“The Dog-Watch” with “The It Girl,” Clara Bow!

Clara Bow, dog

Clara and canine wait for Santa Claus from the Motion Picture Classic magazine, January 1929 edition.

Clara Bow appeared in a handful of silent and talkie short subjects from the 20’s to the 40’s: Screen Snapshots Series, etc. Visit IMDb for select titles under the “Self” section located after her main feature films.

Source: Media History Digital Library

 

Gracie – “I have brains I haven’t even used yet.” George – “Well, leave them alone, don’t bother with them.”

Lambchops is a must-see film for Burns and Allen fans! Enjoy this early 1929 sound film from Vitaphone (a Warner Brothers subsidiary). In this eight-minute short, straight man George and comic Gracie will show off their wonderful comedic chemistry, and their whimsical singing and hoofing in a sweet version of “Do You Believe Me.”

Already married by this time, the duo continued to work together for another twenty-nine years. No two were better at banter than these two!

 

Not just “a port in every storm,” but a library in every ship!

Grace Coolidge, American Merchant Marine Library Association book drive

In 1929, First Lady Mrs. Grace Coolidge (President Calvin’s wife) supported a wonderfully “seaworthy” book drive by being first to queue up and drop her book “down the hatch” of the Floating Library book bin. Get a kick out of that poem on the bin sign! What a great way to provide some R&R for “our sailor men.” Note: for us civilians, R&R means “rest and recuperation” (or relaxation). 

The Floating Library was part of the AMMLA (American Merchant Marine Library Association) mission to “establish and promote a professional Library Service for the benefit of the personnel of the American Merchant Marine, United States Coast Guard ships, stations, lightships and lighthouses.” Photo from the Library of Congress collections.