Carson Davidson

Carson "Kit" Davidson (June 24, 1924 – September 29, 2016) was an American filmmaker, writer, and editor. His filmmaking career spanned four decades, during which he made more than a dozen short films, two of which were nominated for Academy Awards.^[1]

Carson Davidson in the Taconic Mountains Ramble, 2013

Biography

Davidson was born in Washington, D.C., attended Antioch College, and served as a blood analysis technician during World War II.^[2] While working at Dynamic Films in the early 1950s, he began working on his own films, including 3rd Ave. El (1955) and Help! My Snowman's Burning Down (1964), both of which were nominated for Academy Awards for Live Action Short Film.^[3] Davidson made two other films focused on railways, Railway with a Heart of Gold (1965) and Brake Free (1970), while also working as a filmmaker for hire for a companies including Alitalia, the Tobin Packing Company, and Duro-Test. After thirty years in filmmaking, Davidson became an editor of medical texts.^[4] In 1966, Davidson and his wife, the children's book author Margaret "Mickie" Davidson, purchased 420 acres of land in Vermont, which became the Taconic Mountains Ramble, a Vermont State Park, after Davidson's death in 2016.^[5][6]

Filmography

• Three Hymns Played on the Carillon at Riverside Church (1952)
• Ink and Rice Paper (1954), a short film about woodblock printer Lowell Naeve, later re-edited and re-released as Woodblock Printer.^[7][8]
• 3rd Ave. El (1955), Academy Award-nominated short film about the Third Avenue elevated train in New York City.^[9]
• Variations on an Italian Theme (1961), a short travelogue about Italy sponsored and distributed by Alitalia, featuring the music of Vivaldi, concerti including selections from both his Four Seasons and The Contest Between Harmony and Invention performed by I Musici, featuring soloist Felix Ayo.
• The Inspector's Badge (1960), a sponsored film about the Rochester division of the Tobin Packing Company.
• The First Prize Story (1960), an award-winning sponsored film about the Albany division of the Tobin Packing Company^[10]
• Help! My Snowman's Burning Down (1964), an absurdist short film shot on a pier in New York Harbor, starring Bob Larkin, with music by Gerry Mulligan, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.^[11]
• Railway with a Heart of Gold (1965), a short film about the Talyllyn Railway, a narrow gauge heritage railway in Tywyn, Wales, with music composed by Judd Woldin.^[12]
• Poppycock! (1966), a narrative short about two men (nameless characters credited as "the bearded one" and "the tall one") in a romantic rivalry over a woman ("the pretty one"), set in New York City, and with music composed by Judd Woldin.
• Woodblock Printer (1968), a look at the process of woodblock printing and the work of printer, illustrator, and writer Lowell Naeve.
• Brake Free (1970), a narrative short depicting the Mount Washington Cog Railway, set to music from Beethoven's third and seventh symphonies.
• The Wrong Damn Film^[13] (1975), a feature film starring Barry Bostwick (in his film debut^[14]), Barbara Dana, and Keene Curtis.
• Sigmoidoscopy in the Physician's Office (1975?)
• 100 Watts 120 Volts (1977), a short film depicting the manufacture of incandescent light bulbs, filmed at the Duro-Test Corporation and set to Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.
• The Light Bulb Re-invented (1980), a sponsored film about the development and manufacture of Duro-Test Mi-T-Wattsaver^[15] light bulb.
• Granite (1980), a short film about granite quarrying, filmed at the Rock of Ages quarries in Barre, Vermont, set to Saint-Saëns' Symphony No.3.
• 40,000 Acres, with View (1984), a film presented by the New York City Audubon Society about the parks of New York City, filmed across the city's five boroughs, set to Mozart's oboe concerto.

Books

Davidson wrote one children's book, Fast-Talking Dolphin^[16] (1978), and co-wrote three in the "Make-Believe It's You" series with his wife Margaret, The Adventures of Puss in Boots Starring You (1987), The Adventures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Starring You (1987), and The Adventures of Thumbelina Starring You (1987).^[17]

Preservation

Eleven of Davidson's films, including both films nominated for an Academy Award, were preserved from original film elements by the Academy Film Archive between 2009 and 2013.^[18] In addition to the collection of film prints and negatives at the Academy Film Archive, the New York Public Library's Reserve Film and Video Collection holds an extensive collection of Davidson's films on 16mm.^[19] Prints of Davidson's films are also included in the collections of the Library of Congress^[20] and Pratt Institute Libraries.^[21]

References

1. Gartner, Sandra Stillman (19 November 2015). "Carson Davidson: An artist finds home in Vermont". Rutland Herald. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
2. Rose, Lloyd (23 October 2014). "Reaching Zen in a Japanese garden — high up in the hills of Vermont". Washington Post. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
3. "Carson "Kit" Davidson". www.afana.org. Academic Film Archive of North America. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
4. Borelli, Jacqueline (27 September 2006). "Mt. Zion man offers reflection paradise". Castleton Spartan. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
5. ""TACONIC MOUNTAINS RAMBLE" TO BE VERMONT'S NEW STATE PARK". Agency of Natural Resources. State of Vermont. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
6. "Vermont State Parks - Taconic Mountains Ramble".
7. "Lowell Naeve Obituary". Creston Valley Advance. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
8. Esterow, Milton. "OF PEOPLE AND PICTURES; Two Documentaries Planned by 'Oscar' Nominee--Critic-Actor--Addenda". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
9. "The 28th Academy Awards, 1956". Oscars.org Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
10. "The Consensus Winners: Films Honored at Two Or More Events". Business Screen Magazine. 21 (3): 33. 1960. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
11. "The 37th Academy Awards, 1965". Oscars.org Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
12. Fuller, Martin (2017). Talyllyn & Corris Steam Locomotives, Volume 2: Early Preservation and Locomotive Rebuilds. Sara Eade Publishing. pp. 96–98. ISBN 978-0-9935828-3-7.
13. Canby, Vincent (11 March 1975). "Screen: Sight-Gag Satire:'Wrong Damn Film,' at Screening Room". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
14. Perron, Darren. "Dammit Janet: Rocky Horror's 'Brad Majors' coming to The Flynn". WCAX. WCAX. Retrieved 27 October 2022. My first movie I ever did [was filmed] in Vermont—called 'The Wrong Damn Film'.
15. "Duro-Test Preparing New Light Bulb". The New York Times. 24 November 1981. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
16. Davidson, Carson (1978). Fast-Talking Dolphin. Scholastic. ISBN 0590425137.
17. "Davidson, Carson". WorldCat Identities. OCLC. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
18. "Preserved Projects". Oscars.org. Academy Film Archive. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
19. "New York Public Library Catalog". New York Public Library. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
20. "Brake free (Motion picture)". Library of Congress catalog. 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
21. "Brake free". Pratt Institute Libraries Catalog. Pratt Institute. 2020. OCLC 7539667. Retrieved 3 September 2020.