The Reluctant Gargoyles

A GUMBY* ADVENTURES
*But without Gumby
Producer
A.CLOKEY
CAST
Pokey/Prickle/DAL McKENNON[? debatable about Prickle]
Goo/NORMA MacMILLAN
Blockheads/Non-Speaking

Cues
Most unknown, except for the bouncy slide whistle heard in a few
"Sam Singer TeleFeatures" 1960s vintage "Sinbad Jr." shorts [like "Wind
Genii" on TVforU and HiTops. Music attributed on that series to "Johnny Holliday" but needless to say that studio relied on stock cues from outside as well].

Broadcast date around 1967.

PLOT: Despite title, POkey, GOo and Prickle try to maintain the latest 1967 Toyshop building before the blockheads acttrue to their name and make like proto-terrorists/

Sorry to have been absent but anyway, I'm once and this time much more often back..
The first post after four months has to do with an odd episode..No Gumby featured [this was true of a few of these going back to the much earlier "Santa Witch"], as well as a almost non-relevant title that normally wouldn't trouble me but only refers to the end of the short.

Anyway, Pokey, Prickle, and Goo are in the toystore building toys to put Goo on and crowning the little Blue Mermaid as queen, with the nasty Blockheads pop up. It's been years since I saw this but if I recall correctly, they use a machine to lift the toy where she's on, then dump it off. The boys then chase after the Blockheads, eventually trapping them and then putting them as Gargoyles on the newly completed structure. Prickle defines gargoyles as ugly statues designed to keep evil spriits away only Pokey-myself-adds that this refers to the Blockheads.

Aside from a trivial title, the Clokey studio tried to spin Pokey off here and before
"Santa Witch"
"Puppy Dog School"
"Goo for Pokey"
[not counting experiments with other characters like Henry the bear and his buddy, a clay bird.]. The cues are the same ones that prove to be quite hard to trace down, but the ASCAP site for this and the Sam Singer productions [which used a lot of these music themes from mid to late 1960s-vintgae episodes] list [and yes, Sinbad Jr.is listed despite that being based on an established movie and legend!] "Guenther Kauer and Douglas M.Lackey" and "Hans Conzelmann and Delle Haensch" for music. The latter actually as mentioned in a much earlier post have music from APM/SELECTED SOUND on 5200 and 5100 series ones and some of those ["Variete Number 1", heard in "All Broken Up"], can even be heard in "Ren and Stimpy"!! But a lot of background stock music heard [as far as this studio is concerned] only in 1966-68 episodes is hard to credit to a composer [though the more familiar Seely-Loose, Shaindlin,etc.cues are still used this late in a lot of shorts, especially those with Nopey like Bully for Gumby, Gold Rush Gumby,etc.]

GUMBY TOYS! SEE THEM WALK! SEE THOSE, UH, WIRES.

He was once a little greey slab of Clay. SO was Pokey, They were rubber toys. And with SPRING Fever. Let's just SPRING ahead and say that when I had some, I kept seeing them getting all WIRED---and when they'd stand, Gumby and Pokey toys, from good old Lakeside--which practically was mutually inseperable from the Gumby toys--were real WIRED-o's.

Yep. Wires coming out of toys. beinding..and those little holes looking like ventilation...causing Gumby and Pokey to have, uh, mettical burstals. Not heavy metal. Just light. Just like this post..

BACK, JACK, DO IT AGAIN

Many of you may kno that composers did variations on compositions for various scenes..and often redid them. But I never though Langworth Filmmusic head Jack Shaindlin did, though. With a career spanning these titles and detailed at Yowp! Stuff About Early Hanna-Barbera cartoons but sadly missing from historian Dave Shields's otherwise noteworthy "The History of production Music" website, which does make use of researcher Paul Mandell, Jack did do many later 60s remakes [in the CineMusic ediiton of the earlier Lnagworth FilMusic library] of earlier cues, as the ones mentioned [BMI.com] and with a number of ghostwriters, but chances are deiniftiely that the familiar ones are the original. This is not meantto be a large post but to make an odd comment or two about older stock cue being remade [and in following months, I may do a piece on variants of such]--and to do a Steely Dan song title quote.

