Directing
John Foster
Born — Died
1886-11-27 — 1959-02-16
Place of birth
New Jersey, USA
Known for
Directing
Credits
40 titles
John Foster (November 27, 1886 – February 16, 1959) was a cartoonist and film director. He is remembered for his direction in over a hundred films, including the Van Beuren Tom and Jerry series and the early (1928) sound-on-film cartoon "Dinner Time". Later in the 1930s, he created Gandy Goose for Terrytoons.
Known for
9.0Tom and Jerry are ambulance-chasing lawyers in search of more business.
Trouble
1931
6.0Tom and Jerry go fishing, where they encounter an affectionate but annoying fish who won't leave them alone. They hear a piano-playing octopus (with twelve arms!) and have a run-in with a sword fish who cuts their boat in half. Other hijinks ensue, and the two eventually catch a tiny fish, which is in turn swallowed by a larger fish, and this process continues until they've caught a veritable whale. They row ashore triumphant, but when one of them puts their reel (still holding the fish) over their shoulder, the larger fish slip off, unbeknownst to them, leaving them with the runt they started with.
Jolly Fish
1932
7.0Waffles the Cat and Don the Dog fiddle around with a magic pencil, producing drawings that come to life.
Magic Art
1932
All the Dutch Van Beuren animals wearing clogs and making.... swiss cheese?!
In Dutch
1931
4.0It's a straight musical involving a barbershop quartet of alley cats and some dogs summoned from the pound to quiet them to little success. The animation and visual gags are simple and old fashioned, but the aural gags are nicely done and even if there's little coordination between the animation and the music.
Midnight
1930
6.4This Tom and Jerry cartoon (the human versions, not the cat and mouse) is an opportunity for the animators to have fun with the medium. There is no specific plot. One of the boys uses a pencil to create a myriad number of animated illusions that could only work in a cartoon. For example, a short vertical line is drawn, which when held by both ends suddenly becomes a saxophone. When played, the notes pop out of the bell of the instrument to suddenly grow legs and transform into ducks. After the song, the saxophone itself quickly follows suit and becomes a goose. The entire short consists of these disjointed, though often creative and humorously unlikely events.
Pencil Mania
1932
Behind the camera
9.0Tom and Jerry are ambulance-chasing lawyers in search of more business.
Trouble
1931
6.0Tom and Jerry go fishing, where they encounter an affectionate but annoying fish who won't leave them alone. They hear a piano-playing octopus (with twelve arms!) and have a run-in with a sword fish who cuts their boat in half. Other hijinks ensue, and the two eventually catch a tiny fish, which is in turn swallowed by a larger fish, and this process continues until they've caught a veritable whale. They row ashore triumphant, but when one of them puts their reel (still holding the fish) over their shoulder, the larger fish slip off, unbeknownst to them, leaving them with the runt they started with.
Jolly Fish
1932
7.0Waffles the Cat and Don the Dog fiddle around with a magic pencil, producing drawings that come to life.
Magic Art
1932
All the Dutch Van Beuren animals wearing clogs and making.... swiss cheese?!
In Dutch
1931
4.0It's a straight musical involving a barbershop quartet of alley cats and some dogs summoned from the pound to quiet them to little success. The animation and visual gags are simple and old fashioned, but the aural gags are nicely done and even if there's little coordination between the animation and the music.
Midnight
1930
6.4This Tom and Jerry cartoon (the human versions, not the cat and mouse) is an opportunity for the animators to have fun with the medium. There is no specific plot. One of the boys uses a pencil to create a myriad number of animated illusions that could only work in a cartoon. For example, a short vertical line is drawn, which when held by both ends suddenly becomes a saxophone. When played, the notes pop out of the bell of the instrument to suddenly grow legs and transform into ducks. After the song, the saxophone itself quickly follows suit and becomes a goose. The entire short consists of these disjointed, though often creative and humorously unlikely events.
Pencil Mania
1932
6.3Tom and Jerry are police officers, driving around in their car and enjoying listening to some music on their police radio, when they hear a bulletin announcing another theft of a mummy from the local museum. They stumble upon the culprit, a mysterious and ghoulish man who is carrying a coffin through a secret door in a cemetery. They sneak in after him and watch him command the mummy to life; it is a beautiful woman, who he then commands to sing for his audience of skeletal theatre-goers.
The Magic Mummy
1933
An animated short subject created by Paul Terry and actor-turned-writer Howard Estabrook.
Fly Hi
1931
5.0After crash landing in Africa, Tom and Jerry masquerade as Africans in a futile attempt to adapt to a strange environment.
Plane Dumb
1932
A "Aesop's Fable" cartoon from the Van Beuren Studios.
