Cambria Studios Productions

Clutch cargo was the earliest Cambria cartoon, featuring an author and world traveler, who goes on adventures, along with his ward Spinner and dog Paddlefoot, plus friend Swampy. The stories owed a lot to newspaper adventure strips and radio shows, and watching the cartoons was rather like reading a comic strip, with a radio program on in the background. Each story was split into 5 five-minute segments, ending in a cliffhanger. A handful of episodes have been made available on dvd, in two volumes from VHI, and some budget bin discs, most with the same content.

For my money, this was the zenith of Cambria. This show centered around the exploits of Scott McCloud, commander of the Starduster. McCloud is secretly the galactic secret agent and troubleshooter Space Angel, working for Earth Space Intelligence. His crew consists of Crystal mace, navigator and electronics expert, and Taurus, the engineer, gunner, and resident muscle. Also aiding them is Crystal's father, Professor Mace, from the team's space station, the Evening Star. Space Angel receives his orders from the Chief, who heads the ESI, as well as the Star Force, the galactic space patrol. Together they investigate strange occurrences, fight to stop the machinations of the evil Space Queen Zora, and battle against the Anthenians and Spartans. The Anthenians were space-going Romans/Greeks, complete with togas, cuirasses, and Corinthian helmets (and rockets and ray guns). Like Clutch Cargo, animation was limited and stories were split into 5 five-minute segments. However, the artwork looked beautiful, with work from comic book masters Alex Toth (Space Ghost, at HB) and Doug Wildey (Jonny Quest). It both captures the feel of the space race and the golden age of science fiction. VHI put out a single volume, with 9 episodes, and 9 episodes were packaged with other sci-fi tv shows, by Mill Creek (with 5 episodes overlapping with the VHI set). That makes somewhere between 14-18 episodes available, out of 45 produced.

Captain Fathom was the last Cambria adventure cartoon, featuring the adventures of the crew of the Argonaut, an advanced submarine, with hydrofoil capability, led by Captain Fathom. By this point, Cambria dropped the red lipstick on the actor's mouths, so the Synchro-vox was less jarring. The series was not as successful as previous efforts and was little seen, in later years. A trio of episodes was packaged with other sci-fi shows (including a live action Captain Fathom pilot) by Mill Creek, with the same or a few more available on budget bin dvds.

This was Cambria's best-known series. the show featured Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe Derita in live action segments, which then led into the cartoon portions. The plots were typical of the Stooges shorts, with the violence heavily toned down. It also featured the repetitive theme music. The Stooges voiced themselves, with additional voices provided by others, including Margaret Kerry (Spinner on Clutch Cargo and Crystal on Space Angel), who was the physical model for Tinker Bell, at Disney. The cartoons were produced until 1973 and were broadcast through the 1980s, with some seen in recent years, on Metv and elsewhere. the series is also available on dvd.