Toying Around/Toy Capers

Originally Broadcast circa 1957.

Producer-Writier-Director: A.CLOKEY

Voices:
[This is a pantomime episode, one of a number]

Music cues
Open Theme by LOOSE-SEELY

"Toying Around" title, unknown

Close up of ship toy - "Windlass & Capstain"/PHIL GREEN, EPHRAM LISHEY [ASCAP.COM]
Pokey looks at Gumby [who's standing on his head!] upside down

"Parks & Gardens"/PHIL GREEN

The entire ride through the toystore. - "The Big City Suite 2: The Streets of the City GR 248"/GREEN

Gumby magically does one of those building toy tower tricks of his-"EM-102C Light Movement"/PHIL GREEN [Source: Yowp]

Ties balloon to Pokey, who then promptly ascends through the air-"Picnic or Country
Scene"/PHIL GREEN

Gumby getting cannon to shoot and rescure Pokey = "Mechanical; L-86A"/SPENCER MOORE & GEoRDIE HORMEL

Blasting our horse hero and making him fall into some horns-"Light movment Eerie 5-ZR-49"/GEORDIE vs a vis GEORGE HORMEL

Blasting the horns "Romantic Jaunt CB-??"/EMIL CADKIN & HARRY BLUESTONE Vis a vis CARL CHANDLER & H.WILLIAMS [C&B Library]

Blasting horns-no music, just silly horn sound effects.:-)

Pokey climbs out [the later shorter "Toying around" and the beginning of the later shorter extract called "Toy Capers" repsectively end and start with this]
-"Romantic Jaunt"/CADKIN & BLUESTON alias CHANDLER & WILLIAMS

G&P play baseball with automatic catcher. "Cockeyed Colonel AKA SF-14" [1935]/DAVID BUTTOLPH

Going to Car City-Unknown music and composer

Gumby being beseiged by Cars "Light Movement EM-107D"/PHIL GREEN

Pokey on Monorail, Gumby manages to get him-"Spring is the Loveliest Night of the year" aka that old public domain music theme used in film and animation for years when someone walks a tight wire literally-arranger unknown

Closing theme "Gumby End Title Closing Theme" [Long] LOOSE & SEELY

PLOT: Clay capers in a toyshop first with various toys then in a toy car heaven
as only clay characters can have 'em.

Here's one of those on This Site-as mentioned-just go to Gumby-to Toying Around
During the early episodes Mr.Clokey experimented as before with general pantomime activitie sin a toy store. This was what the first several, the "Moon Trip"'s were, with here our hero skaitng up painting the title with "Gumby in"..then next title card:.. Why, "Toying Around". A ship goes up, as EMI Capitol composers Phil Green and according to ASCAP.COM Ephram Lisfey's standard "Windlass and Cpastam" sea tune often heard elsewhere is heard. Suddenly a face pops up, and yep, it's GUmby who then is revealed not to be a Gulliver, leaving us viewers gullibe. but just amazed. Going into the main part of the toy room, the clay guy then turns upside as me, Pokey, goes for the first time in the epsiode in, and [as described by "historians" Michaelson and Kaplan in 1985's "Gumby" book] in a standoffish fashion turns his own head upside down! Pokey & GUmby then go oin a delivery truck only Pokey drives the truck too fast toward a tower of building blocks with Gumby not yet in there, as the latter waves his arms to stop before getting bowled over literally..they can change places but Pokey gets knocked over.. only for Gumby to pick up him and they both build a tower, Gumby giving Pokey a balloon which carries him away. Gumby then has to get the horse down, into a silly bunch of horns that he blows the orange horse out and they both walk into a catchers close.


It's a mechanically activated baseball pitcher that they leave to a car place. Car City, here they come. Beautifully set up with excellent music and design, it shows a great view of the design that went into these shows with the characters getting involved with cars and a monorail. Pokey again has to be saved from something ..a monorail this time! Fortunately, as that often played circus tune used in the old theatrical catroon and live short subject era and etc. revived by legendary crooner Bing Crosby as "Spring is the Loveliest Night of the Year}", played , Gumby on a fourt go round, so to speak, rides with Pokey sand again for the 5th pop with with the monorail bearing the sign THE END.


