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Alexander Korda

Sir Alexander Korda (born Sándor László Kellner; Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956) was a Hungarian–born British film director, producer, and screenwriter, who founded his own film production studios and film distribution company.

Born in Hungary, where he began his career, he worked briefly in the Austrian and German film industries during the era of silent films, before being based in Hollywood from 1926 to 1930 for the first of his two brief periods there (the other was during World War II). The change led to a divorce from his first wife, the Hungarian film actress María Corda, who was unable to make the transition from silent films to "talkies" because of her Hungarian accent.

From 1930, Korda was active in the British film industry, and soon became one of its leading figures. He was the founder of London Films and, post-war, the owner of British Lion Films, a film distribution company. Korda produced many outstanding classics of the British film industry, including The Private Life of Henry VIII, Rembrandt, Things To Come, The Thief of Baghdad and The Third Man. In 1942, Korda became the first filmmaker to receive a knighthood.

Personal background
Korda was born Sándor László Kellner into a Jewish family in Pusztatúrpásztó, Austria-Hungary. His parents were Henrik Kellner and Ernesztina Weisz. He had two younger brothers, Zoltan and Vincent, who also had careers in the film industry, often working with Alexander.

Films in Hungary
After the death of his father, Korda began writing film reviews to support his family. He also changed the family name, deriving the new name Korda from the Latin phrase "sursum corda" ("lift up your hearts").

Having been excused from military service in the Austro-Hungarian Army in the First World War, because he was short-sighted, Korda became an important figure in the Hungarian film industry, initially through his magazines Pesti Mozi, Mozihét and Világ. This led to invitations to write screenplays. His first script was for Watchhouse in the Carpathians (1914), which he also helped to direct. He also made a film with Gyula Zilahy, The Duped Journalist (1914), and directed Tutyu and Totyo (1915), The Officer's Swordknot (1915) and Lyon Lea (1915).

In 1916, Korda established his own production company, Corvin Film. Its first film was White Nights (1916), which was a big success. Korda went on to build Corvin into one of the largest film companies in Hungary with such productions as The Grandmother (1916), Tales of the Typewriter (1916), The Man with Two Hearts (1916), The One Million Pound Note (1916), Cyclamen (1916), Struggling Hearts (1916), The Laughing Saskia (1916), Miska the Magnate (1916), St. Peter's Umbrella (1917), The Stork Caliph (1917) (from the novel by Mihály Babits), and Magic (1917). Korda later regarded Harrison and Barrison (1917) as his best film. He also made Faun (1918), Man of Gold (1918), and Mary Ann (1918).

Under the shortlived Hungarian Soviet Republic Korda made Ave Caesar! (1919), White Rose (1919), Yamata (1919) and Neither at Home or Abroad (1919). His final Hungarian film was Number 111 (1919).

In October 1919 Korda was arrested during the White Terror that followed the overthrow of the Communist government, but was soon released. He then left Hungary for Austria. He never returned to his country of birth.

Films in Vienna
After leaving Hungary, Korda accepted an invitation from Count Alexander Kolowrat to work for his company Sascha-Film in the Austrian capital Vienna. Korda worked alongside Kolowrat, who had attracted several leading Hungarian and German directors into his employment, on the historical epic The Prince and the Pauper (1920). The film was a major international success and inspired Korda with the idea of making "international films" with global box office appeal.

Korda's next two films, Masters of the Sea (1922) and A Vanished World (1922), were both nautical-set adventures based on Hungarian novels.

By that stage, Korda had grown irritated with Kolowrat's interference with his work and left Sascha to make an independent film, Samson and Delilah (1922), set in the world of opera. The film was made on a lavish scale, with large crowd scenes. The lengthy shooting schedule lasted 160 working days. The film was unsuccessful.

Films in Berlin
Korda left Vienna and travelled to Germany. He had frequent problems with money, and often had to receive support from friends and business associates, but in Berlin he raised funding for the melodrama The Unknown Tomorrow (1923). With backing from Germany's biggest film company, UFA, Korda returned to Vienna to make Everybody's Woman (1924). While he was there he began work on his next film, the historical Tragedy in the House of Habsburg (1924), which portrayed the Mayerling Incident. It earned back around half of its production costs. He followed this with Dancing Mad (1925), another melodrama.

Korda cast his wife Maria Corda [sic] as the female lead in all his German-language films. To a large degree the success of his productions depended on her star power. Korda cast her again in A Modern Dubarry (1927), an update of the life of Madame Du Barry based on an original screenplay by Lajos Bíró. The film may have been intended to showcase Maria Corda's star potential to producers in Hollywood.

Korda made his final German film, Madame Wants No Children (1926), for the Berlin-based subsidiary of the American studio Fox. Although made later, it was released before A Modern Dubarry.

In Hollywood and France
In December 1926 Korda and his wife sailed for the United States on board the steamer Olympic, with a view to Korda taking up a contract with the American studio First National. In Hollywood both struggled to adapt to the studio system. Korda had to wait some time before gaining his first directorial assignment, The Stolen Bride (1927), a Hungarian-themed romance about a peasant's love for a countess. The film starred the American actress Billie Dove rather than Korda's wife.

Following the moderate success of The Stolen Bride Korda worked on the comedy The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927), replacing the previous director, George Fitzmaurice. The film retells the story of Helen of Troy, parodying the historical epics of the era by transforming the classical characters into everyday people with modern problems. The film was a significant success for Korda, with his wife playing the role of Helen. The film was his most satisfying work in the United States and provided the template for his later success in Britain.

After this film, however, Korda became pigeonholed as a director of female stars and exotic foreign locations. He was generally given similar assignments for the remainder of his first period in Hollywood. His next few films were disappointments as his career lost its momentum: Yellow Lily (1928), Night Watch (1928) both with Dove, and Love and the Devil (1929) with Maria Korda (who now spelled her name with a K). The latter two, though still Silent films, had sound effects and music added to their soundtracks during Hollywood's transition to fully synchronized Sound films.

Korda's next film The Squall (1929), with a young Myrna Loy, was his first talkie and featured a Hungarian setting. Although, like many other directors, Korda had misgivings about the new technology, he quickly adapted to making sound films.

Korda's marriage was strained in Hollywood. The arrival of sound films wrecked his wife's career, as her heavy accent made her unemployable for most American films. Love and the Devil was the last of Korda's films she appeared in, and she made only two more films. She became increasingly resentful of the switch in their relationship, as her career was now over while Korda, who had once relied on her for the success of his films, was relatively flourishing. Their marriage collapsed, and they divorced in 1930.

Korda made two more sound films at First National: Her Private Life (1929) and Lilies of the Field (1930), both of which were remakes of earlier silent films.

Korda grew more frustrated in Hollywood as he came to strongly dislike the studio system. He hoped to save up enough money to return to Europe and begin producing on a large scale there, but his lavish personal spending and the large amounts he lost in the Wall Street Crash prevented this. When his producer, Ned Marin, moved from First National to the Fox Film Corporation Korda followed him. Korda's new contract gave him $100,000 a year.

Fox
His first film for Fox, Women Everywhere (1930), cost slightly more than some of the programmers he had previously directed in the United States. He collaborated with several figures who would contribute to his future success in Britain. Korda was offered a series of scripts, all of which he disliked, before he finally agreed to make The Princess and the Plumber (1930). Korda's reluctance to make the film led to his conflict with studio bosses, which brought to an end his first period in Hollywood.

Films in France
Korda went to France where he made The Men Around Lucy (1931) for Paramount. He also made Rive gauche (1931).

Korda had a success with Marius (1931) starring Raimu from the play by Marcel Pagnol. He followed it with the Swedish and German versions of Marius, respectfully Longing for the Sea (1931), and The Golden Anchor (1932).

In Britain
Korda relocated to London where he made Service for Ladies (1932) for Paramount. He produced Women Who Play (1932) for them.

London Films
Korda then decided to form his own company. In 1932 he founded London Films. Its first production was Wedding Rehearsal (1932). He then produced Men of Tomorrow (1932), co-directed by his brother Zoltan Korda, That Night in London (1932) starring Robert Donat, Strange Evidence (1933), Counsel's Opinion (1933), and Cash (1933).

The Private Life of Henry VIII
Korda had a huge hit with The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), which he directed. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, established Korda internationally and made a star of Charles Laughton.

After The Private Life of Henry VIII
Korda followed it with The Girl from Maxim's (1933), which he shot in English and French. He tried to repeat the success of Henry with The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) starring Douglas Fairbanks, which he directed, and The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934) which he did not. Neither did as well as Henry.

Korda produced a well-respected short, The Private Life of the Gannets (1934), and enjoyed a big success as producer of The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934). Also popular was Sanders of the River (1935) starring Paul Robeson and directed by his brother, and The Ghost Goes West (1936) starring Donat. His other credits as producer include Moscow Nights (1936) with Laurence Olivier, Men Are Not Gods (1936), and Forget Me Not (1936).

Korda directed Rembrandt (1936) with Laughton, which was a critical rather than a commercial success. Things to Come (1936), directed by William Cameron Menzies, has come to be regarded as a classic. It was written by H. G. Wells and Korda's The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936) is based on a Wells short story. Korda also commissioned and financed the documentary Conquest of the Air (1936).

Denham
Korda bought property in Denham, Buckinghamshire, including Hills House, and built film studios on the property. London Film's Denham Film Studios was financed by the Prudential and opened in 1936. On 21 June 1936, Thurston Macauley, London correspondent to The New York Times, filed a story headlined "The Korda Workshop at Denham" describing the facility, located on 165 acres of woodland, field and river scenery suitable for filming, with 28 acres of buildings and a planned total of fifteen 250-foot by 130-foot sound stages (state of the art at the time). It was "not only the most up-to-date of all the world's studios" but a "complete community in itself" from foundry and blacksmith's shops to projection theatres, with "unusually good dressing and bathroom accommodations" and able to easily manage crowds of 500. Macauley pointed to the special construction designed to ensure that even dense fog would not penetrate the buildings and interfere with filming, a serious problem in Britain in the winter months. He concluded: "Hollywood, as well as the rest of the world, will be watching with interest what Korda does at Denham".

