Blog It Once, and Blog it Twice and....

I just started a Movie Memories blog that you can check out HERE. I started the second blog so I could include the link on my Movie Memories home page. I can also include it in emails to activity directors. I have a Linkedin account and the link is in my profile. (Linkedin is kind of like Facebook for professionals in a field.)

Activity Directors do not particularly know or care about films being in the public domain. It seems unlikely they would have time to read about a lost James Mason film or the giant bats I saw in Tarzan Escapes as a kid. Hence a blog for just Movie Memories Activity should be useful.

The blog spot name http://moviememories.blogspot.com/ was already taken by someone named Rustie who has nothing at all on the page! Put in a hypen as in "movie-memories" goes to a Japanese page with nothing there. So I had to settle for "senior-movie-memories." That doesn't really matter since no one will type that on their computer, they will just click the link I supply.

There are some websites for Movie Memories that are not me! MM is a rather generic term. We all have memories of great films and times spent in a theater. I hope in time to establish my Movie Memories as a reminiscing activity for seniors.

Moviememories.com is a British website that sells original movie posters and memorabilia. Hollywoodmoviememories.com is a high quality blog/labor of love in which Carl DiNello discusses favorite classic movies. Yahoo search also found Movie Memories Hub Page by Bob Ewing -- a single blog about seeing films in the 1940s that was written two years ago. There are links to several Japanimation films called "Memories," which are also "Movies" and so come up in a search. Currently the Festival Films Movie Memories link is at the top of page 2 in a Yahoo search. My Movie Memories for Seniors is not yet a concept more than a few have heard about, so at the moment no one is going online to search for me under the key words "Movie Memories."

Have I put you to sleep yet? Here is some feedback I did not expect: "Patients with Alzheimers may not know what is real and what is not. Therefore it might be dangerous to show them the trailer for The Giant Claw." At first I panicked and thought I needed special Alzheimer volumes with all westerns, sci-fi, horror and action films removed. But wait a minute, might they also get spooked by animals on a beach in a cartoon? What might they make of a Busby Berkeley musical with girls used abstractly? Facilitators should know their patients well enough to NOT show Movie Memories to any who could not handle them. Think I will go with that theory for now!

The poster at the top rather disturbs me. It will not become my logo just because the film is called "Memory." It will never appear on my website or in a Movie Memories blog.

My first Movie Memories blog is a re-write of my Feb. 12 blog post. Check It Out!

Visit my website www.fesfilms.com.

Rare James Mason film!

There are many odd films out there that you never heard of or completely forgot about starring famous people -- public service films, commercials, industrial shorts, cameos on 1950s TV before they were famous, etc.  It's always fun running across these.

A few examples I have seen recently: "Driver's of Tomorrow" is a late 1940s Jam Handy short narrated by Jimmy Stewart about a driver's ed program for grade school kids that uses miniature electric cars we all would have died to have.  A Harpo Marx commercial for Pepsi that runs a minute and a half.  He chases a girl offscreen only to return lusting for the bottle opener she had.  A spooky Boris Karloff TV ad for Ronson lighters.  "Your Hit Parade" from the early 1940s shot as a commercial for Lucky Strike but featuring Frank Sinatra singing "Stardust" and a number by Kay Kyser.  George Reeves as Clark Kent selling Kellog's cereal.

A friend and associate recently acquired a fascinating film that I had never heard of.  It is not listed at the IMDB, yet it was produced, directed by and features the one and only James Mason.  "Star of Bethlehem" relates the birth of Christ from scriptures.  It must have circulated widely to churches since there was a network of such religious films from the silent era up until home video in the 1980s.  Many such as the "Christophers" shows were intentionally put into the public domain.  There is a 1954 copyright on this film by "Portland Productions," but it does not seem to have been registered.  The 16mm print acquired has several sections that say "Sponsor Message," leading one to assume it was shown on television.

The film was made in 1954, which is rather astounding since James Mason was at his peak as a Hollywood star appearing in A Star is Born, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and also Prince Valiant that year.  He made no films in 1955, but in 1956 he made the rarely seen or even heard of "James Mason Show" on TV.  I'd like to find a biography on Mr. Mason to understand this period of his career, because he went on to make dozens of other fine films like North by Northwest.

The film is obviously a labor of love, a family affair and an expression of Mason's Christian faith.  It opens with James reading from a Bible the events that lead up to the Nativity.  The lengthy reading is mesmerizing because of his deep, melodious voice.  When the scripture calls for Mary to speak, his wife, British actress Pamela Mason, joins him to read that section.

