Blu-rays
Josephine Baker captivated audiences through stage, recordings and motion pictures, and you’ll see why in “The French Way,” a farcical romantic-comedy set in contemporary WWII France, about young lovers forbidden to marry by their respective families. Baker, as “Zazu,” the owner of a nightclub, inherits a job restoring harmony between the two families and allowing the young lovers to se marier. A lost film – exquisitely restored!
Kentucky Jubilee: A wild potpourri of hillbilly singers, dancers and specialty acts (including the Y-Knot Twirlers!); strung together by a crazy plot that involves a pop-eyed emcee (funnyman Jerry Colonna).
The Kid From Gower Gulch: Spade Cooley plays a singing-western movie star who can neither sing nor ride, but a rancher believing that Spade is the real deal, bets 500 cattle that he can win a rodeo contest!
Hollywood Varieties: The advent of television brings back vaudeville, as emceed by Robert Alda (who also sings “Be There My Love”). Acts like the Hoosier Hot Shots, Sandy and His Seals, Hector and His Pals, The Four Dandies and Twirl, Whirl and a Girl resurrect that great entertainment medium of the past.
Holiday Rhythem: It’s the top-tappin’ fun-time of a lifetime when singer-dancer David Street bumps his head and dreams that he’s on a trip around the world, and seeing great variety acts at each port. A Dixieland band, a mambo orchestra, a “Rhythm on Ice” show and
Yes Sir, Mr. Bones! – Songs (including “Is Your Rent Paid Up in Heaven?”), buck-and-wing and softshoe are all part of the nostalgic fun. Cotton & Chick Watts, Ches Davis, F.E. Miller, Billy Green and the Hobnobbers.
Square Dance Jubilee: New York television talent scouts (Don “Red” Barry and Wally Vernon) head west to look for musical talent for Spade Cooley’s TV show and find plenty–and even help round up some cattle rustlers! With a whopping 21 songs.
EVERYBODY’S DANCIN’ : Dance hall owner Dick Lane, in desperate need of name attractions, is helped by country music legends who agree to star in a TV special at his emporium.
VARIETIES ON PARADE: It’s vaudeville on film as the camera passes a box office and ticket taker, proceeds to a front-row seat, and watches as master of ceremonies.
Attention, fans of vaudeville, minstrel shows and vintage musicals – 8 movies/4 DVDs.
- Everybody’s Dancin’
- Varieties on Parade
- Yes Sir, Mr. Bones!
- Square Dance Jubilee
- Hollywood Varieties
- Holiday Rhythm
- Kentucky Jubilee
- The Kid from Gower Gulch.
G.I. Jane : At a remote Army training camp in the desert, our boys in uniform want to do more than wave at the WACs, and new recruit Tim Rawlings bets them $500 he can make this happen.
Grand Canyon: There’s grand fun, grand feudin’ and grand fightin’ in this spoof on low-budget Hollywood moviemaking. Assigned by producer Robert L. Lippert to make a Western titled “Grand Canyon” on indoor sets, Reed Hadley farcically tries and fails, and finally convinces the front office to allow him to shoot on location.
Musicals
Restored from the original negative –
Rock & Roll changed 1950s America at 45 revolutions per minute, and the swinging-est of the R&R movies was the electrifying Go, Johnny, Go!. Hung on the loose storyline of d.j great Alan Freed’s search for the next big star are way-out performances by all-time greats:
Alan Freed, Chuck Berry, Ritchie Valens, Jimmy Clanton, Jackie Wilson, Eddie Cochran, Harvey Fuqua, Jo-Ann Campbell, The Cadillacs, The Flamingos, Jimmy Cavallo, with Sandy Stewart, Herb Vigran, Frank Wilcox, and Barbara Woodell