Korda was naturalised as a British subject on 28 October 1936. That same year Korda was an important contributor to the Moyne Commission, formed to protect British film production from competition, mainly from the United States. Korda said: "If American interests obtained control of British production companies, they may make British pictures here, but the pictures made would be just as American as those made in Hollywood. We are now on the verge of forming a British school of film-making in this country."

Korda produced Fire Over England (1937) with Olivier and Vivien Leigh. He also attempted a version of I, Claudius with Laughton and Merle Oberon, but it was abandoned with only a few scenes shot.

Korda made Dark Journey (1937) with Conrad Veidt and Leigh, and had a big hit with Elephant Boy (1937) directed by his brother from a Rudyard Kipling story; it made a star of Sabu.

Korda also made some cheaper films: Farewell Again (1938), Storm in a Teacup (1938) with Leigh and Rex Harrison, The Squeaker (1937), Action for Slander (1937), Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1937) and Paradise for Two (1937).

Knight Without Armour (1937) with Donat and Marlene Dietrich was an expensive epic that failed to recoup its money. The Divorce of Lady X (1938) was a comedy with Olivier and Merle Oberon.

Korda had a big success with The Drum (1938), directed by Zoltan and starring Sabu. He produced South Riding (1938), The Challenge (1938), The Rebel Son (1939) and Prison Without Bars (1938).

During the Second World War Korda made more propaganda films, including Q Planes (1939), with Olivier, and The Lion Has Wings (1939). Korda had a massive hit with another adventure film directed by Zoltan, The Four Feathers (1939).

By 1939 Michael Powell had been hired as a contract director by Korda on the strength of The Edge of the World (1937). Korda set him to work on some projects such as Burmese Silver that were subsequently cancelled. Nonetheless, Powell was brought in to save a film that was being made as a vehicle for two of Korda's star players, Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson. The film was The Spy in Black (1939), where Powell first met Emeric Pressburger. Korda also produced the comedy Over the Moon (1939) and the drama 21 Days (1939).

Korda soon ran into financial difficulties, and management of the Denham complex was merged with Pinewood in 1939, becoming part of the Rank Organisation.

Sojourn in Hollywood
The outbreak of the Second World War in Europe meant that The Thief of Bagdad had to be completed in Hollywood, where Korda was based again for a few years. While he was in the United States he produced and directed That Hamilton Woman (UK title: Lady Hamilton) (1941) with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, and produced Lydia (1941) with Oberon. He also supervised Jungle Book (1942), a live-action version of Kipling's stories, directed by Zoltán Korda. He also had minor involvement in To Be or Not to Be (1942).

Return to Britain
Korda was appointed a Knight Bachelor, for his contribution to the war effort, in the 1942 Birthday Honours. On 22 September 1942 he was knighted at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace by George VI. He was the first film director to receive the honour.

He returned to Britain in 1943 as production chief of MGM-London films, with a £35 million ten-year programme. The scheme ended after one year, one film and a £1 million loss to MGM. The only film to come out of the deal was Perfect Strangers (1945), directed by Korda, and starring Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr.

British Lion Films
Via London Films Korda bought a controlling interest in British Lion Films. He produced A Man About the House (1947).

In 1948 London Films received an advance payment of £375,000, the largest single payment received by a British film company, for three films, An Ideal Husband (1947) (which Korda directed), Anna Karenina (1948) and Mine Own Executioner (1948). The company released three other films, Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948), The Winslow Boy (1948) and The Fallen Idol (1948). The Winslow Boy and Fallen Idol were hits. An Ideal Husband and Anna Karenina had some acclaim, but lost money at the box office. Bonnie Prince Charlie was a fiasco. Korda was also badly hurt by the trade war between the British and American film industries in the late 1940s. Korda did recover, in part due to a £3 million loan British Lion received from the National Film Finance Corporation.

In 1948 Korda signed a co-production deal with David O. Selznick. This resulted in The Third Man (1949) which was a success both critically and financially.

London Films made several films with smaller budgets: The Cure for Love (1949), The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950), The Angel with the Trumpet (1950), My Daughter Joy (1950), State Secret (1950), The Wooden Horse (1950), Seven Days to Noon (1951), Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951), The Wonder Kid (1951), and Mr. Denning Drives North (1951). Korda also helped to finance Outcast of the Islands (1952), Home at Seven (1952), Who Goes There! (1952), The Holly and the Ivy (1952), The Ringer (1952), Folly to Be Wise (1953), Twice Upon a Time (1953), The Captain's Paradise (1953), and The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953). Cry, the Beloved Country (1951), directed by Zoltan, was acclaimed. The Sound Barrier (1952) from David Lean was a hit. The Man Between (1953) was an attempt to repeat the success of The Third Man.

Korda then helped to make The Heart of the Matter (1954), Hobson's Choice (1954), The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954), and The Teckman Mystery (1954).

A draft screenplay of what became The Red Shoes was written by Emeric Pressburger in the 1930s for Korda and intended as a vehicle for Merle Oberon, whom Korda later married. The screenplay was bought by Michael Powell and Pressburger, who made it for J. Arthur Rank. During the 1950s Korda reportedly expressed interest in producing a James Bond film based upon Ian Fleming's novel Live and Let Die, but no agreement was ever reached.

Final Films
In 1954 Korda received £5 million from the City Investing Corporation of New York, enabling him to continue producing films until his death. His final films included The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955), Three Cases of Murder (1955), A Kid for Two Farthings (1955), The Deep Blue Sea (1955), Summertime (1955), and Storm Over the Nile (1955) a remake of The Four Feathers. His last films were Laurence Olivier's adaptation of Richard III (1955) and Smiley (1956).

Private life
Korda was married three times, first to the Hungarian actress María Corda in 1919. They had one son, Peter Vincent Korda, and divorced in 1930. In 1939 he married the film star Merle Oberon. They divorced six years later. He married, lastly, on 8 June 1953, Alexandra Boycun (1928–1966).

Death
Korda died of a heart attack at the age of 62 at his home in London in 1956. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium in London, his ashes finally being interred in February 1959 at Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens in Buckinghamshire.

Legacy
Michael Korda, son of Vincent and thus nephew of Alexander, wrote a roman à clef about Merle Oberon, published after her death. It was entitled Queenie. He also wrote a memoir, Charmed Lives (1979), about his father, his two uncles and the rest of their large extended family.

The Alexander Korda Award for "Outstanding British Film of the Year" is given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Filmography
The following films were directed by Korda.

 * 1914 The Duped Journalist
 * 1914 Watchhouse in the Carpathians (as Korda Sándor)
 * 1915 Lyon Lea (as Korda Sándor)
 * 1915 The Officer's Swordknot (as Korda Sándor)
 * 1915 Tutyu and Totyo (as Korda Sándor)
 * 1916 A Dolovai nábob leánya
 * 1916 Cyclamen
 * 1916 Miska the Magnate (as Korda Sándor)
 * 1916 Struggling Hearts (uncredited; also co-wrote)
 * 1916 Tales of the Typewriter (as Korda Sándor; also wrote)
 * 1916 The Grandmother (as Korda Sándor: also wrote)
 * 1916 The Laughing Saskia
 * 1916 The Man With Two Hearts (as Korda Sándor)
 * 1916 The One Million Pound Note (also wrote)
 * 1916 White Nights (a.k.a. Fédora; also co-wrote)
 * 1917 Magic (as Korda Sándor)
 * 1917 St. Peter's Umbrella
 * 1917 Harrison és Barrison (also produced)* 1917 The Stork Caliph (as Korda Sándor; also produced)
 * 1918 Faun (as Korda Sándor; also produced)
 * 1919 Neither at Home or Abroad (as Korda Sándor; also produced)
 * 1919 Ave Caesar! (as Korda Sándor)
 * 1919 Man of Gold (as Korda Sándor)
 * 1918 Mary Ann
 * 1919 Number 111 (as Sándor Korda; also produced)
 * 1919 White Rose (as Korda Sándor)
 * 1919 Yamata (as Korda Sándor; also produced)
 * 1920 The Prince and the Pauper
 * 1922 A Vanished World
 * 1922 Masters of the Sea
 * 1922 Samson and Delilah (also produced and co-wrote)
 * 1923 The Unknown Tomorrow (also produced and co-wrote)
 * 1924 Everybody's Woman (a.k.a. Folly of Doubt)
 * 1924 Tragedy in the House of Habsburg (also produced)
 * 1925 Dancing Mad (also wrote)
 * 1926 Madame Doesn't Want Children
 * 1927 A Modern Dubarry
 * 1927 The Private Life of Helen of Troy
 * 1927 The Stolen Bride
 * 1928 Yellow Lily
 * 1928 Night Watch
 * 1929 Her Private Life
 * 1929 Love and the Devil
 * 1929 The Squall
 * 1930 Lilies of the Field
 * 1930 The Princess and the Plumber
 * 1930 Women Everywhere
 * 1931 Längtan till havet
 * 1931 Marius (as Alexandre Korda)
 * 1931 Rive Gauche
 * 1931 The Men Around Lucy (aka Die Männer um Lucie; also produced)
 * 1932 Service for Ladies (also produced)
 * 1932 The Golden Anchor
 * 1932 Wedding Rehearsal (also produced)
 * 1933 La dame de chez Maxim's (also produced)
 * 1933 The Girl from Maxim's (also produced)
 * 1933 The Private Life of Henry VIII (also produced)
 * 1934 The Rise of Catherine the Great (uncredited; also produced)
 * 1934 The Private Life of Don Juan (also produced)
 * 1936 Rembrandt (also produced)
 * 1936 The Man Who Could Work Miracles (director: some scenes – uncredited; also produced)
 * 1939 The Lion Has Wings (uncredited; also produced)
 * 1940 The Thief of Baghdad (uncredited; also produced)
 * 1941 That Hamilton Woman (also produced)
 * 1945 Perfect Strangers ( a.k.a. Vacation From Marriage; also produced)
 * 1947 An Ideal Husband (also produced)
 * 1947 Mine Own Executioner (producer, uncredited co-director)

