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{{Short description|American film director (1894–1980)}}
{{For|another person, after whom a power plant was named|James A. FitzPatrick (New York politician)}}
'''James Anthony FitzPatrick''' (February 26, 1894 – June 12, 1980) was an American producer, director, writer and narrator known from the early 1930s as "The Voice of the Globe" for his ''Fitzpatrick's Traveltalks''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cineaste.com/fall2016/fitzpatrick-travel-talks-vol-1|title = Fitzpatrick Travel Talks Vol. 1 (1934–1946)}}</ref>

== Biography ==
[[File:Seoul in 1931, by James A. FitzPatrick's Travel Talks.webm|thumb|One of FitzPatrick's ''Travel Talks'' shorts, this one about Seoul, Korea in 1931.]]
[[File:Filmmaker James Fitzpatrick, a camera crew and a crowd of people at Bondi Beach (7834883146).jpg|thumb|250px|James FitzPatrick, a camera crew and a crowd at [[Bondi Beach]], Australia, in 1951.]]
James Anthony FitzPatrick was born in [[Shelton, Connecticut]]. After completing training in dramatic arts, he worked as a [[journalist]]. 

In 1916, he began his film career by starting the Juvenile Film Company in [[Cleveland]], producing comedy shorts featuring children, years before similar series such as ''[[Our Gang]]'' and ''[[The Little Rascals]]''.<ref>Anthony Slide, "Juvenile Film Company" in The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham, MD and London, 2001.</ref> The series was not a success, and by 1921 FitzPatrick was working as a writer/director for [[Charles Urban]]'s Kineto Company of America, working on a series titled ''[[Great American Authors]]'' that featured profiles of famous American writers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210775/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_69|title=John Greenleaf Whittier (1921)|date=23 October 1921|work=IMDb|accessdate=11 April 2015}}</ref> 

Kineto folded in 1924, and in 1925 FitzPatrick established his own company and began two concurrent series: ''Famous Music Masters—''dramatized shorts about the lives of famous composers—and ''Songs Of''. The films were distributed worldwide, and some were later synchronized to sound.<ref name="nitrateville.com">{{cite web|url=http://nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13627&p=97827&hilit=FitzPatrick#p97827|title=NitrateVille.com • View topic - Famous Music Master Series|work=nitrateville.com|accessdate=11 April 2015}}</ref>

In July 1929, FitzPatrick began filming travel documentaries for British and American markets, and was presented to movie theaters by the following year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/5088|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118054814/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/5088|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 January 2009|title=James A. Fitzpatrick|work=BFI|accessdate=11 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0280534/|title=James A. FitzPatrick|work=IMDb|accessdate=11 April 2015}}</ref> [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] distributed the series under the title ''FitzPatrick Traveltalks''. Beginning with 1934's ''Holland in Tulip Time'', the ''Traveltalks'' were filmed in [[Technicolor]], and the series was among the earliest regular vehicles for color film in the American film industry. After FitzPatrick left MGM in 1954, he produced a similar series for [[Paramount Pictures]] titled ''[[VistaVision]] Visits'' for another year before retiring.

FitzPatrick died at the age of 86 in [[Cathedral City, California]].

== Legacy ==
FitzPatrick created nearly 300 films in a career that spanned five decades. His approach was somewhat similar to that of [[Charles Urban]] in that his travelogues concentrated on architecture and landscape rather than on people. FitzPatrick also relates to Urban in his advocacy of color, which he first employed in ''Charles Gounod'' (1928), a film in the Famous Music Master series.<ref name="nitrateville.com" />

With the advent of television, Hollywood began to reduce its reliance on short subjects, and many shorts departments began to close. FitzPatrick owned his own unit and managed to survive longer than did many internal studio units. FitzPatrick Pictures produced only five features, three of which were intended for release only in the UK. The last film, ''[[Song of Mexico]]'' (1945), was released by [[Republic Pictures]].

The ''Traveltalks'' films are often shown on the [[Turner Classic Movies]] channel as filler material between features.

On his 1958 [[Parlophone]] record ''The Best of Sellers'', [[Peter Sellers]] performed "[[Balham, Gateway to the South]]", a parody of Fitzpatrick's travelogues.<ref>{{cite web |title=Peter Sellers – The Best Of Sellers |url=https://www.discogs.com/Peter-Sellers-The-Best-Of-Sellers/release/919883 |website=Discogs |accessdate=2019-02-22}}</ref> A short film version of this was released in 1980 by [[Robbie Coltrane]].

