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Vitaphone Pictorial Revue

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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

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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

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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 rehearsals, 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”)

See also

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References

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  • 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 [1]
  • BoxOffice back issue scans (release date and topic information reprinted in multiple issues)
  • Complete Index To World Film listing