The following additional films were produced by Alexander Korda but not directed by him:

 * 1919 Kutató Sámuel
 * 1932 Men of Tomorrow
 * 1932 That Night in London
 * 1932 Women Who Play
 * 1933 Cash
 * 1933 Counsel's Opinion
 * 1933 Strange Evidence
 * 1934 The Private Life of the Gannets (documentary short)
 * 1934 The Scarlet Pimpernel (also co-wrote)
 * 1935 Moscow Nights (a.k.a. I Stand Condemned; uncredited)
 * 1935 Sanders of the River
 * 1935 The Ghost Goes West
 * 1935 Things Are Looking Up (uncredited)
 * 1935 Wharves and Strays
 * 1936 Conquest of the Air (updated for a 1940 re-release)
 * 1936 Forget Me Not (uncredited)
 * 1936 Men Are Not Gods
 * 1936 Miss Bracegirdle Does her Duty (short)
 * 1936 The Fox Hunt
 * 1936 Things to Come
 * 1937 Action for Slander (executive producer)
 * 1937 Dark Journey (uncredited)
 * 1937 Elephant Boy
 * 1937 Farewell Again (a.k.a. Troopship; uncredited)
 * 1937 Fire Over England (uncredited)
 * 1937 I, Claudius (incomplete)
 * 1937 Knight Without Armour
 * 1937 Paradise for Two
 * 1937 Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel (executive producer)
 * 1937 Storm in a Teacup (uncredited)
 * 1937 The Squeaker (a.k.a. Murder on Diamond Row)
 * 1938 Prison Without Bars
 * 1938 South Riding
 * 1938 The Challenge (uncredited)
 * 1938 The Divorce of Lady X (uncredited)
 * 1938 The Drum (a.k.a. Drums; executive producer uncredited)
 * 1939 The Four Feathers
 * 1939 Over the Moon
 * 1939 Q Planes (a.k.a. Clouds over Europe)
 * 1939 The Spy in Black (a.k.a. U-Boat 29)
 * 1940 21 Days (a.k.a. 21 Days Together)
 * 1941 Lydia (a.k.a. Illusions)
 * 1941 Old Bill and Son (uncredited)
 * 1941 The Great Awakening (a.k.a. New Wine; exec.producer uncredited)
 * 1942 Jungle Book
 * 1942 To Be or Not to Be (uncredited)
 * 1943 The Biter Bit (short)
 * 1948 Anna Karenina
 * 1948 Bonnie Prince Charlie
 * 1949 The Third Man (also co-wrote; uncredited)
 * 1950 Gone to Earth (U.S. version The Wild Heart; uncredited)
 * 1951 Outcast of the Islands (exec.producer; uncredited)
 * 1953 The Man Between (a.k.a. Berlin Story; exec.producer uncredited)
 * 1955 A Kid for Two Farthings (uncredited)
 * 1955 Richard III (uncredited)
 * 1955 Storm Over the Nile (uncredited)
 * 1955 The Deep Blue Sea
 * 1956 Smiley (uncredited)

Unmade projects
Korda announced a number of projects which were never made, including:
 * the life of T. E. Lawrence with Leslie Howard later to be directed by Brian Desmond Hurst.
 * the life of Nijinsky (1930s)
 * Cyrano de Bergerac with Charles Laughton (1930s–1940s)
 * Precious Bane with Robert Donat
 * Burmese Silver with Conrad Veidt (1930s)
 * the story of Pocahontas starring Merle Oberon (1939)
 * adaptation of Manon Lescaut for Merle Oberon
 * an adaptation of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy to star Merle Oberon(1940s)
 * Velvet Coat, the life of Robert Louis Stevenson with Oberon and Robert Donat
 * an adaptation of Greenmantle by John Buchan
 * Lottie Dundass starring Vivien Leigh from the play by Enid Bagnold
 * an adaptation of The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson
 * Habitation Enforced from the story by Rudyard Kipling
 * an adaptation of The King's General by Daphne du Maurier (late 1940s)
 * The Promotion of the Admiral from the novel by C. S. Forester starring Ralph Richardson directed by Powell and Pressburger (1940s)
 * A Tale of Two Cities with Gregory Peck
 * Tess of the d'Urbervilles with Jennifer Jones as Tess
 * Around the World in Eighty Days
 * The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
 * Point Counter Point by Aldous Huxley

title: Alexander Korda


text:
Talk:Courtly love

masochism
For links between courtly love and masochism, see
 * http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/conf/cs95/papers/cohen.html
 * http://65.107.211.206/decadence/swinburne/harrison/2.html
 * http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/a/e/aem194/1-31-02.htm

This is not an unusual association: it has been made many times by many writers. It needs to be put back, perhaps with more context to make it clear why the connection is being made.

See also this discussion on the paper first linked:
 * http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/conf/cs95/papers/cohen2.htm

 * Fair enough. Thanks for adding it back with a bit of context. --Camembert

name?
What is the Occitan name, Fin'Amor? -- Error

nonsense
"Naturally courtly love was not considered to be a matter for the commoners, who were too busy trying to survive to take part in elaborate rituals. The wealthy upper classes were those with the leisure to ponder such ideals as 'true love'."

This is elitist nonsense that should be replaced by a paragraph explaining how this particular ideal was prevalent among the upper classes without the disdainful attitude toward "commoners". Everyking 00:30, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

neopaganism
"The first stirrings of neopaganism..."? Sounds like it doesn't belong in that sentence. Although this could very easily be correct, it's unsupported by any text that is succinct, credible, and sensible.

I do not urge deletion but rather support of this phrase, if it can be supported. It should be regarded in all ways as equal to the phrase, "... first stirrings of comedia del arte ..." in the same placement, as there is no other indication of neopaganism in Christian Europe at that time, unless theatrical and poetic pleas to muses and Aphrodite are considered a deliberate, monumentally covert effort to establish neopaganism. (-anonymous)

It's not neo-paganism, it's Paganism. If you've read The Allegory of Love you'll know what I mean. '...it was a sort of carnival in which the happier aspects of Paganism took part, after being baptized, and yet losing none of its jollity.' -C. S. Lewis. Cariel 00:04, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

pc
Making this entry p.c. and "gender-neutral" strips it of sense. Courtly love had its origins in Aquitaine and Provence in the 11th century. William X, Eleanor of Aquitaine and her court, the Roman de la Rose... --Wetman 18:25, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

illustration
The new illustration is cute (German, 13th century perhaps?), but it illustrates some anti-courtly tale, such as Chaucer's Miller's Tale or some earthy stories in the Decameron. Can we get a bead on just what it is, and add a section on anti-courtly love literature: goliards, fabliaux etc? --Wetman 21:54, 2 May 2005 (UTC)

tuchman

 * The reference to Tuchman is ambiguous. Doesn't this source need to be added to the References? soverman 7:40 23 Odt 2005 (UTC)
 * Comment Yes. Done. --Malecasta 20:52, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

confused
This sentence is confusing:

New expressions of highly personal private piety in the 11th century were at the origins of what a modern observer would recognize as a personality, and the vocabulary of piety was also transferred to the conventions of courtly love.

Could someone clarify what is meant by the word, 'personality'? hdstubbs

neopaganism
Doesn't there seem to be a NPOV slant on this neopaganism business? The tone of the article seems to suggest that courtly love is some sort of secret underground religion... 134.186.104.253 19:52, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

Muslim Influence
Shouldn't some mention be made of the connection (posited by several important scholars like Menocal) between the appearance of courtly love in 12th century France, and the Muslim ideas of courtly love that preceeded it? One need only look at the Andalusi Ibn Hazm's 11th century book Tawq al-Hammammah to see that notions of courtly love were well-developed in Muslim Spain, just across the Pyrenees from France. DelDav 16:57, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

i've reinserted my original paragraph on what Menocal refers to as the Arabist hypothesis. the paragraph it was replaced with was as follows:

"Practices similar to courtly love may be comparable to those in Al-Andalus and elsewhere in the Islamicate world, and so some historians have proposed these practices influenced the Christian Europeans. The history of this argument is outlined by Maria Rosa Menocal in The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History."

1) to say "Practices similar to courtly love may be comparable to those in Al-Andalus..." sounds redundant to me: if A is similar to B, and A is comparable to C, it's obvious that B is comparable/similar to C. it would have made more sense simply to say that A (courtly love) is similar to C (Islamicate practices), rather than introducing a needless B (practices similar to courtly love).

2) the new version omits the reference to William of Aquitane's contact with the Islamicate world, which is meant to provide tangible evidence for the hypothesis.

3) given that the paragraph is a speculation on the beginnings of courtly love, it makes sense for it to be near the beginning of the sub-article, rather than near the end as the edit had it.

4) Menocal was taken out of the "further reading" for some reason. in spite of its title, the book (The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History) is almost wholly about courtly love, so it really ought to be in there. Mohamadkhan 05:57, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

The article slights Ovid, however
This is good and interesting, but from a literary perspective, I wonder whether the influence of Ovid is proportionally slighted. It's barely mentioned. Few people in medieval Europe could read Arabic or Persian; this is still true in the Renaissance. But almost every literate person read Latin; that was almost the definition of literacy. Ovid's influence can be traced quite concretely, in terms of the number of manuscripts in circulation, and direct references to him (often by his cognomen Naso rather than Ovidius) in medieval European literature. Courtly love is an ideal, and is most "real" in its literary form. Some poets participated in the Crusades, but more would've been home reading Latin authors.

