Martha Washington Star

 

Half-way through production on America’s first feature-length cartoon – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – Walt Disney ran out of cash. Walt asked his brother, Roy to borrow more. Roy explained they wouldn’t get another dime out of Bank of America unless they showed bank executive Joe Rosenberg where the money was going. Walt resisted, but he really had no choice. The two men met at Disney Studios on a Saturday. In a projection room, Walt showed the banker the few completed scenes. He tried to give Joe a synopsis of the movie, using pencil sketches as props. Joseph Rosenberg, the one man in charge of approving loans to movie studios, sat through the whole demonstration without cracking a smile. Walt was sweating bullets as he watched Joe climb into his car. “Thanks! Goodbye!” Joe said, then he added: “That thing’s gonna make a hat full of money!”