Clutch Cargo

This syndicated Adventure Series from 1959 is most remembered for its Syncro-Vox technique, in which the photographed lips of human actors were superimposed on static drawings (a technique spoofed in an extra on The Incredibles DVD and mostly remembered today as being a shtick for a Conan O'Brien sketch). Otherwise the animation was extremely limited. We're talking one frame every two, three seconds.

The hero, Clutch Cargo, was a brawny pilot who flew to various places around the world with his young ward, Spinner; Spinner's dog, Paddlefoot, and a bearded explorer, Swampy. The 52 stories were serialized into 26 half-hour episodes in five chapters of five minutes each.

Tropes used in Clutch Cargo include:

• Adventure Series
• Animated Series
• Cross-Dressing Voices: A woman voices Spinner and Paddlefoot.
• Expy: Clutch Cargo resembles Burt Lancaster in appearance.
• Lantern Jaw of Justice
• Limited Animation
• Motionless Chin: By way of Syncro-Vox. Cambria Studios, the makers of Clutch Cargo, also used Syncro-Vox in their other cartoons produced at the same time, Captain Fathom and Space Angel.
• Tagalong Kid (Spinner)
• Walking the Earth
• Wheel-O-Feet: Whenever Paddlefoot ran.