Toccata for Toy Trains
Stop motion animation of toys and objects, including trains, cars, and wind-up figures, are used to tell the story of a journey. The vehicles, each laden with figures, travel from the railyard and roadhouse through the countryside and villages to a train station. The trains, toy people, backgrounds, buildings and other props were pushed and pulled by hand to simulate locomotion; the film segments were then edited to make the motion seem continuous. This is a delightfully entertaining film, and at the same time, a profound statement about the pleasures of unselfconscious design. The camera is used to manipulate the relative size of the trains so they appear to be close in scale. Winner of awards at the Edinburgh Film Festival, the Melbourne International Film Festival and the American Film Festival Trophy Award, 1959, and 11th Annual Scholastic Teachers’ Award, 1960. Music by Elmer Bernstein. 14 minutes.
1957
“Toy trains in toccata form is a nostalgic and historical record of great old toys from the world of trains. The characters, the objects with which the scenes were built, were all somewhere, at sometime, manufactured and sold.”
In the narration is a very profound statement of the Eames design philosophy, while the images are a survey of “good old toys.”
Music score by Elmer Bernstein.
Winner of Edinburgh International Film Festival Award, 1957.
Seventh Melbourne Film Festival Award, 1958. American Film Festival Award, 1959.
Scholastic Teachers’ 11th Annual Film Award, 1960.
Toccata for Toy Trains. 1957. 14 minutes. Color. “Toy trains in toccata form is a nostalgic and historical record of great old toys from the world of trains. The characters, the objects with which the scenes were built, were all somewhere, at sometime, manufactured and sold. Music score by Elmer Bernstein.” Winner of Edinburgh International Film Festival Award, 1957. Seventh Melbourne Film Festival Award, 1958. American Film Festival Award, 1959. Scholastic Teachers’ 11th Annual Film Award, 1960.
1957
This film delves into the world of toy trains, which Charles loved long after boyhood. The work features toy trains of various vintages, styles, sizes, and materials to tell the simple story of a journey; it starts in a rail yard, continues to the countryside, moves through villages, and culminates at a station.
Charles wrote and narrated the opening to the film. He explains that, “In a good old toy there is apt to be nothing self-conscious about the use of materials. What is wood is wood; what is tin is tin; and what is cast is beautifully cast . . . It is possible that somewhere in all this is a clue to what sets the creative climate of any time, including our own.”
The concepts in the narration are more complex than they might seem at first glance. Charles is referencing the importance of “the honest use of materials,” an idea that he and Ray considered in ever one of their works.
Music score by Elmer Bernstein.
Winner of Edinburgh International Film Festival Award, 1957. Seventh Melbourne Film Festival Award, 1958. American Film Festival Award, 1959. Scholastic Teachers’ 11th Annual Film Award, 1960.
14 Minutes. Color.