I'm not asking to diminish the Arabic role in any way; just saying that the resulting imbalance, which almost removes Ovid from the equation, needs to be redressed. Cynwolfe (talk) 15:34, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Sounds like a good idea. A relevant source is Peter L. Allen, The Art of Love: Amatory Fiction from Ovid to the Romance of the Rose (Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1992). Unfortunately, I don't have time to reread it at the moment. Deor (talk) 15:49, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

I found this broad description of Arabic and Islamic influences without any citation very weak. The Arabs and Islam took heavily (with the help of Syrian Christians, Coptic Christians from Egypt etc.) from the Greek, Roman (also via the whole Mediterranean sphere of the Roman and Eastern Roman empire like Egypt etc.) and the Persian tradition. Themes of love play a major role in the classic Greek and Roman mythology, in the Bible from Old to New testament. So the adaption and evolution of an universal human topic into a past time for the knighthood seems rather normal for any culture. There may have been some Islamic influences, but that should be proven and not only fantasized. There was a general cultural exchange between Jews, Christians and Muslims in Spain. In Italy the knowledge of Latin and its authors was normal for nobility and clergy. Astonishing that the article never mentions the Bible as one major influence of the courtly love movement. Good starting point, though! 84.57.13.239 (talk) 16:37, 16 January 2010 (UTC)Thomas

Errors in article
NPOV dispute

The article declares that marriage was defined as sacrament in the fourth Lateran Council (1215). However, Marriage was generally believed to be a sacrament up until then, but defined in response to heresies such as various forms of Gnosticism. Marriage can be shown historically to have been believed a sacrament, or at least highly honored before then. At no time in Christianity was there ever a belief otherwise, except among the Gnostics. Marriage did not suddenly exist at the Council.

The cult of the Virgin was not instituted in the 12th century. It was, again, formally defined in response to heresies against various Marian doctrines, which though not defined, were believed by Christians.

I believe this article may have an Anti-Catholic or Anti-Christian slant and should be examined for balance. It seems to say there is some secret pagan underground religion, and has the marks of an "ancient mystery religion" theory. There is only one source, the article should be researched more.

70.41.62.198 23:35, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

 * (This anonymous editor, apparently not a reader of history, applied an "NPOV" label, which has been removed. They don't even bother to log in now.) --Wetman 01:18, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

incorrect stress on and erroneous inclusion of adultery in the definition
''Particular standards of etiquette and custom were attached to courtly love, though these varied somewhat with region and time period. Sometimes the ideal love was chaste or Platonic admiration, with no intimation of actual affairs. In other cases, at least the intention of consummation is expressed, if only to lament the impossibility of the act. This ritual of walking the knife's edge between admiration and consummation is still seen in such Western European social practices as the seating of ladies at table next to gentlemen who are specifically not their husbands. In cultures not much influenced by the courtly love tradition, this would seem to be a scandalous, insulting invitation to disaster.''

This is not bad, but it's more or less "hidden" or at least buried in the middle of the article. Chastity and unattainability were not only widely declared as goals; they were often in fact successfully maintained. I've tried to correct the introduction, but the entire article needs to be rewritten to provide a less one-sided, "modern", and historically distorted interest in the cases where physical love was enjoyed despite the very widespread vows to the contrary. The article's reference to the troubadour tradition and art form (Courtly love was perhaps most commonly expressed in the compositions of the troubadours, trouvères and poets) is completely misleading and incorrect due to its emphasis on sexual intercourse. In addition, the references from many other articles such troubadour and minnesang to here are also misleading if readers then think that those art forms are (mostly) talking about sexual love. --Espoo 09:55, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

It seems what i learned in school is no longer supported by newer research findings. I was sure my school knowledge is still correct because the New Oxford Dictionary (1999) says: ''courtly love noun a highly conventionalized medieval tradition of love between a knight and a married noblewoman, first developed by the troubadours of Southern France and extensively employed in European literature of the time. The love of the knight for his lady was regarded as an ennobling passion and the relationship was typically unconsummated.''

But Britannica from only a year later says: ''The courtly lover existed to serve his lady. His love was invariably adulterous, marriage at that time being usually the result of business interest or the seal of a power alliance. Ultimately the lover saw himself as serving the all-powerful god of love and worshipping his lady-saint. Faithlessness was the mortal sin.'' --Espoo 11:47, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

 * I doubt that a huge amount of new evidence has been uncovered in the last ten years, or even in the last fifty. (Of course, I'm no expert and could be wildly wrong.)   I think it's more a question of rival interpretations of what we do have.  Medieval literature was of course loaded with allegory and symbolism.  So too was medieval thought.  Different interpretations are to be expected.   -- 18.252.7.143 19:24, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Neopaganism, etc.
The article does not explain clearly in what sense courtly love is neopagan.

How exactly does courtly love relate to pagan traditions? Does this article mean to say that practitioners actually believed in the existence of pagan gods? Or does purely symbolic use of the mythos and gods of the Greek or Roman pantheons count? Being neopagan in that sense would not generally have been considered "non-Christian", as seen by the example of the Divine Comedy.

In what sense was courtly love "covert neopaganism", as the article asserts? Is the idea that courtly love was obviously neopagan, but practiced covertly? Or was it secretly neopagan? (And if its neopagan nature was secret, how do we know about it now?)

The remark (made above on this talk page) that user 70.41.62.198 is "apparently not a reader of history" really doesn't help. The main goal of an encyclopedia is to provide a review of a topic for nonexperts. To do this, it needs to explain clearly what is meant! This goes double for those portions that are contrary to the popular understanding of a topic.

If the people who understand these parts of the article think the text is already sufficiently clear, please at least add some direct citations to those areas. That way people like myself can use the references to try to understand what's meant. -- 18.252.7.143 19:24, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

 * A basic source here. All of this is standard history that you can find in many sources. -- Stbalbach 19:27, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

 * Thanks. My problem was that the linked wikipedia article on neopaganism defines it as a "group of new religious movements", which seems incompatible with much of what appears here.  It really wasn't clear to me whether the courtly love article intended to refer more to a collection of sensibilities and style of life, or to a new religious movement.

 * I am sorry if I'm more ignorant than I ought to be about these things. I do think, however, that encyclopedia articles should generally be comprehendible by people who are not already very familar with the subject.  18.252.5.157 11:27, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

 * I agree it could be presented better. This article evolved over time with many editors making small changes. "Neopagan" is a somewhat loaded term (they never considered themselves pagan, if they had they would have been burned as heretics). But we look back and see it that way in the bigger picture. -- Stbalbach 14:57, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

 * That source uses pagan in the looser sense of "not subscribing to the dominant religion of a particular society" -- it absolutely does not mean neopagan, which specifically refers to a number of religions dreamed up by romantics in the 19th century and afterwards. Most of the other online sources about courtly love either don't mention paganism at all, or use it in the loose sense described above. (I'm ignoring sites by obvious wicca sympathisers and the like.) 134.58.253.113 14:46, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

 * Well, it is fact that many authors use the term "neo-paganism" when talking about Courtly Love (both on Google and elsewhere, from what I have read). Since the term and concept of Courtly Love was first popularized by Gaston Paris in the 1880's, and was not used before then, it may not be surprising if Paris used the Romantics notion of  neopaganism in describing Courtly Love and has now become an ingrained part of the historiography. Indeed, the very idea of Courtly Love some historians believe never existed and was a romantic 19th C idea layered on the past. I really need to re-write this article from a historians perspective, one day. -- Stbalbach 14:05, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

 * That's interesting, and I'd encourage you to do that. I'd like to see some reference to this disputed historicity in the article. (Indeed, it seems most academic accounts of courtly love are not from historians, but from scholars of literature. Who tend to have a less scientific view of the past.) 134.58.253.113 12:57, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

 * It is a difficult subject, many points of view conflicting and controversial (and multi-disciplinary). Like a lot of things we take for granted from the Middle Ages (even the term Middle Ages), it was a later invention and thus problematic, but still useful to some degree. -- Stbalbach 05:15, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

One-sided
This article concentrates too heavily on the views of those who supported the ideal. There was heavy opposition. Goldfritha 20:05, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

Article re-write
I've done a complete re-write of the article. I tried to keep as much as possible from the original, but due to the new organization and layout, a lot was dropped - it was difficult to keep original paragraphs and ideas integral since they discussed points now separated into different sections and often repeated new material that is better sourced. For point of reference, the original article is now located at Talk:Courtly love/temp. -- Stbalbach 18:22, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
 * See ; no need for temp pages for historical record. —Quarl (talk) 2006-12-19 09:39Z

Does the Song of Solomon pertain?
On first casual glance, the concepts here remind me of the Song of Solomon. Did that work have any influence? --Davecampbell 01:00, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Origin of Term
Sexual satisfaction, Paris said, may not have been a goal or even end result, but the love was not entirely Platonic either, as it was based on sexual attraction ...

This is not so much an error as it is misleading. Platonic love is based on sexual attraction, though that attraction is somehow used as a springboard toward appreciation/understanding of a higher beauty. The Phaedrus and The Symposium are the two primary sources. I notice that the Wikipedia article on Platonic Love corrects the common understanding of Platonic Love.

Teades 13:45, 7 April 2007 (UTC)teades

Paris as originator
All the sources I have at hand agree that Paris coined and defined amour courtois in the sense in which "courtly love" is used in this article. F. X. Newman, for instance, in the introduction cited in the article's note 1 wrote, "He [Paris] not only invented the phrase amour courtois, but also gave it its original definition." I'm not sure what objection Stbalbach has to my rewording of the sentence in question, which was in part prompted by the awkwardness of "first popularized" (has the term been popularized multiple times?); perhaps he could clarify them here.

Also, block quotations should not be enclosed in quotation marks—see the Manual of Style, as well as the article Block quotation. Deor 00:24, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

 * Well first you wrote "was introduced" which is not correct, since the phrase amour courtois is not a neologism created by Paris but a real term from the period, Paris didn't make it up. Now its been re-worded to "given its original definition" which is kind of accurate, although still problematic. The term amour courtois, and the term "courtly love", are two separate things - one is a term from the middle ages which only exists in one or two extant sources and so we assume was not used much at the time, so its not accurate to say Paris gave its "original" definition since the term existed before Paris was around; the term "courtly love" is an English translation encompassing a larger framework that takes into account many phrases from the period that were used to describe "love of a courtly nature" (amour courtois being just one such phrase, there are others) - Paris happened to choose amour courtois as the namesake for his concept. So the term its self is not new, but the modern definition is. I'm not sure it makes sense to try and talk about them as one and the same thing, rather the modern concept of courtly love was named by Paris from the medieval term amour courtois, but which also encompasses other terms as well.

