| The World of Pete's Photography & Film Making |
| Pete has been using a camera almost since he can remember, and, thanks to the encouragement of his Uncle Harold, he experimented with the media. In the fifties, together with his school friends Derek Soall and Cyril Smith, he formed Carefree Cartoons, later renamed Filmart Studios, with a view to making animated cartoon films. Here, he met Bob Godfrey, famous for Rooobard and Custard, and John Halas and Joy Batchelor, who, as Halas and Batchelor, made the classic animated film, Animal Farm... |
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| Cyril Smith at work |
| Derek Soall at work |
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| Pete, pictured left at work at Filmart Studios, made an animated film about The Wotwozzee, long before that character appeared in Pete's book, Tales Of Widgeripoo, - and it won a prize in the Pathe Open Awards. Unfortunately, that film has been lost. However, two live action movies, 'A Case of a Travelling Salesman' (which features a 17-year-old Pete) and 'Return from Paradise' have been found and restored by Walthamstow Cine & Video Club! |
| Examples of Pete's photographs..... |
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| Above: Examples of Pete's Glamour Photography. |
| In the fifties, Pete tried trick photography... Pete talking to Pete! |
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| Pete was always the stunt man, in these two films (below) from the fifties show: The Snatch and There I was Gone! |
| THE SNATCH: Pete does a rugby tackle from his bicycle, bringing the bag snatcher (Cyril Smith) down. |
| THERE I WAS GONE (written by Pete): Pete is transported magically to Cheddar Gorge, (landing precariously on a high rock!) as his mate Dell rubs the magic lens of his camera, wishing Pete was there to enjoy the view with him! |
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| LATEST NEWS... 21st MAY 2009 |
| Two of Pete, Dell and Cy's films were rediscovered by The Waltham Forest CineVideo Club. They are: A CASE OF A TRAVELLING SALESMAN (where 17-year-old Pete (the scriptwriter) gets a bucket of water over his head!) and RETURN FROM PARADISE. Two, The Snatch and There I was Gone are still missing |
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| BOB GODFREY, pictured Above, a friend of Pete's for many years, was the man behind ROOBARB AND CUSTARD |
| Pete lends a Hand in |
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| Way back in the 1930s, when Pete was born, Walt Disney decided to make motion picture history by producing the first feature-length, technicolor, talking animated film, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS. There was no question in Walt's mind as to who should be director of this landmark in film history, - he chose his SECOND-IN-COMMAND, SUPERVISING DIRECTOR, DAVID DODD HAND... |
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| From here on, David went on to work as Supervising Director on Bambi, as well as hundreds of Disney shorts, from 1933 to 1944. Eventually though, he felt the need to branch out on his own, with the result being the UK-based DAVID HAND PRODUCTIONS, backed by J.ARTHUR RANK. During it's heyday, this company produced two very successful series' of films, ANIMALAND and MUSICAL PAINTBOX... |
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| Now things have turned full circle, and David Hale Hand, the son of David Dodd Hand, is working together with Pete and others, in an effort to bring his father's legacy in front of a whole new audience. He is also looking to produce some new films, inluding Pete's WIDGERIPOO series. It all now hinges on Financial backing, to bring a completely new Anglo-American Animation Company into existance. IF YOU CAN HELP, SEND PETE AN EMAIL AT; widgeripoo@yahoo.co.uk. Or Click Here |
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| PETE AT SIXTEEN - GETTING WET! DEB'S PHOTO CHALLENGE - DEER AND TOUCAN |
| DEB'S CHALLENGE IN THE THREE YEARS SINCE DEBORAH JOHNSTON STARTED THIS FEATURE, WE'VE HAD BIRDS IN THE BATH, FRANK'S BEE, LUCY'S BEE AND DEL'S TITS. So here is the latest challenge... |
| TO ENTER,, SEND YOUR PICCIES TO PETE VIA EMAIL TO widgeripoo@yahoo.co.uk |
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| PETE IN HIS FIRST MOVIE ROLE! |
| THESE PICTURES ARE TAKEN FROM THE RECENTLY REDISCOVERED 9.5mm FILM 'A CASE OF A TRAVELLING SALESMAN', WRITTEN BY PETE, AND MADE BY FILMART STUDIOS IN 1953, WHEN PETE WAS SIXTEEN YEARS OLD... |
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| The film starred William Hartnell as a travelling salesman, and Pete's mum Doris (see picture left) was a housewife who slams the door on William's foot! Pete is first seen early on in the film, cycling past wearing his white sports jacket, and then later as a workman asking William for a light for his roll-up. (see pictures above). The lady of the house, seeing the salesman at the door, throws a bucket of water at him, but Pete steps in the way, and gets drenched! Pete was the regular stunt man in Filmart movies, and, as you can see below, he catches a thief by jumping off his bike, rugby-tackle style, to bring the thief down. WATCH OUT FOR MORE ON PETE'S EARLY FILMS! |
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| DEB'S DEER PETE'S TOUCAN When Nikki and Pete went |
| on their latest adventure with Deb and Lozzie to Whipsnade Park, they took their cameras, and these were the results... Deb caught this beautiful deer amongst the bluebells, and Pete snapped the toucan. What do you think? |