  
VARIETIES
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Cast: Frank Sinatra, Kay Kaiser
Running Time: 9 mins.
Vault: VARIETIES
This is a very typical piece of the day. The sponsor, this time Lucky Strike would have Sinatra on contract as it was commonplace in that day for the sponsor to underwrite the star's radio program. In return the star would normally do odd bits of advertising work, sometimes this would be on radio or in the form of a short. Rather than a sell-out to the highest bidder it was an industry standard at the time.
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Cast: Russell Hicks, Alan Mowbray
Running Time: 15 mins.
Vault: VARIETIES
Famed dancer and choreographer Gower Champion directs this genuinely charming promotional film for the phone company. Champion cleverly soft peddles the phones and concentrates instead on the song and dance routines. Newlywed Mary's "Wishing Song" number interestingly tries to point up the contrast between '50s reality and '50s consumer fantasy in a promotional film that must lean inevitably towards the latter. Compared to other Jerry Fairbanks promo films for Ma Bell, "Once Upon a Honeymoon" is unique and was probably not well-liked by Bell, who preferred that their technology be given the hard-sell. "Chief Angel" Russell Hicks had been in almost 300 films since 1915, and had a memorable role in W.C. Fields' "The Bank Dick". This is his last film appearance.
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Cast: George "Spanky" McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, Eugene "Porky" Lee, Darla Hood, Henry Brandon, Doodles Weaver
Running Time: 22 mins.
Vault: VARIETIES
One of the most memorable shorts in the Our Gang series. The gang is putting on a show with Alfalfa billed as "King of the Crooners." But Alfalfa abandons the show saying his crooning days are over, and that opera is his true calling. But after taking a nap and dreaming of a successful future in popular music, he changes his mind and joins the rest of the gang for the closing number.
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Cast: Louis Armstrong
Running Time: 10 mins.
Vault: VARIETIES
A husband who listens to jazz instead of mopping the floor is brained with a mop by his wife -- he dreams he's King of Jazzmania, a land of soapsuds where a leopard skinned Louis Armstrong performs "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You" and "Shine".
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Cast: Jackie Cooper, Farina Hoskins, Norman "Chubby" Chaney, Mary Ann Jackson, Bobby Young, Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins
Running Time: 20 mins.
Vault: VARIETIES
In this sequel to the 1930 "Our Gang" comedy "Teacher's Pet," the Gang members eagerly await each school day, so that they can bask in the beauty and charm of their new schoolteacher Miss Crabtree (June Marlowe). Little Jackie Cooper is so smitten by the teacher that he circulates a "perdition" to keep school open all year round. When Miss Crabtree's brother Jack (Creighton Hale) pays a visit to the schoolhouse in his sister's absence, the kids begin to worry that Jack is actually their teacher's fiancé. Remembering that marriage was "the way we lost Miss McGillicuddy" (their previous teacher), the youngsters hatch several schemes to get rid of Jack, culminating with the theft of his clothes. An amusing subplot involves a verbal general-knowledge quiz, in which the kids provide foolish answers gleaned from an old joke book.
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Cast: Don Preston, S.D. Nemeth, Tomme Arnold, Alan Hart, Stephen Baron, Max Von Wolfe
Running Time: 30 mins.
Vault: VARIETIES
In 1974 the famed showman and impresario Maxwell DeMille went against the popular trend of talking pictures and produced the silent feature film Sinister Flesh. At last, this rare movie has been restored from the vault negatives. Featuring a wonderful soundtrack by Dean Mora playing the Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ. Included are additional sequences, plus new titles created in the style of the classic silent pictures of yesteryear.
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Cast: Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians
Running Time: 2 mins.
Vault: VARIETIES
Patriotic montage of scenes accompanying performance of U.S. national anthem as performed by Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians.
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Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Norma Shearer, Barbara Stanwyck, Victor McLaglen, Jack Oakie, Polly Moran, Ben Lyon, Buster Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Stan Laurel, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Loretta Young, Fay Wray, Lowell Sherman, Joe E. Brown, Maurice Chevalier, Gary Cooper, Richard Barthelmess, Wallace Beery, Warner Baxter, George "Gabby" Hayes, Mitzi Green, Stuart Erwin, Oliver Hardy, Joan Crawford, Bebe Daniels, Irene Dunne, Richard Dix
Running Time: 19 mins.
Vault: VARIETIES
Star-packed promotional short subject intended to raise funds for the National Variety Artists tuberculosis sanatarium, produced in association with a cigarette company! Plot involves the investigation of the reported theft of Norma Shearer's jewelry. Laurel & Hardy appear briefly (as does every other cast member) as two detectives.
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Cast: The Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra, The Jitterbugs, Cassie Miller and Bill’s Lucky Stars, Maxwell DeMille
Running Time: 10 mins.
Vault: VARIETIES
Highlights from the hit stage show! With swinging brass, jitterbug dancers, smooth vocal harmonies, and a seamless mix of classic vintage tunes and brand-new swing songs, SWINGIN' THE CENTURY brings to life the exciting music and dance styles of the '30s and '40s in all their glory. The 19-member Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra, with vocalists Cassie Miller and Bill’s Lucky Stars, provides the rich, authentic sound of the big bands... The Jitterbugs show off their world-renowned Lindy Hop, Tap dancing, Charleston, Salsa, and romantic Fred and Ginger-Style Ballroom, as they fly across the stage ... witty and debonaire emcee Maxwell DeMille rounds out an evening that brings classic American entertainment into the 21st century! See these brilliant talents who are inspiring swing dance clubs on college campuses, setting toes tapping on public radio, drawing eager young couples to ballrooms from coast to coast, and leading the modern renaissance of swing culture! Live and in person, brimming with pep, vim, and verve, SWINGIN' THE CENTURY showcases the timeless appeal and energy of America's liveliest performing arts!
Official Website: www.swingshow.com
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Cast: Duke Ellington
Running Time: 10 mins.
Vault: VARIETIES
Duke Ellington plays his symphonic jazz piece ('A Rhapsody of Negro Life') with his orchestra against slice-of-life background scenes. The four movements: 1) The Laborers, 2) A Triangle: Dance, Jealousy, Blues, 3) A Hymn of Sorrow, 4) Harlem Rhythm.
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