The film then cuts to the bedroom where their six-year-old daughter Portland Mason, who was named after the wife of Fred Allen (!), is singing "Away in a Manger."  Portland turns in a credible performance exuding natural innocence.  James joins her and they talk about a bright star in the sky that might be the Star of Bethlehem.  The Nativity scene with shepherds, wise men and a chorus of angels is then acted out by a cast of very young children ages 5 to 10 or so, with Portland playing Mary.  You won't believe which future child star plays the part of Joseph, but you can watch a four minute clip for yourself right here that includes the closing credits:

The complete film runs 30 minutes.  I wonder if Turner Classic Movies might like to show this unique film at Christmas time?  TCM certainly loves James Mason, as well they should, and it never hurts to present a Christian story at Christmas time.  You don't see overtly religious stories much anymore on TV, but host Robert Osborne could present the film in context.  Any fan of James Mason would be grateful to see another aspect of him regardless of their religious convictions.

Visit my website www.fesfilms.com.

Youtube and Public Domain Music???

The most basic and the simplest principle of Public Domain is that everything created Before 1923 is in the public domain. That means all books, fictional characters, plays, music and movies made before 1923 are free and clear to use in new projects. That's the law, but some robotic computers that oversee Youtube would like you to believe otherwise. Software scrutinizes the music on all videos put on Youtube trying to match with some music company's claim of ownership.

Quite awhile ago I tried to put up a video with a copyrighted track and Youtube said no. That's fair. They gave me the option of using one of their music tracks at no charge, but if you accept their offer then "ads may appear with your video." It was easier to add public domain music.

Movie Memories uses music for the introduction and later for the questions, all taken from a library of about 20 public domain music pieces written and performed before 1923. It's mostly ragtime, which goes with the nostalgia theme of Movie Memories. Sounds safe, but I got a copyright warning when I uploaded "In My Merry Oldsmobile" claiming that some company owned "Pickles and Peppers" as performed by Max Morath. The song was written in 1906, so where is the violation? They allowed the video to stay as is pending further review, but I replaced with different music.

Who wants to butt heads with Youtube? If they warn you three times to take down a video, and you ignore it, then they take down everything and cancel your site. Or that is what they used to do. With music they may have changed to the policy of video up OK / music not OK so silent video. It's such a joke, of course, because millions of videos on Youtube are copyrighted film excerpts from MGM, Warners, etc. I have never been told to take down a video.

I had more trouble uploading a segment of Betty White's "Life with Elizabeth" because I used the music "Joplin Ragtime Dance" over the questions. The song was written in 1902 but it was recorded in recent times by Josh Rifkin. I will admit they may have a copyright claim on a specific version recorded for a record album and later CD. The entire video did upload to Youtube with absolutely no sound track. I quickly discovered how to delete videos from Youtube!

I had more trouble uploading "The Giant Claw" for a project-in-development called "CineQwiz," because I was using 3 or 4 different pre-1923 music pieces. I kept uploading silent videos with a copyright warning but no list of what the offending piece was. I finally changed all the music to the 1921 "Wabash Blues," which is too repetitive but it was only a private demo sample. You might be happy to learn that "Stars and Stripes Forever" (1896) is acceptable to use on Youtube!

I currently have two warnings on older Youtube videos. Oct. 2009 I put up "Matinee Jr. for Libraries" and am warned that Craze Productions claims visual content. I have left it up because it's fun. Go watch it. I used Hal Roach music over the opening, and that is copyrighted but no warning on the music. All the films clips are public domain ones I have used often. Perhaps Craze put out one of them on a DVD???

The other warning is on Star Reporter in Hollywood. The film is in the public domain, clearly, but the theme song may have been copyrighted separately and may indeed be owned today by EMI Publishing. It is legal to show and sell this public domain film in its entirety, music included, but I don't want to debate the point with EMI and I have not heard from them. Why should I? There is no money to make and they don't monitor millions of warnings some computer spits out.

Here is the Movie Memory of "The Giant Claw" with PD music acceptable to Youtube:

Visit my website at Festival Films

Deeper Into Movie Memories

The four initial volumes of Movie Memories are finished, plus additional programs of Musical Memories of the 1930s and Musical Memories of the 1940s. Each has onscreen questions at the end of the film segments. This forces a halt to movie viewing and a start to discussion of what has just been watched. Show a 1942 cartoon and ask "What do you remember of the war years?" The answers can be about the films or about the viewers' lives. Seniors love to reminisce and this gives them a "Memory Hour" in which to do so. Study Guides aid the group leader in coaxing out memories. You can view all the contents and Study Guides at the Movie Memories Website.

