August 15, 2016

This was a bizarre but enjoyable extra on my DVD of 'Manhattan Melodrama' from TCM Spotlight's 5-film 'Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection'. It's simply silent cinema footage narrated by Pete Smith to lampoon then-current newsreels. This was the first of these I have seen--apparently ten were made (as listed on IMDb). First, the narrator satirizes Columbus discovering America; second, trailers of coming attractions are spoofed; and finally, '… read the rest.

This was a bizarre but enjoyable extra on my DVD of 'Manhattan Melodrama' from TCM Spotlight's 5-film 'Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection'. It's simply silent cinema footage narrated by Pete Smith to lampoon then-current newsreels. This was the first of these I have seen--apparently ten were made (as listed on IMDb). First, the narrator satirizes Columbus discovering America; second, trailers of coming attractions are spoofed; and finally, 'The Perils of Arsenic Annie', a film by Super-Titanic Pictures, is shown, with the narration having little if anything to do with the scenes being shown. Decent though very dated, good for a few chuckles, especially of interest to film historians.

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