Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
MOTION PICTURES: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:onemile.png|left|thumb|350px|Photo courtesy: Telegraph Herald]]MOTION PICTURES. Motion pictures, referred to in 1913 as "talkies," first appeared in Dubuque on August 2,3, and 4, 1912. The [[MAJESTIC THEATRE]] showed Doyle Publicity Service Film Company's "One Mile of Dubuque." (1) The company had shot the film during a visit to Dubuque in July, 1912 when they photographed "aeroplane" races at [[NUTWOOD PARK]], a military drill in [[WASHINGTON PARK]] and scenery around the city. (2) The films were to be purchased by the [[DUBUQUE INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION]] and "used in various parts of the country to advertise the city in the most forceful way." (3) | [[Image:onemile.png|left|thumb|350px|Photo courtesy: Telegraph Herald]]MOTION PICTURES. Motion pictures, referred to in 1913 as "talkies," first appeared in Dubuque on August 2,3, and 4, 1912. The [[MAJESTIC THEATRE]] showed Doyle Publicity Service Film Company's "One Mile of Dubuque." (1) The company had shot the film during a visit to Dubuque in July, 1912 when they photographed "aeroplane" races at [[NUTWOOD PARK]], a military drill in [[WASHINGTON PARK]] and scenery around the city. (2) The films were to be purchased by the [[DUBUQUE INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION]] and "used in various parts of the country to advertise the city in the most forceful way." (3) | ||
Dubuque's history in motion pictures precedes[[WORLD WAR I]]. In 1916 the Zenith Motion Pictures Company of Chicago visited Dubuque. The company was making short features on cities in each state to show before feature films. The films were also to be leased to colleges and universities. (4) | Dubuque's history in motion pictures precedes[[WORLD WAR I]]. In 1916 the Zenith Motion Pictures Company of Chicago visited Dubuque. The company was making short features on cities in each state to show before feature films. The films were also to be leased to colleges and universities. (4) | ||
In 1916 the Paragon Film Company came to Dubuque and filmed "The Call of the Hills." (5) | |||
Wanted--Twenty to fifty men and women, all good swimmers, to | |||
jump from a burning steamboat in mid-river opposite | |||
[[EAGLE POINT PARK]], Friday. Apply Scenario Department, | |||
[[DUBUQUE COMMERCIAL CLUB]]. Posotively (sic) guaranteed | |||
that all will be rescued. (6) | |||
On June 26, 1916 the Telegraph Herald Reported that the production still needed 25 golfers, 12 flower girls, 200 country club guests, 100 steamboat passengers, 500 wedding guests, and 3,000 townspeople to complete the cast. (7) | |||
[[KLAUER-DANCER, Abby McDonald|Abby McDonald KLAUER-DANCER]], a star of the movie, remembered one scene calling for a car to plunge over the cliff at [[EAGLE POINT PARK]] into the quarry without any of the passengers being hurt. The film crew recorded the characters getting into the car and then stopped filming. The characters got out of the car, waited at the bottom of the cliff, and watched as crew members pushed the empty car over the edge. Filmed in Dubuque, the picture was to be shown in 182 cities nationwide. (8) According to Dancer, it played in Dubuque for two years. (9) | |||
In October 1956, ''Pajama Game'', a movie based on the story written by [[BISSELL, Richard|Richard BISSELL]] was partially filmed in Dubuque. ( | Members of the press, county and city government officials, and stockholders of the Colura Motion Picture Company viewed in 1920 a motion picture of Dubuque's Armistice Day Parade. While "adverse weather conditions" were blamed for the quality of the film, the picture was thought to show the possibilities of color photography. Shown as the [[STRAND THEATER]] together with the feature film for five days, the film was then turned over to the city. It was planned that in the the future the New York Company would send its photographers to Dubuque to make another film. (10) | ||
In 1921 a locally produced motion picture was shown for two days at the [[MAJESTIC THEATRE]]. The movie was made of Arbor Day activities of the Kiwanis Club which planted thirty-four elm trees along the Fourth Street extension in memory of military personnel. The rest of the movie offered candid pictures of individuals going to work or walking along the streets. (11) | |||
News reels were shown along with feature films for decades. In 1931 Marcellus Stangl, operator of the [[AVON THEATER]] filmed a blast at the quarry belonging to the [[DUBUQUE STONE PRODUCTS COMPANY]]. Stangl was also the official regional cinematographer for the Universal News Service. His motion picture was incorporated into the news reel released by Universal for the week of May 10-16th. (12) | |||
"A Modern Newspaper in the Making" was one of the subtitles of a film to be made in Dubuque in 1934. Motion picture cameras were expected to be moved into the headquarters of the Telegraph Herald and Times Journal to record the operations of different parts of the newspaper publishing business. The film was to be shot in February and ready for viewing in April. It was to be shown as a special feature at the [[GRAND THEATRE]]. (13) | |||
In October 1956, ''Pajama Game'', a movie based on the story written by [[BISSELL, Richard|Richard BISSELL]] was partially filmed in Dubuque. (14) Although the film starred Doris Day and John Raitt, only Raitt came to Dubuque and only the opening scenes, including panoramic shots of the city, were made in Iowa. An estimated one dozen extras were hired in Dubuque for the filming. | |||
