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Belvision: The Early B&W adaptations?

snowybella
Member
#1 · Posted: 13 Mar 2019 12:00
Hello Belvision enthusiasts,

In two Belvision-related threads (here and here), I posted about the earliest Belvision cartoons from the Fifties. To keep all the information together, I thought that the topic deserves its own thread (so if you've already read those, expect some repeated infomation!).

In 1957, Mr. Leblanc (the founder of Tintin Magazine) recieved the permission from Hergé to use his characters in advertising, promotions, and so on. He then secured a deal with Belvision and the television channel R.T.F. to make some Tintin epsiodes. In the end, by 1960(?), R.T.F. had given up the venture, leaving Belvision to make more the more well-known cartoons with Tele-Hachette.

The two produced were:

Broken Ear - original title L'Oreille Cassee d'apres Hergé; produced in 1959; extra pictures drawn by Bob de Moor (for example, the Mexicans in somberos used for the credits), but Hergé is credited for it, as well as for the scenario. Cut-out animation form, featuring a symphony orchestra for background music, arranged, or recorded, by M. Saulnier. Technical collaboration (or animated, I'm assuming) by Anne-Marie Ullmann and J. de Brabander.

In the original French, everybody was voiced by Jean Nohain; when broadcast in English, it was narrated by Peter Hawkins. It had 7 13-minute episodes in total, and when it was on the BBC in 1962 it aired on Mondays from January 1 1962 to February 12 at 5.40 PM. Unlike the later productions, it was extremely faithful to the books.

King Ottokar's Sceptre - original title Le Sceptre d'Ottokar d'Hergé; produced in 1957; extra pictures drawn by Bob de Moor. Cut-out animation form, featuring a symphony orchestra. Technical collaboration (or animated, I assume) by Anne-Marie Ullmann and Karel Van Millegham.

It was once broadcast on the BBC in 1959, where Tintin was narrated by Gerald Campion, and everybody else as Deryck Guyler. Eight episodes in total, broadcast between April 12 to May 31, all on Sunday afternoons at 5 PM (though the last episode was on at 4.45 PM). Most of it is faithful to the books, but has a few extra scenes (such as the Syldavian battles against Borduria(?) being described with more detail and pictures).

Fortunately, some footage of these episodes still exist: the first episode of Broken Ear certainly does (albeit as a silent "movie"), and perhaps all of King Ottokar's Sceptre.

What I want to accomplish is, is there anybody who knows:

1. Was Broken Ear broadcast in English?

2. How many episodes and stories were made of King Ottokar's Sceptre?

3. Are there any VHS tapes of these?

Hopefully these are manageable requests!

snowybella
Shivam302001
Member
#2 · Posted: 13 Mar 2019 12:41
I have not seen any episodes of Belvision, but I think I found some of the answers you were looking for.

Both the Belvision series, Broken Ear and King Ottokar's Sceptre have been adapted for black-and-white screening in both French and English television.

Moreover, King Ottokar's Sceptre was adapted for eight episodes which did not follow the plot of the original albums.

I didn't find any availability of the VHS tapes for the series, but maybe you can keep an eye on ebay or amazon?
jock123
Moderator
#3 · Posted: 13 Mar 2019 15:05
snowybella:
1. Was Broken Ear broadcast in English?

Yes, the voice cast was Gerald Campion (Tintin) and Deryck Guyler.
snowybella:
2. How many episodes and stories were made of King Ottokar's Sceptre?

The version broadcast by the BBC was in eight episodes, on Sunday afternoons, between 12/04/1959 and 31/05/1959
snowybella:
3. Are there any VHS tapes of these?

Neither of the two early Belvision stories (Ottokar and Broken Ear have ever been released for domestic use, although they exist in the Belvision archives, and excerpts were used in the documentary feature Belvision: la mine d'or au bout du couloir, a review for which by moderator Harrock can be found here

Shivam302001:
Wikipedia says that both the Belvision series, Broken Ear and King Ottokar's Sceptre have been adapted for black-and-white screening in both French and English television.

Actually, you will find that all this information is already on this site! No need to look to Wikipedia!
Shivam302001
Member
#4 · Posted: 13 Mar 2019 15:31
jock123

Yes, but then knowledge is knowledge no matter where you gain them from.

Can the episodes be seen online on the official site?

I also found some more info regarding this.

In 1957, Leblanc asked for Herge's permission to use Tintin. He gets the deal secured with French speaking Belgian television RTF for 2 films each containing 7 to 8 episodes of 13-14 minutes each in black and white. King Ottokar's Sceptre had 8 episodes (possibly wrong information in Wikipedia) serialised from 1957 to 1958. The Broken Ear had 7 episodes serialised in 1959. Herge asked Bob de Moor to supervise the project so that the drawings would be correct. Bob de Moor drew panels for King Ottokar's Sceptre animation but the animation stayed rudimentary. So RTF decided not to renew contract with Belvision.
snowybella
Member
#5 · Posted: 14 Mar 2019 00:58
Shivam302001
jock123

Thank you for providing extra information - good to know that there are still some other Belvision fans!

I am updating the information now.

Shivam302001:
Can the episodes be seen online on the official site?

Unfortunately, I don't think that they are availible on Tintin.com, which is what probably makes them more mythical than the other series... It's a shame, though, as they are fun little episodes.
jock123
Moderator
#6 · Posted: 14 Mar 2019 12:11
Shivam302001:
Yes, but then knowledge is knowledge no matter where you gain them from.

True, but the policy is to try and not duplicate material as much as possible; given that what you say has already been discussed in the previous threads on the subject, as well as the linked article, given the time and effort that members put into gathering the information, it's a bit galling that your first port of call would be Wikipedia - which references our screen guide as a source...!

Shivam302001:
Belgian television RTF

It was a French, rather than Belgian, state-run broadcaster, Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française, which existed between 1949 and 1964, when it became ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française), which then ran French TV until 1974, at which point the whole thing fragmented into a lot of different companies and organizations.

Shivam302001:
King Ottokar's Sceptre had 8 episodes

It did indeed, which requires an amendment to yesterday's post about The Broken Ear adaptation!

jock123:
The version broadcast by the BBC was in eight episodes, on Sunday afternoons, between 12/04/1959 and 31/05/1959

I misread my notes on the broadcasts, and in doing so transcribed the data incorrectly.

King Ottokar's Sceptre was broadcast on the BBC in 1959, in eight parts, with the voices of Deryck Guyler and Gerald Campion, on Sundays, from 12/04/1959 to 31/05/1959; it appeared in the 17:00 slot with the exception of the last epsiode, which was scheduled at 16:45.
The Broken Ear was broadcast on the BBC in 1962, in seven parts, with narration by Peter Hawkins, on Mondays from 01/01/1962 to 12/02/1961, in the 17:40 slot.

Sorry for the confusion!
Shivam302001
Member
#7 · Posted: 14 Mar 2019 13:47
jock123:
True, but the policy is to try and not duplicate material as much as possible;

Point noted. I will first try and do a check here next time.
jock123:
It did indeed, which requires an amendment to yesterday's post!

Sorry for the wrong information. I have edited my post.

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