https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8JKEso5a3Ihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LELTZmD3gWY In 1930, Hal Roach experimented with having the opening credits of some of his comedies spoken by two young women who appear to be identical twins, posed on a very nice quasi-Egyptian themed deco stage. Much like the soundtrack of the trailer I posted yesterday, this was likely another
‘The Painted Angel’ (1929) starring Billie Dove is a lost film–for the most part. Like many Vitaphone releases of those early talking pictures years, the discs of the soundtrack have survived (Vitaphone’s early sound system involved the sound on separate discs, linked to a projector which showed the mute film.
Behold a very rare and significant MGM short film from 1929 called ‘The Song Writer’s Revue’. The film features a half-dozen songwriting legends–including Gus Edwards, Fred Fisher, Arthur Freed, Fred Ahlert and Nacio Herb Brown–sitting glumly at a clutch of grand pianos. Before playing examples of their own work, they’re
Yesterday I posted a 1972 interview with songwriting great Harry Warren. Today let’s look backwards forty years from that time to 1933 and watch a Vitaphone “Pepper Pot” short called “Harry Warren; America’s Foremost Composer’. In it, Warren appears at a piano in a beautiful art deco setting, surrounded by
Okay, I took a week’s vacation from posting and now I’m back. I was with family and, much as I love them, I kind of wish I was George Gershwin in the spring of 1937 on vacation with Paulette Goddard. The two of them were discreetly involved in a romance
Here’s a couple of precious minutes showing Judy Garland during a run-through for an appearance on ‘Hollywood Palace’, singing ‘What the World Needs Now (Is Love Sweet Love)’. Her listless performance is a hell of a lot more fun than many singers all out, full-blown performances though its hard to
Aired on April 28, 1966, this one-hour special featuring Tony Bennett at the peak of his (first) career was sponsored by Singer Sewing Machines and NBC and is–in my opinion–the best television musical special ever made. In addition to Tony the starry supporting cast includes Buddy Rich, Paul Horne, Milt
Joe Piscopo may not have left much of a mark on comedy but he did achieve something that cannot be superseded by any other comic; his impression of Jerry Lewis. His Jerry is the Jerry at the late stage of his career–the smarmy telethon host in his tux with shoe-polished
Apropos of yesterday’s post showing the evolution of RKO studio’s logos, here’s a reel of logos from some of the most obscure in-the-gutter strictly-from -hunger low-rent low-budget low-self-esteem studios the movie business ever created. Names like ‘Invincible Pictures’, ‘Mascot Studios’, ‘Chesterfield Pictures’ sound like companies invented by a novelist for
Here’s fifteen minutes of different logos–both opening and closing–of RKO movies. I’m sure you’ll be tempted after a few minutes to either turn it off or scrub through them, but I urge you to set aside fifteen minutes and stare, glassy-eyed, at the screen. Something odd happens as they progress–they