George Pal

***George Pal*** (born György Pál Marczincsak; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after emigrating from Europe.

He was nominated for Academy Awards (in the category Best Short Subjects, Cartoon) for seven consecutive years (1942–1948) and received an honorary award in 1944. This makes him the second-most nominated Hungarian exile (together with William S. Darling and Ernest Laszlo) after Miklós Rózsa.

After moving to Berlin in 1931, Pal founded Trickfilm-Studio GmbH Pal und Wittke, with UFA Studios as its main customer from 1931 to 1933. During this time, he patented the Pal-Doll technique (known as Puppetoons in the US).

In 1933, he worked in Prague; in 1934, he made a film advertisement in his hotel room in Paris, and was invited by Philips to make two more ad shorts. He started to use Pal-Doll techniques in Eindhoven, in a former butchery, then at villa-studio Suny Home. He left Germany as the Nazis came to power.

He made five films before 1939 for the British company Horlicks Malted Milk. In December of that year, aged 32, he emigrated from Europe to the United States, and began work for Paramount Pictures. At this time, his friend Walter Lantz helped him obtain American citizenship.

As an animator, he made the Puppetoons series in the 1940s, which led to him being awarded an honorary Oscar in 1943 for "the development of novel methods and techniques in the production of short subjects known as Puppetoons". Pal then switched to live-action film-making with The Great Rupert (1950).

### Career Highlights

#### Tom Thumb (1958) (producer and director)

**Released** December 24, 1958 (UK); December 22, 1958 (US)

> *"It's Colorsome!"*
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***Tom Thumb*** is a fantasy-musical film based on the fairy tale Thumbling by the Brothers Grimm, about a tiny man who manages to outwit two thieves determined to make a fortune from him.

It starred Russ Tamblyn in the title role, with a largely British supporting cast (it was filmed in both Hollywood and London), including Bernard Miles and Jessie Matthews as Tom Thumb's adoptive parents, and comic actors Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers as the villainous duo who try to exploit the tiny hero for profit.

***Notable Cast***

* Russ Tamblyn as Tom Thumb
* Alan Young as Woody
* Terry-Thomas as Ivan
* Peter Sellers as Antony
* Bernard Miles as Jonathan, Tom's Father
* Jessie Matthews as Anne, Tom's Mother
* Peter Butterworth as Kapellmeister

#### The Power (1968) (producer)

**Released** February 21, 1968 (US)

> *"YOU feel it until you can't feel anything at all!"*
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***The Power*** is an American science fiction thriller film from MGM, produced by George Pal, that stars George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette. It is based on the science fiction novel The Power by Frank M. Robinson.

The storyline concerns two men who have the ability to control or slay others with their minds.

***Notable Cast***

* George Hamilton as Professor Jim Tanner
* Suzanne Pleshette as Professor Margery Lansing
* Michael Rennie as Arthur Nordlund (alias "Adam Hart")
* Arthur O'Connell as Professor Henry Hallson
* Yvonne De Carlo as Mrs. Sally Hallson