Lambchopsis 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!
“New Thrills in the Movies,” a 1919 article in Popular Science tells us that before synchronized soundtracks were available you could purchase Frank Illo’s sound effects machine to accompany all of your silent films. And, only one person was needed at the “operator’s key-board”to operate this complex system of “shafts, belts, and pulley, diaphragms covered with buckskin, revolving cylinders partly filled with water or with lead shot or steel balls, wooden beams and slats, flexible sheets of tin or other metal, air-valves, whistles, bells, etc..” Reportedly, movie theater owners didn’t rush to acquire Illo’s invention as they preferred to employ orchestras and pianists/organists to a room full of clamorous contraptions.
Sadly, when the late 20’s arrived, synchronized sound was ushered in and over 20,000 theater-employedmusicians, along with Illo’s machine, were ushered out!
Pastimes of Mine 