 * Re: blockquotes, why use manual HTML coding when we have templates that are cleaner and have more features?
 * This:
 * "text.."
 * Produces the same output as this:
 * "text.."
 * One is just easier to read in the source text, fewer characters, easier to maintain.

-- Stbalbach 23:55, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

(moved from my talk page)
 * The simple facts that Paris coined the term amour courtois (the single occurence of cortez amors in a medieval Provençal poem [not "one or two extant sources"], of which Paris may well have been unaware, doesn't negate this) and that all English usages of the term "courtly love" descend from Paris's coinage suggest that you're stretching a bit to state that "the term existed before Paris was around." I'm not sure what you're trying to claim, but there's no evidence that the concept of "courtly love" (so named, and with the characteristics defined by Paris) existed before Paris set them forth in his essay. Deor 01:44, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Paris didn't coin the term amour courtois. But he did create a concept of courtly love that is new/original. The reason this is important is because many critics of courtly love have said it did not exist and was a 19th century neologism, which is not accurate, as our article makes clear: "Even though Paris used a term with little support in the contemporaneous literature, it was not a neologism and does usefully describe a particular conception of love and focuses on the courtliness that was at its essence." -- Stbalbach 21:00, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Courtly literature
This article already has a sub-section on "courtly literature" that is larger and more developed than the Courtly literature article. Not to say a Courtly literature article could not exist on Wikipedia, but right now, wouldn't it make more sense to focus editors attention into expanding this article, and when the literature section gets large enough, split it off into a separate article with a summary here? - the alternative is to have a content fork, with two different streams of development that will one day have to be merged with a lot more difficulty. Also, all of the professional encyclopedia articles I have seen cover courtly love and courtly literature in the same article - for good reason since courtly literature is really at the "heart" of courtly love, it's where it originated and how it most well know by and most studied. This article could use a considerably larger courtly literature section. -- Stbalbach 12:15, 6 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I have no objection to merging courtly literature into this article. The only reason I created the article on courtly literature is that Ovid was linked to a then non-existent article on literature courtoise, and there was an equivalent article on French Wikipédia. -- Kyok o  22:58, 6 May 2007 (UTC)
 * OK. Yeah the French are right, a separate article could be in the future, it's a big topic. Most encyclopedias discuss love and literature in the same article so it seemed best to start off that way since they are so closely connected. Thanks. -- Stbalbach 13:00, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

NPOV and wrong?
Look at this sentence: "it is not a coincidence that the cult of the Virgin Mary began in the 12th century as a counter to the secular, courtly and lustful views of women"

Um, the "cult of the Virgin" (not cult in the sense of extremist group, but in the sense of cult (religion)) began about as soon as Christianity. The Council of Ephesus (431 AD) announced Mary as Theotokos. The Gospel of James, while noncanonical, showed deep devotion to Mary. This is not only NPOV slanted toward discrediting Catholics, but ust plain wrong. Also, I think the views described for the ecclesiastics are not quite accurate - they weren't this puritanical. That's largely a modern (last 200 years or so) myth. I'm not sure how to fix this, tohugh. Vultur 18:55, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

No doubt better historical thinking concerning the role played by Bernard of Clairvaux and the vocabulary of courtly love applied to the BVM, in the intensification of the cult of Mary exemplified by Bernard's writing, would certainly improve this article— if it were to come from an editor with a basic grasp of the history of ideas.--Wetman 20:06, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Are you saying that I do not have a "basic grasp" of the concept? Vultur 17:17, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Whatever anyone's historical disposition might be towards the Church, I have to call into question any position that tries to argue that the Church said people ought to remain celibate "even during marriage." This simply does not make sense without some equivocation being made on "celibate." As the article itself claims, celibacy refers to "being unmarried or abstaining from sexual intercourse." You could mean two different things by this:

a) no sex at all, which is plainly false from everything the Church has ever taught, and from history, and from virtually every reputable historical source;

or b) restraining oneself when prudent, in which case it isn't "celibacy", it's prudent self-discipline, which is another thing entirely. Too much water will kill someone; you don't say they're "abstaining" from water when they don't drink five gallons in a sitting.  Likewise, imprudent action, whether it be sex or candy (eating), will hurt someone spiritually, and so Catholics are sometimes called to not do it.  This isn't "abstaining from intercourse", because the intercourse not practiced is not a licit act in the first place.

TonalHarmony (talk) 19:01, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 points. First - the "cult of the Virgin Mary" was a real and actual cult with that name.  Sure, there have been people with Marian devotion since day one, but that's not what the article is talking about here.  Second - I am to understand that it IS church teaching to remain celibate during marriage, but that celibate doesn't neccesarily mean no sex - just no sex outside of marriage.  Hence a person can be celibate and still have sex.  But, since that fact is not clear to the average reader, it should be clarified, which I will try to do now.(along with a few other things)Farsight001 (talk) 01:04, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

User:Deor reverting well sourced work
User:Deor has decided to revert my work twice, even though it is well sourced (almost every sentence has a source). He is blanket reverting my work - even though his reversion replaced some poorly written sentence I consolidated and made easier to understand. Deor, please discuss it here before you revert and claim I didn't use the eight sources that I *did* use. Fresheneesz (talk) 06:32, 23 November 2008 (UTC)
 * By "poorly sourced" I did not mean that you failed to cite sources; I meant that you cited poor ones. I think your new opening paragraph is deficient and misleading in several ways, but perhaps they could be hinted at by saying that it seems more appropriate to the Simple English Wikipedia than to this encyclopedia. You've also introduced a mention of the De amore as if readers have never heard of it before, when it's introduced (and our article about it is linked—a link that you unnecessarily duplicate) in the immediately preceding paragraph, and you've deleted a sentence for no apparent reason. Those are not the only ways in which I find your edits unsuitable, but I'll now leave the matter to others who watch the article, if there are any such. I won't revert your changes again. Deor (talk) 14:25, 23 November 2008 (UTC)
 * The sentence I deleted was the following:
 * "New expressions of highly personal private piety in the 11th century were at the origins of what a modern observer would recognize as a personality, and the vocabulary of piety was also transferred to the conventions of courtly love."
 * I deleted it because it makes absolutely no sense to me. User:hdstubbs complained that it was confusing also (up in the heading "confused"). I thought it was an appropriate deletion, and I still do.
 * I didn't realize I double linked, I'll fix that. You could have fixed it yourself.
 * I hope your "hint" about Simple English isn't meant as an insult... "ennobling love" didn't mean anything to me, and I'm sure a fair number of other readers were also confused by that phrase. Rather than deleting my work, why don't you fix its deficiencies? Fresheneesz (talk) 20:10, 23 November 2008 (UTC)
 * I fixed up the things you specifically mentioned as deficiencies. Comments? Fresheneesz (talk) 20:19, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

kill
talk about killing —Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.34.15.49 (talk) 20:13, 3 December 2009 (UTC)

Surely one of the greatest examples of courtly love was...
Don Quixote, by Cervantes. While Cervantes certainly takes the mickey out of the whole thing, there is no doubt he was debunking a very real tradition for his readers. Perhaps a manufacturered tradition, but well before Gaston Paris, at any rate.

61.49.232.130 (talk) 04:16, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

tuchman #2
Tuchamn does not mention "worship of the lady form afar" (or anything like that) in her outline of the stages of Courtly Love...at least not on pg.66 as stated in fotenote #25. The paragraph on that page starts as: "The chivalric love affair moved from worship through declaration of passionate devotion, virtuous rejection by the lady, to renewed wooing...." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.26.190.152 (talk) 20:43, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

Possible Addition to the "Analysis" section
As part of the historic analysis section, an addition could be made from the perspective of Bloch and his thesis (in Medieval Misogyny), which basically looks at courtly love as a another dimension of control and subversion to women, it keeps them distracted by their elevation. Thekappen (talk) 10:33, 22 January 2012 (UTC)

Islamic influence?
Hmmm, I think the islamic influence section is wrong, and it certainly suffers from a pro islamic POV. It calls Ibn Sina a "psychologist", but seriously, can we honestly call an 11th century phillosopher who talked about the mind, a psychologist? It´s absolutely ridiculous, ludicrous. It´s Presentism at its best. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 186.52.3.162 (talk) 21:43, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

Origin of the term "Courtly Love"
I realize it is popular to ascribe the origins of the phrase to Gaston Paris, but that is false and the article needs to be corrected on this point. Gaston Paris may have popularised the term but it is found in French literature dating back centuries before him. Even in English writings and poetry we find references from long before Paris's use - eg. this poem from the Westmorland Gazette - Saturday 28 December 1822;

 * Sometimes his proud green waves, in order set,
 * One after the other flow onto the shore,
 * Which when they have with many kisses wet,
 * They ebb again in order as before;
 * And to make known his courtly love the more,
 * He oft doth lay aside his three-fork'd mace,
 * And with his arms the tim'rous earth embrace

124.170.113.245 (talk) 23:36, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

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Canon Law
I changed the headline of the paragraph "Courtly love as a response to Canon Law" to "Courtly love as a response to theologic discourse about love", because the text below does not speak about Canon Law but about the theologic ideas about love. One could however talk about canon law, but that would necessarily have to include the controversy about marriage, which is a much more discussed topic in canon law than love itself, which is hardly discussed at all. Also the said paragraph uses the terms "Church" and "Catholoic church" problematically in my eyes, since it seems like a over generalization to just talk about the ideas "of the Church" as if there was no controversy on topics. Cyndalorsa (talk) 09:14, 11 March 2023 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Courtly love


text:
Siân Phillips

Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips (born 14 May 1933), known professionally as Siân Phillips, is a Welsh actress. Her early career consisted primarily of stage roles, including the title roles in Ibsen's Hedda Gabler and George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan. In the 1960s, she started taking on more roles in television and film. She is particularly known for her performance as Livia in the 1976 BBC television series I, Claudius, for which she was awarded a BAFTA and a Royal Television Society award. She was nominated for a Tony Award and Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Marlene Dietrich in Marlene.

