Mechanical Music in the Movies
By Michael Woolf
About the film "Amsterdamned", a Dutch production, made in 1988. When Johnny Verbeeck visited New Zealand a few years ago he told me that he had been asked by the makers of this film to construct a dummy for the scene where the car crashes through the organ. He did so, using up a lot of junk from around his factory. His only regret was that the shot worked perfectly the first time so he wasn't called on to rebuild the prop! He also said that he has been in the audience when the film has been screened and has heard the anguish of organ enthusiasts!
Most people will be familiar with Laurel and Hardy's "Way Out West" (1937) and the table-model disc music box atop the safe in Jimmy Finlayson's parlour. And the two coin-operated machines at the foot of the stairs. Has anyone noticed by the way that these machines change after they are first seen? Check it out!
And I recall that in "Pillow Talk" (1959 - Rock Hudson/Doris day) there's a nickelodeon in an apartment decorated as a bordello.
Michael Woolf
New Zealand
[ A bordello-decorated nickelodeon? Coin-op, no doubt. ;-) -- Robbie |
(Message sent Mon 17 Mar 1997, 21:40:18 GMT, from time zone GMT+1200.) |
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