Odd and quite unique set up, with in the first half mostly EMI PHOTOPLAY stock cues, and we've got a SAM FOX, a couple of other libaries cues and some whose composers I can;t entirely identify. The "The End" special graphic had been used for these till the sdtand end appeard. Art Clokey's other series "Davey and Goliath" had end titles, only a few Gumbys seem to have them survive [Davey's end titles disappeared in the 80s..]

Little Lost Pony/The Blockheads

Originally broadcast fall 1956
Produced, Written & Directed: Art Clokey
Gumby/His mother/RUTH EGGLESTON
Pokey/ALl others/ART CLOKEY

Music cues
[No Gumby open/close titles until 1962 reissues]

Open "Heading Home"/EMIL CADKIN & HARRY BLUESTONE [David Rose, re-arr.Cadkin-B'Stone]

Gumby watching TV Unknown tune & Composer

Gumby asking him mom he he can go out and being told yes, so long as he washes his hands, and doing both."Fashion Fox Trot 5-C-13"/BILL LOOSE [Bill Loose]

Running and getting dressed:Unknown xylophone/HENRY RUSSELL?

Playing with a blown up beach ball "Light Movement 3-ZR-47"/GEORDIE HORMEL [From the Zephyr Records Library][actual composer unknown]

Seeing the train and good old your truly for the first time "[CB-??]Passing Train"/HARRY BLUESTONE [From the old C&B/Musi-Que Home Movie firm/Diane Music] [Bluestone-Cadkin]

G&P intro'ing themselvesd to each other Unknown Western cowboy cue and composer

Blockheads making their not so grand entry... "Comedy Underscore 4-ZR-78"/SPENCER MOORE & GEORDIE HORMEL [from the old Zephyr Records professiional service; actual composer not certain]

Gumby entering the west Reprise of "Heading Home"/BLUESTONE & CADKIN

1957-58 Blockhead Title open Unknown cue and composer

Gumby and Pokey going into the book [reused footage in reisued shorter "separate short" "The Block-Heads"] "Last Chance Saloon PG-296"/PHIL GREEN [imported from EMI][Phil Green]

Blockheads sneaking into book "Animation Comedy 4-L-80"/SPENCER MOORE [Zephyr, actual writer unknown]

Gumby and Pokey going into Saloon but Gumby having trouble going into it due to doors playing tricks with him "Last Chance Saloon PG-296"/GREEN

Pokey asking Gumby what he's having, Gumby telling him, the
Blockheads sneaking up to slip ice cream in his shake "Comedy Underscore 4-L-80"/S.
MOORE

Blockheads pulling Pokey outside, Pokey whinnies like REAL horse and to end Unknown dramatic sounding cue with composer not known

PLOT: (drumroll puh-lease) Heh-ere'''s John-I mean POKEY (I take a bow). And the Blockheads.





This was me--the little ole blogmaster me-Pokey--the orange horse of this blog's---first appearance. Originally on the old Howdy Doody show, it was divided into the shorter "Little Lost Pony" and "Blockheads", showing that a) episodes here got divided oddly, b) Gumby likes HIS milkshakes ICE CREAMLESS, c) Western bar doors play some pretty odd tricks and d) Boys loves equines as much as chicks do, well, almost as once. And YES, Gumby is a BOY....

Starting with Gumby listening to what sounds like an old newsreel OR radio clip theme, Gumby's mom has Gumby turning the TV down.; Gumby with his mother Gumba's blessing goes outside, playing wiht a ball and showing how differently shaped he can be. Then he hears Pokey for the first time, on a railroad track. Gumby thinks of saving him. SO do the first time as well villianous BLOCKHEADS, men of little words [make that NO words], to save him for THEMSELVES--for the ICE cream cones that Farmer Glenn the owner of [guess who--has 4 legs and is orange]. Pokey says his name..Pokey [rhymes wiht creator Art CLOKEY, who does the voice here], get it? Gumby sure does. But when HE introduces HIM-self - Pokey also laughs, but both in fun with each other. The blockheads try to get the two, now in WESTERN STORIES, a book they all go into time and again.