Early life
Phillips was born on 14 May 1933 in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, the daughter of Sally (née Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker who became a policeman. She is a Welsh-speaker: in the first volume of her autobiography Private Faces (1999) she notes that she spoke only Welsh for much of her childhood, learning English by listening to the radio.

Phillips attended Pontardawe Grammar School and originally was known there as Jane, but her Welsh teacher called her Siân, the Welsh form of Jane. Later she took up English and philosophy at University College Cardiff.

Phillips graduated from the University of Wales in 1955. She entered the RADA with a scholarship in September 1955, the same year as Diana Rigg and Glenda Jackson. She won the Bancroft Gold Medal for Hedda Gabler and was offered work in Hollywood when she left the RADA. While still a student, she was offered three film contracts to work for an extended period of time in the United States, but she declined, preferring to work on stage.

Early career
Phillips began acting professionally at the age of 11 with the Home Service of BBC Radio in Wales. At the same age she won her first speech-and-drama award for her performance at the National Eisteddfod held at Llandybïe in 1944, where she and a school friend played the parts of two elderly men in a dramatic duologue.

She made her first British television appearance at 17 and won a Welsh acting award at 18. In 1953, while still a student at University College, Cardiff she worked as a newsreader and announcer for the BBC in Wales and toured Wales in Welsh-language productions of the Welsh Arts Council.

From 1953 to 1955, Phillips was a member of the BBC Repertory Company and the National Theatre Company and toured Wales performing Welsh and English plays for the Welsh Arts Council. For the Nottingham Playhouse in 1958, she was Masha in Three Sisters. She performed as Princess Siwan in Saunders Lewis's The King's Daughter at the Hampstead Theatre Club in 1959 and as Katherine in Taming of the Shrew for the Oxford Playhouse in 1960. She was Princess Siwan again in the BBC's production of Siwan: The King's Daughter alongside Peter O'Toole with Emyr Humphrys as producer. It was broadcast on BBC One (Wales only) on 1 March 1960. From October 1958 to April 1959, she was compere of the Land of Song (Gwlad y Gân) monthly programme at TWW (Television Wales and the West) Channel 10 with baritone Ivor Emmanuel.

She made her first appearance on the London stage in 1957 when she appeared in Hermann Sudermann's Magda for RADA. Magda, about an opera diva, was her first real success in London. The play did well and benefited her career greatly; although she was only a student at the time, she was the first since Sarah Bernhardt to play the role.

In 1957, Phillips performed the title role in Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. West End opening at The Duke of York's Theatre, December 3, 1957, with Fredrik Ohlsson as Tesman. They also performed at Det Nye Teatret in Oslo and at The Vanbrugh, RADA. Many sources consider this her London stage debut but she actually did Magda before Hedda Gabler. In September 1958, she was performing as Margaret Muir in John Hall's The Holiday at Oxford New Theatre.

In May 1958, Phillips performed as Joan in a production of Shaw's Saint Joan by Bryan Bailey, at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, which had opened just six weeks before. An observer described her performance: "Sian Phillips' portrayal of Joan defies the law of averages, since, after seeing Siobhan McKenna in the 1955 Arts Theatre production, I reckoned it impossible to equal within half a century. Like the Irish girl, the Welsh girl is perfect.... 'This girl doesn't act Joan – she is Joan.' In short, perfection."

She was Julia in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1960–1961 version of The Duchess of Malfi. Her Royal Shakespeare Company performances are:
 * Julia in The Duchess of Malfi: at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (Stratford, 30 November 1960, opening night).
 * Julia in The Duchess of Malfi: at the Aldwych Theatre (London, 15 December 1960, opening night)
 * Bertha in Ondine: at the Aldwych Theatre (London, 12 January 1961, opening night)
 * Miss Havisham in Great Expectations: at Royal Shakespeare Company (Stratford, 6 December 2005).

Later film and television
Her long career has included many films and television programmes, but she is perhaps best known for starring as Livia in the popular BBC adaptation of Robert Graves's novel I, Claudius (BBC2, 1976), for which she won the 1977 BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress, and for many appearances on the original run of Call My Bluff. She also appeared opposite her then-husband Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton in Becket (1964); as Ursula Mossbank in the musical film Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), again starring O'Toole; once more opposite O'Toole in Murphy's War (1971); as Emmeline Pankhurst in the TV mini-series Shoulder to Shoulder (1974); as Clementine Churchill in Southern Television's Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981) starring Robert Hardy; as Lady Ann, the unfaithful wife of Alec Guinness's character George Smiley, in the BBC1 espionage dramas Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) and Smiley's People (1982), adapted from John le Carré's eponymous novels; in Nijinsky (1980); and as the queen Cassiopeia in Clash of the Titans (1981).

Another popular role was that of the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam in David Lynch's Dune (1984) and Charal from Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985). She also appeared in seasons 2 and 4 (1998 and 2000) of the Canadian TV series La Femme Nikita as Adrian, the renegade founder of the powerful Section One anti-terrorist organisation. In 2001, she appeared as herself in Lily Savage's Blankety Blank. and in Ballykissangel as faith healer Consuela Dunphy in Episode 7 ('One Born Every Minute' or 'Getting Better All the Time'). Her most recent film is The Gigolos (2006) by Richard Bracewell, in which she played Lady James. In 2010, she appeared in New Tricks in the episode "Coming out Ball" and in 2011 she appeared in the episode "Wild Justice" in the fifth season of the television series Lewis. In 2017, she played Lady Yvette Bristow in the TV series Strike. In 2022, she appeared in the series McDonald & Dodds. In 2024, Phillips portrayed Enid Meadows in the Doctor Who episode "73 Yards".

Other work
Phillips's West End credits include Marlene (in which she portrayed Marlene Dietrich), Pal Joey, Gigi and A Little Night Music. She has also appeared on the American stage in Marlene.

Her National Theatre performances have included:
 * Lady Britomart in Major Barbara: The Lyttelton Theatre (18 October 1982, opening night)
 * Madam Armfeldt in A Little Night Music: Olivier Theatre (18 September 1995, opening night)
 * Hope in In Bed With Magritte (1 December 1995, opening night).
 * Madame Neilsen in "Les Blancs": Olivier Theatre (2016)

She provided spoken-word backing to a track on Rufus Wainwright's 2007 album Release the Stars and appeared live with him at the Old Vic Theatre in London on 31 May/1 June 2007. In 2009 Phillips starred in London's West End production of Calendar Girls. Phillips played Juliet opposite Michael Byrne's Romeo in Juliet and her Romeo at the Bristol Old Vic from 10 March to 24 April 2010.

In January 2011, she appeared in a new cabaret show, Crossing Borders, at Wilton's Music Hall in London. One review said: "Her cabaret shows are always of the more traditional type. She’s had a long and very impressive career, and her show followed its progression, with backstage anecdotes about the people she’s met and worked with along the way. It may not be edgy, but it’s a truly delightful evening, by a truly delightful performer, in a truly delightful venue."

In 2015, she played the lead character Fania Fénelon in the Arthur Miller stage version of Playing for Time at Sheffield Theatres.

In 2024, Phillips reflected on her life and career, for the first time, in Siân Phillips at 90, broadcast on BBC One on 1 March. The documentary includes Philips recounting, with candour, the difficulties in the later part of her marriage to O'Toole, which culminated in the ultimatum that she should leave the family home, without their two children, within the space of four hours.

Awards and nominations
In January 2018, Phillips was recognised for her career spanning more than 70 years at the BBC Audio Drama Awards and was given a Radio Lifetime Achievement Award.

Honours
Phillips was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2000 Birthday Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to drama.

In 2024, she and Judi Dench became the first female members of the Garrick Club.

Personal life
Phillips's first husband was Donald Roy, a post-graduate student at the University of Wales, who later established the Drama Department at the University of Hull and after whom the University Theatre is named. They were married in 1956 and divorced in 1959.

Already pregnant with their first child, Phillips married Peter O'Toole in December 1959. They had two daughters: Kate, born 1960, and Patricia, born 1963. Patricia is a theatre practitioner, and Kate is an actress. The couple divorced in 1979, and Phillips wrote about this tempestuous period of her life in Public Places, the second volume of her autobiography.

Her third husband was actor Robin Sachs, who was 17 years her junior. Their relationship began in 1975. They were married on Christmas Eve 1979, shortly after her divorce from O'Toole. Phillips and Sachs divorced in 1991.

Her great aunt was the Welsh evangelist Rosina Davies.

She is a patron of the Bird College of Dance, Music & Theatre Performance, based in Sidcup, Greater London.

Her two volumes of autobiography – Private Faces and Public Places – were published in 1999 and 2001, respectively.

Others
Since 2005, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Cymru (BAFTA in Wales) has presented the Tlws Sian Phillips Award to a Welshman or woman who has made a significant contribution in either a major feature film or network television programme.

title: Siân Phillips


text:
Terrytoons

Terrytoons was an American animation studio in New Rochelle, New York, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in-name only). Terrytoons was founded by Paul Terry, Frank Moser, and Joseph Coffman, and operated out of the "K" Building in downtown New Rochelle. The studio created many cartoon characters including Fanny Zilch, Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Gandy Goose, Sourpuss, Dinky Duck, Little Roquefort, the Terry Bears, Dimwit, and Luno; Terry's pre-existing character Farmer Al Falfa was also featured often in the series.

The "New Terrytoons" period of the late 1950s through the mid-1960s produced such characters as Clint Clobber, Tom Terrific, Deputy Dawg, Hector Heathcote, Hashimoto-san, Sidney the Elephant, Possible Possum, James Hound, Astronut, Sad Cat, The Mighty Heroes, and Sally Sargent. Also during that time, Ralph Bakshi got his start as an animator, and eventually as a director, at Terrytoons.

