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Trying to find a movie filmed in the 1940s in Connecticut
The movie was about two children, a boy and a girl. They would go in a field and search for animals. There was a live skunk they were petting. It may have been called "Craig the skunk". It aired on television a few times. It was filmed in Connecticut around 1947 or so. Does anyone have any more information about this? I ask because the little girl was my mother!
JulzGaye
14 Messages
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230 Points
3 days ago
You may already know all stated below and are hoping someone might just remember it. This was almost certainly not a Hollywood film, but likely:
A regional short film
Possibly made by a local Connecticut filmmaker, school, or nature organization
Aired on local TV or on early educational programming
Shot on 16mm, not 35mm
And because it featured a live skunk, it may have been part of a children’s nature series or a sponsored educational short
Films like this often never made it into IMDb.
What the clues point toward
1. A Connecticut nature short from the late 1940s
During the 1940s–50s, several New England nature groups and children’s educational programs produced short films featuring:
Local wildlife
Children exploring fields and woods
Simple, wholesome narratives
Real animals (including skunks, raccoons, foxes, etc.)
These were often shown:
In schools
On early local TV
At nature centers
As filler programming between broadcasts
A film titled “Craig the Skunk” fits this pattern perfectly — the name sounds like the kind of animal‑character educational short common in that era.
2. Possibly part of a series
There were several regional wildlife shorts produced in New England in the 40s–50s, often with titles like:
“Tommy and the Raccoon”
“The Chipmunk Adventure”
“The Skunk Family”
“Friends in the Field”
Many are now archived only in:
State historical societies
University film collections
Local TV station archives
Nature museum film vaults
This is likely where “Craig the Skunk” (or whatever the exact title was) ended up.
3. Why it’s so hard to find
These films were never commercially released
Many were not copyrighted
Some were lost, others survive only as reels in archives
IMDb does not list most regional shorts from the 1940s
The title may have changed depending on the broadcaster
This explains why no one on the IMDb thread has answered yet.
Where the real answer probably lives
If someone truly wants to identify or recover this film, the best leads would be:
Connecticut Historical Society
They hold many 16mm regional films from the 1930s–1950s.
Connecticut Public Broadcasting (CPTV) archives
Early children’s programming often included nature shorts.
Yale Film Archive
They preserve New England educational and nature films.
Local Connecticut newspapers (1946–1950)
Sometimes these shorts were announced as community projects.
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