The CBS Children's Film Festival
1973-1974 Season




Jumping Over Puddles
Also known as: Uz Zase Skacu Pres Kaluze,
Jumping Over Puddles Again
I'm Jumping Over Puddles Again

Czechoslovakia 1970 87min
Broadcast 09/08/73, 03/16/74
Directed by: Karel Kachyna

Adam, the 10-year-old son of the Imperial horse-trainer, loves nothing more than riding his own horse. Unfortunately he is suddenly stricken with polio, and painful treatments, hospitalization, and operations follow. He comes out unable to move without the help of crutches or a wheel chair. He is crippled but undaunted in spirit. The boy is fully confident that he is going to jump over the puddles and ride horses again. Then he begins to make his dreams come true with the help of his friends. He succeeds and is back in the saddles.

Cast:
Vladimír Dlouhý........Adam
Zdena Hadrbolcová........Mother
Karel Hlusicka........Father
Vladimír Dlouhý........Adam (younger)

Notes: Based on the novel 'I can jump puddles' by Alan Marshall.

Won the Silver Shell Award of the San Sabastian International Film Festival, and the Grand Prix and Golden Statuette at the International Film Festival in Teheran.
An Australian miniseries "I Can Jump Puddles" was made in 1981.
IMDB




Lucy and the Miracles
Also known as: Lucie a zázraky, Lucie and the Miracles,
Lucia und die Wunder, Lucie et Les Miracles

Czechoslovakia 1970 72min
Broadcast 09/15/73, 05/11/74
Directed by: Ota Koval

The harsh reality of a home for abandoned children blends with episodes of youthful fantasy and slapstick comedy in this story of an orphan girl. Lucy's fondest wish is to find new parents and leave an orphanage. She befriends a man who can create doors from paint. He gives her a stuffed dog that magically comes alive when placed on the ground, and he and his wife end up adopting the little girl. After finding parents of her own, Lucy sets out through fantasy to find parents for her orphan friends. All of the people Lucy meet during her remarkable make believe wanderings end up taking children home.

Cast:
Viktorie Cermáková........Lucy
Nada Urbánková........Petra
Jan Tríska........Mikulá

Notes:
IMDB



The Lone Wolf
Also known as: Vuk samotnjak, Le Loup solitaire

Yugoslavia 1972 87min (Embassy Home Version 45min)
Broadcast 09/22/73, 04/06/74
Directed by: Obrad Gluscevic

A story about the unusual friendship between a 9-year-old boy and a "dangerous" German Shepherd. The old military dog is considered a mad sheep slayer by local hunters, who seek to kill him. The boy, Runko, risks his life to prove them wrong.

Cast:
Slavko Stimac........Ranko
Zeljko Mataija........Redjo
Ivan Stimac........Ciro
Boro Ivanisevic........Joso

Notes: Honored by awards from the International Children's Film Festival in Gijon Spain and the Teheran International Festival of Films for Children and Young Adults in Teheran Iran. In 1974 it was named the Silver Arena winner at the Festival of Feature Films in Pula, Yugoslavia.
IMDB



Gosha the Bear
Also known as: Korol manezha, Gosha the Circus Bear
King of the Ring, Auf Zirkusbaren schiebt man nicht
Король манежа
Le Roi du mančge

Soviet Union 1969 74min
Broadcast 09/29/73*, 01/05/74, 05/04/74
Directed by: Yuri Chulyukin

Film of a pampered circus bear that becomes lost in the woods and must learn to survive. When Gosha's circus train stops to take on water, the venturesome bear leaves his cage, becomes frightened by the townspeople and runs into the forest for sanctuary. Gosha has a rude awakening when he discovers the forest is not as safe as his cage, and its inhabitants are not as friendly as the circus attendants. Pampered all his life as a star performer, he must learn to survive in a hostile environment. Meanwhile, his trainer Kolya and a search party must finally give up looking for Gosha as winter sets in. The bear eventually comes to terms with his new environment and learns to fend for himself, but never really forgets his beloved Kolya.

