Adriana Caselotti's Snow White Dress

Adriana Caselotti was no stranger to the Snow White dress. She wore it on countless occasions, usually out on public appearance tours to publicize the latest Disney re-release of film. She also posed for numerous in-studio photo sessions.

Chicago Herald-Examiner, April 22, 1938.

Clipping from Adriana Caselotti estate via Heritage Auctions.

Adriana in her 1958 dress promoting the re-release of the movie that year.

B&W image copyright Disney.

Additional public engagements included fan conventions, school groups, and other affairs. This pink and yellow version--Adriana's last--belonged to her. She greets a group of school children in 1988 at her southern California home.

She was pictured wearing it for a write-up in the September 21, 1993 edition of the supermarket tabloid, Globe.

Pink dress images via Heritage Auctions.

Though the dress design had changed through the years, Adriana's joyful personality did not. When she wore it, she truly did so with a smile and a song. See a few more examples of Adriana with a Snow White dress in a recent Archive entry.

1980 Italian Magazine "Sorrisi e Canzoni TV"

On December 19, 1980, Snow White returned to cinemas in Italy. To commemorate the occasion, issue no. 52 of the Italian magazine, Sorrisi e Canzoni TV (Smiles and Songs TV), included an 8-page spread with photos and info on the film. The characters were also pictured on the cover with the text, Buone Feste Con Biancaneve (Happy Holidays with Snow White).

Special thanks to Nunziante Valoroso for sharing these images from his collection.

1975 Screenstar Poster Magazine

Snow White Screenstar Poster Magazine. Article, pictures, and fold-out poster (approx. 23" x 33.5"). Dates from 1975.

Front cover.

Inside text pages.

Poster.

Back of poster.

Rear cover. Includes an ad for Disney character wall decorations, plus the 1975 Buena Vista "Commemorative Issue" three-record Snow White soundtrack.

Generously donated to the Filmic Light from the François Monferran Collection.

Adriana Caselotti - Public Appearance Photos & Clippings

In a recent series of offerings at Heritage Auctions, numerous items from the Adriana Caselotti estate were made available. Several were related to the public appearances she made for Disney. Adriana partook in a myriad of promotional events over the years--visiting schools, hospitals, and shopping centers. She appeared on radio, in television specials, and was written up in periodicals and newspapers. Here's a few of the photographic items that were available at auction.

Images via Heritage Auctions.

Snow White stage performance.

Signing autographs for fans.

Visiting hospitals.

Newspaper clippings filled two scrapbooks in Adriana's personal collection. These pictured below date from 1938.

More photos from promotional tours.

Singing on stage at an event for the 1952 re-release.

Heading out on tour again, possibly for the 1958 re-release of Snow White (or maybe the 1957 Cinderella reissue). Adriana poses in a Snow White dress. To our right is Roy Williams (Disney artist and "Big Roy" from the Mickey Mouse Club), and Clarence Nash (the voice of Donald Duck). We're not sure who the man is to the left, although one guess might be Dickie Jones (voice of Pinocchio).

Special thanks to Nunziante Valoroso and François Monferran for their assistance with this post.

The fortunate collectors who took home these winning auctions now possess a gold mine of Adriana Caselotti photographic memorabilia, some of which is rarely seen on the market today.

80th Anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

DATE: 21st of December 1937
TIME: 8:45 pm
LOCATION: 6316 San Vicente Boulevard, Los Angeles, California - Carthay Circle Theatre
ADULT TICKET PRICE: $5.50
ATTENDANCE: 1500+ inside (sold out); well over a thousand outside
EVENT: World Premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

EXTRAORDINARY FACT: It's eighty years later and we're still talking about it!

Image via Snow White...An Art in Its Making 1994, p.137.

___

This 1937 Carthay Circle program book belonged to Madeleine Wheeler, the executive secretary for Roy O. Disney for over 34 years. She attended the screening that night and kept this amongst her personal possessions for the rest of her life. (See another example in an earlier Archive entry.)

Program images courtesy of Kevin Hicks.

___

News from the event made headlines near and wide. December 24, 1937 newspaper clippings: Decatur Herald and The Capitol Journal, both published three days after the premiere.

___

Premiere footage.

Video posted online by The Walt Disney Family Museum.

Happy 80th Snow White! If you missed it, see our detailed coverage of the Carthay Circle world premiere in our Archive entry from five years ago.

1938 Cinema Magazine - Italian Interview w/ Stuart Buchanan

In preparation for the 1938 release of Snow White to international markets, the Disney Studio created 12 different versions of the film. Scenes which contained English text, such as the storybook opening, were redrawn in the appropriate language. The dubbing of the additional 11 soundtracks was overseen by Roy Disney and Stuart Buchanan.

It's not that either of these men were fluent in foreign languages. They were not. Rather, they simply knew what Walt Disney was looking for in regards to the sound of the voice talent. The actual directing of the actors was left up to native speakers. Some of the dubbing sessions took place in southern California, but most were overseas.

While in Rome for the Italian recording, Buchanan was interviewed by a magazine reporter. The piece appeared in the April 10, 1938 issue of Cinema, no. 43. Pictured on the cover is Eleanor Powell. Accompanying the article are a couple of rare photos from this period of both Roy Disney and Stuart Buchanan.

The article was recently translated for us by Snow White expert, Nunziante Valoroso:

Roy Disney and Stuart Buchanan are in a hotel in Rome. Roy isn’t very cordial, speaks only English and smokes a cigar. It seems strange that a man speaking only English has come to Europe to supervise the foreign dubbings of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Really the supervisor is Stuart Buchanan, the Disney Studio Casting Director. The fact is that even Buchanan speaks only English.

REPORTER: How it’s possible that you could approve a good dubbing without knowing the languages?

BUCHANAN: It’s easy. Walt Disney wants Snow White to be seen as if the movie was made directly in the languages of the dubbings. So we must find, in every country, the right voices that sound identical to the original ones of Snow White, the dwarfs, the prince the Queen, and all the characters. Should the voices be very different, the movie would suffer and then it would be better just to show it in the original language. This is my job, to make sure the voices fit perfectly with the images. So that Sneezy has his typical voice, that Sleepy would show, even in his speaking, his tenancy to sleep and so on. What is important to me is the sound, not the words. That’s why, even if I speak only English, I’m able to supervise different dubbings. We tested this way of working in Hollywood, where we recorded the French and Spanish versions.

REPORTER: With good results?

BUCHANAN: Excellent.

We objected, then, that he could never know the exact sound of words in Italian, the exact meaning of the script phrases. Buchanan answered : “It’s not my business. It’s the responsibility of the effective dubbing directors.”And he showed us a first Italian translation of the script, made by an Italian professor living in California.

The interviewer's name is unknown. The issue is simply signed, "THE REPORTER". Special thanks to Nunziante Valoroso for sharing these images from his collection and for taking the time to translate the article.

Mickey Mouse Magazine - June 1938

Dopey roasts a hotdog on the cover of the June 1938 issue of Mickey Mouse Magazine (Vol. 3, No. 9). Publisher: K. K. Publications, Inc. (Western Pub.). The periodical is choke-full of comics, games, puzzles, and ads for cool toys.

Front cover.

Great vintage Snow White ads for Dixon pencil boxes and Madam Alexander dolls.

Back cover.

Images via Heritage Auction. and Hakes.