IJBFC Chat

[Laura Leff] A small heads up that I've got some bread (cheoreg, to be exact, for anyone who knows what that is) that is up for a second rise and will need some tending in a while

[steve --shimp--] no worries about the tpying error.s Brad

[steve --shimp--] Isn't that the demon on the mountaintop in FANTASIA?

[steve --shimp--]

[Laura Leff] I'll need to go brush about 55 rolls with egg and get them in the oven, so I'll let you know when I'm away for about 5-10 minutes

[Brad from Georgia] It's sort of a sweet brad isn't it?

[Brad from Georgia] Breakfast bread type of thing?

[steve --shimp--] Brad, you're sort of a sweet brad too

[KayLhota] I've never heard of that, but I love fresh bread and rolls

[Brad from Georgia] I'm the sweet brad, right.

[Laura Leff] Yes, it's an Armenian recipe given to me by a dear friend who is also helping with Volume 3.

[ed] we gad a OTR death here in springfield illinois Syl Binkin who was the first voice heard on the AFRS in 1942 and lived here died July 4th his daughter Geri is a customer where I work

[steve --shimp--] I'm hoping for a free roll with every copy

[Brad from Georgia] Oh, sorry to hear that, ed.

[Laura Leff] Ed - Sorry to hear that

[ed] she's agreat gal

[ed] just wanted to let you know

[Laura Leff] Out of curiosity, where do you work Ed?

[Brad from Georgia] July 4th...he's in the company of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both of whom passed away on Independence Day.

[ed] a st louis based grocery schnucks 2 stores here in town

[Laura Leff] Ed - I'll pass on the obvious pun on the name.

[steve --shimp--] Oh, my ed - home of the gooey butter cake!

[Brad from Georgia] We don't have shnucks here. Shnooks yes, shnucks no.

[steve --shimp--] this is turning into 'bake chat'

[ed] you bet!!! and my home away from home

[Laura Leff] Cheoreg is the Armenian version of challah.

[Brad from Georgia] I never pass on a pun.

[KayLhota] boy, there goes my diet just hearing about butter cake and rolls

[Laura Leff] Brad - Then you make it and I'll edit it out of the transcript

[steve --shimp--] you should do a couple of batches of cimmeron cheoreg

[ed] i'm eating a Whopper as I type

[Brad from Georgia] Barbara recently made some sourdough bread. Very tasty, especially as toast in the A.M.

[steve --shimp--] I'm usually telling whoppers as I type

[ed] ha ha

[Laura Leff] Steve - I've thought about it! This is a food chemistry experiment to see the difference between using fresh and dried yeast. I think the fresh is doing better, but it's impossible to find.

[Laura Leff] Brad - Where'd you get your starter?

[steve --shimp--] really, I thought fresh yeast was still fairly common, but what do I know?

[Brad from Georgia] Dunno--one of Barbara's friends from school, I think. It really smells strong when it's just the starter.

[Laura Leff] Steve - Believe me...I've done plenty of joking around with this friend about making cimerron rolls and going to the grocery store for ingrediments.

[steve --shimp--]

[Laura Leff] Brad - You can make your own--I have--but it takes some patience.

[KayLhota] I love it

[Brad from Georgia] So...I liked "The Face is Familiar."

[Laura Leff] Steve - Just try and find it. When I was in Los Angeles, he and I went around to about five grocery stores and no luck.

[Laura Leff] Yeah...what about this Jack Benny guy?

[steve --shimp--] wow! Shows you how much I bake.

[Brad from Georgia] LL--Did you try Latino groceries?

[KayLhota] yes, it's interesting to hear the Suspense verision and compare it with the GE TV versuion

[steve --shimp--] Interesting comparison if you've seen the GE Theater version

[steve --shimp--] Kay

[Brad from Georgia] Kay--I did just that.

[Laura Leff] Steve - When I stumbled onto it at a local Safeway, my head about exploded. I bought their whole little tin of it and threw it in the freezer.

[steve --shimp--] Didn't they add a laugh track to the TV version?

[Laura Leff] Brad - Hmmm...no, we didn't. Do they carry it more often?

[steve --shimp--] and I recall Frank Tashlin directed it, right?

[Brad from Georgia] steve--yes.

[KayLhota] yes, they added the laugh

[Brad from Georgia] Yes, Tashlin was the director. It was a little mini-movie.

[steve --shimp--] Honestly, I don't think it's that great of a script.

[KayLhota] that was the series for TV.

[steve --shimp--] Which surprises me they went to this well more than once

[KayLhota] An anthology program

[Laura Leff] Steve - Well, Brad can't stand "Plan X", so I chose another one.

[Brad from Georgia] It was done on the cheap--every shot of Jack crossing the street from the car to the bank was a repeat of the first shot.

