The 21st century can be quite the mixed bag for dyed-in-the-wool music and movie buffs, with everyone from Dr. John, Leon Redbone, Roky Erickson and silver screen icon Doris Day now off to the rehearsal in the next world. On one hand, one does not have to stay up until 4:30 a.m. to see a Samuel Fuller masterpiece on TV (which we did in the Jurassic pre-VCR days) - and such events as Mostly Lost, wrapping up today in Culpepper, VA, enthusiastically go all in on film preservation.
Indeed, The Library of Congress has been doing and continues to do amazing work identifying and bringing back long-lost celluloid rarities from 100+ years in The Twilight Zone.
In addition, a successful Kickstarter will bring back two feature films starring Douglas MacLean, a witty, charming and likable leading man with a flair for comedy, to DVD.
On the other hand, a New York Times article from a few days ago titled The Day The Music Burned described the Sunday, June 1, 2008 blaze that ripped through Hollywood's Universal Studios. Up in smoke: 500,000 multi-track master recordings and session tapes, including those of Chess Records, Decca Records, ABC/Impulse Records and many more important labels owned by MCA a.k.a. Universal Music Group.
In other words, the life blood of musicians and music lovers.
Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press
The writer of The Day The Music Burned, Jody Rosen, elaborated further in an interview on NPR. Naturally, the suits at Universal Music Group dispute this article's findings. We at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog don't buy UMG's version of these events for a moment; they concealed facts and lied about the extent of the fire's damage for over 10 years. . . Now this music aficionado wishes he had bought ten, no make that TWENTY times as many records as he did!
The destruction of our history and culture the 2008 Universal backlot blaze represents gets this writer thinking of something a bit brighter, the successful fundraiser that Ben Model of Undercrank Productions organized to launch the Douglas MacLean DVD. The Kickstarter not only met its goal within 24 hours, but is now less than $400 away from doubling the goal. Maybe this will allow some room for trailers or short subjects to be added to the mix.
Douglas MacLean, along with his contemporaries Johnny Hines and Reginald Denny, was a dapper light comedian. He starred in 23 features in silents, then moved behind the camera to be a producer and write screenplays in talkies. As Hines did, MacLean excelled as a star of "good guy outsmarts the baddies and emerges triumphant" storylines popularized by Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and Harold Lloyd, albeit without the numerous death-defying stunts.
McLean, Hines and Denny were to some degree a forerunner of what such actors as Robert Montgomery, whose big screen appeal was bolstered by a triple shot of wry insouciance and urbane good looks, would do just a few years later in the early 1930's.
On the Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear website, Ivan G. Shreve Jr. penned a very good post about the Kickstarter, which runs through June 27, and Douglas MacLean. Mr. Shreve writes:
The two features to which Ben are referring are One a Minute and Bell Boy 13—both released in 1921. Minute survives in an excellent 35mm print and Boy in a very good 16mm. “These are the only prints of these films on the planet,” Model notes because—as always—nitrate won’t wait. The link to contribute is here.
There has been very little written about the films of Douglas MacLean, so this fundraiser and subsequent DVD release, also noted by writer William T. Garver on his classic movie website It Came From The Bottom Shelf, will change that situation and bring MacLean's work as actor in silents and producer/writer in the 1930's overdue recognition.
The blaze that destroyed the masters for a slew of my favorite recordings also recalls the vault fires that incinerated so much of our cinematic heritage - and this trailer to raise funds for a documentary about film preservation, Lost Emulsion by Glenn Andreiev. We sincerely hope this film gets the backing to be completed - looks fantastic.
Lastly, we're also hap-hap-happy to hear about the upcoming release of a second volume of early 1930's pre-Code goodies starring the director/writer/comedian and guy with a transcendently wacky sense of humor Charles Parrott a.k.a. Charley Chase (1893-1940).
Covered frequently on this Hal Roach Studio and 1924-1934 comedy lovin' blog, Chase combined a certain farcical non-slapstick tradition with outrageously silly situations, ingenious sight gags and touches of both unabashed silliness and goofy physical comedy.
Someone had to merge the sophisticated farce tradition of John Bunny & Flora Finch, Al Christie's WW1 era films (especially with Eddie Lyons & Lee Moran) and the marital comedies starring Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew and Mr. & Mrs. Carter DeHaven with protean elements from Mack Sennett's Keystone and (especially) Hal Roach's Lot of Fun - and Charley was the right man for the job.
Love Leonard Maltin's review of volume 1 on his website and can't wait to see volume 2, which can be pre-ordered now and shall officially be released on July 16.
Once, complete versions of Chase's films, other than those struck on 16mm film way back when by Film Classics and Blackhawk Films, were rare and difficult to see. Now there are two volumes of Chase's Hal Roach talkies, a few DVDS of his silents and two DVDs compiling Charley's last series for Columbia.
To that, we at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog tip our battered fedora, stylish albeit not nearly as colorful as Mac Rebbenack's.
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