Abraham Katz--home movies. Reels 32-36

Date1931 – 1935

AbstractBlack and white and color amateur footage of the EMF store and a parade in Cambridge, MA, two boys playing baseball, experiments with trick photography and intertitled footage of "The Dedication of Edward Leo Zimmerman Square in Cambridge, Mass. Oct. 15, 1933." Includes several assembled Amateur Cinema League logo titles.

Viewing NotesReel 32, Two young man, one puts on his tie, they shadow box. Police officer. Man takes cigar out of his vest pocket repeatedly. Men by brick wall, shake hands, face camera. Underexposed pan of EMF interior. Signs EMF and Katz. Men, maybe employees, but too underexposed to see them well and too much camera movement. Man lights pipe. Blurry interior footage. From second floor window, sign "Zits" and United Cigars. Double decker bus. "Earl Carroll Vanities" sign, then nighttime, lots of lighted signs, probably Times Square. The Guardsman. Lew Ayres in Spirit of Notre Dame. Marx Brothers in Monkey Business. Irene Dunne in Consolation Marriage. [1931] EMF Electrical Supply Company, 430 Mass Ave. Cambridge sign. Battleship in distance. EMF Electrical Supplies sign being installed, (at 5:16), men on ladder. At night, neon, "electrical supplies" blinks on and off. Agfa title. Amateur Cinema League title with turning globe. More ACL titles. EMF letters drawn out. Katz Electric flashing Katz electric with two cats and lighting bolts flashing. Animated. EMF Electrical Supply storefront from street, Fenway theatre, Touchdown with Peggy Shannon. [1931] Majestic Theatre. Metropolitan. Circus acts with elephants from the balcony. Loews Orpheum vertical sign, pan down. Wolf's sign Carter's Inks sign. EMF Electrical Supply from across Massachusetts Ave. Daytime outdoors, man comes out of brick building, takes off hat, smokes. Young man on street, has camera. Blurry and lots of fuzz at top of frame. Slow pan of storefront, 430. Across the street, people on sidewalk, man in bowler behind the store. Points up. Very bad exposure, two men hoist cable. Unfocused closeup. Man with cable, also unfocused goes to open van, A.C. Morrell on truck door, He drives off. Two men acting silly outside. EMF Electrical Supply Company truck very jiggly footage. Men shake hands by brick wall, one has pipe. More men on street by EMF truck. Two men shake hands on street Women at house. Child climbs on back of car. Then on wall. Women come toward camera on horses in neighborhood. Boys in foreground look at camera. Reel 33: Street scene with many people, then parade. Band in WW1 helmets. Rosenberg's Department Store in background. Agfa title. 1937. Woman in car CU, smiles at camera. Lafayette Restaurant, policeman directs viewer. Parade with Cambridge Post No 27 banner. Drum corps. Cambridge fire trucks. Trolley tracks on Mass. Ave. Boy in shorts. Trombones marching. Jefferson Club float. Crew of bicyclists in foreground. View of parade from upstairs window (from 430 Mass Ave?), Agfa title Intertitle: "Dedication of Edward Leo Zimmerman Square by Cambridge Post No. 35 Jewish War Veterans of U.S. Cambridge, Mass. Oct 15, 1933" Frame of headshot, "Edward Leo Zimmerman. Died in France July 24, 1918, of wounds received in action." Parade on street. Intertitle: "His Honor Mayor Richard M. Russell Marches with the Legionaires." Marchers. Intertitle: "The National Guard." Intertitle: "The American Legion" Children marching. Reviewing stand in front of "Pop's Lunch, Pickwick Ale" sign. View from second floor window of crowd Intertitle: "The Junior Legion Fife and Drum Corps" from above. Intertitle: "Boy Scouts of America Cambridge Jewish Troop" boys marching crowd. Silhouette inside window looking out. Intertitle: "Cambridge Civic League" View of boys with sign saying same, men in hats standing behind them. Intertitle: "Harold Seidenberg, Chairman. Past Commander in Chief, Jewish War Veterans of U.S." Man at microphone. Intertitle: "Doc Smollar Senior Vice Commander Cambridge Post." Intertitle: "Rabbi Sharn Addresses the Crowd." Man at microphone. Intertitle: "Commander Frye Accepts the Colors Donated by the Zimmerman Family." Intertitle: "George Frye, Commander of Cambridge Post No.35 Jewish War Veterans of U.S. and Honorable Chief Marshall." Men with flag. Intertitle: "Past Commander in Chief M.J. Mendelsohn Delivers the Dedication Adress." [sic] Uniformed man at microphone. Reviewing stand at Pop's Lunch, Beer on Draught. Unveiling of street sign. Intertitle: "A Volley is Fired." Intertitle: "William Berman, Commander in Chief, Jewish War Veterans." Reviewing stand with floral tribute in shape of Star of David. Intertitle: "Unveiling of the Square Marker." View of same with wreaths. Intertitle: "Taps" Intertitle: "Memorial Services at Temple Ashkenazi, Cambridge" Views of front of temple, car drives up. View inside. People emerge from car, come in. Parade. Underexposed view. Intertitle "The End" Reel 34: Small boy in baseball outfit with bat comes down steps in yard with another child. Color film of family throwing rocks at beach. Various views. Children by garage doors also color. Children in garden. b&w, father and son in yard. Bus passes behind them. At a playground, toddler climbs ladder. Toddler in front of car and around running board of car. Dark views of baby in stroller. Baby in canvas yard chair and being held. Very contrasty views of baby indoors. Time lapse view of assembling stroller. Various effects of stroller and child including double exposure. Baby in swing, attempts at trick shots. Split screen views and other double exposures with matte. Long shot of house with swing. Family portraits. Toddler in swing, CU. Girl holds toddler, toddler in playpen outdoors. Girl plays ball. Cat in playpen and runs out. Small child with puppy on lawn, adults' legs. Reel 35, b&w children and dog in snow. A large field with houses in the background. Boy in high chair with glasses and bowl, bib around his neck. Figure in the snow on skis, girl goes inside. Child in snowsuit with crate on runners in snow. Overexposed footage of child in snow. In the background, figures on skates. Very poor exposure. Skaters at high speed around child. Neighborhood houses and bare trees behind. Child with shovel in snow. Reel 36 Bride emerges from house with bridal party. Still overexposed. One man in top hat. People seat themselves on a bench (sign "Strathmore Paper" in background). Woman with very large corsage on. Everyone wears hats. "Acadia Boston" painted on life ring, couple waves from stern of boat. [Could be SS Acadia, built in 1932 as a combination passenger and cargo steel merchant vessel for Eastern Steamship Lines, Inc., a Maine corporation having its office and principal place of business in Boston, Massachusetts.] "Rahway Merck & Co." sign at roadside. (New Jersey) Underexposed footage of man dancing next to car. Woman observes. "Old Mill Inn Sea food" sign on building, [Mattituck, NY?] Ferry, woman leans on railing. Girl comes into view. Ferry arrives. Evergreen Lunch Room, woman emerges with another woman who may work there. Man stops. Nice footage Cape Charles station with train. Car with "To Ferries" Woman runs along balancing on railroad track. Another view of Cape Charles train station. [Virginia] Purple footage. Woman on vacation with police officer, children, bags. Cruise visit, could be Bermuda. View of hotel. Woman poses in overall and cap on vacation. View of town and harbor. Man seated on cannon, waves cap. He has a camera. Woman rides bicycle. Waves. "Monta..." sign on hotel. Birds in aviary. Woman with small child. Cruise ship in the distance behind shingled roofs. Woman holds oranges in each hand and smiles. Tosses them as if to juggle.