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Topic: Canadian anthem on 35mm
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Jim Cassedy
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Dec 2006
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posted 03-14-2012 08:37 PM
Tony-I worked at a military theater for about two years in
the mid 1970's.
As you know, it was SOP to run the anthem before every show
while everyone stood up.
While cleaning up, I found an entire stash of 35mm anthems
covering a period of almost 20 years or more in a room in
back of the screen at the theater, so I started using those
anthem prints too, in addition to the 'new' one I had.
"The guys" appreciated the fact that I showed a random anthem
before every show, instead of the same one every night.
My favorite one was a 'sing along"'version, which used the
old "bouncing ball" over the words at the bottom of the
screen. The only problem was that there was an entire phrase
missing (like, "the rocket's red glare") due to a splice in
the film. Some of the more hard-core guys would actually sing
along out loud to the bouncing ball, but the spliced-out
phrase would throw them all off. Although it was slightly
irreverent, it was fun to hear them all get thrown off tempo. ![[evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
My final night there, I spliced ALL the anthems together. It
made up almost a full 2000ft reel, and put it on before the
show. When the first anthem faded out, everyone started to
sit down, but then the 2nd anthem came on, and everyone had
to stand up again. This repeated through two more anthems
before some people started turning around and giving me
dirty looks up in the booth.
Some Lt. Colonel finially marched upstairs and stormed the
booth to see what was going on. He didn't think it was as
amusing as I did.
The company commander heard about it and called me into his
office the next day. Fortunately, he had a bit of a sense of
humor and he actually thought the prank was harmless fun. He
admitted that he only called me into his office to give the
"appearance of repremand" and told me 'never to do it again',
- - a moot point since I did it on my final night at work
and I was being discharged in about a week anyway.
(and he knew that)
I wish I'd kept that reel. It had some real "classic" anthem
versions on there. Wartime versions with tanks & guns, and
peace-time versions with patriotic postcard shots of Washington
DC & Mt Rushmore, etc. There was one from the late 1960's that
was all NASA stock footage from the space program, and ended
with that famous shot of an astronaut saluting the flag he had
just planted on surface of the moon. Whatta classic!
You used to be able to get 35mm anthems through your local
army recuiting office, but I doubt they do that anymore.
I think I have a coulple here from the late 70's but I'd
have to search for them. I've got a great "war bonds" reel
from the late 1940's with Kate Smith singing "God Bless
America" that I used to occasionally run on July 4 or
Memorial Day, when I did change-over shows, but I can't
run it on the(damned~!) platters. I hate those things!
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Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God
Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 03-15-2012 04:54 PM
Although the Kuhio Theatre in Honolulu was equipped for 70mm and a Road Show venue, PATTON played there in 35m as a general release. Although it was a 35mm print, it had a special opening as well as the usual intermission with entr'acte and exit music. Before the movie started, I had noticed an American flag on a stand on the left hand side of the screen and the Hawaii state flag on the right. When it was show time, the house light dimmed and a man's voice on the soundtrack announced "Ladies & Gentlemen, Our national anthem' and The Star Spangled Banner played against a blank screen and we all got up and stood. As soon as the anthem was over, the movie opened with the American flag filling the entire width of the Kuhio's huge screen and George C. Scott as General Patton delivering his famous "shoveling shit in Louisiana" speech. I thought that was a very stirring opening and it made me very proud to be an American.
BTW, 16 DAYS OF GLORY, the 1986 documentary film by Bud Greenspan about the 1984 Olympic Games at Los Angles concluded with Placido Domingo singing Giuseppe Verdi's Hymn of The Nations' and it featured the Canadian national anthem as well as Great Britain, France, Japan, Italy and concluded with a very stirring rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. I have it on laserdisc and watched it many times and I always get goose pimples every time I watch that segment of the film.
-Claude
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