Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was originally created as a promotion for Montgomery Ward. He first appeared in a 1939 book and later in this 8-minute 1948 film, which predates the stop motion version by 16 years. As far as we know, the Library has the only complete version of the original 1948 release. The full film: http://go.loc.gov/iUG950MboMP | The Library of Congress

The invention of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer should be its own Christmas movie Sources: May, "How Rudolph Came Into Being,"; "How I Created Rudolph". NRTA Journal.; The Gettysburg [Pa.] Times; Phil Angelo (December 22, 2018). "The Illinois roots of Rudolph's hooves". Daily Journal; Nate Bloom (February 10, 2009). "Shining a Light on the Largely Untold Story of the Origins of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer"; "Old Fashioned Christmas". University Place/Wisconsin Historical Society. ; Ad Age; N