TCM: Short Subject Line-up 2/19/02

[Nelson]

A very good menu of short subjects tomorrow 2/19/02 night on TCM...Here's the line up.

8pm
Jazz Swing Shorts:Includes the musical short, "Streamlined Swing (1938) and directed by Buster Keaton.

9pm
Big Band Dance Shorts: Features shorts from Ozzie Nelson and Desi Arnaz.

11:30pm
Academy Award Winning Shorts...

1am
Techincolor Shorts: Features early 2 strip technicolor shorts including the silent MGM short, "The Flag" (1926) and the raunchey pre-code short, "The Devil's Cabaret" (1931) and the very first 3 strip technicolor RKO one reeler, "La Cucaracha" (1934).

3am
Joe McDoake Shorts...

4:30am
Early Sound Shorts: Includes a rare early Movietone Musical and several pre-code goodies.

[Do-Do]

Originally posted by Nelson
Early Sound Shorts: Includes a rare early Movietone Musical and several pre-code goodies. [/B]

How long is this? I wanna know so I can tape it (even though the WW2 shorts were pretty disappointing).

[Nelson]

The Early Sound shorts will air from 4:30am to 6am late tue/early wed morning.

IMO:
The techincolor shorts and the early sound shorts will be the highlight for tomorrow's festival.

[Argus Sventon]

VCR's will be rolling.

[Nelson]

Next week TCM will be showing comedy shorts and here is a couple of titles I know for a fact they'll be showing two great shorts.

Our Gang-"Bear shooters"

W.C.Fields -The Dentist UNCUT!

[Argus Sventon]

The two MGM 2 strip Technicolor shorts didn't have the MGM lion openings on them.

[Nelson]

I did enjoy the Techincolor shorts very much, but was VERY disapointed with early sound shorts.No Viatphone shorts at all, but I did very much love the Joe McDoakes comedies.Next week TCM will be showing great stuff, newly restored shorts, Pete Smith Specials, Comedy Shorts...so have those vcr rolling next week a lot of excellent stuff will be shown.

[Kent Broyhill]

Originally posted by Argus Sventon
The two MGM 2 strip Technicolor shorts didn't have the MGM lion openings on them.

I found this odd myself. In the case of the The Flag (1926), MGM very likely had not filmed a color version of their lion logo, since The Flag was probably the first all-color MGM film (either short or feature-length). I may be wrong about the absense of the lion logo in the opening, but it's more than likely. However, there was a TINY drawing of the standard MGM opening logo in a corner of the opening title.

As for Devil's Cabaret (1931), I can't see why the MGM lion logo was not included in the opening. MGM already had a lion logo for its color films; as seen in the openings of The Viking (1928 feature film) and Kiddie Revue (1930 Colortone Musical). TCM's copy of the Colortone musical Gypsy Night (1935) also omits the lion logo; but by then a 3-color MGM lion logo had been filmed, as well as another 2-color one! I would guess that the film portion with the lion logo was damaged beyond repair/restoration, so it was simply not included. I could wrong again here too, but film damage seems to be the most logical culprit!

BTW, I have made a interesting observation of the original 2-color MGM logo (from my copy of The Viking). Apparently (from my observations), the color is seen only on the lion's face and the rest of hir fur appears to be in monocrome shades of gray. This would lead one to believe that the lion footage was shot in B&W and color-tinted either by hand or mechanical processes. If this were the case, I can't understand why MGM would go to the troble to film another lion logo, since this tinting could be done just as easily on the B&W lion logo. Other possibilities could be poor framing of the color & monocrome portions (the drawn portion of the logo with the loop of film surrounding the lion, the comedy mask of drama used to tie the film loop together, and the marquee underneath reading "Metro Goldwyn Mayer" were in B&W with no color to them), or even just a poor version of Technicolor was used for the filming. Interestingly enough, this logo appeared ususually dark for some reason on TCM's copy of Kiddie Revue (1930). The logo on TCM's copy of the MGM Colortone musical Crazy House (1931) appeared dark as well, but was a bit lighter than the one on Kiddie Revue.

A second 2-color Technicolor MGM logo was shot circa 1931, with color in the film loop, mask, marquee, and lettering, and completely different lion footage-- the camera shot of the lion here appears to be quite distant for some reason. This logo can be found on MGM's later 2-color shorts; such as Wild People (1932), Menu (1933), and most of the early Happy Harmonies cartoons which were made from 1934 until late 1935, when Disney's exclusive contract to 3-Color Technicolor in the field of animation finally expired

Is there anyone who could possibly fill me in on this? I really would like to know! :bosko:

[Argus Sventon]

Originally posted by Kent Broyhill


I found this odd myself. In the case of the The Flag (1926), MGM very likely had not filmed a color version of their lion logo, since The Flag was probably the first all-color MGM film (either short or feature-length). I may be wrong about the absense of the lion logo in the opening, but it's more than likely. However, there was a TINY drawing of the standard MGM opening logo in a corner of the opening title.

It was common for studios to include a drawing of their logo in the opening title. Paramount actually had THREE logos on the opening to The Covered Wagon. One regular logo, and two pseudo logos.


