FOREWORD
"Four Feather Falls, Four Feather Falls – there's always magic in the air..."
Four Feather Falls, a charming puppet western created by composer Barry Gray and Gerry Anderson, marks the beginning of Supermarionation. For their first production independent of Roberta Leigh, AP Films employed the techniques that, when combined, constitute the unique the art-form. Most notably, Four Feather Falls was the first series to employ innovative automatic lip-sync technology that saw pre-recorded dialogue converted into electrical impulses that would be fed down a wire into a solenoid housed inside the puppet's head – causing the mouth to open and close.
FORMAT
In the Wild West of America, Sheriff Tex Tucker maintains law and order with the aid of four magic feathers that allow his dog and horse to speak and his guns to fire without him even touching them.
Sheriff Tex Tucker
Voice: Nicholas Parsons
The Sheriff of Four Feather Falls
Dusty
Voice: Kenneth Connor
Tex Tucker’s dog
Rocky
Voice: Kenneth Connor
Tex Tucker’s upper-class English horse
Ma Jones
Voice: Denise Bryer
Proprietor of the General Store
Grampa Twink
Voice: David Graham
The oldest resident of Four Feather Falls
Little Jake
Voice: Denise Bryer
Grandson of Grandpa Twink
Dan Morse
Voice: Nicholas Parsons
Telegraph Operator
Doc Haggerty
Voice: Kenneth Connor
Irish Doctor
Slim Jim
Voice: Kenneth Connor
Proprietor of the Saloon
Big Chief Kalamakooya
Voice: Kenneth Connor
Magical Red Indian Chief
Makooya
Voice: Denise Bryer
Grandson of Big Chief Kalamakooya
Pedro
Voice: Kenneth Connor
Fat Mexican bandit that wants to make money without damaging his hat.
Fernando
Voice: David Graham
Pedro’s weary, thin sidekick
Big Ben
Voice: David Graham
Villainous Horse Rustler
Red Scalp
Voice: David Graham
Untrustworthy Red Indian
PRODUCED BY
A.P. Films
Gerry Anderson
DIRECTED BY
Gerry Anderson
David Elliott
Alan Pattillo
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Arthur Provis
John Read
ART DIRECTOR
Reg Hill
SPECIAL EFFECTS
John Read
PRODUCTION SUPERVISION/PRODUCTION MANAGER
Jim Marsh
MUSIC AND LYRICS COMPOSED, ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY
Barry Gray
PUPPETRY BY
Christine Glanville
Mary Turner
Roger Woodburn
SCULPTORS/CARPENTRY
Peter Cook
Jack Whitehead
BASED ON AN ORIGINAL IDEA BY
Gerry Anderson & Barry Gray
CHARACTER VOICES
Kenneth Connor
Nicholas Parsons
Denise Bryer
David Graham
TEX TUCKER'S SINGING VOICE BY
Michael Holliday
HARMONICA
Tommy Reilly
EDITORIAL SUPERVISION
David Elliott
FILM EDITOR
Bert Rule
Alan Pattillo
David Elliott
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Gordon Davie
DUBBING EDITOR
John Kelly
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR
Bob Bell
CONTINUITY
Sylvia Thamm
TECHNICAL ADVISOR
Bob Ledbetter
PROPERTY MASTER
Arthur Cripps
SPECIAL EFFECTS ASSISTANT
Derek Meddings
CAMERA OPERATOR
Kumar Soni
CHIEF ELECTRICIAN
Albert Scott
MADE BY/PRODUCED BY
APF in association with Granada TV Network.
SOUND
Westrex System.
EPHEMERA
During the production of Four Feather Falls, composer and co-creator Barry Gray brought his personal 16mm camera in to the studio in order to film the cast and crew of the series at work and play. The result is this unique and charming record of AP Films during the early stages of its development.