccays the sinking of the lusitania and the origins of. Although mccay s later cartoons were popular and praised for their naturalness centaurs and sinking of the lusitania, mccay s elaborate full animation proved too timeconsuming and costly to inspire others, more concerned with production, to adhere to his high standards. Why the germans torpedoed the lusitania smithsonian. May 04, 2015 the sinking of the rms lusitania on may 7, 1915, aided by the unnecessary delays in getting rescue vessels to the survivors, led to about 1,200 deaths, including more than 120 americans. The torpedoing of the british passenger liner rms lusitania, which. It is a work of propaganda recreating the neverphotographed 1915 sinking of the british liner rms lusitania.
The sinking of the lusitania was an important event in world war i. Winsor mccays the sinking of the lusitania and the origins. The complete dream of the rarebit fiend 190419 by winsor mccay silas. Other articles where the sinking of the lusitania is discussed. In 1914 he made an animated move called gertie the dinosaur. Winsor mccays animation lesson number one, 1919 animation. Sinking of the lusitania 1918 winsor mccay, with an. Being a narrative of the torpedoing and sinking of the rms. Lusitania cartoon the sinking of the lusitania british pathe. In may 1915, the liner leaves the united states, headed for liverpool with over 2000 passengers on board. In this 1918 animated film, animation pioneer winsor mccay painstakingly recreated the may 7, 1915, german attack on rms lusitania. Early on, lusitania had been withdrawn from passenger service for conversion to war before being returned to civilian status. He also is remembered for his animated recreation of the sinking of the lusitania, 1918 and for his long and amazing career as a comic strip artist.
The film is the earliest surviving animated documentary and serious, dramatic work of. Animations were starting to become popular and he found it fun to do. Winsor mccay illustrates temperance or prohibition. The legends of lost ships call to us like siren songs. Though gertie was a worldwide success, mccay was compelled by his employer, the newspaper publisher william randolph hearst, to devote his time exclusively to editorial cartoons for several years. Much to my delight, id found a littleknown 1929 first edition volume published by the hearst company concerning prohibitionand primarily illustrated by the brilliant comicstrip artist and animation pioneer winsor mccay, with some. Which are the 3 best lusitania books encyclopedia titanica.
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