Clutch Cargo Volume 1

A surprise hit in children's television of the late 1950s was the serialized adventure cartoon, Clutch Cargo, which introduced late 1950s audiences to the patented Syncro-vox animation system. To keep production costs low, voice-actors were filmed as they delivered their dialog, and then their moving lips were superimposed over still drawings of the characters' faces. This and other cost-cutting tricks were employed in the creation of this series, and fans of modern Japanese anime will certainly recognize them.

Series creator and head writer, Clark Haas, was a test pilot before he took a job inking the newspaper adventure comic, "Buzz Sawyer." He brought his love of planes and ships to Clutch Cargo, as evidenced by the care he lavished on the drawings of them used on the program. Acclaimed jazz flutist, Paul Horn, can be heard perfecting his early chops in the show's minimalist flute & bongo soundtrack.

The Friendly Head Hunters (5 episodes): Clutch's friend Chub Perkins has disappeared in the Amazon jungle head-hunter territory.

The Arctic Bird Giant (5 episodes): In the frozen North, a monstrous creature is stealing supplies from Captain Lowtide's ship.

The Desert Queen (5 episodes): A 29-pound ruby is stolen and the Queen of Sphinxville is the prime suspect.

The Pearl Pirates (5 episodes): A giant metal fish is stealing the pearl harvest of a South Pacific island tribe.