[steve --shimp--] Jack's good in it, I think.

[KayLhota] I like Murder in G flat the best of the Suspense shows

[Laura Leff] I hate to admit I'm out of the loop...haven't watched the TV version yet.

[Brad from Georgia] I noticed that Jack played "Tom Jones" on another GE Theater. I suppose it's the same character.

[steve --shimp--] The TV one had less subtle references to the "Jack Benny" character

[KayLhota] I saw it after hearing the Suspense show, Laura.

[steve --shimp--] You oughta hear him sing "What's New Pussycat?" Laura.

[steve --shimp--]

[Laura Leff] Steve - I can only imagine. Do they do any voiceovers of Asian movies?

[Brad from Georgia] Yes, Jesse White was Jack's "Army buddy," except in the TV show he really wasn't. He just latched onto Jones as a guy who could help them rob the bank and claimed to be Jack's pal from the service.

[Laura Leff] Steve - (Oh right, that's "What's Up Tiger Lily")

[Laura Leff] So which is better? Radio or TV?

[steve --shimp--] On balance, I'd say TV.

[Brad from Georgia] "Doc, I keep hearing 'What's New, Pussycat' in my head." "Hmm...you have what we call 'Tom Jones Syndrome.'" "I do? Is that rare?" "Well...it's not unusual."

[steve --shimp--] The radio's just kind of nothing as a Jack vehicle OR a Suspense episode.

[KayLhota] I prefer the radio version, but the TV is cute

[ed] i always liked the radio version

[Laura Leff] The TV is better on balance because it sits on four legs.

[ed] ha ha again

[KayLhota] cute

[steve --shimp--] Been awhile since I've watched the TV version so I reserve the right to reappraise...

[Brad from Georgia] I think the TV version is overall a little funnier. I did like hearing Ed the guard on radio...and Joe is also the teller in the TV version.

[KayLhota] okay, the TV version plays it kind of yocky

[Laura Leff] Jack Benny meets Gilligan's Island

[KayLhota] like they are hammering it at you that it is a comedy instead of waiting for you to get the jokes

[ed] yea the dungeon vault looks better on radio

[Laura Leff] Kay - Oh, that's unpleasant.

[Brad from Georgia] Kay's right--broad performances, and there's no "suspense" in theTV show...not that there's much in the radio version, either. Tom's closing thoughts on, "Hmm, I could do it again" are not in the TV version.

[KayLhota] it isn't bad, though. I'd love to see more of the GE Theater series.

[steve --shimp--] It's one thing to have no suspense in a GE Theater, quite another to have no suspense in a SUSPENSE.

[Laura Leff] I kind of have a problem with the overall premise...and them repeatedly not remembering his name is a little forced.

[Brad from Georgia] Kay--it is on YouTube, I think.

[KayLhota] Yes, Laura!

[Laura Leff] It's in the IJBFC library too.

[Brad from Georgia] One problem for TV: Jack is actually very recognizable. He just doesn't have an unremarkable face.

[steve --shimp--] well, the same could be said of his voice too

[KayLhota] I have a DVD with the episode. I was thinking about the GE series as a whole

[Brad from Georgia] If I were directing it...I'd use trick photography so that EVERY character except the crooks was played by Jack.

[Laura Leff] Who could play the role that has an unremarkable face?

[steve --shimp--] oooh, good one Brad

[steve --shimp--] one of those fifties generic leading men. Rex Reason or someone bland like that

[Laura Leff] Brad - Sounds like the closing of one of the new Doctor Who series with John Simm as the Master.

[ed] the roaring twenties guy YEA

[ed] or donald May

[Brad from Georgia] Keefe Brasselle!

[steve --shimp--]

[Laura Leff] Brad - There you go

[Laura Leff] Jimmy Durante

[steve --shimp--] Marty Feldman

[KayLhota] A friend of mine asked me once if I thought jack Benny was handsome. I said yes, but husbandy handsome, not Errol Flynn handsome

[ed] or maurice chevalier

[Laura Leff] Ben Turpin

[Laura Leff] Kay - Good answer.

[Laura Leff] So what's the vote on the radio version? Thumbs up or down?

[ed] up

[Laura Leff] And is there any suspense in Plan X?

[Brad from Georgia] My film class thought he was a good-looking lead in "To Be or Not to Be."

[Brad from Georgia] A thumb sideways. Not bad, could have been a lot better.

[KayLhota] I give it a thumbs up for oddball and upbeat for Suspense

[steve --shimp--] Yeah, it's not terrible but not remarkable

[Laura Leff] I've got so many pictures of Jack looking Errol Flynn handsome from the 20s and 30s that I'm biased. I know he can look that good.