Cast:
Ivan Kudryavtsev........Kolya
Vladimir Pitsek........Semyonich

Notes: Filming took place in the Leningrad countryside; the film is
based on Iurii Kazakov’s short story "Teddy".
IMDB



The Giant Eel
Also known as: My tri a pes z Petipes,
Das Geheimnis der Berenka, Un Ete A Petipsy,
The Three of Us and a Dog from Petipsy,
Wir drei und der Hund aus Petipsy,
Trois Gosses Et Un Chien

Czechoslovakia 1971 68min
Broadcast 09/29/73*, 03/09/74
Directed by: Ota Koval

Tony, a city boy from Prague, visits his aunt’s farm in the small village of Petipsy over the summer holidays. He is dismayed to discover that the local children are mean, and even the dogs are unfriendly. The local kids have a gang, and they don't take kindly to newcomers. He manages to makes friends with two children: Ruda, a boy who is also from the city, and Annie, a little girl. The local gang spends most of its time in a deserted stone quarry which surrounds a quiet lagoon. Legend has it that a monster lives in that lagoon, and every year the bravest child tries to capture it. Tony proves himself to the others and becomes a hero with an act of bravery involving the legendary monster, a giant eel.

Cast:
Jana Petrusová........Anca/Annie
Jirí Kúkol........Tony/Tonda
Josef Paclt........Franta
Robert Krásný........Ruda

Notes:
IMDB



Birds Come Flying to Us
Also known as: Ptitsi Dolitat Do Nas,
Great White Heron,
Ptitzi dolitat, Птици долитат
Birds Are Flying Our Way, Vögel kehren zurück
Ta Poulia tharthoun xana, Linnut lentävät luoksemme

Bulgaria 1971 82min
Broadcast 10/06/73, 04/20/74
Directed by: Zahari Zhandov

Opri is a young gypsy whose family hunts crows to sell their feet as a delicacy. The boy is fascinated by the wonderful world of birds, a love not shared by his family. He ends up making friends with a group of ornithologists and particularly with Yanka, one of their daughters. The boy spends a fun-filled summer close to nature, finds his true vocation and become encouraged to deepen his knowledge of birds. When the boy saves the life of a rare white crow, he gives it to an ornithologist. Soon after, Opri decides to leave his nomadic life and takes up residence on the bird preserve run by the ornithologist. The boy is forced to realize that others do not share his feelings when a heron is mercilessly shot by museum taxidermists. He must then come to terms with his inner conflict before he can continue studying the birds he wishes to save.

Cast:
Yordan Mitov........Opri
Nelli Topalova........Yanka
Borislav Ivanov........Dyado Bonko
Viktor Danchenko........Ivaylo

Notes: Sponsored by the Children's Film Foundation

The film was shot on location in northeastern Bulgaria between the Black Sea and the Danube - a district that is crossed by a route that has been used by migrant birds for centuries.
IMDB




Countdown to Danger

United Kingdom 1967 63min
Broadcast 11/03/73, 01/08/75, 08/17/74
Directed by: Peter Seabourne

Four youngsters explore an underground warehouse while on holiday on the island of Aldernay. One of the boys falls through a rotting roof into an old WWII German mine cache and is trapped. Attempting to free himself he dislodges a mine which begins to tick ominously When his young friends learn of his plight they try to locate a bomb disposal officer who is vacationing on the island of Guernsey. When the officer eventually arrives he opts to let the boy disarm the mine himself. Success appears to be achieved until a critical situation is encountered, and a desperate gamble must be undertaken.

