[78-L] Rudy Vallee home movies

[David Sanderson]

Mark L. Bardenwerper, Sr. wrote:
> Taylor Bowie wrote:
>> There were some which went to Thousand Oaks...they should still be there, 
>> although I'm not sure if they've been transferred.  Rudy was big into "home 
>> movies" early on.
>>
>>   
> I think home movies were big with many people in those days. I have 
> quite a few of Lou Breese, his wife Cappy and his daughter Gloria. 
> Mostly family stuff, grandpas, kids on trikes, views of the back yard.
> 

My impression is that by the mid-1920's you could reasonably afford the 
hand-held 16mm cameras, and lots of people could suddenly make movies. 
Check Northeast Historic Film, in Bucksport, Maine, whose purpose in 
part is to collect and preserve such films.  I ended up aware of all 
this via my interest in local childrens' camps, many of which shot film, 
both for general interest and for publicity.  My sense is that it was an 
upper middle class hobby.  For example, Northeast has a batch of home 
movies from the later 20's done by a family that summered here in Oxford 
County, where the father taught at Harvard.  I was instrumental in a 
donation of film to NHF from a local boys camp, some hours of film from 
before 1930 to about 1970, including early color movies, remarkable 
stuff from a source you wouldn't normally think of.

-- 




      David Sanderson
      East Waterford, Maine

      dwsanderson685 at roadrunner.com
      http://www.dwsanderson.com