Public Domain stuff

IMHO, Metropolis is weird. I tried to watch it to advance my cultural understanding but it was way different than this child of the ‘60’s could grasp.
 
Puttin' On The Ritz is free at last! Made me think of Mel Brooks, then coffee came out my nose remembering Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. . .
 
Puttin' On The Ritz is free at last! Made me think of Mel Brooks, then coffee came out my nose remembering Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. . .
Got to love Mel.

Back when I was in residency one of the female anesthesiology staff members made us cringe when she was staffing our OR or heard her name. We called her Frau Blucher. :D

Hard to beat the original "The Producers" with Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel.
 
Got to love Mel.

Back when I was in residency one of the female anesthesiology staff members made us cringe when she was staffing our OR or heard her name. We called her Frau Blucher. :D

Hard to beat the original "The Producers" with Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel.
Oh, yes! Zero Mostel had it all, the physical comedy, the timing, the "rubber" face, the voice - smart guy, too!
 
“Wings” has some really good flying scenes.
"Hurrah for the next man to die. . ." scene in the O club with the German pilot prisoner - saw it when I was a young teenager and was impressed. . .
 
"Hurrah for the next man to die. . ." scene in the O club with the German pilot prisoner - saw it when I was a young teenager and was impressed. . .
"Wings" was silent. Think you're remembering the Flynn/Niven/Rathbone version of "The Dawn Patrol."


Ron Wanttaja
 

"Wings" won the first best-picture Oscar. IIRC, it was also the last silent best picture.

1938's "The Dawn Patrol" was a talkie remake of a 1930s silent version.
Ron Wanttaja
 
IMHO, Metropolis is weird. I tried to watch it to advance my cultural understanding but it was way different than this child of the ‘60’s could grasp.
I'm watching it piecemeal. Fascinating, I've heard if it but never watched it before.
 
"Wings" won the first best-picture Oscar. IIRC, it was also the last silent best picture.

About a decade ago, Wings was taken on tour by the grandson of the producer (or director, I'm not sure). One of the local aviation organizations, I think it was the 99's, booked it for NJ. So I got to watch this silent masterpiece in the beautifully-restored Jersey City Loews theater. It was incredible to see the film in such an iconic setting.
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The film was shown with live accompaniment on the 1,774 pipe organ. The console is recessed into the orchestra pit during the performance, but rises up and rotates at the end so that the organist can take a bow. He earned it, during the Q&A it was noted that there was supposed to be an intermission, but somehow it never was introduced into the film as shown that night, so the organist had to play non-stop for the 2 1/2 hour duration of the film.

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You can read more about the movie here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wings_(1927_film). Clara Bow was the inspiration for Margot Robbie's character in Babylon, in theaters now.

What I remember most from the Q&A session after the film were the questions about how the various plane crashes were filmed. With the exception of the crash of a rare (I don't recall the specifics) 4-engine bomber, which was done with models, the speaker said all of the other crashes were done with real aircraft and stunt pilots. The director insisted on realism! That included the crash at the end of the movie where a WWI fighter crashes through the wall of a house, depositing the pilot inside. Stunt pilot.
 
About a decade ago, Wings was taken on tour by the grandson of the producer (or director, I'm not sure). One of the local aviation organizations, I think it was the 99's, booked it for NJ. So I got to watch this silent masterpiece in the beautifully-restored Jersey City Loews theater. It was incredible to see the film in such an iconic setting.
....
What I remember most from the Q&A session after the film were the questions about how the various plane crashes were filmed. With the exception of the crash of a rare (I don't recall the specifics) 4-engine bomber, which was done with models, the speaker said all of the other crashes were done with real aircraft and stunt pilots. The director insisted on realism! That included the crash at the end of the movie where a WWI fighter crashes through the wall of a house, depositing the pilot inside. Stunt pilot.

IIRC, Dick Grace was the crash stunt pilot for the film. He's written a couple of fascinating books. One of his crashes on "Wings" was a SPAD in a field, designed to flip over. He describes the plane as on its last legs, calling it "Old Wobbly Wings." To let the film crew know he was OK after the crash (so they could film rescuers rushing to the crash), he told them he'd flip the rudder back and forth after the plane settled. You can see a snippet of that in the film. He literally broke his neck in another crash for the film, and had to take a six-week break. Buddy Rogers, one of the stars, was actually a pilot and flew 800 hours during the filming.

The film is pre-Hayes code, and includes both male and female nudity.

The biplane, I believe, was an old Sikorsky, owned by Roscoe Turner...the target of an early photo-bombing.
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The biplane was eventually lost during the filming of "Hell's Angels," with the death of a mechanic.

Ron Wanttaja
 
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