The Four Poster is a 1952 American comedy-drama film directed by Irving Reis and starring Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer. It is an adaptation of Jan de Hartog's 1951 play The Fourposter.
While it is a live-action film, The Four Poster features animation by the studio United Productions of America (UPA). The animation was directed by John Hubley, and was his last project before leaving UPA and founding his independent studio Storyboard, Inc.
In Yugoslavia, The Four Posters animation became one of the key influences on the foundation of the Zagreb School of Animated Films. Director Duà ¡an Vukotiàhad come across an article about UPA's films in Graphis at an English bookstore in Zagreb. Around the same time, The Four Poster arrived in the country in "a batch of American feature films sent for possible sale to Yugoslavia", according to researcher Ronald Holloway. Vukotiàand others studied the film's animation, which also gave them a greater understanding of the still images in Graphis. As a result, the team began to explore design-focused limited animation at Zagreb Film.
Allan Scott saw the play in Londion and recommended Stanley Kramer made it under the producer's deal with Columbia. Kramer agreed and Scott bought the rights for $15,000 and persuaded Harrison and Palmer to star. He had John Hubley animate scenes to avoid double exposition.
Scott called the film "a big success".
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