Cinécraft Productions

Cinécraft Productions, Inc. is a privately held American corporate film and video production studio in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the hundreds of production houses in the United States, the studio specialized in producing sponsored films during the mid-20th century. In Cleveland alone, at least 13 sponsored film studios made films at the height of the area's film production era.

Cinécraft pioneered the use of teleprompters, rear screen projection, and multi-camera filmmaking in the early history of television.

The studio is said to be the longest-standing corporate film and video production house in the U.S.

History and innovations

Betty and Ray Culley (behind the camera), founders of Cinecraft Productions, on a motion picture shoot in the 1940s. Photo courtesy of the Hagley Museum & Library.

Cast and Cinecraft Productions film crew on the set of Milestones of Motoring (1954).Photo courtesy of the Hagley Museum & Library.

The cast and crew of Cinecraft Productions filming Miracle on Mulberry Street (1948).Photo courtesy of the Hagley Museum & Library.

Cinécraft was founded by Ray and Betty Culley in 1939. Promoting "Sound Business Pictures in Natural Color," the studio began in rental space in the Card Building on St. Clair Ave. in downtown Cleveland. In 1947, the studio moved to 2515 Franklin Blvd. in Ohio City, Cleveland.

Cinécraft was an early user of rear projection, teleprompters, and filming using a multi-camera setup. Using two or more cameras with teleprompters to film the same scene from different angles simultaneously cuts production costs tremendously. The studio used the technique when it produced The Ohio Story, a TV-series that it filmed and ran from 1953 to 1961 for the Ohio Bell Telephone Company. The Ohio Story was based on the Frank Siedel-created radio series from 1947 to 1953. In 1954, the format switched to two radio episodes and one television show per week. The radio series ended in 1955 after over 1,300 radio episodes had been produced. Premiering on October 4, 1953, The Ohio Story TV-series lasted nine years, with 175 TV episodes being produced.

Cinécraft was the first to film a TV infomercial. It featured William Grover "Papa" Barnard selling Vitamix blenders. The studio assembled many early productions featuring Cleveland-based Louise Winslow, a pioneer in television programming focused on sewing, cooking, and crafts. A pioneering, five-part series was created for The Austin Company in 1948. It explained how live television was produced and broadcast.

The Cleveland Play House was a source for many actors used in Cinécraft films, and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra provided elaborate music scores for the company. Occasionally, they recruited Hollywood actors to appear in their movies at their client's request. Popular personalities that appeared in Cinécraft productions included Danny Kaye, Tim Conway, Ernie Anderson, Joel Grey, Chet Huntley, and Basil Rathbone.

Core transitions

In 1970, Paul Culley bought the company from his older brother Ray Culley, the original founder. Paul led the transition from film to video in the 1970s. For over 50 years, a member of the Culley family had run the studio, and many Culley family members worked there. Then, in 1985, Neil McCormick, a Cinécraft employee, and his wife, Maria Keckan, a video producer, bought the studio. Together they completed the change from film to broadcast-quality video as industrial and commercial clients demanded faster and easier ways to make effective motion pictures. In the 1990s, the studio embraced digital technology with interactive computer-based medical training programs. This early period of digital technology was improved upon through the years as Cinécraft Productions became known for e-learning and producing national and international projects for Fortune 1000 companies.

21st century developments

In 2018, Dan Keckan was named Chief Executive Officer, and Matt Walsh was named Chief Operating Officer.

The Hagley Museum and Library acquired the Cinécraft film archives in 2021 and initiated a ten-year project to digitize the films, scripts, and records in order to make them available on the Hagley Library website.

In 2023 the studio was still operating out of the John Eisenmann-designed building that had started as the home of the West Side Branch of the Cleveland Public Library in 1898.

Clients

Cinécraft's major film client's included DuPont, Hercules Inc., Standard Oil of Ohio, Seiberling Rubber Company, Firestone Tire and Rubber, Goodyear Tire and Rubber, Bethlehem Steel, Owens-Corning, Ohio Bell, General Electric, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, American Greetings, Carling Brewing, and Republic Steel. Most of the studio's film business came through advertising agencies, including Fuller & Smith & Ross, Inc. and McCann-Erickson.

