Italian Cinebox and Scopitone expert Michele Bovi has an amazing new book out on the history of the film jukebox. It's written in Italian with an English translation (the photo captions are just in Italian, though).
It's a very thorough history of the invention and marketing of the competing "film jukeboxes" with interviews of inventors, executives, producers, directors, and the artists who appeared in the films.
There's a bunch of interesting tidbits about folks such as Debbie Reynolds (her production company made many of the US Scopitones), Francis Ford Coppola (who lost a small fortune he invested in the new technology), Robert Altman (who directed at least one Scopitone film), as well as details about the US Scopitones business's extensive ties to the mafia.
There are hundreds of great photos, film stills and reproductions of Cinebox and Scopitone ephemera along with lists of films produced etc. Bob Orlowsky of The Scopitone Archive has an extended section detailing the history of the machines in the US. It's a must have for any serious Cinebox and Scopitone fan. Buy "Da Carosone a Cosa Nostra. Gli antenati del videoclip-From Carosone to Cosa Nostra. Ancestors of the music video"
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a little off-topic but,
I didn't realize Debbie Reynolds was such a savvy business person until last year. I was watching an episode of Antiques Roadshow, and they visted her warehouse of Moive Clothing run by her son. They said she has the largest single collection of old movie wardrobe in existance.
Dave
Posted by: Dave | September 24, 2007 at 05:09 PM