[KayLhota] well, he outlived Errol by 30 years

[Laura Leff] Steve - In the words of Gertrude Berg, "Could have been better, could have been woyse."

[steve --shimp--] heheh

[ed] 15 kay

[Brad from Georgia] I paired "To Be" with "Casablanca." My class had the observation: It's nearly the same plot!

[Laura Leff] Kay - He did a lot fewer things to shorten his life than Errol.

[KayLhota] Errol got pretty puffy from alcohol and died at 50

[Laura Leff] Brad - Really? Hmmm

[steve --shimp--] funny and pretty true now that you mention it Brad

[Laura Leff] *I'm thinking it over*

[KayLhota] that is interesting. I never thought to compare them!

[Laura Leff] Bogart as the pilot?

[Brad from Georgia] TCM had an Errol Flynn day, and I misread the caption for "San Antonio" as "Errol Flynn tries to rid a Texas town of dancers with the help of an outlaw."

[steve --shimp--] that's why Jack is in both of them

[Laura Leff] Who is Sam?

[KayLhota] they both are pulling off an underground plot against the Nazis

[Laura Leff] Kay - Oh yes, that I get. I'm sure there are a lot of movies that could qualify for that.

[KayLhota] Sam? Hmm... maybe Felix Bressart.

[Brad from Georgia] Kay--Exactly; in both films the good guys have to make an escape from the Nazis; in both cases the Nazi leader is pompous (comedically in one, melodramatically in the other); there's a love triangle in both....

[Laura Leff] Who is Peter Lorre?

[KayLhota] and in both the husbands get the girl

[Brad from Georgia] In both the wife winds up with the husband, not the adventury guy.

[ed] mr.moto?

[Laura Leff] Rick's Cafe American vs. the theatre

[KayLhota] Professor Siletski could be the Peter Lorre character, both get shot

[KayLhota] and set the plot in serious motion

[Laura Leff] And Carole Lombard and Ingrid Bergman are not visually that dissimilar

[Brad from Georgia] And in both the escape from the Nazis is done by airplane.

[KayLhota] so there you go!

[steve --shimp--] QED

[Laura Leff] And Jack was in both

[Brad from Georgia] I had to explain to the class who Rudolph Hess was.

[KayLhota] naw, Jack was not in CASABLANCA

[ed] ouch!!!

[Laura Leff] Brad - And that he didn't have a red nose

[Laura Leff] Kay - Prove it

[Brad from Georgia] I'm really starting to think that Jack is in a waiter costume. The guy is a little stout looking, but the walk is just like Jack's.

[Laura Leff] I'm going to get to the detailed notes on the production one day and see if I can get a thumbs-up or down on it.

[KayLhota] well, I have looked at that opening over and over and everybody who looks like Jack Benny only looks like Jack Benny

[steve --shimp--] See if Jack cashed a check

[steve --shimp--] for his part

[KayLhota] I've slowed down my DVD to scrutinize and I just don't see him

[KayLhota] not the guy just fuzzed out behind Dooley Wilson

[KayLhota] but, I would be happy to be wrong

[Brad from Georgia] The waiter is never in focus. In one scene he walks across in the very back of the set; in another, he passes just behind Major Strasser and Claud Raines at a table, but he's moving pretty fast and is blurred.

[Laura Leff] FWIW, it's the waiter who caught my eye the first time I watched the film looking for Jack.

[Brad from Georgia] I think Joan thought it was the waiter, right? Mark Evanier said that, anyway.

[Laura Leff] Brad - Yes, but then she and I had dinner shortly after that and she asked me if I thought that was right.

[Brad from Georgia] Hah!

[steve --shimp--] Been too long since I've seen it, but some of the screen caps that you posted on the site were fairly convincing

[KayLhota] that reminds me-- Laura did I ever send you the screen captures of Jack Benny's picture from the Jerry Lewis movie: "Rockabye Baby?"

[Brad from Georgia] The man behind Sam does look like Jack in some frames, but not in others.

[Laura Leff] Kay - No, I don't believe so.

[KayLhota] he's dressed up as a bullfighter.

[Laura Leff] Brad - Someone--you may have heard me say this in the past--did an excruciatingly detailed analysis of his earlobe and decided it wasn't Jack behind Sam.

[Brad from Georgia] Right beside Stan Laurel!

[KayLhota]

[Laura Leff] Kay - Ironic. Makes me think of Eddie Carroll dressed as a bullfighter for Hollywood Palace.

[steve --shimp--] Well, never let an earlobe get in the way of a good story, that's what I say.

[Brad from Georgia] Yes, I thought of that too. Nice of Carolyn to send out the DVD of the tribute. Though I can't stand to watch myself.

[Laura Leff] Brad - I am better about watching myself now that I've lost weight.

[Laura Leff] Has anyone got the "Laughter in Bloom" DVD from Carolyn yet?