As for Devil's Cabaret (1931), I can't see why the MGM lion logo was not included in the opening. MGM already had a lion logo for its color films; as seen in the openings of The Viking (1928 feature film) and Kiddie Revue (1930 Colortone Musical). TCM's copy of the Colortone musical Gypsy Night (1935) also omits the lion logo; but by then a 3-color MGM lion logo had been filmed, as well as another 2-color one! I would guess that the film portion with the lion logo was damaged beyond repair/restoration, so it was simply not included. I could wrong again here too, but film damage seems to be the most logical culprit!

BTW, I have made a interesting observation of the original 2-color MGM logo (from my copy of The Viking). Apparently (from my observations), the color is seen only on the lion's face and the rest of hir fur appears to be in monocrome shades of gray. This would lead one to believe that the lion footage was shot in B&W and color-tinted either by hand or mechanical processes. If this were the case, I can't understand why MGM would go to the troble to film another lion logo, since this tinting could be done just as easily on the B&W lion logo. Other possibilities could be poor framing of the color & monocrome portions (the drawn portion of the logo with the loop of film surrounding the lion, the comedy mask of drama used to tie the film loop together, and the marquee underneath reading "Metro Goldwyn Mayer" were in B&W with no color to them), or even just a poor version of Technicolor was used for the filming. Interestingly enough, this logo appeared ususually dark for some reason on TCM's copy of Kiddie Revue (1930). The logo on TCM's copy of the MGM Colortone musical Crazy House (1931) appeared dark as well, but was a bit lighter than the one on Kiddie Revue.

A second 2-color Technicolor MGM logo was shot circa 1931, with color in the film loop, mask, marquee, and lettering, and completely different lion footage-- the camera shot of the lion here appears to be quite distant for some reason. This logo can be found on MGM's later 2-color shorts; such as Wild People (1932), Menu (1933), and most of the early Happy Harmonies cartoons which were made from 1934 until late 1935, when Disney's exclusive contract to 3-Color Technicolor in the field of animation finally expired

Is there anyone who could possibly fill me in on this? I really would like to know! :bosko:

TCM could have attached one of the two color Technicolor "snarling lion" logos to Devil's Cabaret. It was possible to do so, since they do exist.

[Kent Broyhill]

Originally posted by Argus Sventon


It was common for studios to include a drawing of their logo in the opening title. Paramount actually had THREE logos on the opening to The Covered Wagon. One regular logo, and two pseudo logos.

I am aware to that myself. MGM did have a psuedo-logo itself-- which was a drawing of a lion lying on a pedestal between two torches. Writing on the pedestal read "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture (orignally reading "A Goldwyn Picture" if we go really far back, and "A Metro-Goldwyn Picture on the first few MGM films) This pseudo-logo was used in the opening and closing titles of many classic MGM films (next to the copyright information usually), and sometimes on movie posters.


TCM could have attached one of the two color Technicolor "snarling lion" logos to Devil's Cabaret. It was possible to do so, since they do exist.

Which two color logo are you refering to? I assume the "snarling lion" you are refering to is from the first two color logo (circa 1926-28 to 1931)-- the logo opens with the lion looking down (at the studio floor I suppose!), while growling/snarling under his breath for several seconds. Then the lion turns his head up towards the right and roars, and gives a second roar (sometimes cut off) as he turns left. I don't see anything resembling snarling on the second two color logo (used from roughly 1931 to 1935), which has a distant shot of the lion (for some reason)-- who roars once and then gives a double roar (back to back) as the lion points his head upward and out towards the right. On extended versions of the 2nd 2-color logo, the lion then turns all the way to the right (much like a profile shot) doing what looks and sounds like roaring & yawning at the same time, and then returns to his orginal pose.

Just thought you'd like to know! :bosko:

[Nelson]

The first two two strip color shorts, "The Flag" and "The Devils Cabaret" was just restored a few months ago.I thought the new print of The Devil's Cabaret was excellent with a few mild splices and it was unsual to see both films start without the MGM lion.

"La Cucaracha" RKO RADIO (1934) was a great print as well since it was the very first three strip technicolor live action film ever made.The colors in this film was some of the best technicolor I have ever seen for a short film made during that era.

A reminder about next week's final festival of shorts, the comedy block is a VCR alert....

Here's a sneak preview of the comedy shorts line-up that starts at 11:30pm (EST)

TCM will start it off with the 1930 "Our Gang" short, "Bear Shooters" followed by the 1932 "Cult" classic W.C.Fields short, "The Dentist" which is perhaps the best Fields(short or feature length) film ever made and it will be uncut as well.TCM will also present a very rare "Three Stooges" film that they made at MGM before they went to Columbia.The short is an early two-strip technicolor "Color Tone Musical" two reeler, "Nursey Rhymes" with Ted Healy.Also in the 2 hr, block will be shorts from "The Ritz Brothers" and a very rare "Edgar Bergman and Charlie McCarthy" comedy short.

So tape the final night of the TCM short subjects festival next tuesday.

[Kent Broyhill]

Originally posted by Nelson
The first two two strip color shorts, "The Flag" and "The Devils Cabaret" was just restored a few months ago.I thought the new print of The Devil's Cabaret was excellent with a few mild splices and it was unsual to see both films start without the MGM lion.

