Starting in the late 60s, CBS’s Children’s Film Festival, hosted by Kukla, Fran (the puppeteer) and Ollie was just an occasional treat for kids who wanted to see something a little different, a little more cosmopolitan than the average animated drivel that was around.  By 1971, the series landed a spot on Saturdays in the early afternoon, giving children a place where they can go week-in and week-out to catch the unique and often foreign films.

What set the show apart from other shows of the day was that it featured dubbed and edited versions of foreign children’s films, some of the most memorable of the era.  John and Julie was the story of two children whose parents weren’t planning to attend the Queen’s coronation.  The pair skip off to London, where they meet a bunch of people willing to help them get there.  They make it in time to see the coronation, and the film went on to take the award in the children’s category in the Venice Film Festival.  Hand in Hand dealt with the religious divide.  Like John and Julie, this tale takes place in Britain.  Two children become the best of friends, never considering their religious differences, Michael being Catholic and Rachel being Jewish.  It’s only when their parents came into the picture that the friendship was clearly opposed.  The film took home accolades from around the world, and also won at the Venice Film Festival and taught everyone a lesson in religious tolerance.  Other films included The Johnstown Monster, again from England, Three Nuts for Cinderella, a film out of Czechoslovakia, Japan’s Skinny and Fatty, and of course one of the most famous children’s films of of all time, the 1956 French film, The Red Balloon. 

The show kept the same format until 1977, when they dropped Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the lineup to shorten it to 30-minutes.  The show was re-titled to CBS Saturday Film Festival, and the programming didn’t happen every Saturday, making it more difficult for children to judge when their favorite programs would be on. By 1984, the show was cancelled, though it left a legacy for a generation to go out and seek the larger world, thanks to showing us films from our foreign friends.