From visiting the Activity Director at Minnesota Masonic Homes I learned there is no product like this out there, and that there is a great demand for it. Nicole Will tried it in a number of sessions and gave a glowing review, plus a few ideas for improvement.

I see myself creating more programs and fine-tuning the current ones. The field is wide open and I want to find my audience before someone else "borrows" the idea and beats me to them. I will have a lot more to say in the future about the film segments and the programs. For today I offer my latest re-write about what Movie Memories are and how they work.


Movie Memories is a new Retirement Community Activity for seniors who grew up in the 1930s through the 1960s or who raised families during those years. Each DVD volume includes nostalgic TV ads, vintage cars, newsreels, musical numbers, action trailers, TV quiz shows and comedy, Sing Alongs and excerpts from classic films.

However, Movie Memories is more about reminiscing than watching movies. While seniors enjoy the films of their youth, they will also revisit the cars and trains, homes and schools, cafés and drug stores, hairstyles and fashions, toys and sports of that era -- and memories will flood back. Movie Memories is about sharing those memories! Responding to the films and sharing can become a fresh tool for both therapy and social interaction.

Movie Memories has been tested with excellent results: “The assisted living group really LOVED it. They were engaged, had a lot of discussion and said that it reminded them of the past. They are looking forward to doing it again and would like to do it monthly. I think the new music programs will be great for Alzheimers Unit, they respond better to music.” (Minnesota Masonic Homes)

Here is how it works. A facilitator shows short films one at a time from a DVD player connected to a television or projection TV system. Four onscreen questions after each segment kick off the topics to remember and discuss. The leader then re-asks those questions or reads others from the Study Guide related to the film just screened and the era it came from.

Discussions may go in any direction they want and take as long as the participants desire. For instance, “The Fifth Freedom” could spark a discussion of favorite Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movies or how they enjoyed Arthur Godfrey and Perry Como on TV. It could also remind viewers of towns they grew up in, family life, first TV sets or how so many smoked during the 1950s. Thus several shorts can easily fill an hour with lively talk.

The purpose of Movie Memories is to open doors to the past and share what we recall. We all have memories of growing up and raising a family. What better way to revisit those days than by watching films from our formative years to jog memory and reminiscing with friends?

Please contact me if you know any Activity Directors in senior retirement communities, or ask them to visit my website.

Go directly to Movie Memories

Visit my website at Festival Films

Supreme Court Showdown!

Do you remember when "It's a Wonderful Life" was in the public domain? It was making money for a lot of people. Republic Pictures wanted all the money for themselves so they bought rights to something that might have a connection - either music rights or a short story published when the film came out. Then they told the world: "We now own the film. Stop using it as public domain or we will sue you." Their ownership claim was shaky, but no PD dealer wanted to invest $100,000 or more to contest, because all they could win was the right for everyone to again use it freely. That is the eternal plight of the little man vs. the corporation.

But we do have a champion who will fight for even bigger issues, not just copyright issues, but basic human rights when they are usurped by corporate powers. That hero is the Stanford Law School.

In the mid-1990s two changes to the US copyright laws were railroaded through by the big corporations. The law at the time allowed one year of music, books and films to enter the public domain each year, 75 years after originally published. Works from the early 1920s had started going PD. This could not be allowed to stand because soon sound films would become PD and even Mickey Mouse. A copyright extension bill, called the Sonny Bono bill, was rushed through that extended copyright terms to 95 years from the death of the author. Since movies are made by studios it generally means 95 years from the year of release. All films made in 1922 or earlier were frozen as being in the public domain, but 1923 films, which were still under copyright because of being renewed, would not become PD until 2018.

The Stanford Law School was unable to overturn the copyright extension law. Let's hope they can halt any further extension in a few years.

The other copyright change was messier and very possibly unconstitutional. A large number of foreign films had fallen into the public domain in the USA because they had never been registered, or registered improperly or without © notices or not renewed. Major films include Kurosawa and Bergman films like Rashomon, Seven Samurai, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, and also Breathless, Last Year at Marienbad, Buneul's Viridiana, Hitchcock's British films, Metropolis, Passion of Joan of Arc and many more. All of these I sold on 16mm in the 1970s before the advent of home video.

In 1994, Congress adopted legislation to move these works back into copyright, so U.S. policy would comport with an international copyright treaty known as the Berne Convention. The new law gave foreign companies two years in which to file new ownership papers with the Library of Congress. Most filings contain wording like:

	Reg. under GATT/URAA restoration

The companies were supposed to have something to do with making the films in the first place. There was, in my opinion, massive abuse of the filings by companies that had no involvement. But the main point is that congress should not have the right under the constitution to remove any works from the public domain once they have fallen into it.

