JUNE 16, 2009

Linwood Dunn Theater – 1313 N. Vine St.

Parking in the rear, enter on Homewood Ave.

Pre-show get together at 6:30pm; Program begins at 7:30pm

Literally from the beginning of the sound era in 1926, and roughly until the wide-screen revolution in the mid-1950s, most major studios released a regular program of short subjects.  With comedy, musical, adventure, educational and such, most studios made about 50 to 60 shorts each year.

We have devoted several of our past SMPTE meetings to showing some of these with great success, and tonight have another sampling of what was seen along with the features in the theaters of the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

We’ll start right at the beginning, with the “Overture to Tannhauser”, played by the New York Philharmonic.  This was first shown on August 6, 1926, as part of the first program accompanied by Vitaphone sound on disc, along with the feature DON JUAN.

The program will include:
Will Hays Introduction to Vitaphone and

OVERTURE TO TANNHAUSER          WB 1926 – 14 min.

CONFIDENCE                                           Universal 1933 – 7 min.

     An Oswald the Rabbit cartoon, from the UCLA Film and TV Archive 

HAPPY HOTTENTOTS                           WB 1930 - 11 min.

    Joe Frisco and Billy Gilbert as vaudevillians trying to find a theater.

HERE COMES FLOSSIE                          WB  1933 – 18 min.

     Shemp Howard, Ben Blue, Janet Reade and a cow. 

HOLLYWOOD WONDERLAND            WB  1947 – 20 min.

    Technicolor visit to the Warner Bros. studio. 

A NECKIN’ PARTY                                 WB  1937 – 10 min.

     Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy

SING, BEAST, SING                                Marv Newland    1980 – 9 min.

     From the Academy Film Archive.

OVERTURE TO THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR    MGM 1953 – 9 min.

     Cinemascope and stereophonic sound, introducing the wide screen.

            Academy Award winner

All prints are 35mm                                Total running time about 104 minutes