Terrytoons shorts were originally released to theaters by 20th Century Fox from 1935 until 1973. After Paul Terry had retired, Terrytoons was sold to CBS, which would later purchase the entire library. Paramount Pictures would eventually take theatrical rights ownership of the Terrytoons library in 1994 (which was then already purchased by Viacom), and would purchase CBS in 2000. As of 2019, Paramount Pictures has owned the rights to the studio and its library after the re-merger of Viacom and CBS.

Pre-Terrytoons era
Terry first worked for Bray Studios in 1916, where he created the Farmer Al Falfa series. He would then make a Farmer Al Falfa short for Edison Pictures, called "Farmer Al Falfa's Wayward Pup" (1917), and some later cartoons were made for Paramount Pictures.

Around 1921, Terry founded the Fables animation studio, named for its Aesop's Film Fables series, in conjunction with the studio of Amedee J. Van Beuren. Fables churned out a Fable cartoon every week for eight years in the 1920s.

In 1928, Van Beuren, anxious to compete with the new phenomenon of talking pictures, released Terry's Dinner Time (released October 1928). Van Beuren then urged Terry to start producing actual sound films, instead of post-synchronizing the cartoons. Terry refused, and Van Beuren fired him in 1929. Almost immediately, Terry and much of his staff started up the Terrytoons studio near his former studio. One staff member during that time was Art Babbitt, who went on to become a well-known Disney animator.

Peak era
Through much of its history, the studio was considered one of the lowest-quality houses in the field, to the point where Paul Terry noted, "Let Walt Disney be the Tiffany's of the business. I want to be the Woolworth's!" Terry's studio had the lowest budgets and was among the slowest to adapt to new technologies such as sound (in about 1930) and Technicolor (in 1938). While its graphic style remained remarkably static for decades, it actually followed the sound cartoon trend of the late 1920s and early 1930s very quickly. Background music was entrusted to one man, Philip Scheib, and Terry's refusal to pay royalties for popular songs forced Scheib to compose his own scores.

Paul Terry took pride in producing a new cartoon every other week, regardless of the quality of the films. Until 1957, screen credits were very sparse, listing only the writer (until 1950, solely John Foster; then Tom Morrison thereafter), director (Terry's three main directors were Connie Rasinski, Eddie Donnelly, and Mannie Davis), and musician (musical director Philip A. Scheib). Terrytoons' first distributor was Educational Pictures, specialists in short-subject comedies and novelties. Audio-Cinema in the early 1930s backed the production of Terrytoons, and distributed the Educational library internationally, except in the United Kingdom and Ireland where the library was distributed by Educational and Gaumont-British in partnership with the Ideal Film Company.

The Fox Film company then released Educational shorts to theaters in the 1930s, giving the Terry cartoons wide exposure. Following the merger between Fox Film and 20th Century, the newly formed 20th Century Fox withdrew its support from Educational Pictures, and the company both backed and distributed Terrytoons. Farmer Al Falfa was Terry's most familiar character in the 1930s; Kiko the Kangaroo was spun off the Farmer Al Falfa series. Most of the other cartoons featured stock generic animal characters and designs, one of which was a scruffy dog with a black patch around one eye; Terry ultimately built a series around this character, now known as Puddy the Pup.

Paul Terry may have realized that Educational was in financial trouble because he found another lucrative outlet for his product. In 1938, he arranged to release his older cartoons through home-movie distributor Castle Films. Educational went out of business within the year, but 20th Century Fox continued to release Terrytoons to theaters for the next two decades. With a new emphasis on "star" characters, Terrytoons featured the adventures of Super Mouse (later renamed Mighty Mouse), the talking magpies Heckle and Jeckle, silly Gandy Goose, Dinky Duck, mischievous mouse Little Roquefort, and The Terry Bears.

Despite the artistic drawbacks imposed by Terry's inflexible business policies, Terrytoons was nominated four times for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film: All Out for V in 1942, My Boy, Johnny in 1944, Mighty Mouse in Gypsy Life in 1945, and Sidney's Family Tree in 1958.

Changing hands
The studio was sold outright by the retiring Paul Terry to CBS in 1955, but 20th Century Fox (TCF) continued distribution. The deal closed the following year in 1956, and it became a division of the CBS Films subsidiary. Later, in 1957 CBS put it under the management of UPA alumni Gene Deitch, who had to work with even lower budgets.

Deitch's most notable works at the studio were the Tom Terrific cartoon segments for the Captain Kangaroo television show. He also introduced a number of new characters, such as Sidney the Elephant, Gaston Le Crayon, John Doormat, and Clint Clobber.

Before Deitch was fired in 1959, Bill Weiss took complete control of the studio. Under his supervision, Heckle and Jeckle and Mighty Mouse went back into production. Besides the three core directors of the Terry era who were still involved as animators and directors, two Famous Studios stalwarts joined the crew, Dave Tendlar and Martin Taras. Other new theatrical cartoon series included Hector Heathcote, Luno and Hashimoto San. The studio also began producing the Deputy Dawg series for television in 1959. Another television production for the Captain Kangaroo show was The Adventures of Lariat Sam, which was written in part by Gene Wood, who would later become the announcer for several TV gameshows including Family Feud.

Phil Scheib continued as the studio's musical director through the mid-1960s when he was replaced by Jim Timmens and Elliott Lawrence.

The best-known talent at Terrytoons in the 1960s was animator/director/producer Ralph Bakshi, who started with Terrytoons in the 1950s as an opaquer, and eventually helmed the Mighty Heroes series. Bakshi left Terrytoons in 1967 for Paramount's own cartoon studio, which closed its cartoon unit later that year. He would later go on to produce Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures for television in 1987, which was also produced by future Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi.

Post-history
After the departure of Ralph Bakshi, the studio petered out, and finally closed in 1973. As a result of the FCC banning TV networks from owning cable television and syndication of television programs, CBS created Viacom Enterprises to handle all network programs beyond TV production and network broadcasting.

On July 4, 1971, Viacom Enterprises spun off from CBS; neither Viacom Enterprises nor CBS had any interest in Terrytoons. The Terrytoons film library was still regularly re-released to theaters by Fox. The studio's one of the last short was an unsold TV pilot called Sally Sargent, about a 16-year-old girl who is a secret agent. Soon after Sally Sargent was completed, Viacom International ended their relationship with Fox and re-releases ceased. Terrytoons’ existence soon came to an end.

Art Bartsch, who kept the studio running after Bakshi left, would soon die along with Connie Rasinski, and Bob Kuwahara, reducing the studio to a ghost studio with executive producer Bill Weiss and story supervisor Tom Morrison; Viacom kept the studio open until 1972. By October 1972, Viacom International announced that Terrytoons would leave New Rochelle and relocate to Viacom International's office in New York City. By December 29, Viacom sold the now abandoned New Rochelle studio, and the company's fate was forever sealed.

Bill Weiss continued Terrytoons production from his New York City office with the 1970s Terrytoons cartoons (especially Mighty Mouse and Deputy Dawg) being syndicated to many local TV markets, and they were a staple of after-school and Saturday-morning cartoon shows for over three decades, from the 1950s through the 1980s, until the television rights to the library were acquired by USA Network in 1989. However, any new cartoons of the studio's stars came from other studios.

In the late 1970s, Filmation Studios licensed the rights to make a new Mighty Mouse series from Viacom International, the series was The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle, and aired from 1979 to 1980 on CBS.

Ralph Bakshi would later produce Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures in 1987, which lasted for two seasons. Bakshi and his friend John Kricfalusi inspired the staff to try to get as much Jim Tyer-style drawing in the show as possible. Tyer, a stand-out Terry animator of the original cartoons with a unique style, became a strong influence on the artists of the Bakshi series, such as now recognizable artists and animators—Bruce Timm, Doug Moench, Andrew Stanton, Rich Moore, Lynne Naylor, Jim Reardon, Tom Minton, and Bob Jaques.

Many of the characters (such as Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Dinky Duck, Deputy Dawg, and others) were slated to make cameos in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but only Oscar the Timid Pig, Looey Lion, and a character resembling Gandy Goose appeared. They can all be seen during the film's finale. They were also planned to appear in the deleted scene of Marvin Acme's funeral.

In 1994, Fox would sell its Terrytoons theatrical distribution to Paramount, which was then purchased by Viacom that same year, and would go on to purchase CBS six years later in 2000.

However, through the years that have followed since the last Terrytoons TV series material in 1988, the rights have been scattered as a result of prior rights issues and the corporate changes involving Viacom and CBS, especially in 2005. Since CBS Corporation re-merged with Viacom to form ViacomCBS (Paramount Global as of February 2022), reuniting CBS with Paramount, on December 4, 2019, and CBS Films was folded into CBS Entertainment Group after releasing Jexi on the same day, Paramount Pictures now owns the theatrical distribution on behalf of Paramount Animation and CBS Entertainment Group, while CBS Media Ventures (formed in 2006) owns the television distribution on behalf of CBS Eye Animation Productions to the Terrytoons film library. However, some Terrytoons shorts are believed to be in the public domain and have either been issued on low-budget VHS tapes and DVDs or have been uploaded on sites such as Internet Archive. On January 5, 2010, the first official release of any Terrytoons material by CBS DVD was issued in the form of the complete series of Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures.

In 1999, Nickelodeon attempted to revive the Terrytoons characters as part of a TV series called Curbside. Curbside would have been a parody of late-night talk shows with Heckle and Jeckle serving as hosts of the show, along with their assistant Dinky Duck, and would have featured new cartoons featuring Terrytoon characters like Deputy Dawg, Sidney the Elephant, and Mighty Mouse. Curbside features talented voices of Bobcat Goldthwait and Toby Huss as Heckle & Jeckle, Cree Summer as Dinky Duck, Billy West as Mighty Mouse and Deputy Dawg, Dee Bradley Baker as Sidney the Elephant, and additional voices from West, Baker, Charlie Adler, and Rob Paulsen. However, it was never picked up, making it the only Terrytoons show that was never officially released.

