Cue Marks Galore!

 

I've been wanting to talk about this certain topic for a couple years now. It's a rare piece of old filmmaking that's already been dated since the use of technology and software.

What you seen above is what we normally call "cue marks" or also known as either a cue dot, or changeover cue.

The first time I ever actually saw a cue mark was when I was starting to watch animated shorts that were supposedly public domain on YouTube. The first one I spotted was in a Color Rhapsody cartoon, The Mad Hatter (1940). It's a good cartoon but the ending rather changed how I would experience old films in general.

I think I remembered stating myself that they were a part of every cartoon remastered or not, and it felt like I was going to avoid it for a while until I realized that cue marks especially the ones that looked spiky and itchy were just from original theatrical prints or slightly remastered prints. It was a relief when I researched into it because I'm not gonna lie I'm kinda disturbed by these things.

It felt like getting rid of the cue marks for newer generations was a great idea since they were originally used to project each reel which was about 4-5 per average film feature. But now that we have television and not a single projector to manage any of the old films from the 40s-50s, why even have the distracting cues anyway? It can be difficult to get rid of them entirely, so as the grain overlay. Enough complaints. This was a method already done 20 years ago till now.

They appear every 14-20 minutes in a single reel, sometimes in animated shorts or considerably a short film, cue marks would appear whenever the film would end. No matter if it's 6-10 minutes long.

(Another example from my favorite Donald Duck cartoon Duck Pimples which is 7:44)

When it comes to the uniqueness of cue marks here's a list.

Yes fortunately I named them myself. I hope you like it. It's for entertainment purposes. They actually don't have names. 

What's so peculiar about each of the cue marks is whether a certain film, prior to what decade, motion picture process it's applied. The original black dot I see all the time in B&W movies.

If you have noticed cue marks whether you seen them on TV, VHS tapes, etc. well now you know where they came from. It was a much more useful task for when a film reel was about to come to a close.

Anyways I hoped this gave you an insight on what I consider one of my most important topics when it comes to old cinema because it isn't talked about very much since we now have DVD and Blu-Ray and most people have seen the more iconic old movies beautifully remastered. I go out in my comfort zone to watch old movies as well but sometimes it's even more obscure films. I am quite cautious. Right now I seem to have a taste in films with no filler. Murder mysteries, wholesome stories, great actors etc.

Alternative Ending for Disney's Robin Hood (1973)

 

Disney's Robin Hood is a classic, but one character that I specifically think could've had more potential was King Richard since he only appears in the ending of the movie. I really like how more distinctive the designs were in the original storyboards. I wanted to make this post after seeing the alternative ending on my 40th anniversary DVD. This was truly remarkable and I actually preferred it over the finished version.

Introduction Scene In Citizen Kane

 

Been off this blog for a few days, my head feels exhausted. Have been exploring through old movies because it's my recent obsession lately. 

You can explore my letterboxd for feature length films I have watched last year in 2025 and currently this year. So far I watched 14 movies this year. And one of them is considered the "best" of Old Hollywood's cinematic achievements. Yes, this is Citizen Kane, most specifically it's opening scene.

I have talked about one of Orson Welles's lesser-known films a few weeks ago called Mr. Arkadin (1955) and it's incredible camera angles. What's so astounding about Citizen Kane in particular is that this is Welles's first film he ever made. Just about 25 years old, he mastered cinematography, acting and character development. Now I wouldn't say this a masterpiece or anything but it's still a really solid movie nonetheless.

I absolutely love the atmosphere in this opening scene where we get the whole view of the mansion. It reminds me of alot of the asylum in Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It's got great attention to environment and anticipation.

We get introduced to Charles Foster Kane who holds onto a snow globe, it's cute. A close-up shot done perfectly well.

What eventually happens to Kane utters his final words, "Rosebud" and dies. We get the most extremely close-up frames I ever seen in a movie. Usually filmmakers would be appropriate showing a close-up of someone's face, but the MOUTH? It's bizarre at first but it's iconic. 

Then unexpectedly Kane dies, and we get this impressive frame of the snowglobe drops on the floor.

Citizen Kane is one of those films that whether you like it or don't, there's something about it that appeals the right value of how movies should work. It's just interesting, creative and understandable. It's actually hard to pull off a "good film" entirely because people might not relate to all of the dialogue-heavy characters or interactions. I think it just depends on just the actors and the premise.

Rich Natural Colors In Pulp Art & Films

 

Sometimes my style of art changes. As of now I seem to enjoy muted yet pleasing color schemes and pulp art!

I like these neutral colors. This was painted by Andrew Loomis. 

Smart color styling altogether. I used 4 colors that fit the image very well. Reds, blacks, beige.

Here's another incredible one by Perry Peterson. 

Again, I love the beige, it's not too lame like today's fashion standards apparently.

There's great color from a movie I watched recently called Rear Window (1954). I absolutely loved it. I seen a few images on FILMGRAB that were my favorite scenery in the entire film. Those clouds are gorgeous. 