[Laura Leff] I'm embarassed to say I haven't gotten around to it yet.

[KayLhota] not yes

[KayLhota] not yet

[ed] no

[steve --shimp--] no, I'm planning on ordering it after I move

[Brad from Georgia] It's just that my mental picture of myself is a mature Cary Grant. My video image of myself is a decrepit John Rhys-Davies.

[Laura Leff] On a semi-unrelated note, here's a preview since we're among friends and hopefully this won't come across as self-promotion.

[Laura Leff] Steve - You're moving again?

[steve --shimp--] yeah, to Seattle!

[steve --shimp--] Sept. 1

[Brad from Georgia] I haven't ordered it yet. I have to wait for my regular paycheck to kick in. Summer pay's low.

[Laura Leff] Brad - John Rhys-Davies I can see, but not decrepit.

[steve --shimp--] loooong story.

[Laura Leff] Steve - Really? OK...catch me off line and I'm interested to hear.

[steve --shimp--] OK

[ed] the home of the radio enthusiasts of puget sound

[Laura Leff] Yeah, you can go to REPS conventions then.

[steve --shimp--] yeah, I definitely want to hook up with REPS

[ed] i was a member from 2003-2006

[Laura Leff] I just finished a draft of liner notes for an upcoming Radio Spirits set.

[ed] their re-creations i heard are top notch

[Brad from Georgia] I'm still a member of SPERDVAC.

[steve --shimp--] oh, nice, Laura!

[Laura Leff] Ed - They're pretty good. On par with the best I've seen elsewhere.

[Brad from Georgia] LL--What shows, or can you say?

[Laura Leff] Brad - The Lone Ranger

[ed] i have my own club still going great since 2003

[Laura Leff] Ed - Mazel tov!

[ed] yes!!! whatever that means LL

[Laura Leff] Ed - It basically means congratulations!

[Laura Leff] *Still waiting for the irony of the prior line to hit the room*

[ed] sorry i german did not catch the drift

[ed] i'm*

[Brad from Georgia] "A blessing on your head, mazel tov, mazel tov...." Nearly the only lines I have ever sung on stage and in public.

[steve --shimp--] The Lone Ranger?

[ed] oh ok

[Brad from Georgia] So what EPISODES of the Lone Ranger?

[Laura Leff] Brad - Hey, you could have the look for Tevye...maybe a Georgia version of him, but...

[Laura Leff] OK, OK...it's a set of Jack and the Colmans.

[steve --shimp--] Oh, fantastic idea for a set.

[Brad from Georgia] I've played the Rabbi twice. My favorite role. Six lines, but he's the center of attention any time he's on stage.

[Laura Leff] I don't know when their planned release date is, so don't tell anyone.

[Brad from Georgia] Understood.

[Laura Leff] Brad - God bless and keep the Czar...far away from us!

[Brad from Georgia] Last time, we left Anatevka while walking on a turntable. The gears stripped, and we looked like surfin' Jews.

[Laura Leff] I lost it in a screen refresh.

[ed] brace beemer is from Mt carmel Illinois and clayton moore was from chicago

[steve --shimp--] Brad

[Laura Leff] OK, I think this cheoreg is ready for the second brushing. I'll be back in a while...talk amongst yourselves, please!

[Brad from Georgia] The funeral I attended today was for the father of my teaching colleague who plaed Golde in that production.

[Brad from Georgia] He was 91, had a good long life. I hated for her that he passed away the day before school starts again.

[steve --shimp--] You've been to way too many funerals lately Brad.

[Brad from Georgia] I agree. It threatens to get depressing.

[steve --shimp--] 91 is pretty good -we should all be so lucky.

[Brad from Georgia] So Laura is a Cheoregrapher now....

[steve --shimp--]

[ed] i'm happy to have hit 50

[steve --shimp--] good one

[steve --shimp--] If you can't afford to go to a cheoregologist, see a cheoregrapher.

[Brad from Georgia] I wonder if in any of his letters Jack might have referred to his cameo roles.

[steve --shimp--] What was the other episode of GE Theater that Jack did? It was another Tashlin-directed thing but I'm forgetting it totally.

[Brad from Georgia] "Today at Warner's I did a cameo role in Casablanca, which is going to be a classic film."

[steve --shimp--] There's got to be a CASABLANCA expert who's gone through all the paperwork.

[KayLhota] well, I did find Buster keaton as Jimmy Durante's double in "Two Girls and a Sailor" so anything's possible.

[ed] did he use his thought voice in radio for that cameo role

[Brad from Georgia] steve--"The Marriage Fix." He was Tom Jones in that one too.

