Centron Corporation: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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{{Short description|Defunct American education company}}
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[[File:Analyzing Advertising (1973) by Centron Educational.webm|thumb|''Analyzing Advertising'' (1973) by Centron Educational]]
'''Centron Corporation''' is a defunct [[Industrial video|industrial]] and [[educational film]] production company, that specialized in classroom and corporate [[16mm film]]s and [[VHS]] videocassettes.<ref name="KSHS">{{cite web|url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/centron-films-camera/10288|title=Centron Films Camera|publisher=[[Kansas Historical Society]]|date=June 2008|author=Kansas Historical Society|accessdate=July 6, 2019}}</ref> A slightly smaller company than its contemporaries such as [[Encyclopædia Britannica Films]], [[Coronet Films]] and [[Learning Corporation of America]], it was very successful from the late 1940s through the early 1990s, gaining added fame with the [[Academy Award]]-nominated ''[[Leo Beuerman]]'' in 1969.<ref name="Oscars1969">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1970 |title=The 42nd Academy Awards (1970) Nominees and Winners |accessdate=January 11, 2011|work=oscars.org}}</ref>
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Founded in 1947 in [[Lawrence, Kansas]] by boyhood friends [[Arthur Wolfe|Arthur H. Wolf]], a veteran of Calvin Films, another Kansas film company, and Russell A. Mosser of [[Boeing Wichita|Boeing-Wichita]]. The name was chosen to incorporate the key words "central", given that the company was located in the center of the [[United States]], and "electronic" in honor of the "electronic age of the future".
'''Centron''' successfully competed with large companies on both coasts, and was widely known for its high quality films, coming in on time and under budget. The company kept afloat for decades making many [[Instructional video|technical instructions]], [[Cooking show|cooking]] and sewing demonstrations, teacher aides and safety prevention reels. It added some [[social guidance film]]s in the 1950s to compete with [[Coronet Films]], along with [[zoological]] and [[Geography|geographic]] topics that held stronger interest among school students.
[[Herk Harvey|Harold "Herk" Harvey]] was a principal director at '''Centron'''. His 1962 feature ''[[Carnival of Souls]]'' was produced with several people associated with '''Centron'''. [[John Clifford]], a Centron [[screenwriter]], wrote the script for ''[[Carnival of Souls]]''.
One of his most popular educational series covered the land and people "south of the border", as the ''[[Middle America Regional Geography]]'' and ''[[La América del Sur]]'' series. Scripted by [[Peter Schnitler|Peter Schnitzler]] and shot in many locations by cameraman [[Bob Rose]], they were made under some political difficulties for that time. At one point, the series almost had to exclude [[Chile]] when government officials initially prevented film stock from leaving the country.<ref>Geoff Alexander, ''Academic Films for the Classroom: A History'', p. 74</ref>
One of Centon's most prolific scriptwriters was [[Margaret (Trudy) Carlile Travis]], and [[Linda K. (Sam) Haskins]] also wrote and directed, two of the relatively few women working in the sponsored film industry.
It was during this period that the company expanded its distribution of outside productions, including a number of [[National Film Board of Canada]] titles. The 1970s was a particularly golden age for nature documentaries, especially the ''Elementary Natural Science'' series of the team of Karl and Stephen Maslowski.
In 1981, Wolf and Mosser sold Centron to the [[Coronet Films|Coronet]] division of [[Esquire Network|Esquire]], Inc. Production carried on, mostly in [[Illinois]], under the Coronet banner for a few years with Bob Kohl as primary head. In 1984, the [[Gulf and Western Industries]] [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]] took over the mother company and, in a swift move, Kohl successfully purchased Centron from Gulf and moved production back to [[Lawrence, Kansas]].
After continuing through to the end of the 1980s, including a series of instructional films for [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], Kohl sold the company facilities to the [[University of Kansas]] in 1991, with the library of films added to their archive by the time the company folded in 1994. Today, The Phoenix Learning Group has distribution rights to the [[Coronet Films|Coronet]] library, including many of Centron.
