Vitaphone Pictorial Revue
Vitaphone Pictorial Revue (sometimes spelled “Review”) was a series of 9-11 minute newsreel oriented (documentary) film shorts produced by Vitaphone and Warner Brothers.
Overview
Mostly edited in New York at the Vitaphone studio, but a few also made in California with Gordon Hollingshead producing, these were human-interest newsreels that resembled such rival series like “Pathé Audio Review”, distributed by RKO Pictures, and Paramount Pictures “Paramount Pictorial”. Each film is divided into three or four separate segments. In a couple, a segment was presented in Cinecolor.
The series lasted just two years in the 1930s and was mostly forgotten until Turner Classic Movies started showing a few as filler between feature presentations, sometimes with the color segments missing.
Listing of films
| Title (identified by number) | Vitaphone # | release date | Narrators | Subjects covered & additional notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Fashion Parade | 1967 | June 1936 | Roy Saunders & Joseph Bolton | Pilot film features a Canadian baby contest, a female alligator tamer and the title sequence in color |
| No. 1 | 2233 | September 12, 1936 | Howard Claney | All titles called Vitaphone Pictorial Revue: covers tap dancing, ski techniques, lamb stew preparation, modeling fur coats (in color) |
| No. 2 | 2234 | October 10, 1936 | John Young | movie stardom methods, steak cooking lesson, household gadgets invented by women, fashion models (in color) |
| No. 3 | 2235 | November 21, 1936 | Paul Douglas | false eyelashes, a female football team and knitted fashion |
| No. 4 | 2236 | December 23, 1936 | Howard Claney | machine testing of consumer products, testing balance & coordination, snow swimming, Southern fashions (in color); aired on TCM |
| No. 5 | 2237 | February 13, 1937 | Paul Douglas | tuna fishing, Arthur Treacher's dill sauce, strange animal friends, cruise ships |
| No. 6 | 2238 | March 20, 1937 | Kelvin Keech | swimming lessons, cosmetics, racing trotters, Swiss wood carving. |
| No. 7 | 2239 | April 10, 1937 | Basil Ruysdael | fishing, recording techniques, women's polo, lipstick manufacturing (in color) |
| No. 8 | 2240 | April 10, 1937 | Paul Douglas | melon bowling, latest coiffures, shoe fashion, the use of cotton in paving streets |
| No. 9 | 2241 | May 1, 1937 | Howard Claney | odd gadgets, home accidents, men's hats and beachwear fashions (color) |
| No. 10 | 2242 | May 24, 1937 | Basil Ruysdael | water dancing, hotel dishwashers, angora rabbits, Moroccan crafts |
| No. 11 | 2243 | June 19, 1937 | Alan Kent | the US Postal Service, smart dogs, milk, oriental rugs |
| No. 12 | 2244 | July 17, 1937 | Howard Claney | an expert child golfer, piano manufacturing, a baby genius, mural painting by Dean Cornwell (in “Naturalcolor”) |
| No. 13 | 2245 | August 28, 1937 | Paul Douglas | good driving skills, book publishing, reducing weight, mink coats |
| No. 2-1 (or #B) | 51B | September 18, 1937 | Basil Ruysdael & Clem McCarthy | a racetrack opening with Hollywood stars (Bing Crosby included), wrestling rehearsels, gruyere cheese in Switzerland |
| No. 2-2 (or #C) | 52B | October 16, 1937 | Alan Kent & Clem McCarthy | Billy and Bobby Mauch, Margaret Lindsay, table tennis, autumn fashions (color) |
| No. 2-3 (or #D) | 53B | November 13, 1937 | Howard Claney & Clem McCarthy | Highlights: champion retrievers, a Hollywood rodeo, plastics |
| No. 2-4 (or #14) | 54B | December 11, 1937 | Alan Kent & Clem McCarthy | a handicapped artist, fighters in training, the making of rubber dolls |
| No. 2-5 (or #15) | 55B | January 1, 1938 | Howard Claney & Clem McCarthy | making ice cream, jockeys, glamorous women's outfits for the home (color) |
| No. 2-6 (or #E) | 56B | February 5, 1938 | Alan Kent & Clem McCarthy | Arabian horses, ice hockey, shoe manufacture, stars Ronald Reagan and Marie Wilson; aired on TCM |
| No. 2-7 (or #16) | 57B | February 19, 1938 | Basil Ruysdael & Clem McCarthy | more dogs, a billiard champion. |
| No. 2-8 (or #F) | 58B | April 2, 1938 | Howard Claney & Clem McCarthy | songwriters Johnny Mercer & Harry Warren, bowling, rubber bathing suits |
| No. 2-9 (or #17) | 59B | April 30, 1938 | Alan Kent & Clem McCarthy | silver-smith, ice boating, model trains |
| No. 2-10 (or #18) | 60B | June 4, 1938 | Maida Severn, Clem McCarthy & Ben Grauer | beavers, polo, wool manufacture; aired on TCM |
| No. 2-11 (or #19) | 61B | July 9, 1938 | Maida Severn, Clem McCarthy & Ben Grauer | plastics, greyhounds, perfume manufacturing; aired on TCM |
| No. 2-12 (or #20) | 62B | August 13, 1938 | Maida Severn, Clem McCarthy & Ben Grauer | Gordon Hollingshead (producer); Lloyd French (director); Hollywood glamour girl, racing shells & fur coats (parts in “Naturalcolor”) |
References
- Liebman, Roy (2003). Vitaphone Films – A Catalogue of the Features and Shorts. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786412792. (features Vitaphone numbers and brief descriptions)
- Motion Pictures 1912-1939 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1951 Library of Congress
- BoxOffice back issue scans (release date and topic information reprinted in multiple issues)
- Complete Index To World Film listing
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