[ed] my sister has many of tom jones' records but none have JB in them that I know of

[KayLhota] oh

[steve --shimp--] Thanks Brad

[Brad from Georgia] He was also in "The Fenton Touch" and "The Honest Man" on the GE Theater. I guess he had to do that to pay them back for the electric blankets.

[ed] ho ho

[Brad from Georgia] I just jumped over to imdb.com to find that.

[steve --shimp--] Ah, "The Honest Man" was the one I was thinking of

[Brad from Georgia] He was Sheldon Weeks in that one.

[steve --shimp--] Has anyone seen this early Jack short, "What Ho, Romeo": http://www.oldies.com/pr ··· 42D.html - just saw the DVD listed while browsing the other day

[Brad from Georgia] He was in one GE episode every year except 1955 between 1953 and 1957.

[Brad from Georgia] Haven't seen that one.

[steve --shimp--] I can't recall even hearing of it

[KayLhota] I haven't seen that short.

[KayLhota] I remember the taxi one.

[steve --shimp--] I was thinking for five bucks it might be worth a gander.

[steve --shimp--] At the very least, the title is ripe for all kinds of crude ripostes...

[Brad from Georgia] Yeh, my students want to know why Capulet is so mean to his wife when he yells at her, "My sword, ho!"

[steve --shimp--] And who can pass up the Ritz Brothers in "Hotel Anchovy"?

[Laura Leff] I'm back

[KayLhota] I love the Ritz brothers in everything they did

[steve --shimp--] I like "The Gorilla"

[steve --shimp--] which is preeety much all I've seen of them.

[ed] hotel pizza?

[Laura Leff] What Ho Romeo?

[Brad from Georgia] Ah, our Cheoregrapher returns.

[Laura Leff] Jack is in it?

[steve --shimp--] Apparently

[Laura Leff] It's not even ringing a bell with me

[Brad from Georgia] LL--Yes, Jack's in it; the description sounds vaguely like "The Medicine Man," but it's a short. One of those where the guy comes into a shop and charms the counter girl.

[Laura Leff] I wonder if it's an alternate title for Broadway Romeo.

[steve --shimp--] it didn't with me either, which is why I passed it along

[Laura Leff] Fascinating. If you don't pick it up, I will. Let me know.

[steve --shimp--] Will do!

[Laura Leff] I've still got to see "The Rounder" one of these days.

[Laura Leff] Oh, and "Hollywood Revue of 1929" has been released on DVD.

[KayLhota] Well, for early Jack my favorite is still "Chasing Rainbows"

[steve --shimp--] Alpha video coughs up all kinds of weird stuff, usually in horrible quality.

[Laura Leff] Understandably. Who can pass on a teaming of Jack and Marie Dressler?

[Brad from Georgia] "Chasing Rainbows" is charming. Wish the color footage still existed.

[Laura Leff] Steve - They are alpha, not omega.

[steve --shimp--] alpha for rarity, omega for quality

[ed] did turner color it?

[Laura Leff] Brad - Second that emotion. Maybe some day

[KayLhota] Oh yes. Without the color footage the plot doesn't get resolved

[Brad from Georgia] ed--no.

[ed] oh ok

[KayLhota] just when does Terry finally figure out that its been Carlie he's loved all along?

[Laura Leff] I'm still waiting on the video of Bright Moments.

[Brad from Georgia] I recorded it off TCM. All the black and white stuff is there; the color musical numbers are represented by stills and title cards explaining what happens in the scenes.

[Laura Leff] Kay - Isn't that in that last scene right before the lost closing number?

[Laura Leff] Brad - Yes, that's what I've got.

[KayLhota] yes, but I still would have liked to see it all resolve

[Laura Leff] Yeah, the hug and kiss and cuddle while looking into the camera.

[Brad from Georgia] You'd think CGI would get good enough to recreate those scenes....

[Laura Leff] But then I shrink to think of what else they could be doing with "reconstituted" actors.

[KayLhota] I hadn't thought of that. If they have the soundtrack, and they just still may

[Laura Leff] Jack could have a whole new career.

[Brad from Georgia] "Ghostbusters IV," with Jack Benny, George Burns, Bob Hope, and Eddie Anderson"

[steve --shimp--] Jack could be a Transformer or Spider-Man in some summer blockbuster!

[KayLhota] that is a ghoulish thought

[ed] brad a academy award winner

[Laura Leff] Bruce Willis battles it out with Jack Benny

[Laura Leff] Your money or your life?

[steve --shimp--] George Lucas will re-edit "The Jet Benny Show" with CGI new effects

[Laura Leff] Oh no....GAH.....

[Brad from Georgia] Jack Benny in "The Hungarian." (That's a goulash thought.)

[steve --shimp--] I knew that one would get you

[Laura Leff] I suppose it couldn't make it any worse.

[ed] jack in walking tall?

