The Hobbit (1977 film) producer Jules Bass
Production
The film was produced and directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass of Rankin/Bass Productions in New York City, and was adapted for the screen by Romeo Muller, with Rankin taking on the additional duties of production designer. When interviewed for the film, Rankin declared that he would add nothing to the story that wasn't in the original.  The New York Times reported that The Hobbit cost $3 million to produce.In a 2003 interview, Rankin stated, "I love the Tolkien work," and explained that he was able to make the film because The Hobbit was still in the public domain at the time, despite claims to the contrary from the copyright holders.The story's protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is voiced by Orson Bean, backed up by noted Hollywood director and actor John Huston as the voice of Gandalf. In supporting roles, the comedian and performance artist Brother Theodore was chosen for the voice of Gollum, and Thurl Ravenscroft performed the baritone singing voices of the goblins. The gravelly voice of the dragon Smaug was provided by Richard Boone, with Hans Conried as Thorin Oakenshield, rounding out the cast of primarily American voice actors. The film was the final Rankin/Bass project to star the Australian actor Cyril Ritchard, here playing the voice of Elrond.
The Hobbit was animated by Topcraft in Tokyo, a now-defunct Japanese animation studio whose animation team re-formed as Studio Ghibli under Hayao Miyazaki, while some of the animators went to establish Pacific Animation Corporation. Topcraft successfully partnered with Rankin/Bass on several other productions in traditional animation, including 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974), The Stingiest Man in Town (1978) and The Last Unicorn (1982). According to Rankin, the visual style of the film took its basic cue from the early illustrations of Arthur Rackham.While Topcraft produced the animation overseas, the concept artwork was completed at the Rankin/Bass studio under the direction of Arthur Rankin. Rhode Island artist Lester Abrams did the initial designs for most of the characters; Rankin had seen Abrams' illustrations to an excerpt from The Hobbit in Children's Digest. Principal artists included coordinating animator Toru Hara; supervising animator/character designer Tsuguyuki Kubo; character and effects animators Hidetoshi Kaneko and Kazuko Ito; and background designer Minoru Nishida. The same studio and crew members were also used for The Return of the King.
Harry N. Abrams published a large, illustrated coffee table edition of the book featuring concept art and stills.Jules Bass primarily adapted Tolkien's original lyrics for the film's musical interludes, drawn primarily from the songs that feature prominently in the book. He also assisted Maury Laws, Rankin/Bass's composer and conductor-in-residence, in the composition of an original theme song, "The Greatest Adventure (The Ballad of the Hobbit)", sung by Glenn Yarbrough as the sole original song written for the film. This folk ballad came to be associated with Yarbrough, who reprised it in the soundtrack to 1980 animated film The Return of the King.
creator maker manufacturer builder fabricator