==Legacy==
Centron won many awards for its films, the most famous being the [[Academy Award|Oscar]] nominated ''[[Leo Beuerman]]''.<ref name="KSHS" /><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnrbdNjf-aw Fred Astire Cuts Loose: 1970 Oscars]</ref><ref name="Oscars1969"/> This simple profile of a short handicapped man with his tractor in downtown [[Lawrence, Kansas|Lawrence]] <ref>[https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/may/10/centron-corp-film-producer-russell-mosser-dies/ Centron Corp. film producer Russel Mosser|Lawrence Journal-World]</ref> was produced on a budget of $12,000 and eventually became one of the most popular classroom films of all time, selling an impressive 2,300 prints.<ref>Geoff Alexander, ''Academic Films...'', p. 75</ref>
Some of their films were satirized on the cult TV series ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'', including ''Cheating'',<ref>[https://www.thepitchkc.com/talking-carnival-of-souls-which-gets-the-rifftrax-treatment-tonight-and-sunday-with-michael-j-nelson-and-kevin-murphy/ Talking Carnival of Souls —— which gets the Rifftrax treatment tonight and Sunday — with Michael J. Nelson and Kevin Murphy|Kansas City Pitch]</ref> ''Why Study Industrial Arts?'' and ''What About Juvenile Delinquency?'', each directed by [[Herk Harvey]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/comedy/best-mst3k-episodes/ranking-every-mst3k-episode-from-worst-to-best/?p=2 |title=Ranking Every MST3K Episode, From Worst to Best - Paste |access-date=2021-07-12 |archive-date=2022-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614154741/https://www.pastemagazine.com/comedy/best-mst3k-episodes/ranking-every-mst3k-episode-from-worst-to-best/?p=2 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[https://popdose.com/not-so-famous-firsts-halloween-edition-herk-harveys-carnival-of-souls/ (Not So) Famous Firsts: Halloween Edition —— Herk Harvey's "Carnival of Souls" – Popdose]</ref>
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|''Becoming a Pro on the Phone'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); Joel Marks (producer); Lillian Spina; production manager: Rachel Goodstein || c-13m || 1983 || Telemarketing
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|''But We Don't Have a Contract'' || ([[Caterpillar Inc.]]); Maurice Prather; writer: Margaret Travis|| bw-20m || 1959
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|''Controlling the Collector'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); Joel Marks (producer); Lillian Spina; production manager: Rachel Goodstein || c-17m || 1985 || Telemarketing
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|''Customer Services, a Backup Sales Force'' || ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-14m || 1983 || Telemarketing
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|''Dealing with Customer Objections'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); script: John Clifford || c-17m || 1984 || Telemarketing
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|''Electric Currents and Circuits'' || ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-14m|| 1985 || The Physical Sciences; [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdlqdIFJY0Q video clip]
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|''Electricity and Magnetism'' || ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-14m|| 1985 || The Physical Sciences
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|''Everything Rides on Roads'' || ([[Caterpillar Inc.]]) || c-27m || 1978
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|''Getting a Pro on Your Side'' || ([[Caterpillar Inc.]]); Maurice Prather; writer: Margaret Travis || bw-23m || 1957
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|''Getting Ideas to Write About'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); advisor: John R. Searles) c-10m || Effective Writing|| 1983
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|''Getting the Order'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); Joel Marks (producer); Lillian Spina; production manager: Rachel Goodstein || c-17m || 1984 || Telemarketing
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|''Halloween Safety (updated)'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); advisor: W. Roland Olin|| c-14m || 1985 || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2XXP-vmsVs video]
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|''Heat and Energy Transfer'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); Douglas L. Liebman; advisor: John Davik || c-14m || 1985 || The Physical Sciences
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|''Heat, Temperature and the Properties of Matter'' || ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-17m || 1985 || The Physical Sciences
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|''Holding Them Spellbound'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); advisor: John R. Searles || c-11m || 1983 || Effective Writing; 2nd edition of a 1972 title
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|''How to Read a Book'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); Mel Waskins|| c-14m || 1984 || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEgjBYahJWI video]
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|''If You Knew How I Feel: Brad's Learning Disability'' || ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-18m || 1982 || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CX85BrVDZA video]
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|''If You Knew How I Feel: Jana and the Crowing Hen'' || ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-16m || 1983
