Entertainment from the Netherlands: the Geesink collection

The Geesink studio, which was named after its director Joop Geesink and operated between1942 till 1972, specialised in puppet animation under the name of Dollywood. It also producedlive-action films under the name of Starfilm. Geesink produced hundreds of commercials forclients all over the world. It approached advertisements as a form of entertainment. This articleanalyses how Geesink commercials appropriated various genres of entertainment such asmusicals, westerns and comedies and used them for advertising purposes. The size and internationalclientele of the Geesink films suggests that Dutch cinema should not only be identifiedwith the genre of documentaries, as is usually the case, but it should also be recognisedfor great achievements in entertainment. With their high entertainment value, commercial success and American approach, Geesink films therefore occupy a special place within Dutchfilm history.

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