Its been over four years since the second volume was released, and its great that they are continuing the collection. The greatest variety acts of the past humorists, bands, vaudevillians, dramatists, dancers and more return for a second collection of the earliest of the venerable vitaphone sound shorts. The first performance of volume 2, hawaiian nights, is an absolute joy to watch. It starts off with a musical short performed by the hawaiian group the kalama quartet.
On a desktop with many books, familiar characters in literature come out of their books after dark betty hutton. Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by warner bros. My first significant experience with vitaphone shorts was at the tcm classic film festival in 2016. Volume two vitaphone cavalcade of musical comedy shorts warner bros. Edgar bergen was an actor who made a successful career for himself in film. Among this later group, two 194546 titles, story of a dog and smart as a fox, were. Vitaphone varieties was a series title represented by a pennant logo on screen for all of warner brothers earliest short film talkies of the 1920s, initially done with the vitaphone disc process before a. The yacht club boys were prominent in 1930s musical features, with their nutty songs and ritz brotherslike antics, but the vitaphone incarnation of the quartet features only two of the familiar regulars jimmie kern and billy mann, and their act is more musical and less frenetic but they do sneak in a subtle, thentopical reference to. Volume two available in dvd ship this item qualifies for free shipping buy online, pick up in store is currently unavailable. They made two vitaphone shorts at the time, and may be the first pop singing. The warner brothers harry, albert, sam, and jack began in the film industry in 1907, but it was in 1912, when they moved to the west coast, that their output beared notice. Their first important feature, my four years in germany, was produced in 1918.
We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that youve provided to them or that theyve collected from your use of their services. The dvds fail to provide much historical context for the shorts, and more information on the vitaphone can. Children sing and tap dance in a cavernlike land of make believea vitaphone varieties short mae questel vitaphone shorts c. Now in its third volume, warner archives has gathered sixteen more vitaphone shorts on dvd. Vitaphone varieties volume 2 has a young fred allen, as well as edgar bergen making his debut with charlie mccarthy in 1929 and, therefore, is a nice companion piece to the muppet show, i think season 2, and the muppet movie that marked his final appearances. And thats exactly what you get with vitaphone varieties 19261930, just one big surprise after another. We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. The vitaphone projects ron hutchinson presented a brief dawn of sound 101 course for the audience at the egyptian theatre prior to the screening in 35mm of seven restored vitaphone shorts. Great performers and ensembles from the warner bros. The vitaphone comedy collection vol 1 one dvd roscoe fatty. The soundtrack was not printed on the film itself, but. Volume two available in dvd ship this item qualifies for free shipping buy online, pick up in store is currently unavailable, but this item may be available for instore purchase. Vitaphone varieties is an endlessly entertaining blast from the past. Collection of vitaphone soundtracks 19261931 this collection is an attempt to collect as many soundtracks to lost films and lost sequences from as many films from the early talkie period 19261931 as possible to make them available to everyone as they should be.
Vitaphone varieties dvd 1926 region 1 us import ntsc. Some of the most pleasurable viewing of vitaphones comes from seeing people. If i had to recommend one collection to start off with, id say that vitaphone cavalcade of musical comedy shorts gives you the most bang for your buck. These vitaphone shorts are a real treat, im so glad warners makes them available.
Vitaphone varieties was a series title represented by a pennant logo on screen for all of warner brothers earliest short film talkies of the 1920s, initially done with the vitaphone disc process before a switch to the soundonfilm format early in the 1930s. The soundtrack was not printed on the film itself, but issued separately on. Brown and a very young natalie schafer the future mrs. Vitaphone varieties vol 2 dvd9 dvd new at the best online prices at ebay. Vitaphone varieties, volume two, includes 35 more restored 192731 vitaphone short subjects. Movies and books related to vitaphone and early film history can be. There is no connection legal, creative, financial, corporate or otherwise between the author of these pages or the name of this blog, vitaphone varieties with any organization past or present, the vitaphone corporation, warner brothers pictures, warner brothers studios, first national studios, or the vitaphone project a nonprofit. But here he is, in one of the 60 short films that make up vitaphone varieties, a fascinating new fourdisc set from the warner archive collection, as a vaudeville star in 1928. These were the first major film studiobacked sound films, initially showcased with the 1926 synchronized scored features don juan.
Ann blyth played her in the 1957 biopic the helen morgan story. The headline of thevarietyextra on october 27, 1926, proclaimed vitaphone thrills l. Vitaphone varieties was a series title for all of warner brothers earliest short film talkies of the. Like the first volume and the vitaphone cavalcade of musical comedy shorts set, this collection has a great assortment of entertainment. Roscoe fatty arbuckle made his triumphant return to comedy in the six sparkling vitaphone shorts he headlines in this collection, two costarring shemp howard himself.
Volume two notes by the vitaphone projects ron hutchinson. The vitaphone comedy collection vol 2 two dvd roscoe fatty. That extremely popular volume, the bank book, stampeded our little vina into the ranks of the grabitquick after bad girl was chosen by the literary guild and the dollars started to roll in with that sweet, melodious sound. You will truly enter another world and culture with these films. Buy or rent vitaphone varieties volume 3 movie now family video. Motion picture archivist todd wiener discusses vitaphone films on our blog with this archive treasures program, we celebrate warner archives dvd release of vitaphone varieties, volume three 19281929.