In 1960, FitzPatrick was awarded a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=James A. Fitzpatrick |url=https://walkoffame.com/james-a-fitzpatrick/ |website=WalkofFame|date=25 October 2019 |accessdate=2020-04-03}}</ref>

== Selected filmography==
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* ''Songs of [[Ireland]]'' (1926)
* ''In Old [[Madrid]]'' (1929)
* ''[[Hong Kong]], [[China]]'' (1930)
* ''[[Valencia]] to [[Granada]]'' (1930)
* ''[[Granada]] to [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]]'' (1930) (Sequel to ''Valencia to Granada'')
* ''Sunny [[Spain]]'' (1930)
* ''[[India]]'' (1930)
* ''[[China]], the Imperial City'' (1930)
* ''[[Japan]], the Island Empire'' (1930)
* ''[[Japan]] in [[Cherry Blossom]] Time'' (1930)''
* ''[[Dublin]] and Nearby'' (1930)
* ''[[Siam]] to [[Korea]]'' (1931)
* ''[[Java]]'' (1931)
* ''Land of the [[Maharajahs]]'' (1931)
* ''[[Benares]]'' (1931)
* ''[[Honolulu]] to [[Havana]]'' (1931)
* ''Temple of Love'' (1931)
* ''[[Bali]], Island of Paradise'' (1932)
* ''Cradles of Creed'' (1932)
* ''Tropical [[Ceylon]]'' (1932)
* ''[[Varanasi|Benares]], the [[Hindu]] Heaven'' (1932)
* ''Colorful [[Jaipur]]'' (1932)
* ''[[Borneo]]'' (1932)
* ''Romantic [[Argentina|Argentine]]'' (1932)
* ''The World Dances'' (1932)
* ''The Big Ditch of [[Panama]]'' (1933)
* ''[[Moscow, Russian Federation|Moscow]], Heart of [[Russia]]'' (1933)
* ''[[Iceland]], Land of the Vikings'' (1933)
* ''[[Norway]], the Land of the Midnight Sun'' (1933)
* ''[[Scotland]] the Bonnie'' (1933)
* ''[[Fiji]] and [[Samoa]]'' (1933)
* ''Daughters of the Sea'' (1933)
* ''Dutch [[Guiana]]'' (1933)
* ''A Day in [[Venice]]'' (1933)
* ''Colorful Ports of Call'' (1934)
* ''[[British Empire|British]] [[Guiana]]'' (1934) (Sequel to ''Dutch Guiana'')
* ''[[Tibet]], Land of Isolation'' (1934)
* ''[[Italy]], Land of Inspiration'' (1934)
* ''Citadels of the [[Mediterranean]]'' (1934)
* ''Glimpses of [[Erin]]'' (1934)
* ''[[New Zealand]], White Man's Paradise'' (1934)
* ''[[Egypt]], Kingdom of the [[Nile]]'' (1934)
* ''Cruising the South Seas'' (1934)
* ''[[Holland]] in Tulip Time'' (1934) (First [[Technicolor]] short)
* ''[[Switzerland]] The Beautiful'' (1934)
* ''[[Zion National Park|Zion]], Canyon of Colour'' (1934)
* ''[[Ireland]]: The Emerald Isle'' (1934)
* ''[[Zeeland]]: The Hidden Paradise'' (1934)
* ''Colorful [[Guatemala]]'' (1935)
* ''Modern [[Tokyo]]'' (1935)
* ''[[Los Angeles]]: Wonder City of the West'' (1935)
* ''Beautiful [[Banff, Alberta|Banff]] and [[Lake Louise, Alberta|Lake Louise]]'' (1935)
* ''[[Honolulu]]: The Paradise of the Pacific'' (1935)
* ''Memories and Melodies'' (1935)
* ''Sacred City of the [[Maya peoples|Mayan]] Indians'' ([[Chichicastenango]], [[Guatemala]]), (1936)
* ''[[Rio de Janeiro]]: City of Splendour'' (1936)
* ''Quaint [[Québec]]'' (1936)
* ''[[Yellowstone Park]]: Nature's Playground'' (1936)
* "[[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]] and [[Vancouver]]: Gateways to [[Canada]]'' (1936)
* ''Cherry Blossom Time in [[Japan]]'' (1936) (Sequel to ''Japan in Cherry Blossom Time'')
* ''Oriental Paradise'' (1936)
* ''Picturesque [[South Africa]]'' (1937)
* ''[[India]] on Parade'' (1937)
* ''Glimpses of [[Java]] and [[Ceylon]]'' (1937)
* ''Colorful [[Bombay]]'' (1937)
* ''[[Hong Kong]]: The Hub of the Orient'' (1937)
* ''Serene [[Siam]]'' (1937)
* ''[[Rocky Mountain]] Grandeur'' (1937)
* ''Floral [[Japan]]'' (1937)
* ''Glimpses of [[Peru]]'' (1937)
* ''[[Stockholm]]: Pride of [[Sweden]]'' (1937)
* ''[[Chile]]: Land of Charm'' (1937)
* ''[[Copenhagen]]'' (1937)
* ''Glimpses of [[Austria]]'' (1938)
* ''Beautiful [[Budapest]]'' (1938)
* ''[[Czechoslovakia]] on Parade'' (1938)
* ''[[Paris]] on Parade'' (1938) [[Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne]]
* ''[[Cairo]]: City of Contrast'' (1938)
* ''[[Madeira]]: Isle of Romance'' (1938)
* ''Ancient [[Egypt]]'' (1939)
* ''Imperial [[Delhi]]'' (1939)
* ''[[Java]] Journey'' (1939)
* ''Rural [[Hungary]]'' (1939)
* ''Picturesque [[Udaipur]]'' (1939)
* ''Colorful [[Curacao]]'' (1939)
* ''Old [[Natchez, Mississippi|Natchez]] on the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]]'' (1939)
* ''Night Descends on [[Treasure Island (San Francisco)|Treasure Island]]'' (1940) [[Golden Gate International Exposition]]
* ''[[Seattle]]: Gateway to the Northwest'' (1940)
* ''Calling on [[Colombia]]'' (1940)
* ''Modern [[New Orleans]]'' (1940)
* ''[[Suva]]: Pride of [[Fiji]]'' (1940)
* ''Old [[New Mexico]]'' (1940)
* ''Old [[New Orleans]]'' (1940)

