Rare Robert Benchley Film!

Before I get to Mr. Robert Benchley, here's an inspiring picture someone posted on my Facebook group this week that harks back to the golden era of movie palaces and theater going in the 1930s. I have seen similar old drawings that glorify the Paramount Theater, some of the interiors of palaces, and have always been moved by the nostalgia they evoke for an era I never really knew. 

Ah, the thrill and expectation of seeing Marlene Dietrich first run with a full house.  I know it's a thinly disguised ad for Paramount theaters and pictures, but so what?

I have quite a few films I can never find -- piles and piles of DVDs everywhere -- and other gems I have yet to watch.  I don't know they are gems until I actually find the time to watch them but the discovery is always worth it.  Last night I got around to looking at a most interesting film sent to me last year by the real hero of this find, Derek Myers.

Derek has kind of a dream job and dream hobby to my mind.  He has programmed public domain films at WGGS-TV in Greenville, SC, and for a sister station in Atlanta for close to twenty years.  His continuing hobby is acquiring 16mm film prints of public domain films from ebay and private collectors and making new transfers.

The rare film that I had never heard of before is "I'm a Civilian Here Myself" produced by the U.S. Navy in 1945.  When World War-II ended all servicemen were brought home, but before they could step off the ship back into civilian life they had to enter separation centers for a few days.  This instructional film was probably shown to them on the ship home!

The Navy had a similar film for sailors out at the same time: "The Road to Home" in which Bing Crosby and Bob Hope told sailors not to jump ship.  While we would not think of it today, apparently there was a real problem with returning servicemen feeling they had served, the war was over and they could go AWOL right off the boat.  Bing and Bob entreated them to wait a few more days for their official discharge. I have sold this rare and highly entertaining short for some years in "On the Road With Bing and Bob" DVD.

Highly entertaining best describes "I'm a Civilian Here Myself."  In fact it is an absolute must-see film for fans of Robert Benchley, the reason being that he must have written most of it and plays many parts!  The film was made in 1945 and Benchley died in November of that year at the young age of 56.  It is probable he wrote his own dialog in one of his last films "Road to Utopia" released in 1946, but this Navy film may be the last free-wheeling, no-insanity-barred excursion into Benchley mania.  You can judge for yourself when he tries to explain to Hugh Beaumont his job before the war as a putty patterer.  The depiction of the separation centers as posh resorts with girls, girls, girls all in swimsuits could only have come from his mind as well.

The actual film runs 24 minutes.  The main title was missing so I labeled it: "Going Back to Civilian Life."  (I only just now found the correct title at IMDB under Hugh Beaumont, since there was no reference to the film under Robert Benchley.)  Because of the time limitation set by Youtube, only nine minutes of the film is presented here for your enjoyment.

Visit my website www.fesfilms.com.

Me & the Disney Ducks!

Since December I have been reading through about 4 boxes of Walt Disney Comic Books featuring the art and stories of the master Carl Barks. My appreciation of Barks has only increased to the point I would not hesitate to call him the greatest comic book writer and artist (yes, both) anywhere in the world at anytime. At the rate of two or three comics a day, I still have a few to read but not that many.

I own the hard cover compilation "Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life & Times," which is on ebay for $600, but I have not read the stories in there.  I prefer reading the original comic books that are either reprints or poor condition and so are worth very little.  The reprint on the left with two classic tales currently sells for only $7.

By accident I have a poor condition issue of Barks' very first Donald Duck story -- "Victory Garden" -- from Walt Disney's Comics and Stories No. 31, April 1943.  Some pages are missing but not from the Barks story.

When I was growing up in the 1950s my father owned and ran a drug store in the small town of Deerfield, Wisconsin.  A population at one point of 710 sticks in my head.  Deerfield served farmers in the area and, being a half hour from Madison, is today a thriving community of commuters to the big city.  Way back then the main street was one block long with a bank, drug store, grocery store, doctor's office, hardware store, insurance office and single restaurant on that one block.  The family of mom, dad and 3 kids lived in a tiny apartment above the store.  My father bought the building next door and turned it into a larger drug store shortly before he died of a bad heart in 1958.  It is still there but the original store with upstairs apartment was torn down for a driveway for the bank on the corner.

Many features of the first drug store are burned into memory.  Soda fountain where I could make myself any sundaes, phosphates or malts I wanted.  Candy that I did not have permission to eat but that I occasionally pilfered.  Patent medicine bottles leftover from the 1920s -- not for sale, I hope, but hanging around for some years.  Mogen David wine on one shelf.  A few shelves of toys.  Girlie and stag magazines that turned up in the back room with covers torn off when I was around ten.  Yes, I remember those.  Storage in the basement that was spooky with the lights out.  A little work bench back in a corner where I played with a chemistry set and built model planes.

Last but not least, the store had a well-stocked rack of comic books and magazines.  I swear the store did not carry Superman or the other super heroes.  I only read those off the racks at a drug store in neighboring Cottage Grove or the Madison bus station.  My brother swears the store had super heroes.  One early memory was the horror comics.  I recall being scared by one where a man digs up a coffin to steal a jewel only to find rats pulling the corpse into a tunnel, so he follows them in....  Suddenly, one day, no more horror comics, but the E.C. science-fiction ones continued for awhile.

I did read every comic that came in.  I did not buy them or save them, just read them off the comic rack and put back -- Archie, Fox and the Crow, Little Lulu, Porky Pig and friends, Roy Rogers and lots of westerns, Classics Illustrated, etc.  My favorites of all were the Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge adventures.  But one grows up and like many others I put comics behind when we moved to Madison for my high school and college years.

When I moved to Minneapolis in the 1970s I became friends with David Mruz and other comic collectors.  There was a comic book store and comic conventions.  At some point I bought a lot of Disney comics at cheap prices and continued buying the early years of Gladstone Comics reprints in the 1980s, and hence the 4 boxes I have held onto.

For about five years I owned the Carl Barks lithograph "In Uncle Walt's Collectory" shown here.  Bought it for around $500 and sold for $600 or so, as I recall.  You can get a mint one on ebay for $850 so they have not gone up that much.  My wife Chris always commented that the weird eyes on the ducks kind of creeped her out.

Most of the epic Barks adventures have been re-printed again and again, so I have acquired reading copies of all the major epics going back to "Pirate Gold" in 1942.  That is, all except for the 1946 story "The Terror of the River" that I don't recall ever reading.  I'd like to borrow the Gladstone reprint from someone.

Favorite stories among hundreds....  "The Old Castle's Secret" from 1948 with Donald, Uncle Scrooge in his second appearance and the nephews -- for sheer spookiness in a great castle.  Funniest Duck story ever: "Letter To Santa" (1949) in which Huey, Dewey and Louie want a toy steamshovel for Christmas but Donald and Scrooge get them real ones instead.  After a battle, Donald disguises as Santa to tell the boys he is out of steamshovels, then the real Santa enters to clear it all up.  Favorite Scrooge adventure: "Seven Cities of Cibola" (1954) for the fabulous trek thru the desert to untold riches.

So nothing about movies today, just about what I've been doing.  Reading comic books.  Think I will go read another tale or two about Donald and the boys.


Visit my website www.fesfilms.com.

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