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Posted by: Matthew Barton
On May 24th, 1922, President Warren G. Harding spoke into a recording horn prepared for him at the White House. He recreated a speech he had given a year and a day earlier at a memorial ceremony held at Pier 4 on the Hoboken, NJ waterfront, where the remains of 5,212 Americans killed in World …
Posted in: Uncategorized
Posted by: Stacie Seifrit-Griffin
With graduation season in full swing, there is no better time to share the Library’s collection and the song, “Pomp and Circumstance.” And if you’re thinking about films, “The Graduate” is just one related to graduation and coming of age that has been added to the National Film Registry. If you don’t know “Pomp and …
Posted in: Film Essay, Jukebox, National Film Registry
Posted by: Stacie Seifrit-Griffin
It’s hard to find a book written about Fred Astaire that doesn’t mention Irving Berlin within the first five pages. During the making of the movie “Top Hat” (1935), Fred Astaire and Irving Berlin met for the first time and formed a close friendship that would last the rest of their lives, and the two …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry
Posted by: Matthew Barton
This post originally appeared on this blog in May of 2020. As detailed in the previous blog post, VE Day – Take One, Monday, May 7, 1945, was a day of confusion and restrained celebration for CBS Radio and the news media in general. Tuesday, May 8, however, brought clarity and all out jubilation. Speaking …
Posted in: Recorded Sound, World War II
Posted by: Matthew Barton
The following post originally appeared on this blog in May of 2020. The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and other radio networks all covered the last hours of World War II in Europe in depth, and these recordings are preserved in the Library of Congress, where they are available for listening in the Recorded Sound Research Center …
Posted in: Recorded Sound, World War II
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Yes, May the Force (and the Fourth) be with you! A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, the great John Williams (who turned 90 years young earlier this year) was asked to compose the music for a little science fiction film named “Star Wars.” Williams did not disappoint. His original soundtrack …
Posted in: National Recording Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Here are some of the titles from the Library’s motion picture collections–many preserved by the NAVCC film laboratory–that we’re loaning for exhibition this month. As always, we can’t guarantee that schedules won’t change or links get broken, but this is our best information at the time of publication. Wesleyan University – Middletown, Connecticut THE CROWD …
Posted in: Film Loans, Uncategorized
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
It was 64 years go this month that the US, in its then simmering Cold War with the Soviet Union, achieved one of its most startlingly and surprising victories. All it involved was a yearly, Russian-sponsored music contest and an unassuming young piano virtuoso from Texas named Van Cliburn and his skilled beyond-his-years interpretation of …
Posted in: National Recording Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Washington, DC, and its surrounding area, is not usually thought of as a filmmaking capitol but, from time to time, we have been the background to some very memorable movies. And this has been going on for years. All the way back in 1919, silent screen superstar Constance Talmadge, then heading her very own production …
Posted in: Motion Pictures