Vitaphone Color Parade
The “Vitaphone Color Parade” was a series of documentary film shorts produced by Warner Bros.
Overview
The majority of these one-reel (under 10 minutes) short subjects were produced by Edward Newman of the E. M. Newman Travelogues and co-directed by Ira Genet in New York at the Vitaphone studios, but a few later entries were completed in California. These were directed by Del Frazier with Gordon Hollingshead as producer.
Mechanix Illustrated backed a series that resembled, in part, the Jerry Fairbanks Popular Science (film) series made for rival studio Paramount Pictures. These consisted of individual segments spotlighting technical marvels and took cameras “behind the scenes” to show how popular household items were manufactured.
A few were shot in full Technicolor, but the majority edited in New York utilized the more economical Cinecolor. By 1940, these were replaced by the Sports Parade.
List of titles
List of films by title / major credits (not complete) / release date or copyright date (marked ©) / notes:
| Title | Major credits | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Edgren's Miracles of Sport | Robert W. Edgren (directed); narrator: Rush Hughes | September 10, 1938 | |
| Pow Wow | Lansing Holden (director) | October 1, 1938 | full Technicolor views of Navajo |
| China Today | narrator: Dwight Weist | October 1, 1938 | |
| Mechanix Illustrated No. 1 | narrator: Dwight Weist | November 5, 1938 | making paint, food preparation on trains, liquid air preservation. |
| The Immortal Brush | Horace Shepherd (director); narrator: Dwight Weist) | November 19, 1938 | full Technicolor documentaries on British painters, the first featuring Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, Frans Hals, among others. Three of these titles were released in the U.K. earlier on March 19th. [1] |
| Nature's Mimics | narrator: Eddie Acuff | December 8, 1938 | features chimpanzees, trained birds, seals & a harmonica playing elephant |
| Mechanix Illustrated No. 2 | narrator: Jean Paul King | January 7, 1939 (© December 12, 1938) | weather forecasting, synthesizing vitamins, television & fire alarms. |
| Points on Pointers | Del Frazier (director) | January 28, 1939 | first of a series on dogs |
| The Master's Touch | Horace Shepherd; narrator: Dwight Weist | February 18, 1939 | “Immortal Bush” series, released in U.K. on March 19, 1938 |
| Mechanix Illustrated No. 3 | narrator: Dwight Weist | February 25, 1939 | natural gas, doll making, face powder & airplane assembly. |
| The Roaming Camera | March 25, 1939 | Hawaiian football, hairstyles & seamanship | |
| Mechanix Illustrated No. 4 | narrator: Dwight Weist | April 22, 1939 | bullet making, skeet shooting, gold beating & artificial flowers. |
| For Your Convenience | narrator: Dwight Weist | May 20, 1939 | how to hide “black eyes” with makeup, parachutes, coffee makers & vibrating machines for "girth". |
| Mechanix Illustrated No. 5 | narrator: Dwight Weist | June 10, 1939 | candy, lead pencils, New York police crime lab. |
| Modern Methods | July 15, 1939 | tide measurements, remote controls in the home, hat & mask making | |
| Mechanix Illustrated No. 6 | narrator: Dwight Weist | August 5, 1939 | precision flying, lie detectors, color photography. |
| Mechanix Illustrated No. 7 | narrator: Dwight Weist | © August 5, 1939 | jewelry polishing, chinaware manufacturing, polarized light, production of billboards |
| Romance in Color | Horace Shepherd; narrator: Dwight Weist | © August 19, 1939 | “Immortal Bush” series, released in U.K. on March 19, 1938 |
| Mechanix Illustrated No. 8 (Series 2-1) | narrator: Dwight Weist | September 30, 1939 | gemstones, Polaroid glass & advertising signs. |
| American Saddle Horses | Del Frazier; music: Howard Jackson; narrator: John Deering | November 11, 1939 | |
| Mechanix Illustrated No. 9 (Series 2-2) | narrator: Dwight Weist | December 2, 1939 | making of ice cream sticks, dragline mining in Alaska, New York fireboats & the manufacture of artist's paints |
| New Horizons | music: Howard Jackson; narrator: John Deering | January 6, 1940 | Alaska travelogue |
| Mechanix Illustrated No. 10 (Series 2-3) | music: Howard Jackson; narrator: Dwight Weist | February 7, 1940 | Alaskan salmon run, liquid silk & electric signs |
| Men Wanted | music: Howard Jackson; narrator: John Deering | March 23, 1940 | More about Alaska |
| Gun Dog Life (Gun Dog's Life) | Del Frazier (director); music: Howard Jackson; narrator: John Deering | May 11, 1940 | mostly retrievers and spaniels |
| Mechanix Illustrated No. 11 (Series 2-4) | music: Howard Jackson; narrator: Dwight Weist | © June 29, 1940 | aviation, streamlining in design, product testing & fire extinguishing. |
| Dogs You Seldom See | Del Frazier (director); music: Howard Jackson; narrator: Knox Manning | July 6, 1940 | Profiles less famous breeds like the Saluki and Chinese Crested |
| The Valley | music: Howard Jackson; narrator: John Deering | © July 20, 1940 | Alaska's Matanuska Valley |
| Famous Movie Dogs | Del Frazier (director); music: Howard Jackson; narrator: John Deering | August 17, 1940 |
See also
Notes
- Gifford, Denis British Film Catalogue: Two Volume Set - The Fiction Film/The Non-Fiction Film 2001 Routledge
References
- Liebman, Roy Vitaphone Films – A Catalogue of the Features and Shorts 2003 McFarland & Company
- Motion Pictures 1912-1939 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1951 Library of Congress
- Motion Pictures 1940-1949 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1953 Library of Congress
- BoxOffice back issue scans
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