Superman: Terror On The Midway

The Man of Steel returns in this thrilling episode to rescue Lois from an escaped gorilla at the amusement park.  From the Internet Archive, here is the 1942 animated short, Terror On The Midway.

The Original 3-D Comics

The original "3-D" experience was a pop up book, and Golden Age Comic Book Stories posted a series of images from several 1930's pop up comic books.  Popular titles included Buck Rogers, Dick Tracy, Terry and the Pirates, and Tarzan. 

Sunrise Serenade: How Long Has This Been Going On?

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "How Long Has This Been Going On?" by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, featuring Peggy Lee on vocals.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Tarzan The Ape Man Review

Over at MovieFanFare, guest blogger Angela Petteys reviews the 1932 classic, Tarzan the Ape Man, starring Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O'Sullivan.  Ms. Petteys is a classic film enthusiast from Detroit with a degree in Television Production, and she runs the blog The Hollywood Revue and is the co-author of Cooking With the Classics: Recipes Inspired by Classic Films.

Adventure movies can be pretty hit-or-miss with me, but I did enjoy Tarzan, the Ape Man. This was the first time I’d seen any of the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies and now I’m interested in seeing more of the series. Maureen O’Sullivan was very likable as Jane, Johnny made the perfect Tarzan, and there are plenty of exciting moments to be had. Never mind the very dated rear projection and special effect shots, it’s still a very entertaining movie.

Sunrise Serenade: Harlem Holiday

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Harlem Holiday" by Cab Calloway and his Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Playlist For April 27, 2011

The playlist for the April 27, 2011 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

Alpha The Robot 1934

This posting on Paleofuture features Alpha the Robot, a mechanical man built by a British scientist in 1932, and brought to the U.S. in 1934 as a demonstration display in Macy's Manhattan store.  I cannot help remarking that Alpha appeared only 5 years after Fritz Lang's film epic, Metropolis, which featured a seductive female robotrix.  Alpha had a ways to go to reach that level, although like the robotrix, he apparently did have a violent streak. 

According to the November 5, 1934 issue of Time:

Last week Alpha, the robot, made its first public appearance in the U. S. One of the most ingenious automatons ever contrived by man, a grim and gleaming monster 6 ft. 4 in. tall, the robot was brought to Manhattan by its owner-inventor-impresario, Professor Harry May of London, and installed on the fifth floor of R. H. Macy & Co.'s department store. Encased from head to foot in chromium-plated steel armor, Alpha sat on a specially constructed dais with its cumbrous feet securely bolted to the floor, stared impassively over the knot of newshawks and store officials waiting for the first demonstration. The creature had a great sullen slit of a mouth, vast protuberant eyes, shaggy curls of rolled metal. In one mailed fist Alpha clutched a revolver.

Sunrise Serenade: Hallelujah

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Hallelujah" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Live Music At The Lindy Hop

The Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session this Friday features live music by Jeremy Shrader's Quintessentials.  The lesson will be by Jaredan and Erin.  Free lesson at 7:00 p.m., and $7 band cover. 

Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

U of M Swing every Tuesday, Fieldhouse Room 118 from 7:00 to 9:45 p.m.  Free taster lesson from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Topics vary from week to week and include East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Blues and Balboa. All are welcome and no partner is required. Open practice from 8-9:30 pm. Improve your moves during this dance time. Ask questions, come practice your swing dancing and have fun with other Memphis swing dancers!

Sunrise Serenade: Flight Of The Bumblebee

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was the lively "Flight Of The Bumblebee" by Harry James and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Another Side Of Marlene Dietrich

The MovieFanFare blog posted a well-written article about Marlene Dietrich that not only addresses her film career, but also discusses other aspects of the legendary actress, including her work supporting the Allied war effort during World War II. 

The OSS (the CIA of the time) had a Morale Operations (MO) branch that began producing 'black' (propaganda) radio programs in 1943. These programs reached listeners throughout Europe and the Mediterranean and were intended to create discord in the Axis countries. In 1944, the MO began to recruit Hollywood talent to boost the quality of programming on its stations. The MO’s most popular station was Soldatensender (Soldiers' Radio), and one of the most popular songs it played was Dietrich's "Lili Marlene" with 'black' lyrics created especially for the German version. The Nazi government banned the broadcast of the song, but the ban was lifted in the face of a backlash among Axis soldiers. "Lili Marlene" soon became the song played at the end of every Soldantensender broadcast.

