2009 Vitaphone Program
Saturday, June 20, 2009
- Vitaphone Billboard (1936) – One of a series of one-reel Brooklyn filmed shorts in the “Big Time Vaudeville” series that presented multiple acts in a recreation of a mini-vaudeville program. Featured here are The Keller Sisters & Lynch, best remembered as vocalists on the Jean Goldkette Victor 78 “Sunday”.
- The Amphibian Band (1929) – A brief clip from a Fox Movietone newsreel. The studio sent their sound cameras all over the world to capture news as well as novelty performances like this.
- Paramount Song Makers Series (1933-34) – Here are several entries from this rare series in which song writers performed their own tunes. Tonight we present Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Dana Suesse and Ralph Rainger.
- Walt Roesner & The Capitolians (1929) – This is a New York-produced MGM Movietone short presenting the Capitol Theatre’s all star band. Look for Jimmy Dorsey, Rube Bloom, Miff Mole and Nat Brusilloff among many other top musicians.
- Starlit Days At The Lido (1935) – This is a MGM all-star short shot in beautiful three-strip Technicolor. Musically the standouts are Henry Busse & His Orchestra and Cliff “Ukelele Ike” Edwards.
- Eddie Peabody And His College Chums (1928) – One of the earliest Paramount talking shorts, shot in Astoria. Peabody had made several Vitaphone sound shorts by this time.
- Horace Heidt & His Californians (1931) – Shot at Vitaphone’s Brooklyn studios (still standing) this lively band short captures the true nature of Heidt’s performing stage orchestra.
- Ted Lewis in ‘The Happiness Remedy” (1931) – Another Paramount Astoria short, in which we glimpse Eddie Lang and hear the band perform “Homemade Sunshine” as they recorded that year on Columbia.
- Gentlemen of Polish (1934) – Here is a long unseen MGM short starring Vitaphone favorites Shaw & Lee. Of particular interest is the studio’s use of scenes and rehearsal footage cut from their concurrent feature “Hollywood Party”.
For more information or
Jazz Record Collectors' Bash
Art Zimmerman /
(516) 343-7440 / zimrecords@msn.com
Media Contact: Jim Eigo /
272 State Route 94 South #1,
(845) 986-1677 / jim@jazzpromoservices.com