Stanford rightfully and to their great credit took up this cause on behalf of the public. Before proceeding Stanford needed plaintiffs or petitioners to work for. The first one was Lawrence Golan who conducted the Denver Symphony Orchestra (I think). They were suddenly asked to pay large amounts of money to conduct Russian compositions from the 1920s which had been in the public domain.

A lawyer called me one day around 2000 and asked if I wanted to be part of this lawsuit. I readily agreed. Over the years I have supplied lists of foreign films that I used to sell as PD, but don't anymore. Stanford does all the rest. Months and years have gone by between contacts. One day someone called and said, "Hi, I'm your lawyer." I replied, "What lawyer?" The conversation improved after that.

After ten years of ups and downs in court rooms, the case will be heard by the Supreme Court! This is a major milestone! Please go to the blog of the lead attorney, Anthony Falzone, and read Details Here.

There will be more to this story!

Visit my website at Festival Films

Saturday Matinee Online!

The long-anticipated (by me) Saturday Matinee website is now online at (where else?) saturdaymatinee.com. This is the culmination of a life-long dream of its creator, who first purchased the web domain name (saturdaymatinee.com) more than ten years ago!

I need to point out that while you can explore the site now, March is a test period to add more content and iron out bugs. A major press release in April will alert the public at large. Eventually you will find: "...no less than 10,000 videos, including more than 3,000 movies (including over 100 of the best silent movies), about 1,000 movie trailers, 1,000 or so cartoons, and 100’s of educational and historical documentaries and newsreels, plus over 50,000 old time radio episodes, and over 50,000 still images." I counted 49 episodes of "The Shadow" that you can listen to today, and the quality is excellent.

The full scope of the undertaking is discussed at the About Us section. To quote a bit:

"Saturday Matinee is about recorded entertainment. Here you will find the entertainers and artists whose work spans the decades, and what they produced, from the earliest days of the “Golden Age” of radio, from the earliest movies made by the pioneers of the industry, and from the birth of the phenomenon that is television. People have always needed entertainment, a means to learn more about the world around them, and a way to escape for a while into the world of imagination.

"Saturday Matinee is also about education. As you search through the immense library of images and programs you will see and hear and learn who the pioneers were, and how their art was produced and the way it has progressed through evolving technology.

"Saturday Matinee is also about nostalgia. It is about reliving the early days of radio, film, and TV, whether you are old enough to remember them or not. Be transported to a different time. For those who do remember the early days, it will spark memories of evenings at home with the family gathered around the big radio to hear the news and to be tantalized by the radio programs that brought comedy, romance, drama, mystery, cowboys and even monsters right into your living room.

"Viewing the original movies--the silents, the black and whites, the first 'talkies', the serial cliffhangers--will inspire memories of the theaters where you stood in line for your ticket, scanned the display cases in the lobby for your special treats (hard candy? chocolate bar?—what to choose?) and inhaled the aroma of freshly popped popcorn surrounding you while you found your seat as a hush fell and the lights dimmed. Where will the movie take you today? How will your hero manage to outwit the villains this week? And then later, watching the early television programs, in the comfort of your own home--cartoons for the children, documentaries for the entire family to watch and to learn from, dramas, comedies, variety shows, westerns--the world, brought right to you."

I have been working with this site for two years now. Eventually Saturday Matinee will carry online my Movie Memories in an area called "Community" where members may post memories of the films, the era, or past experiences that they recall while watching the film clips. They can also view other comments about the same films and post replies.

The success of Saturday Matinee will spur interest in the return of "Matinee at the Bijou." There is no competition since Bijou will be a series of DVDs or an eventual new series, while Saturday Matinee's exclusive domain is the Internet. We are all in this together for the same purpose -- to tell the world: "Hey! These old films are pretty darned fun and better than ever! Come take a look."

Click to visit saturdaymatinee.com

Visit my website at Festival Films.

Confession Time!

February marks the two-year anniversary of getting the Café Roxy idea. In March of 2009 I met with my web-hoster friend, Andy Lehrfeld, at the Syracuse Cinefest and discussed opening a second website for the idea. I don't know exactly when it went online, but April 27, 2009, was my first blog entry. By that time I had a few programs ready, the free sample disc for anyone to try in their situation and early posters.

I always felt the poster idea was great. I make a poster to advertise each program to my potential customers, and they could use the same poster on their website or printed out to attract their audience. The early posters were crudely designed but I got better as I went along.