[[Image:imp196.jpg|left|thumb|350px|Stars in the production of "F.I.S.T." left their foot and handprints in concrete.]]The next movie made in Dubuque was [[F.I.S.T.]] starring Sylvester Stallone. The 1977 film, of which an estimated 40 percent was filmed in Dubuque, led to approximately four hundred extras being hired. Special effects crews, wanting to recreate the feeling of Cleveland in the Depression era, obtained permission from the Iowa Air Quality Commission to temporarily cloud Dubuque's air. Other crews darkened some buildings. [[ZIGGY'S]] became a popular tourist site. The premier of ''F.I.S.T''. was held on April 26, 1978. | [[Image:imp196.jpg|left|thumb|350px|Stars in the production of "F.I.S.T." left their foot and handprints in concrete.]]The next movie made in Dubuque was [[F.I.S.T.]] starring Sylvester Stallone. The 1977 film, of which an estimated 40 percent was filmed in Dubuque, led to approximately four hundred extras being hired. Special effects crews, wanting to recreate the feeling of Cleveland in the Depression era, obtained permission from the Iowa Air Quality Commission to temporarily cloud Dubuque's air. Other crews darkened some buildings. [[ZIGGY'S]] became a popular tourist site. The premier of ''F.I.S.T''. was held on April 26, 1978. | ||
[[Image:ppin.jpg|left|thumb|150px|]]Film crews again came to Dubuque for the filming of ''Take This Job and Shove It''. Filming began in August 1980 and led to the hiring of one thousand extras. Filmmakers quickly realized that the story of a struggling manufacturing town was and the story of Dubuque were similar. They discarded the name of the movie's fictional town and used Dubuque. Going further, they renamed the character played by veteran actor Art Carney as Charlie Pickett which was patterned after brewery owner [[PICKETT, Joseph Sr.|Joseph PICKETT, Sr.]] ( | [[Image:ppin.jpg|left|thumb|150px|]]Film crews again came to Dubuque for the filming of ''Take This Job and Shove It''. Filming began in August 1980 and led to the hiring of one thousand extras. Filmmakers quickly realized that the story of a struggling manufacturing town was and the story of Dubuque were similar. They discarded the name of the movie's fictional town and used Dubuque. Going further, they renamed the character played by veteran actor Art Carney as Charlie Pickett which was patterned after brewery owner [[PICKETT, Joseph Sr.|Joseph PICKETT, Sr.]] (15) [[Image:TakeThisJob.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Image courtesy: Mike Day. Kendall C. Day family collection.]] | ||
In 1988 ''Field of Dreams'' was made in and around the Dubuque area. ( | In 1988 ''Field of Dreams'' was made in and around the Dubuque area. (16) Nominated for three Academy Awards in 1990, the film's last scene required [[RIEDEL, Susan|Susan RIEDEL]] to coordinate three thousand extras. Scenes in the film included the downtown area as well as several scenes filmed on the bluffs overlooking the city. | ||
A substantial financial gain comes to Dubuque from movie production. During the first week of the filming of ''F.I.S.T''., sixty-five local employees worked 2,235 hours and received salaries of $40,000. Salaries paid to seventy-five professional crew members-excluding actors and actresses-totaled $60,000. During the eight weeks of filming, the estimated one thousand film extras earned approximately $200,000. The film company paid an estimated $60,000 to obtain Dubuque-area locations for filming plus an additional $85,000 to rent Depression-era trucks and cars. [[KEHL, Robert|Robert KEHL]] supplied 16,000 meals to the crew during their stay and estimated his revenues at between $90,000 and $100,000. The total financial impact on the community amounted to between $1.5 million and $2 million. ( | A substantial financial gain comes to Dubuque from movie production. During the first week of the filming of ''F.I.S.T''., sixty-five local employees worked 2,235 hours and received salaries of $40,000. Salaries paid to seventy-five professional crew members-excluding actors and actresses-totaled $60,000. During the eight weeks of filming, the estimated one thousand film extras earned approximately $200,000. The film company paid an estimated $60,000 to obtain Dubuque-area locations for filming plus an additional $85,000 to rent Depression-era trucks and cars. [[KEHL, Robert|Robert KEHL]] supplied 16,000 meals to the crew during their stay and estimated his revenues at between $90,000 and $100,000. The total financial impact on the community amounted to between $1.5 million and $2 million. (17) | ||
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4. "Scenic Dubuque in Motion Pictures," Telegraph Herald, Nov. 1, 1916, p. 10. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kRleAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5l8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5133,7890322&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en | 4. "Scenic Dubuque in Motion Pictures," Telegraph Herald, Nov. 1, 1916, p. 10. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kRleAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5l8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5133,7890322&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en | ||
5. Piper, Andy. "Hollywood Calls," 175 Telegraph Herald Commemorative Edition, Mar. 26, 2012, p. 2B | 5. "Dave Pleaslee Is the Leading Man," Telegraph Herald, June 26, 1916, p. 8. Online. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FWZfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=418NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3496,3584612&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en | ||