In 1945, the U.S. government awarded Marlene Dietrich the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the first presented. Similarly, France made her a chevalier of the Legion of Honor.

Sunrise Serenade: Daniel Saw The Stone

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Daniel Saw The Stone" by the Golden Gate Quartet.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Betty Boop: Language All My Own

I was a little surprised by this Betty Boop cartoon.  Although made in 1935, when racial stereotypes were common in animation, I thought that this short - in which Betty flies to Japan for a performance - portrayed the Japanese people in a very respectful manner.  In addition to the fact that Betty performs a song both in English and Japanese, the rendering of the Japanese audience members was very attractive and lifelike.  In fact, they look much more human and less cartoonish than the (presumably) American audience at the start of the short.  From the Internet Archive, here is Betty Boop in A Language All My Own. 

Sunrise Serenade: Flying Home

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Flying Home" by Ella Fitzgerald with Vic Schoen.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Captain Triumph And The Werewolf

Here is another long lost jewel from Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine.  When Lance Gallant touches the strange birthmark on his wrist, the ghost of his valiant brother Michael merges with him, and together they become the indestructable Captain Triumph!  In this issue, our hero meets a werewolf.

Sunrise Serenade: Bye And Bye

Today's Sunrise Serenade was another Golden Gate Quartet song:  "Bye And Bye Little Children."  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Playlist For April 20, 2011

The playlist for the April 20, 2011 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

Rolling Neon Billboard Oil Truck

There are many variations of decoratively illuminated vehicles.  In some Asian countries, trucks and cabs are festooned with a variety of brightly colored adornments and lights.  In the U.S., we can often see a vehicle with a glowing light under its chassis or hood.  Truck drivers often like a lot of the yellow safety lights.  As the Hemmings blog noted, however, Earl B. Gilmore beat them all in the 1930's.  He completely outlined one of his oil company trucks in neon.

Sunrise Serenade: Coney Island Washboard

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was an encore from a few months ago:  "Coney Island Washboard" by the Mills Brothers.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Hopping Along And Live Music Next Week

The regular Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session continues this Friday with a lesson by Mike and Shannon with music by Mike.  Free admission before 7:00 p.m., and $5 at the door afterwards. 

Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

Live music next week from Jeremy Shrader's Quintessentials.

U of M Swing every Tuesday, Fieldhouse Room 118 from 7:00 to 9:45 p.m.  Free taster lesson from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Topics vary from week to week and include East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Blues and Balboa. All are welcome and no partner is required. Open practice from 8-9:30 pm. Improve your moves during this dance time. Ask questions, come practice your swing dancing and have fun with other Memphis swing dancers!

Sunrise Serenade: Humoresque

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Humoresque" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

France Builds World's Greatest Defense System

Well, history sure did a number on the above statement.  As revealed in this 1931 Modern Mechanics article posted on Modern Mechanix, the Maginot Line was an engineering and technical marvel, with its self-contained living quarters, underground transportation, ammunition storage, and fortified weapons emplacements.  The fatal flaws?  It was stationary, and it stopped at the Belgian border.  In 1940, German Panzer divisions pushed straight through the Ardennes, which was so thick that French and British military commanders considered it impassible for tanks, and simply went around the Maginot Line through Belgium into France. 

Sunrise Serenade: If You Build A Better Mousetrap

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "If You Build A Better Mousetrap" by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, featuring Art Lund and Peggy Lee on vocals.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Donald Duck: The Spirit Of '43

This cartoon seemed appropriate for the day after the traditional tax deadline.  Walt Disney made this animated short, featuring Donald Duck, for the U.S. Government, so it fell into the public domain.  The cartoon's goal was to encourage people to save their money so they could pay their income taxes and support the war effort.  From the Internet Archive, here is the 1943 animated short, The Spirit Of '43. 

Framed

Pushing the boundries of its name once again, Golden Age Comic Book Stories posted images of several dozen Art Deco era picture frames, each surrounding the photo of a contemporary film star, including this tinted image of the lovely Myrna Loy.  Shots of Cary Grant, Anna Mae Wong, Jean Harlow, Carol Lombarde and Hedy Lamarr also appear.