Anyway, as I embark on the new venture of "Movie Memories," it's a good time to be honest about the successes and failures of Café Roxy to date.

Café Roxy for Cafés -- BOMB!

To paraphrase the top of this page, the Roxy idea is that any establishment can show public domain movies at anytime. The ones I put into programs are ones that still entertain. I don't expect anyone to sit through Love Affair while eating a sandwich, even though it's an excellent film that is enjoyable watched on TV. So Café Roxy sounds like a good idea. It is a good idea. Everyone says it sounds like a good idea, which is why I leave the blurb at the top of my blog. The trouble is that no one wants to take a chance and try it.

It could be that restaurants and coffee houses are not adventuresome. Of course chains like Starbucks would have no interest and seem to be doing just fine as is. Independent dives would need to set up a viewing area, advertise, buy my shows and, uh... that doesn't sound that hard to do. The result would yield an experience no one else in town is doing and that should get some good press coverage.

More likely the fault is mine in not aggressively seeking out this audience. I explored it locally and found it to be too much work to promote on my own.

Café Roxy for Movie Theaters - Success!

Roxy Matinee programs are being shown in some movie theaters, and I hear constantly from new theaters thinking about trying them out. Many inquiries are from owners who have an old theater that they are refurbishing and want to try movies again as an addition to their live music and comedy shows. They do not want to compete with local theaters by showing the new films. Vintage films for a vintage theater is a better fit.

Festival Films has been in the search engines for years as a source for public domain films, so theaters thinking about showing PD films do find me. I have never done a publicity campaign or press releases for Café Roxy shows because I am also associated with a campaign to bring back "Matinee at the Bijou." The hit PBS series from the early 1980s still has a high name recognition, and will attract a wide audience when it comes back on DVD releases of the original episodes or as a new series in high definition.

Café Roxy for TV Stations -- Success!

I sell public domain films to independent cable and local access TV stations around the country. I offer all of the most popular PD films and TV shows. I can also offer the Roxy Matinees for the same price and they include cartoons, shorts and serial chapters -- an excellent value!

This past week I got a call from a Dallas TV station wanting horror films. They have a local "Count Dracula" host who wants to get back on the air and seemed excited about the "12 Nights of Horror" that includes "The Phantom Creeps" Serial. They would run it late Saturday night. If their time slot is open ended, the show with a host could run 2 1/2 hours, or if they need to fit into two hours, they could always cut a cartoon. I hope they follow through since the Twin Cities once had such a series hosted by our own "Count Dracula."

The Café Roxy Website -- BOMB!

My naive thinking was that a new website for a new idea would attract new business. The search engines did pick up on the website and if you type "Café Roxy" in... my site comes out on top! Yeah! #One! The problem is obvious -- no one knows about Café Roxy so no one searches for it. It is not a generic term like "Public Domain Films."

I thought perhaps I could make a big success Some Place, that would generate a major news article about vintage film revivals, and that would be syndicated around the country, and that would translate into hits on the website. That didn't happen.

Integration of Café Roxy & Festival Films -- SUCCESS!

I decided to switch back to one website in late March of 2010. You can see the home page on the left or explore the combined website HERE. My son Jeff who is a computer engineer and designer ran across a website design he thought would work well. (He once said about my old site: "I wouldn't buy anything from a website that looks like this.") Now an icon on the left directs one to a listing of public domain features and TV shows, while an icon on the right links to the Café Roxy Shows. The Movie Memories icon was just added two weeks ago. A selection of links on the left side and bottom appear on every page. I have had much favorable feedback over the ease of navigating the new site.

Fitting all the PD shows into the new format took several months, but I feel the results were well worth it. It now looks professional and fun for any new visitors who happen to drop in.

The Café Roxy Blog -- Big Success!

I don't think I have many regular readers since comments are rarely posted and Youtube videos I put up in connection with some article do not get many views. I never promote the blog other than giving it a link from my website. But it has been a huge success for me personally for these reasons:

I get ideas when I write about them for who knows who out there in cyberspace. I sometimes refer customers to specific blog posts to address questions.

The blog captures the evolution of ideas in time capsules, in case I ever need to prove ownership of an idea. So far no one is copying me that I know of!

Potential customers who find my site for the first time are likely to peek at the blog to check my credibility, and hopefully come away thinking -- This guy seems to know what he is talking about. One of my now-close associates, Jim Salmon, who opens Saturday Matinee website in March, contacted me in December 2009 after seeing my Matinee video promo on Youtube.

Much more on Saturday Matinee when it launches! Next week? Stay tuned.

Visit my website at Festival Films