Obviously this film is directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and he's known for having the best cinematography and visual effects I ever seen. He was amazing and it reminds me of his other movies with the city vibe like Rope (1948).

Also in addition, here's this cool movie poster with a limited color palette of course.

As for another Hitchcock film, The Birds (1963) also has some astounding background shots. I also watched the movie, but it was on a much different ratio. I still really like this screencap, this by far has the best colors I seen in just one movie image. So pleasing!

I have some more vintage "pulp art" I downloaded.

Another great painting by Andrew Loomis. I have talked about him before on my blog if you want to click the link. 

https://sngexplorationblog.blogspot.com/2025/05/my-type-of-art-paintings-galorevintage.html?m=1

This one I know the name of and is painted by Austin Briggs "Flight Into Darkness". Those yellows are nostalgic to me. It's weird to say but it reminds me of lava lamps.

Now how about more fictional characters and settings? I love me some Juanjo Guarnido artwork. His art is what I want to create myself. Just anthropomorphic animals acting out as live-action humans in serious territory. This is one of my favorites from him. It gives off movie model vibes. I adore this.

Most animated cartoons I talked about on this blog already have some great color styling. But I haven't talked about What's Brewin Bruin? (1948) yet. It's one of my favorite of the Three Bears cartoons. They're funny and I always loved them ever since I first experienced them. 

This alongside The Bee Deviled Bruin has some great backgrounds of the rocks. Peter Alvarado is credited for the background art. 

And finally for now is J.C Leyendecker, I don't think I praised him enough for his early artwork. This one's from 1906! Almost a century and 2 decades ago! Great stuff. 

50s Tom and Jerry

 

While I don't think the 1950s for Tom and Jerry was the best era, I think it was the best for it's "aesthetic". 

Ever since I watched Tom and Jerry as a youngster, it always stuck into me for it's motion and energy. I don't think I recall myself saying I need to watch the old classics until I was fully capable of it. Afterward it set off to a whole new universe of classic entertainment like Looney Tunes, then Tex Avery, The Three Stooges and old Disney.

There's some impressive title cards from these series of cartoons. My favorite being Royal Cat Nap (1958). I love the purple background and Old English text used for the overall style of the cartoon.

I kinda like the addition of having more characters being included since most of the 40s consist on re-using the same characters like Spike, and Nibbles. This is from Tom's Photo Finish (1957). I suppose this is the kitchen, to me it looks really nice. It's warm and has some nice natural orange, brown and yellows. I also do like Joan's design and the facial expression. It's the perfect screencapture.

The Flying Sorceress (1956) This alongside Royal Cat Nap is also one of my favorite Tom and Jerry title cards. It also has hella cool backgrounds. I love the cinemascope aspect ratio alot better here. It gives us more perspective.

Tom opening the creaky door reminds me alot of Porky's entering in Jeepers Creepers (1939), it's still a scene I'm quite inspired to. I want to talk about it sometime soon.

Yeah, a little bit of a side note, Some of the Tom and Jerry cartoons released during the midst of the late 50s, re-used all of the animation, to fit into supposedly more cartoonish sketchy backgrounds and the color gradient on the characters being kinda over-saturated. It doesn't matter to me that these were remade for audiences with a more modern approach to cinemascope at that point and I guess that MGM didn't have the full budget to make a full cartoon, but it's still okay stuff. I do however like this particular scene with a funny frame of Tom, but mostly focusing on the colors of the skies. Very pleasing.

I honestly felt like this new use of filmmaking process impacted more movies to become revolutionary and successful. I respect the old movies in a 4:3 ratio, and simpler elements to films, but I kinda stick to more modern approaches, since nobody seems to care that much about films being technically old-fashioned unless if it's something like The Lighthouse (2019), it's rare but can ultimately lead some occasional impact.

I honestly felt like I lived in the inaccurate time to be creating stuff when all we have is movies cashing in on trends, 3D, and higher budgeting. I honestly feel like indie animation is winning, and classic entertainment is gaining more of an audience. 

I have mentioned this blog post a few times already but you'll like it if you haven't.

https://sngexplorationblog.blogspot.com/2025/06/sherwood-forestrobin-hoodwinked-1958.html?m=1

The Greatness Of The Criterion Collection DVD Covers

 

We're back on the DVD grind. Previously last November, I talked about why I feel that DVDs are better than streaming service in terms of it's bonus features and creativity. Call me crazy, but I think it's one of my funniest posts I ever made. 

While I'm still fair with my opinion, I don't find all of the DVD covers to be great. The Disney DVD covers for the most part are memorable, but still fairly average product material. My absolute favorite DVD covers come from The Criterion Collection particularly old hollywood movies.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) - The two-tone color scheme makes this more spookier and thrilling. This feels like an extraordinary tribute and was made with real passion. I actually have the actual DVD in my collection since I preferably enjoy a newly remastered version of old movies. It became my first exposure to the all-time great movie directors. Frank Capra was a genius.

