Earliest Movie-Based Line?

[Falstaff13]

I saw a meme on FB with a child in one picture claiming the first toys based on a movie came with Star Wars, and an Ape from POTA in the next picture reminding us all of that franchise. This touched off a series of comments, including one picture of Charlie Chaplin shown playing with a Little Tramp doll. That got me wondering if there has been a history written on movie-based tie-in toylines. Does anyone up here know? I know that the famous monster figures came later than those films, and while there were toys based on comic strips (Dick Tracy and Flash Gordon, especially) and comic books (Superman especially, not to mention the Marvel Family statues), those toys were, generally, not based directly on any of the film/serial versions. While I know of a good book on radio premiums, what documentation is there for movies on a whole (as opposed to a book on a particularly character's collectibles)?

Also, while I know that Planet of the Apes toys clearly predate the Star Wars figures, am I right that those were with the later sequels and not the original film?

Thanks in advance for all info you can share,
Hugh

[Werewolf]

Disney has SW and Apes beat by decades. They've been merchandising their characters and movies a very long time.

Knickerbocker made a full set of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs dolls in the 30s.

[johnnystorm]

Yeah, the Mickey Mouse toys came while he was on the screen. And how about Shirley Temple dolls?

[Falstaff13]

In the thread I mentioned, someone pointed out Shirley Temple, and that was when the Chaplin picture was posted, showing it went back even farther than that. I was wondering about things closer to figures than dolls (though I know the "action figure" as a term is much more recent). I had a mental block and hadn't even thought of Disney! Of course!

[Earth 2 Chris]

Everyone always seems to forget the James Bond toys of the 60s, which were released while Connery was still in his first run. But yeah, it goes back to at least the late 20s/early 30s with the first Disney merch.

Chris

[Falstaff13]

I know someone mentioned Bond in the original thread I saw. Were the Bond toys released specific to individual films, or were they just under a 007 label? That's an area of merchandising I have never really gotten into.

[hedrap]

There's a Superman, wooden I believe, that came out in his 30's heyday. It was, IIRC, the first licensed Supes product alongside fabric. It sold so well, NPP created a second arm, (National Licensing?), and the rest is well...what we've been doing since.

[MIB41]

When you consider Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was the highest grossing film of all time during its run, I would think the merchandising connection with that would be undeniable and certainly a starting point for linking product to movies on a larger scale. Of course you have to underscore that with the understanding this was during the Great Depression which lasted from 1929-1939, so there likely wasn't much thinking at that point about finding deep pockets to pick.

[Werewolf]

I was wondering about things closer to figures than dolls (though I know the "action figure" as a term is much more recent).

Action figure is a marketing term coined by Hasbro in 64 to sell their Gi Joe dolls to boys. Action figures and dolls are the same thing.

[johnnystorm]

According to Walt:

http://www.waltdisney.org/blog/look-closer-mickey-mouse-memorabilia-1920s-30s

This would be right after Steamboat Willie. Shirley Temple came in the 30s.

[LordMudd]

Action figure is a marketing term coined by Hasbro in 64 to sell their Gi Joe dolls to boys. Action figures and dolls are the same thing.

Not in the eyes of Customs.


CC.

[LordMudd]

Warren Paper Products 1937 Dr. Huer's Laboratory:


CCC.

[Mikey]

Seems like movable paper dolls might be the earliest example of an action figure.

[LordMudd]

It came with cardboard rubber band gun to shoot the figures, but it was/is 3 dimensional like a playset and came with figures, and was based on a licensed product.


CC.

[Falstaff13]

That Dr. Huer set is pretty cool, and the point about paper dolls is a good one. I know that action figure was coined as a marketing term, but I also see a difference in a small model of a character (like the Marvel Family statues of the late 1940s) and a (larger) Shirley Temple doll, and I was trying to figure out when that style toy might have first been put in for a film specifically. Plus, while Shirley Temple and Chaplin's Little Tramp were manufactured, that was almost a persona being licensed rather than for a particular production. I know, for example, that there are small metal cars with Dick Tracy painted in the driver's seat that are licensed toys, but that was for the comic strip and not the radio show or serials. (As I'm writing this, I am recalling some of the merchandise I've seen for Charlie McCarthy that includes a metal figure/figurine and some paper toys with movable mouths, but those are, I believe, because of radio and not the films featuring him.) The lab for Dr. Huer is dated 1937, so that's actually ahead of the serial by a couple of years.

Certainly, the idea of optioning a movie specifically comes after Lucas struck gold, and there are obviously also many antecedents that also can be found. I had started this about movies, but TV series certainly saw their share of pre-1970s examples, including the Hartland Western line with many TV properties.