Now, the good farmer gives a reward to Gumbyu--many ice cream cones, but Gumby's cold..as his "Gumbomoter" shows [circurlas top. Window to show revolving "gauge"].

Going to a Western Saloon, the guys get separated from each other as Gumby's divided over how to get in, thanks to saloon doors that try to split him and himself up, making him beisde himself, but the sides do mend, as he requests a milkshake and to keep warm--WITHOUT ICE CREAM!!! The Blockheads at the last moment slip some in [reaching thru the bar] and do what even the swinging saloon doors seen a few gags ago cannot do--split up Gumby and Pokey by kidnapping the "prize pony", who lets out a real sounding whinnying as unidentifiable dramatic music [probaly by Phil Green or Bill Loose?]

Pulling Pokey along and almost to the end of his life within his DEBUT, the Blockheads, showing their creds as to their moniker, make all seem hopeless until Gumby managaes to save the day by cutting the rope and causes the Blockheads to slide out of the book WESTERN STORIES [though not forever].

The episode part "Blockheads" is no way to be confused with the Laurel and Hardy episode of the same name. Pokey and Gumby talk much slower than usual, since this is an early episode. Excellent Western Music, some of it on this page

The Blockheads might have been only temporarily finished, but Gumby and Pokey's successful heroic duty and successes were just starting.

GUMBY'S RAPPING IT UP

That's right folks, not wrapping, rapping.

Sad News, folks:
Gumby to be gangsta'd:
BLOKHD NEWS
Eighprl, FL
News - Gumby and friends get gangsta style. Original classics from the 50s and 60s get dubbed over score again with rapping.
No dialogue or sound effects. It was decided to have the gangbanger group DAY41 dub over. Gumby may be seen in TV bumpers with baggy pants a la boy bands, cartoon characters, etc. now the gangbanger group's friends from Eden's Head props dept. has put Gumby in angry gang posters
-BLOKHD NEWS
Eighprl, FL

So there it is.Sad, huh? First Mickey, Bugs,etc. all of these popular personalities have had or now have have all of the bad-expletive deleted [donkey synonym] fashions--Mickey, Bugs and other animated characters, now the clay animated icons, Gumby and Pokey. New animation will come up with now Gumby doing the ultimate now, the most important.FLIPPING FOLKS off in bumpers, t-shirts. Very sad. the only ones before the California Raisins. Hey. I hear raisins are fruits. Don't tell me
NEXT thing you'll find is I THUGGED IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE.


Where the geniuses behind this are now-and WHO they are:

Finally, more Loose-Cookerly-Cadkin music available

Over the last year, I've seen Carlin Production Music site [PLAY AUDITION site, not the APM one] and the overall increasing offerings from the B&W TV days, on both APM AND PLAY, on the PLAY site, its newer CPM library..first 2, with cues by Philip Green, Emil Cadkin, Bill Loose & Jack Cookerly, all except for Mr.Cadkin a first.

Now it seems three more CD's, largely representing the composers listed in topic title, are added. Some glitches have been done recently with tracks on the first several, changed then not just restorations but happily more variatons on old cues used on Gumby and others [including a personal favorite currently, the 1960 B&W pre-E-Trade talking baby production "Happy",], but hardly ever on HB cartoons..

[And retitled as those interested and who know will expect.]

These three are mostly mid 60s with a number of short cues by P.Green from CARLIN CAR 404 CLASSIC CARTOON FUN!! repeated, and partly re-credited. [From cowriters with Green, "Ken Thorne and Geoff Love" to Loose-Cakdin with Green].

On CPM 5 [mostly Latin and spy stuff] many tracks midway do not play. Still much better than nothing [but NO, the Seely-Loose-David Rose tracks as so often recalled from Yogi,m Gumby, etc. still do not exist.]