Between 2001 and 2002, the Terrytoons characters returned to television in original commercials for Brazilian blue cheese (for what is now America's Dairy Farmers) and fine wine. One such infamous commercial was the Mighty Mouse ad (entitled "Dining With Cheese") dining calmly on cheese in a restaurant, utterly unconcerned with a scene of chaos and terror visibly unfolding in the street outside. That said commercial was then pulled from airing following the September 11th attacks.

In 2004, a supposed live-action/animated hybrid Mighty Mouse film adaptation was announced for Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures with Steve Oedekerk of Omation Animation Studio to produce and direct, but was cancelled and has been in development hell since then. However, development later revived in April 2019 for Paramount Animation with Jon and Erich Hoeber to write the screenplay and both Karen Rosenfelt and Robert W. Cort to produce.

Comic books
Among the many licensed Terrytoons products are comic books, mainly published throughout the 1940s and 1950s. The company's characters — including Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Dinky Duck, Gandy Goose, and Little Roquefort — were initially licensed to Timely, a predecessor of Marvel Comics, in 1942. St. John Publications took over the license from 1947 to 1956, Pines Comics published Terrytoons comics from 1956 to 1959, Dell Comics made an attempt from 1959 to 1962 (and again later from 1966 to 1967), and finally Western Publishing published Mighty Mouse comics from 1962 all the way up to 1980.

The lead title, Terry-Toons Comics, was published by Timely from Oct. 1942–Aug. 1947. With issue #60 (Sept. 1947), publication of the title was taken over by St. John Publications, which published another 27 issues until issue #86 (May 1951). The series continued in 1951 (with duplicate issues #85–86) as Paul Terry's Comics, publishing another 41 issues until May 1955, when it was canceled with issue #125.

Timely launched the Mighty Mouse series in 1946. The first St. John Terrytoons comic was Mighty Mouse #5 (Aug. 1947), its numbering also taken over from the Timely run. That series eventually ran 71 issues with St. John, moving to Pines for 16 issues from Apr. 1956 to Aug. 1959, to Dell for 12 issues from Oct./Dec. 1959–July/Sept. 1962, and Western for 17 issues from Oct. 1962 to Jan. 1980 (with a hiatus from Sept. 1965 to Mar. 1979), finally ending with issue #172.

St. John's Terrytoons comics include the field's first 3-D comic book, Three Dimension Comics #1 (Sept. 1953 oversize format, Oct. 1953 standard-size reprint), featuring Mighty Mouse. According to Joe Kubert, co-creator with the brothers Norman Maurer and Leonard Maurer, it sold an exceptional 1.2 million copies at 25 cents apiece at a time when comics cost a dime.

Dell Comics published eight issues of a New Terrytoons title from June/Aug. 1960 to March/May 1962.

Terrytoons comic book titles

 * Adventures of Mighty Mouse (18 issues, November 1951 – May 1955) — St. John
 * Dinky Duck (19 issues, November 1951 – Summer 1958) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines
 * Gandy Goose (4 issues, March 1953 – November 1953) – St. John
 * Heckle and Jeckle (32 issues, October 1951 – June 1959) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines
 * Heckle and Jeckle (4 issues, November 1962 – August 1963) — Western Publishing
 * Heckle and Jeckle (3 issues, May 1966 – 1967) — Dell
 * Little Roquefort Comics (10 issues, June 1952 – Summer 1958) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines
 * Mighty Mouse / Paul Terry's Mighty Mouse Comics (172 issues, Fall 1946 – January 1980) — launched by Timely; continued by St. John, Pines, Dell, and Western
 * Mighty Mouse Album (3 issues, October – December 1952) — St. John
 * New Terrytoons (8 issues, June/August 1960 – March/May 1962) — Dell
 * Terry Bears Comics / Terrytoons, the Terry Bears (4 issues, June 1952 – Summer 1958) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines
 * Terry-Toons Comics / Paul Terry's Comics (125 issues, Oct. 1942 – May 1955) — launched by Timely Comics, continued by St. John
 * TerryToons Comics (9 issues, June 1952 – November 1953) — St. John; separate from Terry-Toons Comics / Paul Terry's Comics

Terrytoons staff: 1929–1973
(Note: Staff members besides the producer, director, writer, and musical director were left uncredited until 1955.)

Producers

 * Paul Terry (1929–1956)
 * William M. Weiss (Executive Producer; 1955–1973)
 * Frank Schudde (Production Manager; 1942, 1946–1963)

Directors

 * Cosmo Anzilotti (1965–1969)
 * Ralph Bakshi (1963, 1965–1967)
 * Art Bartsch (1958–1968)
 * Mannie Davis (1936–1961)
 * Gene Deitch (Supervising Director, 1956–1958)
 * Eddie Donnelly (1936–1962)
 * John Foster (1937–1938)
 * George Gordon (1936–1937)
 * Al Kouzel (1957–1969)
 * Bob Kuwahara (1959, 1962–1964)
 * Frank Moser (1929–1937)
 * Connie Rasinski (1937–1965)
 * Martin Taras (1959)
 * Robert Taylor (1966–1972)
 * Dave Tendlar (1959–1971)
 * Paul Terry (1929–1938)
 * Bill Tytla (1944, 1962)
 * Jack Zander (1937)
 * Volney White (1940–1941)

Writers

 * Joseph Barbera
 * Larz Bourne
 * Tod Dockstader
 * John Foster
 * Dick Kinney
 * Isadore Klein
 * Bob Kuwahara
 * Donald McKee
 * Tom Morrison
 * Al Stahl
 * Kin Platt
 * Paul Terry
 * Jack Mercer
 * Bernie Kahn

Animators

 * Cosmo Anzilotti
 * Art Babbitt
 * George Bakes
 * Ralph Bakshi
 * Joseph Barbera
 * Vinnie Bell
 * Peggy Breese
 * George Cannata
 * Don Caulfield
 * Al Chiarito
 * Theron Collier
 * Doug Crane
 * Mannie Davis
 * Ed Donnelly
 * Dave Fern
 * John Foster
 * John Gentilella
 * Dan Gordon
 * George Gordon
 * Juan Guidi
 * Armand Guidi
 * T. Hee
 * Elizabeth Huntemann
 * Isadore Klein
 * Bill Kreese
 * Frank Little
 * Jim Logan
 * Frank Moser
 * John Paratore
 * Ralph Pearson
 * Connie Quirk
 * Connie Rasinski
 * Margaret Roberts
 * Jerry Shields
 * Larry Silverman
 * Milton Stein
 * Martin Taras
 * Frank Tashlin
 * Paul Terry
 * Reuben Timmins
 * Jim Tyer
 * Bill Tytla
 * Carlo Vinci
 * Jim Whipp
 * Gordon Whittier
 * Volney White
 * George Zaffo
 * Jack Zander
 * Cy Young
 * Paul Sommer
 * Robinson McKee
 * Vivie Risto
 * Dan Noonan

Design and background artists

 * Art Bartsch
 * Eli Bauer
 * Robert Blanchard
 * Anderson Craig
 * Bill Hilliker
 * W.M. Stevens
 * Robert Taylor
 * John Vita
 * George Zaffo
 * John Zago
 * Lin Larsen
 * Bill Tytla
 * Charles Thorson

Sound directors

 * George McAvoy
 * Tom Morrison

Voice actors

 * Elvi Allen
 * Dayton Allen
 * Bern Bennett
 * Herschel Bernardi
 * Bradley Bolke
 * Roy Halee
 * Margie Hines
 * Betty Jaynes
 * Arthur Kay
 * Norma MacMillan
 * Bob McFadden
 * Jo Miller
 * Tom Morrison
 * Doug Moye
 * John Myhers
 * Sid Raymond
 * Philip A Scheib
 * Ken Schoen
 * Ned Sparks
 * Allen Swift
 * Paul Terry
 * Lionel Wilson
 * Patricia Terry

Musical directors

 * Philip A. Scheib (1930–1973)
 * Jim Timmens (1964–1973)

Productions

 * See List of Terrytoons animated shorts for complete filmography

Theatrical short film series

 * Aesop's Fables (1945–1960)
 * Astronut (1964–1971)
 * Clint Clobber (1957–1959)
 * Deputy Dawg (1960–1964)
 * Dimwit (1953–1957)
 * Dingbat (1950)
 * Dinky Duck (1939–1957)
 * Duckwood (1964)
 * Fanny Zilch (1933-1938)
 * Farmer Al Falfa (1915–1956)
 * Foofle (1959–1960)
 * Gandy Goose (1938–1955)
 * Gaston Le Crayon (1957–1959)
 * Good Deed Daily (1955–1956)
 * Half Pint (1951)
 * Hashimoto (1959–1963)
 * Heckle and Jeckle (1946–1966)
 * Hector Heathcote (1959–1971)
 * James Hound (1966–1967)
 * John Doormat (1957–1959)
 * Kiko the Kangaroo (1936–1937)
 * Little Roquefort (1950–1955)
 * Luno The White Stallion (1963–1964)
 * Martian Moochers (1966)
 * Mighty Mouse (1942–1961)
 * Nancy (1942)
 * Possible Possum (1965–1971)
 * Puddy the Pup (1935–1942)
 * Sad Cat (1965–1968)
 * Sidney the Elephant (1958–1963)
 * The Terry Bears (1951–1956)

TV series

 * Barker Bill's Cartoon Show (1953–1956)
 * Mighty Mouse Playhouse (1955–1967)
 * CBS Cartoon Theatre (1956)
 * The Heckle and Jeckle Show (1956)
 * Tom Terrific (1957)
 * Easy Winners (1958) (unaired pilot)
 * The Deputy Dawg Show (1959–1964)
 * The Adventures of Lariat Sam (1962)
 * The Hector Heathcote Show (1963)
 * The Astronut Show (1965)
 * Mighty Mouse, & The Mighty Heroes (1966–1967)
 * Sally Sargent (1968) (pilot)

title: Terrytoons