Vaudeville on Film— On Saturday, May 5, from 2 to 3 p.m., stage-to-screen historian Frank Cullen will give a presentation/lecture on “Film Roots” at the Albuquerque Public Library Auditorium (501 Copper NW). The presentation will cover the world’s first mass market entertainment, Vaudeville, through to its immediate successor, motion pictures. Cullen is the author of Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America and founder of the American Vaudeville Museum. “Basically, without Vaudeville, film would not have been the industry it was,” argues Cullen. “Vaudeville supplied the pillars of the business: the venues, the distribution network, the talent, the publicity machine, the trade papers.” Cullen’s lecture is free and open to the public and leads directly into …
Reel World
Film on Vaudeville— On Sunday, May 5, the Guild Cinema in Nob Hill will present a rare look at classic Vaudeville cinema hosted by none other than author/Vaudeville expert Frank Cullen. Following his library lecture on Saturday, Frank heads over to the Guild on Sunday to curate a compendium of classic clips. This marvelous program of 10 classic vaudeville shorts from the ’20s and ’30s features performers such as the Duncan Sisters, The Wiere Brothers, Ed Wynn (with the Three Stooges), Ethel Waters, The Nicholas Brothers and many more. Later that afternoon, Cullen will introduce a rare screening of the raucous 1941 feature, Hellzapoppin ‘ , a comic cavalcade starring Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson based on their hit Broadway play. The film has long been out of theatrical circulation, and this is a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of this wild and woolly late-Vaudeville time capsule. Vaudeville on Film shows at 2 and 5:30 p.m. Hellzapoppin’ shows at 3:45 and 7:15 p.m. Regular Guild ticket prices apply.
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From Cinematheque to Bibliotheque— Sara Voorhees—longtime film critic for KOB-4 and the Albuquerque Tribune and boardmember of the Broadcast Film Critics Association—retired a few years back. Obviously, the former “Movie Mama” hasn’t been resting on her laurels. After 22 years of doling out opinion, she’s taken the time to write her first book, a delightfully well-written mystery novel titled The Lumiere Affair. The book was just recently published by Simon & Schuster. It is set primarily at the Cannes Film Festival and features plenty of behind-the-scenes dish about the world’s most famous film festival. Voorhees will be at Bookworks (4022 Rio Grande NW) for an exclusive release party/booksigning on Tuesday, May 7, beginning at 7 p.m. Feel free to drop by and offer your critique of the book.