{{col-break|width=50%}}
* ''Glimpses of [[Mexico]]'' (1940)
* ''The Capital City: [[Washington D.C.]]'' (1940)
* ''Cavalcade of [[San Francisco]]'' (1940)
* ''[[Mediterranean]] Ports of Call'' (1941)
* ''Glimpses of [[Florida]]'' (1941)
* ''George Town: Pride of [[Penang]]'' (1941)
* ''Scenic Grandeur'' (1941)
* ''[[Minnesota]]: Land of Plenty'' (1942)
* ''Colorful [[North Carolina]]'' (1942)
* ''[[Glacier National Park (Canada)|Glacier]] and Waterton Lakes'' (1942)
* ''Picturesque [[Massachusetts]]'' (1942)
* ''Modern [[Mexico City]]'' (1942)
* ''Glimpses of [[Ontario]]'' (1942)
* ''Mighty [[Niagara Falls|Niagara]]'' (1943)
* ''Romantic [[Nevada]]'' (1943)
* ''Motoring in [[Mexico]]'' (1943)
* ''A Day in [[Death Valley]]'' (1944)
* ''[[Mackinac Island]]'' (1944)
* ''Colorful [[Colorado]]'' (1944)
* ''Roaming Through [[Arizona]]'' (1944)
* ''Modern [[Guatemala City]]'' (1945)
* ''[[Mérida, Yucatán|Merida]] and [[Campeche]]'' (1945)
* ''Visiting [[Veracruz|Vera Cruz]]'' (1946)
* ''Looking at [[London]]'' (1946)
* ''Over the Seas to [[Belfast]]'' (1946)
* ''Glimpses of [[California]]'' (1946)
* ''Calling on [[Costa Rica]]'' (1947)
* ''On the Shores of [[Nova Scotia]]'' (1947)
* ''[[Chicago]], the Beautiful'' (1948)
* ''Night Life in [[Chicago]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Ontario]]: Land of Lakes'' (1949)
* ''Calling on [[Michigan]]'' (1949)
* ''Roaming Through [[Northern Ireland]]'' (1949)
* ''Glimpses of Old [[England]]'' (1949)
* ''A Wee Bit of [[Scotland]]'' (1949)
* ''Pastoral Panoramas'' (1950)
* ''Roaming Through [[Michigan]]'' (1950)
* ''To the Coast of [[Devon]]'' (1950)
* ''Touring Northern [[England]]'' (1950)
* ''Life on the [[Thames]]'' (1950)
* ''Romantic [[French Riviera|Riviera]]'' (1951)
* ''Visiting [[Italy]]'' (1951)
* ''Life in the [[Andes]]'' (1952)
* ''Beautiful [[Brazil]]'' (1952)
* ''Land of the [[Taj Mahal]]'' (1952)
* ''Ancient [[India]]'' (1952)
* ''[[Pretoria]] to [[Durban]]'' (1952)
* ''Calling on [[Cape Town]]'' (1952)
* ''[[Johannesburg]]: City of Gold'' (1953)
* ''Looking at [[Lisbon]]'' (1953)
* ''Delightful [[Denmark]]'' (1953)
* ''In the Valley of the [[Rhine]]'' (1953)
* ''Beautiful [[Bavaria]]'' (1953)
* ''Land of the [[Ugly Duckling]]'' (1953) ([[Denmark]])
* ''Seeing [[Spain]]'' (1953)
* ''Glimpses of [[Western Germany]]'' (1954)
* ''The [[Grand Canyon]], Pride of Creation'' (1954)
* ''[[Yosemite National Park|Yosemite]] the Magnificent'' (1954) (Last FitzPatrick short produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
* ''[[VistaVision]] Visits [[Norway]]'' (1954) (First FitzPatrick short produced by [[Paramount Pictures]] in both [[CinemaScope]] and [[VistaVision]])
* ''VistaVision Visits [[Mexico]]'' (1954)
* ''VistaVision Visits [[Hawaii]]'' (1955)
* ''VistaVision Visits [[Mexico]]'' (1955)
* '' VistaVision Visits [[Spain]]'' (1955)
* ''VistaVision Visits [[Arizona|Sun Trails]]'' (1955)
* ''VistaVision Visits [[Austria]]'' (1956)
* ''VistaVision Visits [[Gibraltar]]'' (1956)
* ''VistaVision Visits [[Panama]]'' (1956)
{{col-end}}

