Clutch Cargo



Clutch Cargo is a syndicated Adventure Series from 1959 that is most remembered for its use of Syncro-Vox, a process in which the photographed lips of human actors were superimposed on static drawings (a technique spoofed in an extra on The Incredibles DVD and mostly remembered today as being a shtick for a Conan O'Brien sketch). Otherwise the animation was extremely limited. We're talking one frame every two, three seconds.

The hero, Clutch Cargo, was a brawny pilot who flew to various places around the world with his young ward, Spinner; Spinner's dog, Paddlefoot, and a bearded explorer, Swampy. The 52 stories were serialized into 26 half-hour episodes in five chapters of five minutes each.


 * Adventure Series
 * Animated Series
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: A woman voices Spinner and Paddlefoot.
 * Expy: Clutch Cargo resembles Burt Lancaster in appearance.
 * Lantern Jaw of Justice
 * Limited Animation
 * Motionless Chin: By way of Syncro-Vox. Cambria Studios, the makers of Clutch Cargo, also used Syncro-Vox in their other cartoons produced at the same time, Captain Fathom and Space Angel.
 * Tagalong Kid: Spinner
 * Walking the Earth
 * Wheel-O-Feet: Whenever Paddlefoot ran.