Sunrise Serenade: Did You Mean It?

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Did You Mean It?" by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra with Ella Fitzgerald on vocals.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Marlene Dietrich Visiting The Troops

Film Noir Photos posted this great shot of Marlene Dietrich autographing the cast of a wounded soldier in a U.S. hospital in Belgium in January 1944.

Sunrise Serenade: The Frim Fram Sauce

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "The Frim Fram Sauce" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Playlist For April 13, 2011

The playlist for the April 13, 2011 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle, the Spring Pledge Drive Special:  "On The Job," has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

Leap Into Lindy

The weekly Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session continues this Friday with a lesson by Jaredan and Becky and music by Jaredan.  Free admission before 7:00 p.m., and $5 at the door afterwards. 

Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

U of M Swing every Tuesday, Fieldhouse Room 118 from 7:00 to 9:45 p.m.  Free taster lesson from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Topics vary from week to week and include East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Blues and Balboa. All are welcome and no partner is required. Open practice from 8-9:30 pm. Improve your moves during this dance time. Ask questions, come practice your swing dancing and have fun with other Memphis swing dancers!

Sunrise Serenade: Five O'Clock Whistle - Plus Spring Pledge Drive Special

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Five O'Clock Whistle" by Will Bradley and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

You can also hear this tune tonight at 6:00 p.m. Central on Swing Shift Shuffle as part of my WEVL Spring Pledge Drive Special:  "On The Job," which will feature music about people at work. 

German Rail Zeppelin

In the early 1930's, a German rail company decided to try out the Zeppelin concept on a train.  The result was the propeller-driven "Schienenzeppelin," a 20 ton (light by locomotive standards) beast powered by a 46 liter BMW V-12.  In 1931, it reached a top speed of 140 mph, a record that stood for 23 years, and was never surpassed by a gasoline powered locomotive.  Despite this record, the design never went beyond the prototype stage.  Thanks to Boing Boing for pointing out this story.  

Unfortunately, the train never made it into production. Problems with propeller safety (!) and reliability kept it from attaining mass production. The prototype that set the speed record was dismantled in 1939 on the eve of World War II.

Sunrise Serenade: Downhearted Blues

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Downhearted Blues" by Mildred Bailey.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Pogo Returns In Rainy Daze

Pogo Possum was one of my favorite characters in the comics section, and thanks to Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine, he returns to grace us with his presence today.  In this early version of Pogo and Albert the Alligator from 1947, they are stuck inside on a rainy day, and decide to make fudge with some unusual ingredients.

Sunrise Serenade: The General Jumped At Dawn

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "The General Jumped At Dawn" by the Golden Gate Quartet.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Gabby: Swing Cleaning

Gabby was the town crier in Lilliput from the 1939 animated movie, Gulliver's Travels.  In this animated short, Gabby helps the king with spring cleaning, with less than optimal results.  From the Internet Archive, here is the 1941 cartoon, Swing Cleaning.

Homemade Car At Daytona Beach

Homemade cars were fairly abundant before World War II, both as competition entries and daily drivers.  Dieselpunk posted this image of an imposing vehicle at Daytona Beach in 1932.

Sunrise Serenade: Sheik Of Araby

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Sheik Of Araby" by Fats Waller.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Ruppert's Beer - NRA Poster

Aside from the fact that the characters in this 1930's beer advertisement appear to be wooden toys, the other interesting aspect of this posting from Vintage Ads is the NRA logo (as in the New Deal "National Recovery Administration," not the National Rifle Association).  Most of the NRA posters I have seen were not advertising a commercial product, but some sort of community or arts activity.

Sunrise Serenade: Hallelujah

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Hallelujah" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Playlist For April 6, 2011

The playlist for the April 6, 2011 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

Hop On Down To The Lindy

The Red Hot Lindy Hop weekly lesson and session continues Friday with a lesson by Kirk and Amanda and music by Amanda.  Free admission before 7:00 p.m., and $5 at the door afterwards. 

Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

U of M Swing every Tuesday, Fieldhouse Room 118 from 7:00 to 9:45 p.m.  Free taster lesson from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Topics vary from week to week and include East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Blues and Balboa. All are welcome and no partner is required. Open practice from 8-9:30 pm. Improve your moves during this dance time. Ask questions, come practice your swing dancing and have fun with other Memphis swing dancers!

Sunrise Serenade: Song Of The Volga Boatmen

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Song Of The Volga Boatmen" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Charlie Chaplin At The Brooks Thursday Night

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will screen a recently restored version of Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times (1937) on Thursday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m.  More details available Brooks Events page.

The Little Tramp punches into a factory job and wigs out on the assembly line, suffers a nervous breakdown, and meets the gamine, played by Paulette Goddard. Together, they pursue bliss and a steady paycheck, finding misadventures along the way in this 1936 comedy, one of Chaplin’s greatest achievements.

Sunrise Serenade: Gospel Train

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Gospel Train" by the Golden Gate Quartet.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Hidden Memphis: On Film Row

In yesterday's The Commercial Appeal, Richard J. Alley did a great article on Film Row, the area of Downtown Memphis around South Second Street where the movie studios used to keep their stocks of film for distribution to local and regional theaters.  Many of the buildings are still standing, and you can still see the studio logos in some of the concrete facades.

MGM logo at 492 S. Second, Photo by Mike Maple, The Commercial Appeal

Remember 5% Day At Whole Foods To Support WEVL

Remember, tomorrow is 5% Day at Whole Foods Market, 5022 Poplar Avenue.  The Whole Foods Market store in Memphis will donate 5% of its net sale proceeds on April 5 to WEVL.  You can support Memphis’ only independent, listener-supported volunteer radio station (home of the Swing Shift Shuffle) at stock up on groceries at the same time.  So clip your coupons, make your list, and visit Whole Foods from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. tomorrow.  For more information visit Memphis Whole Foods Market 5% Day or wevl.org.

Sunrise Serenade: Choo'n Gum

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Choo'n Gum" by the Andrews Sisters.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

The Sunshine Makers

I added the "Advertising" label to this cartoon because it is basically an ad for Borden's milk, but it is still an interesting piece of animation.  A happy group of gnomes/elves make milk by distilling sunlight, which annoys another group of gnomes/elves who live in the dark of the forest and like being sad.  The sad elves (all dressed appropriately in "blue") attack the glad elves, only to be conquered by the happy effects of milk.  From the Internet Archive, here is the 1935 cartoon, The Sunshine Makers. 

World To End April 1! . . . 1940

The Museum of Hoaxes lists April Fool's Day stunts reported by the media in various years.  The list for April 1, 1940 had some interesting items, including the following prank, which had, as many such jokes do, some unintended consequences. 

On March 31, 1940 Philadelphia radio station KYW broadcast the following message: “Your worst fears that the world will end are confirmed by astronomers of Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. Scientists predict that the world will end at 3 P.M. Eastern Standard Time tomorrow. This is no April Fool joke. Confirmation can be obtained from Wagner Schlesinger, director of the Fels Planetarium of this city.”  

The announcement came after a radio program by Jack Benny that had been devoted to a discussion of how the world might end. The program had mentioned the name of Orson Welles, who had been responsible for the notorious War of the Worlds Panic Broadcast of 1938.

The public reaction to KYW’s announcement was dramatic. Newspapers, police stations and the city’s information bureau received hundreds of calls from frightened citizens.

KYW later issued an apology and an explanation. The announcement was, of course, false, but the station denied responsibility for it. It said that it had received the announcement from William Castellini, press agent for the Franklin Institute and had read it in good faith, believing it to be genuine. However, Castellini had intended it as a publicity stunt to publicize an April 1st lecture at the planetarium titled “How Will the World End?”

Castellini later explained that he came up with the idea for the stunt after hearing Benny’s program and thinking it a good chance to get some publicity for the planetarium. He claimed, in his own defense, that he had told “some of the people” at the radio station about the announcement and “thought they would know it was a stunt.” Soon afterwards, the Franklin Institute dismissed Castellini.

Sunrise Serenade: The Quintet Goes To A Dance

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "The Quintet Goes To A Dance" by the Raymond Scott Quintette (he liked to spell quintet that way).  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.