I originally watched 12 Angry Men (1957) on Tubi. This cover is still stellar though. I might prefer this over the original theatrical poster, but I still liked the detail of having the knife being included which is not the case here. But I do like the color palette alot. It's a very iconic movie for reasons.

I bought The Lady Eve (1941) for a limited time at the library. It looked interesting and turned out it was such an amazing film afterward. I honestly would love to see more artwork from old movies with this artstyle. Again, the two-tone color scheme makes this more compelling.

Also here's an additional image of the snake from the opening and closing credits.

Bringing Up Baby (1938) - The original theatrical poster is honestly not the best. This one's much more inventive and crafty. I absolutely love the soft textures of the leopard prints. I think it's still respectful that the two main characters are B&W and not fully revamped in color.

I don't feel comfortable trying to compare something like I complain about "better much more amusing things".  But I have to make a statement to both the Criterion King of Jazz vs the theatrical version. Because it's both a problem and a solution.

Let me make an honest critque. I personally don't like a poster or just anything advertising related that has too much characters plastered onto it. It kinda spoils everything that you might experience, and sometimes it's utterly false what's actually in the film such as the poster below. It's very well-crafted and full of personality but to me it doesn't fit the overall quality of the original film. It feels like there's going to be a typical rom-com in it, which to be honest, this movie doesn't have. It may have some romance thrown into the mix but nothing that counts as "filler" at all.

I think the Criterion version of The King Of Jazz cover is the total opposite. It's simple but not too distracting, the font and words displayed aren't jumbled, and what's most creative of all is the rich feel of the red and turquoise palette similar to the movie being 2-strip Technicolor.

I honestly think it's ruining the art medium having too much details and characters stuffed into people's attention. It's not terrible but I do think it's getting a little stale.

The last two covers I'll be showcasing today all have similar styles to The Lady Eve cover art only I'm not familiar with any of these movies. I researched into Sullivan's Travels a little, but I haven't seen the entirety. Shout out to whoever made these. They are all awesome. 

Now for animation. I researched into what animated films made it into the Criterion Collection and there's some interesting ones. But I'm aware of Wall-E the most. It's one of my favorite Pixar films so far. I think it's absolutely outstanding. The color scheme with this cover in particular is all dirty and dull but that's what the entire world Wall-E unfortunately lives in, and I adore it. Wall-E looks cute.

In conclusion, I think that as an artist myself, there should be more care and respect towards other artists who would love inventive and enthusiasm to something they enjoy and feel inspired to. I honestly have a ton of mixed feelings about Hollywood as it's been highly valued and also ruined for over a century. I still respect a ton of actors and directors not because they're famous or successful, but they appreciate what they give to the audience. Let's stop focusing on the negativity and see the positive of these icons for a reason. These posters in particular have given me a chance to reflect on what we still have as us looking for talent and appreciation. 

BONUS 💥 

This was me intentionally trying to make an animation poster back in 2023. I think it's very stylistic even though it felt like I created it for entertainment purposes. Maybe it's something I could make in the very future. Every classic animation studio had an experimental film. So maybe I should do the same.

The Dream

This is my first ever post where I talk about something extremely personal.

 As of writing this I literally woke up like a few minutes ago to tell you this dream I had and I mostly remember alot about it. I was with my parents to visit a strange house, we us still outside had to get through haunting steps that it almost felt like it took ages, I was with my family members so it wasn't too bad. It also took place in the daytime so it was easy for me to see what was going on. 

Anyways, as we entered, we had a feast. Yes. We felt like having a Thanksgiving again after a month. My parents were eating like crazy, but what followed it was gift-giving time. It was not only a Thanksgiving but a Christmas. All I could remember is Dad's gifts being rather confusing. Dad has these A.I generated advertising banners and one of them had spelled his name wrong. 

(This is sorta what it was like, also this isn't what my actual Dad looks like just an example)

The A.I wrote "Nick". My uncle's name. It was advertising Dad's official concert?! And he had this horrendous digital face almost sorta Face Raiders style with a wide opened facial expression almost like he's about to eat the crowd. 

Another one of the members wrapped their gift and had a graphic t-shirt of what appears to be a Felix The Cat look-alike in old-fashioned attire. He had a different name sorta visioned him his name would be Fedro Jr. Somehow the relative in the group said they have happened to grew up watching a show based off him. I was sorta showing disbelief. What if it was just a mediocre show? To be honest I didn't know. 

(It was a good sign I had a picture taken of what I actually eaten back in May of 2025 lol)

But what was on our plates you ask? I had my personal favorite, Vegetable Blend, with Broccoli, Cheese and Carrots, in fact there was a ton of carrots and I ate em like crazy. The other members of my family also had a delectable meal that they have ate it undoubtedly fast. The last thing I could kinda remember about my dream is that I wore something cool underneath my winter jacket. It was a old movie poster graphic tee.

Well, that should conclude my morning dream. It's insane how much I could remember almost everything from it. That RARELY happens. 

Bye for now.