[Laura Leff] Brad - And he still couldn't ad lib a belch

[steve --shimp--] Jack in "walking daintily"

[Brad from Georgia]

[Laura Leff] I still like the recasting of "Pulp Fiction" that we did on the Forum a few years back.

[Laura Leff] Jack as Travolta, Eddie Anderson as Samuel L. Jackson

[Laura Leff] Ronald and Benita Colman as the drug dealer and his pierced wife

[ed] just don't put jack in any mel gibson movies...

[Laura Leff] Benita explaining why she has a stud in her tongue.

[KayLhota] Whew. Stanley Ridges. I have been trying to remember the actor who played Prof Silestski since "to Be Or Not to Be" came up.

[steve --shimp--] The Passion of the Jack

[Laura Leff] I don't think I want to see Jack getting the $&#@*( beat out of him.

[Laura Leff] "Ouch! That hurts!"

[steve --shimp--] Well!

[Laura Leff] "Yipe!"

[ed]

[Laura Leff] Dennis Day in "A Beautiful Mind"

[KayLhota] oh gosh. i can't top that one!

[Laura Leff]

[steve --shimp--] Jack and George Burns as those sparkly Twilight Vampire dudes

[Brad from Georgia] Jack would be better than Jim Carrey in "Liar, Liar."

[ed] WOW!!!

[steve --shimp--] there's so few fun movies out now to recast Jack and company into...

[Laura Leff] Which would mean more if I'd seen Twilight...

[ed] put jack in a disney flick

[steve --shimp--] I haven't seen them either, but I can picture Jack looking all emo and goth on the posters

[Brad from Georgia] Jack in "Finding Nemo."

[ed] finding nemo in the vault

[ed] a "goldfish"

[Laura Leff] Phil Harris as the father in "The Incredibles"

[Brad from Georgia] Jack as Dumbledore in a Harry Potter movie...."Professor! Professor! Voldemort is--" "Wait a minute. Wait a minute! WAIT A MINUTE!"

[ed] keep the bottle away from him and the baby

[steve --shimp--] Jack and Roch might do a good Shrek and Donkey

[Laura Leff] Don Wilson could do the Shrek visual

[ed] which is the donkey?

[steve --shimp--] - could work either way!

(Some loss…discussion picks up on a discussion of found footage of “Metropolis”)

[Laura Leff] Basically, the Argentina copy (and the people who found it were there to tell the story)

[steve --shimp--] That's the weird thing about the silent era, almost no film has a "definitive" cut

[Laura Leff] was taken in February after the January release, but then after that, they started cutting it from 16 reels to 9.

[ed] we might still be in the silent era but for radio perhaps?

[Laura Leff] The Argentina copy has very tango-style intertitles (her words, not mine), so it was also recut for the local audience.

[Laura Leff] Ed - Not necessarily. The friend who is also the source of the cheoreg recipe loaned me a book on the transition from silents to talkies that I am reading slowly.

[Laura Leff] Lots of people were trying to pair film and the phonograph.

[Brad from Georgia] Forry had a life-sized reconstruction of the robot from Metropolis; he said the hard part was the rear, because the robot's tushy was never seen in the film! The artist had to wing it.

[ed] well the technology of mics and equipment was there the use of them for movies was not yet by 1927

[ed] maybe?

[Laura Leff] Ed - Well, that was part of the problem. Since everything was acoustic, you couldn't have someone performing directly into a horn and doing something onstage.

[Brad from Georgia] ed--The big stumbling block was there were no suitable amplifiers for auditorium-filling sound until 1928.

[ed] well that is true

[steve --shimp--] And also the synchronization of sound and picture IIRC

[Laura Leff] Plus the issues with trying to project the movie from the rear of the theatre and amplify sound at the front of the theatre and keep them in sync.

[Laura Leff] OK, we're all on the same track.

[ed] thank you guys for that

[Brad from Georgia] The same soundtrack.

[Laura Leff] Well, I know I have (or had...*Sigh*) an ad for Victor's Aux-e-to-phone, which was supposed to be able to play records really loudly for dance halls.

[Brad from Georgia] Which is rather the point: the early experiments had a separate disk (record) for the sound, and it was virtually impossible to keep sound and picture synched.

[Laura Leff] I'd have to look up when they came out with that, but I think it was prior to 1928.

[Brad from Georgia] I just read a book, SOUNDS AND SILENTS, that tracked the technical development of sound-on-film and theatrical speakers.

[ed] did victor and maybe RCA have anything in on the talkies?

[Laura Leff] But there's a really cool story I just read about a man who was working on film and sound on the same strip very early

[KayLhota] RCA was connected with RKO studios

[Laura Leff] Eugene Augustine Lauste

[KayLhota] they were the Radio in Radio-Keith-Orpheum

[Laura Leff] He did his first sound-on-film in 1904.