6. Ibid. | |||
7. Ibid. | |||
8. Ibid. | |||
9. Piper, Andy. "Hollywood Calls," 175 Telegraph Herald Commemorative Edition, Mar. 26, 2012, p. 2B | |||
10. "Film of Dubuque Shown at the Strand," Telegraph Herald, Nov. 28, 1920, p. 21. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DRNeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DGANAAAAIBAJ&pg=1023,7533322&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en | |||
11. "Dubuque Pictures Coming Tomorrow," Telegraph Herald, May 19, 1921, p. 5. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DoRiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iHcNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2968,3816268&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en | |||
12. "News Reel to Show Blast at Dubuque Quarry," May 8, 1931, p.. 6. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZL5FAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h70MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1636,5422507&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en | |||
13. "Movies Will Show Dubuque People, Businesses and Scenery," Feb. 25, 1934, p. 10. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ab5BAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xakMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2699,4093541&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en | |||
14. Piper. | |||
15. Ibid. | |||
16. Ibid. | |||
17. Ibid. | |||
Revision as of 04:22, 3 November 2013
MOTION PICTURES. Motion pictures, referred to in 1913 as "talkies," first appeared in Dubuque on August 2,3, and 4, 1912. The MAJESTIC THEATRE showed Doyle Publicity Service Film Company's "One Mile of Dubuque." (1) The company had shot the film during a visit to Dubuque in July, 1912 when they photographed "aeroplane" races at NUTWOOD PARK, a military drill in WASHINGTON PARK and scenery around the city. (2) The films were to be purchased by the DUBUQUE INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION and "used in various parts of the country to advertise the city in the most forceful way." (3)
Dubuque's history in motion pictures precedesWORLD WAR I. In 1916 the Zenith Motion Pictures Company of Chicago visited Dubuque. The company was making short features on cities in each state to show before feature films. The films were also to be leased to colleges and universities. (4)
In 1916 the Paragon Film Company came to Dubuque and filmed "The Call of the Hills." (5)
Wanted--Twenty to fifty men and women, all good swimmers, to
jump from a burning steamboat in mid-river opposite
EAGLE POINT PARK, Friday. Apply Scenario Department,
DUBUQUE COMMERCIAL CLUB. Posotively (sic) guaranteed
that all will be rescued. (6)
On June 26, 1916 the Telegraph Herald Reported that the production still needed 25 golfers, 12 flower girls, 200 country club guests, 100 steamboat passengers, 500 wedding guests, and 3,000 townspeople to complete the cast. (7)
Abby McDonald KLAUER-DANCER, a star of the movie, remembered one scene calling for a car to plunge over the cliff at EAGLE POINT PARK into the quarry without any of the passengers being hurt. The film crew recorded the characters getting into the car and then stopped filming. The characters got out of the car, waited at the bottom of the cliff, and watched as crew members pushed the empty car over the edge. Filmed in Dubuque, the picture was to be shown in 182 cities nationwide. (8) According to Dancer, it played in Dubuque for two years. (9)
Members of the press, county and city government officials, and stockholders of the Colura Motion Picture Company viewed in 1920 a motion picture of Dubuque's Armistice Day Parade. While "adverse weather conditions" were blamed for the quality of the film, the picture was thought to show the possibilities of color photography. Shown as the STRAND THEATER together with the feature film for five days, the film was then turned over to the city. It was planned that in the the future the New York Company would send its photographers to Dubuque to make another film. (10)
In 1921 a locally produced motion picture was shown for two days at the MAJESTIC THEATRE. The movie was made of Arbor Day activities of the Kiwanis Club which planted thirty-four elm trees along the Fourth Street extension in memory of military personnel. The rest of the movie offered candid pictures of individuals going to work or walking along the streets. (11)
News reels were shown along with feature films for decades. In 1931 Marcellus Stangl, operator of the AVON THEATER filmed a blast at the quarry belonging to the DUBUQUE STONE PRODUCTS COMPANY. Stangl was also the official regional cinematographer for the Universal News Service. His motion picture was incorporated into the news reel released by Universal for the week of May 10-16th. (12)
"A Modern Newspaper in the Making" was one of the subtitles of a film to be made in Dubuque in 1934. Motion picture cameras were expected to be moved into the headquarters of the Telegraph Herald and Times Journal to record the operations of different parts of the newspaper publishing business. The film was to be shot in February and ready for viewing in April. It was to be shown as a special feature at the GRAND THEATRE. (13)
In October 1956, Pajama Game, a movie based on the story written by Richard BISSELL was partially filmed in Dubuque. (14) Although the film starred Doris Day and John Raitt, only Raitt came to Dubuque and only the opening scenes, including panoramic shots of the city, were made in Iowa. An estimated one dozen extras were hired in Dubuque for the filming.