== Home video availability ==
In 2016, [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment]] released the entire series of shorts in a three-volume [[DVD recordable|DVD-R]] set titled ''Fitzpatrick Traveltalks''. Individual shorts may also be found as extras on DVDs of Warner Bros. films of the period:

* ''Los Angeles: Wonder City of the West'' is on the DVD of [[Sylvia Scarlett]]
* ''Cherry Blossom Time in Japan'' is on the DVD of [[China Seas (film)|China Seas]]
* ''Paris on Parade'' is on the DVD and Blu-Ray of [[An American in Paris (film)|An American in Paris]]
* ''Modern New Orleans'' and ''Old New Orleans'' are on the DVD of [[The Toast of New Orleans]]
* ''Cavalcade of San Francisco'' is on the DVD of [[Go West (1940 film)|Go West]]
* ''Glimpses of Florida'' is on the DVD of [[Lady Be Good (1941 film)|Lady Be Good]]
* ''Looking at London'' is on the DVD and Blu-Ray of [[The Three Musketeers (1948 film)|The Three Musketeers]]
* ''Glimpses of California'' is on the DVD of [[Till the Clouds Roll By]]
* ''Chicago, the Beautiful'' and ''Night Life in Chicago'' are on the DVD and Blu-Ray of [[In the Good Old Summertime]]
* ''Roaming Through Michigan'' is on the DVD of [[Three Little Words (film)|Three Little Words]]
* ''Romantic Riviera'' is on the DVD of [[Easy to Love (1953 film)|Easy to Love]]
* ''Land of the Taj Mahal'' and ''Ancient India'' are on the DVD of [[Kim (1950 film)|Kim]]
* ''Land of the Taj Mahal'' is on the DVD of [[The Prisoner of Zenda (1952 film)|The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 and 1952 dual-disc version)]]

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{tcmdb name}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, James A.}}
[[Category:1894 births]]
[[Category:1980 deaths]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century American journalists]]
[[Category:People from Shelton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Film directors from Connecticut]]
[[Category:Film producers from Connecticut]]