Movies 'Til Dawn Blog

CYD CHARISSE–THE PRE-MGM YEARS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_2Jw8S_uEghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCiiWOSa9pA Above are two exceedingly obscure and quite fascinating glimpses of Cyd Charisse in the early 1940s prior to being discovered by Arthur Freed and Robert Alton at MGM. The first is a ‘soundie’–a short musical film made to be watched in a special Jukebox that showed film reels of

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FATS WALLER SOUNDIES: ‘YOUR FEETS TOO BIG’

Last Friday I posted about a beautifully restored jukebox that was equipped to show films of the bands performing the songs in the jukebox. These films, known as ‘soundies’, are a great preservation tool as far too little film of performers of the day exist, especially black performers who were

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1939 PANORAM SOUNDIES MACHINE

A gentleman named Jon Torrence made the above home video of a beautifully restored machine from 1939 called a Mills Company Panoram. This was a period jukebox with a screen that permitted the viewing of soundies–short films of bands and singers performing popular songs of the day. Mr. Torrence is

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'Pardon My Scotch' (1935) is our Three Stooges Saturday offering. Moe's fall at 3:25--not a stunt double--is truly awesome. #comedy #Violence #SlapFighting #TCM #FilmTwitter #comics https://raymonddefelitta.org/saturday-stoogefest-18/

Chico Marx plays championship #Bridge on a very strange 1960 #television show. Thanks to @MarxBrosPodcast for the excellent episode on Chico which inspired me to go in search of this gem. #comedian #TCMParty #cards https://raymonddefelitta.org/blog/

The Groucho Marx's are featured in a short #silent home #movie shot in #BeverlyHills in 1933. A very wistful and lovely glimpse of a #family and neighborhood now gone. #comedian #TCMParty #film https://raymonddefelitta.org/marxiana-pt-4-at-home-with-the-groucho-and-family/

The lovely Lillian Roth (not Susan Hayward) sings 'Why Am I So Romantic?' from the Marx Brothers 'Animal Crackers'. It's the only non-Marx musical performance in one of their movies that doesn't piss me off. #movie #comedy #singer #TCMParty #musical https://raymonddefelitta.org/marxiana-pt-3-lillian-roth-sings/

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