[78-L] Warner Archives Hollywood Revue of 1929

[Michael Biel]

Taylor Bowie wrote:
> > I have some of the Hollywood Review soundtrack on those giant 16"
> > records they used to use for early talkies .....nothing complete
> > but partial soundtracks from The Lost World, City Lights, etc.
> > and happily for me, the part of Reaching for the Moon which
> > includes that Bing Crosby song about hi hats and low-downs. 

Have you sent in a list of these to the Vitaphone Project?  If not, you
MUST do it.  The part you might have might be just the part they need to
complete a film!  There is no way of knowing what they need until you
tell them what you have.  It should also be noted that while Vitaphone
and Warners generally recorded the soundtrack originally on disc, some
of the companies like Fox and MGM recorded sound-on-film and then dubbed
the completed tracks to disc just for the theaters which couldn't yet
play sound-on-film.  In the case of your Bing song -- which is one of my
all time favorite Bing recordings -- I think your disc is one of those
dubbed from the optical film original.  Same with the Chaplan City
Lights.  They still are great things to have.

> > Somewhere along the line in upgrading turntables, I realized
> > that I no longer have anything to play the big ones on.
> > Too bad for me.   Taylor

From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> Your average Technics SP-15 will still accommodate them. So will a
> Lenco but you'll have to disable the arm-lifter in the back corner
> since these discs are sometimes much thicker than regular transcription discs.

The Bogen-Lenco L-75 will not fit them, but the B-50, 51, 60, 61, and 62
will.  Because of the thickness you might also have to raise the rear of
the arm and/or remove the turntable mat.  Sometimes you can just swing
the arm lifter around without removing it.  But none of these things are
problems, unless the discs hit the speed lever or the on-off knob if you
have to remove the turntable mat.  I filed down one edge of the knob on
one of my 61s. 

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com  


> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Steve Ramm" <steveramm78l at hotmail.com>

> Got my copy and watched last night! Talk about entertainment! Minstrel show 
> opening number then Jack Benny then Cliff Edwards and then Joan Crawford 
> singing a hot number and dancing up a storm. And that is in the first 10 
> minutes. Shortly after that Edwards is back with a uke production number 
> with a bevy of tap dancing girls with ukes! No plot. Just act after act 
> after act.
> 
> 
> This was an MGM film, not a Warner Brothers Vitaphone.
> 
> The print is not restored but more than serviceable for its age. The sound 
> does get distorted at times. On my standard screen ratio 27 inch TV the film 
> was cropped a bit too much and person on left is sometimes cut off.
> 
> But I'm pretty sure this has not been on TV and I really enjoyed it. And it 
> runs nearly TWO hours!
> 
> Steve Ramm