We have very little film with audio from the 19261930 era 1,000 vitaphone shorts were made and many of these are lost. Jan 06, 20 the other two discs in the jazz singer portfolio are reprints of the standard dvds from the 2007 collection, and largely consist of vitaphone shorts assembled with the assistance of the. Some of these restored early sound shorts essentially the first music videos, sixtonine minutes each are better than others, but they all have historical value as a record of mostly forgotten musical acts, from opera to vaudeville, from the serious. Native hawaiian music was pretty popular in the in the early part of the 20 th century and this short sought to capitalize on both the music and the appeal of having. Vitaphone was the last major analog soundondisc system and the only one which was widely used and commercially successful. Volume two dvd manufactured on demand comedyclassic, musicals theatrical 883316649091. The greatest variety acts of the past humorists, bands, vaudevillians, dramatists, dancers and more return for a second collection of the earliest of the venerable vitaphone. Even the most precious and rare of books can often be read and enjoyed via faithful print reproductions, but motion pictures artifacts of our past, our culture and our heritage as much as any printed volume seem to exist in some alternate universe where common sense ceases to prevail. Bergen kickstarted his acting career in various films such as letter of introduction 1938 with adolphe menjou, the goldwyn follies 1938 and you cant cheat an honest man 1939. The 18 shorts found in this 2disc collection were all shot in depression era brooklyn by the vitaphone team, providing a magical and hilarious. Just a heads up that volume 3 of warner archives vitaphone varieties, with nearly 300 minutes of the latest 192829 early talkie restorations, is now available to order at oldies, amazon, and soon if not already at warner archive.
Nestled in among 35 jazz age gems to be found on this 2disc collection are appearances by edgar bergen, fred allen, fred waring, blanche. Buy or rent movie vitaphone varieties volume 3 from. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The vitaphone project was formed to accomplish this goal as well as to. The vitaphone project helps restore these 1920s early sound shorts, the fred waring short alone is worth the cost of the set. This wonderfully entertaining collection of 60 shorts from the earliest days of sound movies has been released by warner brothers through their warner archive mod program, and its well worth tracking down. The big v comedies also known as vitaphone comedies were two reel 17 to 20 minute long comedy film shorts produced by warner bros. Their latest collection, vitaphone varieties volume two, is another wonderful collection of vaudeville acts, band performances, and short plays.
Volume three notes by the vitaphone projects ron hutchinson warner archive collection monday, march 20, 2017 reading time. Vitaphone cavalcade of musical comedy shorts dvd 1926 region. With this set, virtually all of the early vitaphone shorts have now been released on dvd. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. Nestled in among 35 jazz age gems to be found on this 2disc collection are appearances by edgar bergen, fred allen, fred waring, blanche sweet, bert lahr, pat obrien, joe e. Entertainers from coast to coast, from stage and screen, from the heights of brooklyn to the valleys of hollywood, all shared th. After a long wait, warner brothers, through their directtoconsumer program the warner archives, have released the third volume of vitaphone varieties. Volume three 19281929 available in dvd ship this item qualifies for free shipping buy online, pick up in store is currently unavailable, but this item may be available for instore purchase. Vitaphone released a number of shorts with bucolic settings, including the opry house 29 with the mound city blue blowers, the blue ridgers 29, and the arkansaw trio 28 with the cruse brothers. Brown, the yacht club boys, warings pennsylvanians, chaz chase and helen morgan. The event marked the 90th anniversary of vitaphones debut with the original don juan program on august 6, 1926. Comedy, musical, shorts the greatest variety acts of the past humorists, bands, vaudevillians, dramatists, dancers and more return for a second collection of the earliest of the venerable vitaphone sound shorts.
Volume two, dvd, manufactured on demand, comedyclassic, musicals theatrical, 883316649091. Last year saw the release of a magnificent fourdisc collection of these shorts, vitaphone varieties. Country music had a strong following on 78 rpm records at the time, and these shorts addressed that appeal. Vitaphone varieties from warner archive the new york times. Numbers by cliff hess pepper the soundtrack, and when the lovers played by arthur lake and dorothy dare sing a sprightly song like just that kind of a day you know why the students at state care more about music. Sadly, she died at age 41 of cirrhosis of the liver just as she was being signed for another broadway show. Our items are shipped from multiple locations in the us. Volume three 19281929 warner archive, 192829, 16 short films. Comedy, musical, shorts the greatest variety acts of the past humorists, bands, vaudevillians, dramatists, dancers and more return for a second collection of the earliest of the venerable vitaphone sound. Tcm studio shop warner archive collection on tcm shop. Jun 02, 2017 this tworeel vitaphone was released in the spring of 1931, and uses a well worn backstage plot to frame her several songs. Movies and books related to vitaphone and early film history can be purchased through by clicking on the items here. The vitaphone features and shorts that have survived intact, or have been carefully restored. That sixdisc set retails for the same price as the fourdisc vitaphone varieties volume one, and includes two whole dvds of technicolor shorts that are simply gorgeous.
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