Tag: desilu-in-color

A Pictorial of Silent Film-R.K.O/Desilu Connection

Phantom of the Backlot2 Comments
A scene with a man dressed in a green suit with question marks, holding an umbrella and posing in front of a camera. Nearby, a woman in a red and yellow dress stands with her hands on her hips. Two chefs in white uniforms observe, one holding a plate.
Batman and Robin stand next to a large book titled 'A Pictorial History of Silent Films' by Y.Y. Flurch, with an illustration of a woman holding a conductor's baton.

Pictures on the Silver Screen

A black and red Batmobile parked outside 'Mother Gotham's Bakery' with a blue sign indicating 'Employees Only' nearby.
A woman in a bright red dress smiles while sitting beside a man in a green suit with question marks, who appears to be animated and cheerful.

“Every set needs food -Robin”…This is a clue. “That was a great sandwich” says The Riddler

A man in a green outfit is cleaning a dusty surface in a room with large windows and a sign indicating 'STAGE 2-3-4' in the background.

Meanwhile-at the Old Thomas Ince Studios- The Riddler “cuts” his latest silent film.

Three individuals sitting on director's chairs in a film studio, with film reels and posters visible in the background. The woman is wearing a red dress, while the men are in formal attire.
A scene from a classic film shows two men in conversation in front of a large projection screen, with one man dressed in a police uniform and the other in a hat and formal attire. In the background, a chef is watching from behind a counter.
A woman with her face covered in what appears to be cream or pie, sitting at a desk in front of a wall of filing cabinets.
A tense scene featuring a man in a green vest with a worried expression, sitting in front of an old film projector. Another man in a blue suit and hat is smiling behind him.
A black-and-white image on a projector screen featuring a superhero alongside a futuristic vehicle, with various classic cars visible in the background.
A black and white image featuring a movie scene of a superhero duo, Batman and Robin, standing next to a classic car. Robin is pointing while Batman looks on, both in their iconic costumes.
A black and white film scene featuring a superhero in a cape and a child standing in front of a movie theater entrance, with a sign stating the theater is closed.
Three people sitting on director's chairs in a studio, smiling and enjoying a moment together.
A vintage projector screen displaying a black and white image of two figures indoors, with a contrasting colorful background featuring an advertisement for 'Lily Adair, Nude Romance.'
A large projection showing an image of a woman and text that reads 'NATIONAL HISTORY OF SILENT FILM' displayed in a gallery setting, with a door and other artworks partially visible.
A vintage poster for a silent film displayed in a doorway with a partially visible figure in the background.
Two men smiling and laughing, one wearing a bright green outfit and the other in a blue suit and hat, with a film projector in the background.

“Another Classic Cecil” – The Dynamic Duo gets clobbered by a Silent Movie Bill Board

A smiling man in a suit stands next to a vintage camera on a tripod, exuding a sense of professionalism and nostalgia.

Cecil B. DeMille

A scene depicting a colorful villain, dressed in a green costume with a question mark motif, looming over a tied-up hero in a red and green outfit. In the background, a man in a white hat is holding a megaphone, while another figure looks on, all set in a dimly lit room filled with various props.
A scene featuring two characters, one in a suit and hat laughing, and another wearing a green superhero costume holding a panel labeled 'CONTROL LEVELS' with indicators for speed.
A man in a green costume with purple accents gestures dramatically in front of a large control lever marked 'CONTROL LEVEL.' Another man wearing a gray suit and cap laughs in the background, inside a rustic wooden room.

“Quiet on set…ACTION ! “

A man using an old-fashioned camera on a wooden platform surrounded by a rustic interior, with beams and supports visible in the background.
A woman with dark, styled hair is holding a spotlight while smiling, set against a dimly lit background.
A man standing in a film studio, holding a script and leaning against a wooden beam, with studio lights and a backdrop visible.

Cecil B. DeMille operated this studio following Thomas Ince’s “untimely death.”

A scene featuring a man in a green costume and a pink mask shouting, while a character in a red outfit lies on the ground, suggesting a dramatic confrontation.

“Any last words before you become split in half ?”