Chinese Jinks
1932
All of the animal from all the continents, it appears, are gathered around a frozen lake and ice skating, playing hockey and, in general showing off and usually end up crashing through the ice. A romantic, crooning monkey serenades the lady of his dreams...a blushing hippo...while three of the most-badly animated mice in all cartoon-land take on a rhino in ice hockey. Written by Les Adams
Frisky Frolics
1932
An evil spider kidnaps a housefly from a cabaret and takes her to his secret lab.
Fly Frolic
1932
4.3In this early synchronized sound cartoon from the Van Beuren cartoon factory, a dog and cat encounter huge, strange and terrifying creatures in the jungle. They seek refuge in a missionary hits, where they play an organ, which causes the animals to dance. They are captured by cannibals, but escape and lead the jungle animals in song.
Jungle Jazz
1930
7.5Farmer Al Falfa flies to Africa with the Royal Society of African Explorers to hunt in the jungle.
The Jungle Fool
1929
The Van Beuren Studios animals have their Venice moments of song and romance.
Venice Vamp
1932
The film begins with Milton riding his horse comically around the West until he hears a wanted criminal roaming the West. Upon hearing this, Milton's mouse agrees to comically change to be the width of a twig, as a way of disguise. The criminal, who remains nameless throughout the entire short film, rides in front of a tree; and sees a Wanted sign with himself on it.
Western Whoopee
1930
A catfish living in a submarine in a lake, lures a cat to pursue her. Their playful antics are interrupted by an octopus, and a fight ensues.
A Cat-Fish Romance
1932
10.0A group of anthropomorphic animals are having fun in the snow, and steal Farmer Al Falfa's door. After fighting with his water pump and later his hand, Al Falfa wakes up from a drunken dream and has trouble getting inside his house. The animals invite the farmer to have fun with them.
When The Snow Flies
1927
5.5A slow farm life is turned upside-down thanks to some magic pills....
Old Hokum Bucket
1931
10.0Rare Tom & Jerry treasures.
Tom & Jerry and Friends
1931
7.3The origin story of Super Mouse (later changed to "Mighty Mouse").
The Mouse of Tomorrow
1942
An animated short subject created by Paul Terry and actor-turned-writer Howard Estabrook.
Farmer's Goat
1929
5.6Tom and Jerry are aboard a train making its way up a mountain in the Swiss Alps. When their train breaks down, they're spotted by a very thin St. Bernard, who brings the engine some liquor. The engine zips through the Alps, but leaves the pair behind.
A Swiss Trick
1931
Silent cartoon.
Sunday on the Farm
1928
Van Beuren Studios with a cartoon having Fun on Ice.
Fun on Ice
1931
An animated short subject created by Paul Terry and actor-turned-writer Howard Estabrook.
Pale Face Pup
1931
A Van Beuren Studios cartoon...
Bugs and Books
1932
5.0A Aesop's Fables cartoon with the animals going to school and causing mischief.
Good Old Schooldays
1930
7.8A singing, jitterbugging Goldilocks goes through her paces with the grizzly trio, but when a bear hunter gets into the house, she joins with them to fight and eventually tie him up.
The Three Bears
1939
5.8As two feline sweethearts sail along Moonlight Bay, the moon invites them up for a visit. They discover the moon is not made of green cheese, as is rumored, but is actually a land of candy, ice cream and cake.
Silvery Moon
1933
10.0In Gandy's debut film, he leaves home to make is way in the world. Unfortunately, he's an idiot with an Ed Wynn voice, and a wolf with a George Givot voice tries to lure him into his lair to eat him. Incredible coincidences save him from the stew pot.
Gandy the Goose
1938
Dancing animals in a depression-era shanty town.
Tumble Down Town
1933
The party life in a pond.
Love in a Pond
1931
4.3Strange doings in a Chinese laundry with outrageous Oriental and Yiddish stereotypes.
Laundry Blues
1930
A wedding in the Aesop's Fables jungle.
Stone Age Error
1932
6.0Tom and Jerry crash their plane in the cartoon wild, wild west. Surreal hi-jinx involving a vicious outlaw and robbery ensue.
In the Bag
1932
An Aesop's Fable cartoon by Van Beuren Productions.
A Romeo Monk
1932
5.5A German "ohm-pah" trio is incomplete until their tuba player arrives on a boat from overseas. The resulting quartet brings the whole town out for a German dance party, until the police arrive to take the "tuba tooter" to jail.
The Tuba Tooter
1932
6.5This is about the little old lady who lived in a shoe and had so many kids she's didn't know what to do....or something like that. One day, one of her kids - Jack - says "I know what to do," and takes off with a sack of beans. Well, to make a long story short, we wind up seeing "Jack And The Beanstalk" and mom winds up a rich woman in the end. The show goes from a beat-old boot to a glittery high heel shoe!
The Family Shoe
1931
Bugs having a good old time that ends up with two getting hitched.
A Bugville Romance
1930