[Brad from Georgia] The earliest I remember was a sound film created in 1907, though Thomas Edison had some experimental sound films in the 1890s--film more or less synched with a recording.

[steve --shimp--] wow

[ed] did they help RKO develope speakers and the like for their theaters?

[KayLhota] they also did the sound recording for the studio

[Laura Leff] Got a patent for it in 1907, but English patents lasted only 16 years and they were able to use the technology from public domain by the time it got good.

[ed] RKO theatres were very popular

[Brad from Georgia] Fox had a sound-on-film system in 1927, but there were problems with it and fidelity was poor.

[KayLhota] this is why RKO made no silent movies. Their beginning was right when sound came in.

[Laura Leff] Brad - I've just gotten to that story, but haven't really read it yet.

[Brad from Georgia] Bell Telephone worked on the Vitagraph system, which was sound-on-disk (at first).

[Laura Leff] The book I'm reading is "The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution".

[KayLhota] that sounds like an interesting book

[Laura Leff] And the power behind Vitaphone studios.

[Brad from Georgia] LL--That's a good book. I read that one a couple of years back.

[ed] the first commercial on a record i heard was in 1907 can't remember what it was for

[Brad from Georgia] Yeh, I meant Vitaphone, not Vitagraph.

[Laura Leff] Thought so.

[Brad from Georgia] ed--feminine hygiene product.

[Laura Leff] The first commercial on a record?

[ed] i don't think so maybe close

[steve --shimp--] Vitameatavegaphone?

[Laura Leff] I think of the 1932 Chevrolet ad, but I'm sure there were ads earlier than that.

[KayLhota] good one Steve

[ed] they put in the middle of the record that you played on a victrola

[Brad from Georgia] There were actually sound cartoons before Disney's "Steamboat Willie."

[Laura Leff] Mental image of Oswald being called by "Help! Hellllp!"

[KayLhota] but for Charles Mintz came Mickey Mouse instead of Oswald

[Brad from Georgia] The Fleisher Studios had "Car-Tunes," which were basically follow the bouncing ball sing-alongs.

[ed] maybe for the record company

[Laura Leff] Fleischer

[Laura Leff] IIRC

[Laura Leff] Mitch Miller just died

[Brad from Georgia] Yep, it's my laptop keyboard. My fingers are too big for the kyes.

[steve --shimp--] Oh, yeah, I was shocked to find he was still alive, actually.

[Brad from Georgia] My family used to watch "Sing Along with Mitch".

[ed] there it goes again

[ed] he was the oboist on the war of the worlds

[Laura Leff] I was amused to hear him recently announced as a side man on oboe with...I think Charlie Parker.

[Laura Leff] At least we know that he knew how to reed.

[ed] that's great company LL

[KayLhota] ouchies

[steve --shimp--] ba dum-dump pssh!

[Brad from Georgia] In the Fleischer cartoons, there were no synchronized speeches--just music and offscreen voices singing the songs that the audience was supposd to join in on.

[ed] rimshot

[ed] his show was a gem of a show

[steve --shimp--] I've seen a few of those, Brad. Must have been something to see people in a theater singing along.

[Brad from Georgia] You know the Disney studios now own Oswald again.

[steve --shimp--] Can you imagine people doing that in a post-ironic world?

[KayLhota] yes, Brad.

[Laura Leff] Steve - I went to the singalong "Sound of Music" last holiday season...

[steve --shimp--] How was it?

[Brad from Georgia] We went to the audience-participation singalong "Aida," but I didn't know the words.

[steve --shimp--]

[ed] ouch

[Laura Leff] It was like San Francisco's version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. But I've never been to the latter, so I'm only imagining.

[steve --shimp--] Sing along with the Barber of Seville!

[ed] figaro!!!

[Laura Leff] Sing along with the Ring Cycle...

[Brad from Georgia] When my kids were much younger, on long car trips we'd play Elton John songs and play "Guess the Lyric."

[Laura Leff] Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit

[ed] or the rinse cycle

[steve --shimp--] Oh, I could NOT keep the looney tunes out of my head when I actually saw a production of Barber of Seville

[KayLhota] weturn my wove, a wonging burns deep inside me

[steve --shimp--] Hopeless

[Brad from Georgia] Retoin, my love, I want you always be-he-side me...

[Laura Leff] Ah pop culture. I've heard the definition of maturity is being able to hear the William Tell Overture and NOT think of the Lone Ranger.

[ed] my twin and I along with youngest brother would play a radio station and guess the band...

