Some time ago I read in an old Frisco RR employee magazine that the first Fox Movietone Newsreel with sound featured a Frisco 1500 class 4-8-2 with Volotone air horns in it.
Does anyone have a clue where to find a video copy of this, or even who would know where to track it down and confirm it?
Thanks

frisco1522@sbcglobal.net

> Some time ago I read in an old Frisco RR
> employee magazine that the first Fox
> Movietone Newsreel with sound featured a
> Frisco 1500 class 4-8-2 with Volotone air
> horns in it.
> Does anyone have a clue where to find a
> video copy of this, or even who would know
> where to track it down and confirm it?
> Thanks

Considering that the movies at that time were done on nitrate based films, it may be difficult to find a copy. If the film exists there may not be a video copy.

I would start with making inquiries to LIbrary of Congress and American Film Institute.

Years ago I got a book about the coming of sound to movies. "The Shattered Silents: How the talkies came to stay." So I found it and skimmed the first chapter again.

The Fox Movietone shorts and newsreels were some of the frist use of sound. This occured back in 1927. They used the "Vitaphone" system that was installed in the Fox theaters. [This was in an era when the studios and theaters had common owners.] The first shorts included stage acts and outdoor events that involved sound; but, within months these were old stuff to the audiences. The newsreels, of course, remained popular.

Brian Norden

Try this link:
http://comet.csd.sc.edu:8080/webpac1.2. ... lect++1+23

March 19, 1927
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
All Southwest turns out to observe 25th birthday of the "Meteor". First fast express out of St. Louis. S1. High shot crowds in street. S2. Semi closeup pan crowd beside giant locomotive. S3. Semi closeup old "Meteor" beside the giant. S4. Engineers Binkley and Dean, who handled original train. Semi closeup. S5. Daughter of engineer Binkley as 1902 flapper greets flapper of 1927. Closeup two girls. Note: TEMPORARY DESCRIPTION; Margaret Kenney; used in 8/051; railroad

The University of SC has the Fox Movietone News collection and sells copies.

-Jim Herron


http://comet.csd.sc.edu:8080/webpac1.2.4-bin/wgbro
hrvideo@mindspring.com

> The University of SC has the Fox Movietone
> News collection and sells copies.

How I (and others) know what happened to the Movietone News collection. Good that it has a home.

The link did not completely work for me. But here is the link to the U of South Carolina library page. You will find the Movietone collection listed; click on that for the index function.

Brian Norden

U of South Carolina libraries

I noticed that the description said the movie was silent. Wonder if that's the same one that I was looking for. Sounds great in any event.
Thanks

frisco1522@sbcglobal.net

Also, if you look up their posted rates, be sure you're sitting down. For use in a video in non-broadcast use the fee is $ 18.00 per second. That's $ 1080 per minute!

More than I can afford, for sure!

-Jim Herron

hrvideo@mindspring.com