THE MUSIC MAKERS (Vitaphone #722/723, January 1929) - This fragment is all that remains of this two-reel short by vaudeville and Broadway stars Willie and Eugene Howard

THE MUSIC MAKERS (Vitaphone #722/723, January 1929) - This fragment is all that remains of this two-reel short by vaudeville and Broadway stars Willie and Eugene Howard. Set in a Victor record store, the first reel (now missing) has owner Eugene interviewing Willie for his "Boy Wanted" position. The Vitaphone disks survive for both reels, and the hilarious patter between the brothers in the opening make its loss unfortunate. What does survive is reel two, with Willie hiding inside an orthophonic Victrola on steroids, imitating contemporary recording artists for a pair of flappers. The team made five shorts for Vitaphone, including their 1926 BETWEEN THE ACTS AT THE OPERA which accompanied the second Vitaphone feature THE BETTER 'OLE. This fragment was synched up to the LoC's mute footage by collector Gary Lacher. His place in film discovery-dom is solid after finding 28 largely lost 1929-30 Pathe shorts --- including Bing Crosby's TWO PLUS FOURS ---- their disks and even their show-at-home

(Ron Hutchinson)