“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was released in 1964, introducing the world to the genius of animation producing legends Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass. The TV special has become a holiday classic, replayed almost every year since its debut — including at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, on CBS.
For San Francisco residents, particularly Chronicle subscribers, it also started a mystery: Was the “FOUL WEATHER MAY POSTPONE CHRISTMAS” headline, featuredin the beginning on the special, a real Chronicle front page?
The newspaper appears in a pre-credits montage of American newspapers, including the New York Herald Tribune (“Cold Wave in 12th Day”), Chicago Sun-Times (“We’re FrOzen”)and ending with the bad news about Santa from The Chronicle.
Chronicle baseball writer John Shea asked me about the headline last year. Another reader brought it up during a social media discussion for ourChronicle Coversproject. Maybe our archive might have some answers?
I started the search on Dec. 15, 1964, the date that appears to be listed on the “Rudolph” newspaper, and found this:
This is where we learn that the huge headline in the TV special was, if anything, understated. All Chronicle front pages in 1964 were designed as if war had been declared.
The lead Chronicle story on Dec. 15, 1964, was an Associated Press article quoting a Life article about Elizabeth Taylor’s marriage to Richard Burton – proving that even on the slowest of slow news days in the 1960s, The Chronicle could always manufacture an alarming above-the-fold headline.
So where did the “Rudolph” producers get their newspaper?
I decided to try tracking down the visible stories thatdidn’tinvolve a Christmas-threatening weather pattern. A few of the headlines seem to be intentionally obscured, but two are visible: “An Open Door in Space” and “Moon Shot is Right on Target.”
With a digital keyword search, a match came up within minutes …
The “Rudolph” animators altered a Chronicle front page from July 30, 1964.
On the real cover: There was a newspaper printers strike going on, the weather in San Francisco was a lovely 72 degrees at City Hall, and the biggest headline was for the San Francisco Giants’ 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. (Juan Marichal pitched a 10-inning complete game, and Willie McCovey hit atwo-run double to break open the tie.)
Why did Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, two East Coastnatives, decide to put the San Francisco Chronicle in their movie? Rankin died in 2014, and Bass rarely makes public appearances. So I asked Rankin/Bass historian Rick Goldschmidt, a longtime friend of Rankin, who runs thewww.miserbros.com网站,写了several booksabout Rankin/Bass shows.
Goldschmidt guessed that the paper may have been altered in Tokyo, where MOM Productions handled the animation.
“Arthur would never have remembered how that paper was part of the show,” Goldschmidt wrote in an email. “I am guessing that the Animagic animators in Japan at MOM accessed some American papers via their connections there and made the adjustments.”
A salute to whoever created the fake “Rudolph” front page. They did an excellent job. The font match is nearly perfect. (The other fake newspaper headlines from Chicago and New York look butchered.)
I’m guessing the animators searched the covers of several major American newspapers, and let out a collective cheer when they saw The Chronicle, with its giant headline above the fold. We did most of their work for them.
I wonder if they knew that San Francisco was an American city where it almost never snows. (The last two recorded snowfalls in San Francisco were in 1976 and 1962.) If anything, that adds to the dramatic effect. .
我们学习了什么?首先,1964年是一个杂志ical a year. Taylor’s marriage to Burton ended up lasting a record 10 years. The Giants won 90 games.
And Christmas was saved! With the unexpected involvement from Rudolph’s red nose and a doctored newspaper.
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