The next movie made in Dubuque was F.I.S.T. starring Sylvester Stallone. The 1977 film, of which an estimated 40 percent was filmed in Dubuque, led to approximately four hundred extras being hired. Special effects crews, wanting to recreate the feeling of Cleveland in the Depression era, obtained permission from the Iowa Air Quality Commission to temporarily cloud Dubuque's air. Other crews darkened some buildings. ZIGGY'S became a popular tourist site. The premier of F.I.S.T. was held on April 26, 1978.
Film crews again came to Dubuque for the filming of Take This Job and Shove It. Filming began in August 1980 and led to the hiring of one thousand extras. Filmmakers quickly realized that the story of a struggling manufacturing town was and the story of Dubuque were similar. They discarded the name of the movie's fictional town and used Dubuque. Going further, they renamed the character played by veteran actor Art Carney as Charlie Pickett which was patterned after brewery owner Joseph PICKETT, Sr. (15)
In 1988 Field of Dreams was made in and around the Dubuque area. (16) Nominated for three Academy Awards in 1990, the film's last scene required Susan RIEDEL to coordinate three thousand extras. Scenes in the film included the downtown area as well as several scenes filmed on the bluffs overlooking the city.
A substantial financial gain comes to Dubuque from movie production. During the first week of the filming of F.I.S.T., sixty-five local employees worked 2,235 hours and received salaries of $40,000. Salaries paid to seventy-five professional crew members-excluding actors and actresses-totaled $60,000. During the eight weeks of filming, the estimated one thousand film extras earned approximately $200,000. The film company paid an estimated $60,000 to obtain Dubuque-area locations for filming plus an additional $85,000 to rent Depression-era trucks and cars. Robert KEHL supplied 16,000 meals to the crew during their stay and estimated his revenues at between $90,000 and $100,000. The total financial impact on the community amounted to between $1.5 million and $2 million. (17)
---
Source:
1. Advertisement. Aug 2, 1912, p. 5. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wk5CAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hqoMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1935,2708917&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en
2. "Advertise the City By Motion Pictures," Telegraph Herald, July 14, 1912, p. 6. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sE5CAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hqoMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4707,386124&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en
3. Ibid.
4. "Scenic Dubuque in Motion Pictures," Telegraph Herald, Nov. 1, 1916, p. 10. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kRleAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5l8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5133,7890322&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en
5. "Dave Pleaslee Is the Leading Man," Telegraph Herald, June 26, 1916, p. 8. Online. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FWZfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=418NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3496,3584612&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Piper, Andy. "Hollywood Calls," 175 Telegraph Herald Commemorative Edition, Mar. 26, 2012, p. 2B
10. "Film of Dubuque Shown at the Strand," Telegraph Herald, Nov. 28, 1920, p. 21. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DRNeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DGANAAAAIBAJ&pg=1023,7533322&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en
11. "Dubuque Pictures Coming Tomorrow," Telegraph Herald, May 19, 1921, p. 5. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DoRiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iHcNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2968,3816268&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en
12. "News Reel to Show Blast at Dubuque Quarry," May 8, 1931, p.. 6. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZL5FAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h70MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1636,5422507&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en
13. "Movies Will Show Dubuque People, Businesses and Scenery," Feb. 25, 1934, p. 10. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ab5BAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xakMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2699,4093541&dq=motion+pictures+dubuque&hl=en
14. Piper.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