[KayLhota] wove wike ours must be--

[steve --shimp--] Perpetually immature here then

[Laura Leff] Sing along with the William Tell Overture

[Laura Leff] OK, pop quiz folks

[KayLhota] shoot

[ed] go

[Laura Leff] What the lyrics...the FULL lyrics...to Love in Bloom?

[Brad from Georgia] I always ask the college band to play the gallop from "William Tell" instead of "Land of Hope and Glory" (Pomp and Circumstance) so our graduations will end sooner.

[Brad from Georgia] Laura--you want the intro narrative as well?

[KayLhota] oh, I don't remember all of the lyrics

[KayLhota] Can It be the breeze that fills the trees with rare and magic perfume

[Laura Leff] I'll start you off

[Laura Leff] Blue night and you

[KayLhota] oh no it isn't the breeze it's love in bloom

[steve --shimp--] easy: ya-da-dee-da-dee-da-dee-da-da-da-dee-da-dee-da-da-dum

[Brad from Georgia] Bue nights and you, alone with me....

[steve --shimp--] Jack sang 'em all the teime

[ed] steve good one

[Laura Leff] Go Brad!

[KayLhota] I don't think I've ever heard the verse before the chorus

[Laura Leff] My heart has never known such ecstasy

[Brad from Georgia] My heart has never known such ecstasy, am I on earth? am I in heaven? Can it be the breeze, yadda yadda.

[Brad from Georgia] It's my ringtone on my phone, you know.

[ed] neat

[Laura Leff] What, with Bing's vocal?

[Laura Leff] What, this audience doesn't know the words to Love in Bloom?

[Brad from Georgia] LL--No, it's a recording of a live performance by Jack in 1941. But I learned Bing's vocal from a record.

[Laura Leff] Aha!

[Brad from Georgia] Jack also did "Sweet Georgia Brown" at the same show.

[Laura Leff] Yes, Jack did that a lot. And a darn fine job of it he did!

[KayLhota] oh, I have to find that

[Brad from Georgia] Kay--I wish I could remember the album! I got it from Amazon.com. A lot of songwriters performed their own works.

[KayLhota] neat

[Laura Leff] So any requests for a show for September?

[Brad from Georgia] It was a benefit show at the Hollywood Bowl for war refugees.

[KayLhota] I like the song. the words are pretty.

[ed] Hey LL is that answer machine outgoing messege about jack getting robbed still available from the IJBFC? i had it on my machine for years...

[Brad from Georgia] September...September....hmm.

[Laura Leff] Ed - Gosh, I'm not even sure if I remember it.

[Brad from Georgia] I'm thinking of some of the obvious "first show of the new season" ones that everyone already knows.

[KayLhota] those are fun

[Laura Leff] Ed - Probably...I don't throw stuff away. Did you get it on tape or MP3?

[Brad from Georgia] The bus one, for example...but everyone knows that.

[ed] from like 2003 i go back a lot of years for that

[Laura Leff] Everyone knows it, but I don't know that we've discussed it

[Brad from Georgia] So could we do that one?

[Laura Leff] Ed - Did you pull it off the Web site?

[ed] tape perhaps ...i was not into MP#'s yet

[Laura Leff] Sure...the last 5 minutes show then?

[ed] maybe that too

[ed] yes!!!

[Laura Leff] Ed - Take a look at the audio library listing and see if you can find anything that looks like it and drop me an E-mail.

[Laura Leff] OK, done!

[ed] sure thing LL

[Laura Leff] So shall we call it good for August?

[KayLhota] it's been nice to come back

[Laura Leff] Chat's over, cheoreg is baked, now back to writing the newsletter.

[ed] my machine is steaming just kidding

[KayLhota] yum

[Laura Leff] Kay -It's been good to have you back!

[steve --shimp--] OK, sounds good. I'll check in with you all from the total opposite corner of the country next month!

[Brad from Georgia] I'd love to have on my answering machine Rochester saying, "This is the home of Jack Benny, star of stage, screen, radio, and grocery-store openings. Naw, it's really Brad's place."

[Laura Leff] Good luck on the move, Steve!

[ed] good luck in the move steve

[steve --shimp--] Thanks!

[KayLhota] now, I just have to get my friend Graeme to join

[steve --shimp--] the more the merrier Kay

[Brad from Georgia] Buest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle. One day a year.

[KayLhota] you bet

[Laura Leff] Bring 'em on!

[steve --shimp--] LOL, I know Brad. groan.

[KayLhota] I think he'd enjoy this group very much

[ed] check REPS Steve you'll love it

[steve --shimp--] will do

[Brad from Georgia] So what's not to love about our group?

[KayLhota] goodnight now

User KayLhota has logged out.

[Brad from Georgia] Goodnight, all! Enjoyed the chat.

[Laura Leff] OK, good night folks! Thanks for stopping!

[ed] IJBFC is fine too

[steve --shimp--] bye!