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|''If You Knew How I Feel: Scott's Old Friend'' || ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-22m || 1983
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|''Improving Your Worth'' || ([[Caterpillar Inc.]]); Harold Harvey; writer: John Clifford|| c-19m || 1983
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|''Internal Theft: Stealing on the Job'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); Linda Haskins; writer: John Clifford; camera: John English|| c-16m || 1982
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|''Keeping Your Mind on the Job'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); Douglas Poulter; writer: John Clifford|| c-13m || 1982
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|''Light and Images'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); Joel Marks (producer); Mel Waskin; designer: Ellen Bowen || c-11m || 1986 || The Physical Sciences
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|''Light and the Electromagnetic Spectrum'' || ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-14m || 1986 || The Physical Sciences
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|''Light, Color & the Visible Spectrum'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); Mel Waskin || c-13m || 1986 || The Physical Sciences
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|''Office Safety: The Thrill Seekers'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); Ralph Mizia; writer: Roger Oliphant|| c-10m || 1983
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|''Paper Bandits: Checks, Counterfeit, Credit Cards'' || ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-13m30s || 1982
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|''Reaching Your Reader'' || ([[Coronet Films]]); advisor: John R. Searles || c-10m || 1983 || Effective Writing, 2nd edition of 1971 title
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|''Reading Financial Reports: The Income Statement'' || ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-12m || 1985
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|''Retirement Planning: Thinking Ahead''|| ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-13m || 1985
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|''Shake Hands with Danger''|| ([[Caterpillar Inc.]] & [[National Safety Council]]); [[Herk Harvey|Harold "Herk" Harvey]]; script: John Clifford; original music: Jim Stringer|| c-23m || September 1979 || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v26fTGBEi9E video]
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|''Signals: Read 'Em Or Weep''|| ([[Caterpillar Inc.]]) [[Herk Harvey|Harold "Herk" Harvey]]; writer: John Clifford|| c-6m || 1981
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|''Sound, Acoustics and Recording''|| ([[Coronet Films]]); Mel Waskin || c-14m || 1986 || The Physical Sciences; [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCzMjLYj2QQ video clip]
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|''Sound, Energy and Wave Motion''|| ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-14m || 1986 || The Physical Sciences; [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i6hTU0jw-g video clip]
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|''The Specific Is Terrific''|| ([[Coronet Films]]); advisor: John R. Searles|| c-9m || 1983 || Effective Writing; 2nd edition of a 1971 title
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|''Static and Current Electricity''|| ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-16m || 1985 || The Physical Sciences
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|''Suicide: The Warning Signs''|| ([[Coronet Films]] & American Association of University Women, Kansas City) || c (video)-24m || 1982
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|''The Team of Your Life''|| ([[Caterpillar Inc.]]); Maurice Prather; writer: Margaret Travis || bw-21m || 1958
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|''The Team of Your Life (updated)''|| ([[Caterpillar Inc.]]); Donald Peterson & Gene Carr (producers); [[Herk Harvey|Harold "Herk" Harvey]]; writer: John Clifford || c-19m || 1982
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|''Techniques for the Phone Sales''|| ([[Coronet Films]]) || c-12m || 1982 || Telemarketing
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|''Technology of Trash''|| ([[Caterpillar Inc.]]) || c-10m || 1984
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|''The Time Bomb Within''|| ([[Coronet Films]]); advisor: Howard Baumgartel|| c-14m || 1984 || Managing Stress
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|''What the World Dishes Out''|| ([[Coronet Films]]); advisor: Howard Baumgartel || c-14m || 1985 || Managing Stress
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|''What They Have: The Balance Sheet''|| ([[Coronet Films]])|| c-15m || 1985
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|''What They've Been Doing: The Income Statement''|| ([[Coronet Films]])|| c-12m || 1985
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|''What You Bring to Yourself''|| ([[Coronet Films]]); advisor: Howard Baumgartel || c-14m || 1985 || Managing Stress
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|''Why Handle It Twice?''|| ([[Caterpillar Inc.]]) || c-10m || 1979
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== See also ==
*[[Coronet Films]]
*''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''
*[[Educational Film]]
*[[Social guidance film]]