Cast:
David Macalister........Mike
Paul A. Martin........Tony
Angela Lee........Sue
Richard Coleman........Captain Wright

Notes: A Wallace Production/Children's Film Foundation Presentation
IMDB






Black Mountain
Also known as: Chyornaya Gora, Черная гора
Mustan vuoren seikkailut, Der Schwarze Berg
A Boy and His Elephant (VHS title)

Soviet Union-India 1970 88min
Broadcast 11/10/73, 07/27/74
Directed by: Aleksandr Zguridi and M.S. Sathyu

A terrible drought visits the jungle during the dry season, and many of the elephants in a herd suffer and die. One of them, a bull elephant, goes mad and runs wild through a village. In revenge, the villagers build a giant trap for the elephants and then teach the captured animals to work for them — all but Black Mountain, who is separated from his mate and calf. Only the boy Manu manages to train the proud animal, and they become great friends. When Black Mountain saves the village from another crazed elephant, the villagers set him free.

Cast: Rayman the pasha, Prins Pradip

Notes:
IMDB




The Magnificent 6 ½

United Kingdom 1967
Broadcast 12/01/73, 07/13/74
Directed by: Harry Booth


A trio of short adventures from the comic series.
1. Bob A Job - The gang frustrate a would-be house painter while performing odd jobs.
2. Pee-Wee's Pianola
3. Ghosts and Gholies

Cast:
Kim Talmadge........Peewee
Robin Davies........Steve
Ian Ellis........Dumbo
Brinsley Forde........Toby
Suzanne Togni........Liz
Lionel Hawkes........Stodger
Michael Audreson........Whizz

Notes: A Century Film/Children's Film Foundation Production

IMDB



Six Bears and a Clown
Also known as: Sest medvedu s Cibulkou

Czechoslovakia 1972
Broadcast: 01/12/74, 05/18/74 (Part 1),
01/19/74, 05/25/74 (Part 2)
Directed by: Oldrich Lipský

A circus clown named Orion is fired from the circus. At the suggestion of a couple of school children he has befriended, Orion dresses as a matron and gets a job at their boarding school as a cook. Meanwhile, the manager of the circus trades the six bears the clown had trained for a pig act, much to his regret. Homesick for the clown, the bears escape and follow their former master to his new job, arriving the same day a school inspector is due. Amid the resulting chaos, a chimpanzee named Tony tries to hide the six bears.

Cast:
Lubomir Lipsky........Cibulka/Orion
Jiri Sovak........School Director
Jan Libicek........Circus Director

Notes:
IMDB



Friends for Life
Also known as: Tropoy beskorystoy lyubvi,
The Path Toward Uninterested Love, Kounak, le lynx fidčle
Тропой бескорыстной любви, Abenteuer in der Taiga,

Soviet Union 1971 72min (142min)
Broadcast 02/02/74, 06/01/74
Directed by: Agasi Babayan

The story of the unusual friendship between a Russian forest ranger and an orphaned lynx is told. The ranger rescues the injured baby lynx, whose mother has been killed by a bear, nurses it back to health with the help of the ranger's German Shepherd, and the three become close and loyal friends. The lynx grows into a fine, strong animal, and the ranger refuses many offers to sell him. Trouble starts when the full-grown cat is stolen and sold to a traveling circus; the lynx later escapes to reach his friend the ranger.

Cast: Dmitri Orlovsky, Arkadi Tolbuzin, Georgi Rybakov, Feliks Sergeyev

Notes:
IMDB




*Certain markets


Also Broadcast:
Scramble10/13/73, 07/06/74
Tjorven, Batsman and Moses 10/20/73, 03/02/74, 08/10/74
Stowaway in the Sky(Pt.1) 11/17/73, (Pt. 2) 11/24/73
Tony and the Tick-Tock Dragon 02/09/74, 06/29/74
Tymancha’s Friend 02/16/74
Mr. Horatio Knibbles03/30/74, 08/03/74
The Yellow Slippers04/27/74, 08/24/74
Adventure in Golden Bay06/08/74, 08/31/74
The Johnstown Monster 01/26/74, 07/20/74



Seasons
19671968 19691971 1971-1972
1972-19731973-1974 1974-19751975-1976 1976-1977
1977-19781979 19831984


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