As I said earlier, Devil's Cabaret probably did have the MGM lion opener logo when originally seen in theaters. My hypothesis is that the part of the film with the MGM lion opening was damaged
beyond repair, and was cut out when being restored. I may be wrong, but it's very likely. No sure about The Flag, though, since it was released in 1926 and was probably the first all-color MGM film.

"La Cucaracha" RKO RADIO (1934) was a great print as well since it was the very first three strip technicolor live action film ever made.The colors in this film was some of the best technicolor I have ever seen for a short film made during that era.

You're right about that Nelson! The color in La Cucaracha was stunning, especially for its time period and being the very first live action film in 3-strip Techncolor.

A reminder about next week's final festival of shorts, the comedy block is a VCR alert....

Here's a sneak preview of the comedy shorts line-up that starts at 11:30pm (EST)

TCM will start it off with the 1930 "Our Gang" short, "Bear Shooters" followed by the 1932 "Cult" classic W.C.Fields short, "The Dentist" which is perhaps the best Fields(short or feature length) film ever made and it will be uncut as well.TCM will also present a very rare "Three Stooges" film that they made at MGM before they went to Columbia.The short is an early two-strip technicolor "Color Tone Musical" two reeler, "Nursey Rhymes" with Ted Healy.Also in the 2 hr, block will be shorts from "The Ritz Brothers" and a very rare "Edgar Bergman and Charlie McCarthy" comedy short.

So tape the final night of the TCM short subjects festival next tuesday.

Sounds like an interesting lineup! I and hopefully everyone else here will be sure to tape next Tuesday's TCM movie shorts finale! :bosko:

[Paul Penna]

Originally posted by Nelson
... followed by the 1932 "Cult" classic W.C.Fields short, "The Dentist" which is perhaps the best Fields(short or feature length) film ever made and it will be uncut as well.

I wonder if it will be the same version they showed during the W.C. Fields month last year? While "uncut" in that lines such as "They can take this golf course and s..." and "The hell with her!" were reinstated, the cornball, after-the-fact music accompanying a few scenes was there. I've heard two stories about that. One is that the music was dubbed in for theatrical re-releases, and the other that the fabled/notorious Raymond Rohauer added it in an attempt to establish copyright for his version of the otherwise p.d. title. At any rate, the TCM version was not the one originally released. Let's hope this new one corrects this.

[Paul Penna]

For me the high point of the Technicolor shorts was the Warner Bros. Leon Errol "Good Morning Eve." It was so senselessy screwball in the best Warner tradition. I wonder if that was really Vernon Dent (long-time comedy supporting player and frequent Three Stooges target) doing his own singing? By far, I thought this short had the best color of the early three-strips; it looked absolutely pristine. A bonus was the characteristic sound of the Warner orchestra, just the way you hear it in the early Merrie Melodies and Busby Berkeley musicals.

[Paul Penna]

And another thing...

Did anybody else catch the Woody Herman short in the Big Band/Dance collection? A couple does this incredible, over-the-top jitterbug number that could have come out of any Warner cartoon of the period.

[Bum]

Originally posted by Paul Penna
I wonder if that was really Vernon Dent (long-time comedy supporting player and frequent Three Stooges target) doing his own singing?

I've read in various Stooges accounts that Vernon had a beautiful singing voice, so most likely it IS him......

[Pilmedium]

Originally posted by Kent Broyhill
Sounds like an interesting lineup! I and hopefully everyone else here will be sure to tape next Tuesday's TCM movie shorts finale! :bosko:

I'm afraid to say it, but I will anyway. I am not taping those shorts. I am only interested in cartoons.

I read the whole thread and that's all I have to say. :(

[Patrick McCart]

La Cucaracha was the first film EVER to use 3-strip Technicolor.

What a charming title for a landmark film...

[Nelson]

I posted this on the wrong post, but when TCM aired "THE DENTIST" a couple of months ago, just how was the film print? And did it have the Mack Sennett/Paramount opening and closing titles.When AMC aired that short a couple of years ago, they ended the film abruptly what I can remember.

[Jon Cooke]

Originally posted by Nelson
So tape the final night of the TCM short subjects festival next tuesday.

Thanks for yet another great VCR alert, Nelson. I have enjoyed what I have seen so far during TCM's Shorts Festival. I will DEFINITELY be taping next week: W.C. Fields, Little Rascals, Three Stooges, Edgar Bergan, and more. What a line-up! :bosko:


-Jon

[Nelson]

Hey Jon...Did you enjoy the "Dogville Comedies"? I sure hope you did enjoy those classic gems/ :)

[Paul Penna]

Originally posted by Patrick McCart
La Cucaracha was the first film EVER to use 3-strip Technicolor.

What a charming title for a landmark film...

First live-action film. Disney's "Flowers and Trees" gets first place honor for three-strip Technicolor .

[Mike Toole]

So, not only did I miss the Dogville shorts, I missed the Joe McDoakes ones?

*shoots self* Curse my forgetfulness! I hope TCM reruns these at some point.