Notable Cinécraft sponsored films

• The Romance of Iron and Steel (1938) – ARMCO. The sequences on how steel is made are beautifully choreographed given the film equipment of the time. The Hagley Library was awarded a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation in 2022 to preserve the film.</ref>
• It Happened in the Kitchen (1941) – General Electric. Focuses on the importance of having a "modern kitchen" and how modernizing can benefit the average American family. The Hagley Library was awarded a grant in 2024 from the National Film Preservation Foundation to preserve the film.</ref>
• Linter Logic (1945) – Hercules Powder Company. Importance of linters (a by-product from cotton oil production) in the burgeoning synthetics industry.
• Little Known Facts About a Well-Known Product: Ridgid (1945) – Ridge Tool Company. Film follows the process of manufacturing plumbing, pipe fitting and other industrial tools.
• Crystal Clear (1946) – Fostoria Glass Co. Follows the process of making glass from shoveling batch into ovens, to gathering, blowing, annealing, and inspections. The film targets brides-to-be and was a popular film to play in home economics classes.
• Naturally, It's FM (1947) – General Electric. The film helped launch the GE Musiphonic high-end record player, radio, shortwave, and AM and FM console all in one unit.
• Thank You Mr. Chips (1947) – National Potato Chip Institute. The film covers the history of potato chips, an overview of the potato chip manufacturing process, and the nutritional benefits of consuming potato chips.
• Moulders of Progress (1948) – Eljer Plumbing Company. Details the manufacturing process of porcelain sinks, bathtubs, and toilets, as well as brass water faucets.
• Let's Explore Ohio: Ohio Wildlife (1948) – Standard Oil of Ohio (SOHIO). An early film in the SOHIO Let's Explore Ohio series. Wildlife was filmed by naturalist Karl Maslowski.
• Freedom's Proving Grounds (1953) – Standard Oil of Ohio (SOHIO). W. Ward Marsh, the Cleveland Plain Dealer film critic for 50 years, says the film may very well be the best picture SOHIO has sponsored.
• A Fan Family Album (1954) – Westinghouse. An Industrial musical made in an era before air conditioning when fans were extremely important.
• Milestones of Motoring (1954) – Standard Oil of Ohio. An Industrial musical, the film traces the evolution of automotive innovations starting with Alexander Winton making the first automobile sale in 1898, the Stanley Motor Carriage Company and steam-powered cars, all the way to 1954 when the film was made. Stars Joe E. Brown and Merv Griffin.
• The Long Ships Passing (1960) – Lake Carriers Association. Traces the history and unique features of the 700-foot-long and longer ships that carry bulk on the upper Great Lakes.
• The Velvet Curtain (1962) – The American Good Government Society. Hollywood actor Reed Hadley plays the role of managing editor of a small city daily newspaper investigating why many business and professional people fail to vote, especially in "off-year" elections.
• Invitation to Ohio (1964) – Ohio Bell Telephone. A peanut vendor gets mistaken for a high-powered CEO and is given a tour of Ohio. Stars Wally Cox and John Dehner.
• Search (1964) - Youngstown Sheet and Tube.The film explores the research and development side of steel production. Zoltán Rozsnyai wrote the score played by members of the Cleveland Orchestra.
• Tools that Shaped America (1965) – Grinding Wheel Institute. Details important inventions and how they helped shape the United States. Stars Reed Hadley.
• Why Politics? (1966) – Republic Steel. The first in a series of Republic Steel middle management training films. Stars Richard Nixon.
• C-5 Galaxy: World's Largest Aircraft (1967) – U.S. Air Force. Tells the story of the building of the Lockheed Corporation C-5 Galaxy airplane - at the time, the world's largest aircraft.
• The Spoilers (1970) – Food Marketing Institute (Supermarket Institute). The film shows how unhealthy food preparation can make you sick. One of the most duplicated sponsored films up to that time.
• Projection '70 film series (1970) – Standard Oil of Ohio. Communications was one of a series of six films that projected changes in communications, education, agriculture, medicine, transportation, and urban systems in the U.S. The series was part of SOHIO's celebration commemorating the company's 100th anniversary.
• Where's Joe? (1972) – United Steelworkers of America and a consortium of leading U.S. steel corporations. The movie is credited with helping put the first "no-strike" clause into a labor contract in the history of the U.S. steel industry. The Hagley Library was awarded a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation in 2023 to preserve the film.</ref>
• Free Wheelin' (1976) – B. F. Goodrich. A film about the custom van craze of the 1970s. The Hagley Library was awarded a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation in 2023 to preserve the film.</ref>
• Where the River Enters the Sea (1982) – Standard Oil of Ohio. Shot on location in a remote Alaskan village. Believed to be the first film drama in which Eskimos act in every role.

Notable early Cinécraft made-for-television films

• Television Televised (1948) – The Austin Company. Five episode series explains how the new technology of television works
• Through the Kitchen Window (1949) – Domestic Sewing Machine, Perfection Stove Company, Youngstown Kitchens, and East Ohio Gas. Starring Louise Winslow, the "Martha Stewart " of early television
• Food Is Fun (1950) – American Gas Association. Starring Louise Winslow
• Adventures in Sewing (1950) – Thirteen 30-minute filmed episodes were distributed to 29 TV stations across the county. Domestic Sewing Machine Co.
• Healthy Living Is Fun (1950) – Natural Foods Institute (VitaMix). One of the first infomercials
• Let's Explore Ohio TV Series (1950) - Standard Oil Company (Ohio). Thirteen filmed for TV "armchair" travel tours down the historic roads of Ohio
• Ohio Story Filmed TV Series (1953–1960) – Ohio Bell Telephone. A series of 175 filmed Ohio Story TV episodes written by Frank Siedel, directed by Ray Culley and starring Nelson Olmsted

External links

• "Finding Aid: Cinecraft Inc. Films". Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware.
• Prelinger, Rick. "The Field Guide to Sponsored Films". National Film Preservation Foundation.
• Flashback Friday: Cinécraft history blog
• Monaghan, Peter. "Hagley Library Collection Tells How Industry Worked". Moving Image Archive News.
• Dubelko, Jim. "Cinecraft Productions The Historic Film Company produced by a Love Story". Cleveland Historical. Center for Public History + Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University.
• Bhatia, Kabir. "Unspooling Cleveland's Industrial Film and Musical History". Ideastream Public Media.