A character in a green costume is holding a spray can while preparing to use a circular saw on a metallic work surface.
Four men in a cluttered workshop, with one man lying on a table while others appear to be inspecting him. The setting features wooden materials and tools, suggesting a stage or production environment.
Image features bold text that reads 'WILL WE SEE THE BOY WONDER SAWED IN TWO?' over a scene showing a character lying down.
A dimly lit workshop with wooden beams and tools scattered around. A person lies on a wooden plank surface near a table, seemingly in an inactive pose. The scene has colorful lighting effects, creating a dramatic atmosphere.

That sharp blade is spinning -Real Fast–Time is running out!

A grand white mansion with green shutters, featuring a large staircase leading to the entrance. A person in a dark cape is seen on the steps, while a vintage car is parked in front amidst neatly trimmed hedges.
A large white mansion with green shutters, featuring a set of stairs at the entrance. In the foreground, a man in a dark outfit runs along a pathway lined with hedges, while two cars, a vintage black sedan and a red convertible, are parked nearby.
A man dressed as Batman stands beside a classic black Batmobile in front of a large mansion with green shutters and a well-kept garden.
A close-up view of a car seat with a vintage-style toy or device resting on it, illuminated by natural light, highlighting the texture of the leather seat.
Batman in his iconic costume stands next to the Batmobile in front of a house with green shutters.
A scene featuring a man in a suit speaking to a character in a Batmobile, with a grand house and greenery in the background.
A man in a Batman costume with a cape sitting in a retro Batmobile, featuring distinctive fins and devices emitting small jets of smoke.

Robin lost his locator /transmitter making this more difficult, fortunately,Batman has solved this -RIDDLE !

A man in a suit waves goodbye as a sleek black car with red accents, resembling a famous fictional vehicle, drives away in front of a large white house with green shutters.

Good Luck Batman…

A street view of Gotham Lumber Yard featuring a wooden building with a prominent sign. In the foreground, there's a stop sign and a concrete sidewalk, while parked cars line the street in the background under a cloudy sky.

“STOP” – for traffic on Ince Blvd.This, believe it or not, was the main gate and guard shack-that little closet next to stop sign.

Exterior view of Gotham Lumber Yard with a wooden sign and a stop sign nearby.
A black and red vehicle departs from a lumber yard labeled 'Gotham Lumber Warehouse,' on a cloudy street lined with parked cars.
A black car with red accents resembling a superhero vehicle speeds past a lumber store, with parked cars lining the street.

Batman enters this old Bioscope/Triangle Studio founded by Thomas Ince

A person dressed as Batman stands in a doorway, partially visible in a dimly lit room surrounded by wooden planks and construction materials.
A performer in a green face paint and a black cape poses dramatically on wooden crates, while a person in a grey and black costume stands below looking up, with colorful lighting creating distinct shadows.
A character dressed in a red shirt, green shorts, and gloves, lies on a wooden table in a workshop-like setting, with saw blades visible in the background.
A scene featuring a superhero in a cape leaning over a figure dressed in a red and green costume lying on a wooden table, set against a backdrop of wooden planks.

“Holy Saw Blade Batman-That was cutting it close!”

Vintage dressing room with a large mirror surrounded by lights, featuring a vanity table with various beauty products and a cushioned seating area.

This trailer talks and often delivers images in mirrors that have seen more movie history than all other mirrors combined. Truly Magical…Something right out of-The Wizard of Oz.

A comparison of two structures: on the left, an ornate black door with decorative details, and on the right, a dilapidated wooden building with an open entrance, showing signs of decay and damage.

Silent Movie Trailer- Marion Davies

A vintage mirror surrounded by light bulbs, featuring black and white portraits of several people in early 20th-century attire.
A First of it’s kind room and the faces -Once Upon a Time
A silhouetted figure of a man wearing a hat stands in a graveyard, with barren trees and gravestones in the background.
A bottle of Phantom wine placed on a rustic surface with a wooden shed and trees in the background.

Guarded by Spirits

Silent Days are here Again

Amazingly, in my quest to find Batman-I discovered this old Hollywood Trailer. Not just any trailer mind you-this is the oldest relic in Hollywood History. Fittingly, the Thomas Ince/ R.K.O lot has been its home for decades. Disguised as a Garden Shed and used as such after 1971, this chameleon used its own “make up skills” to avoid desegregation from an industry that forgot it’s past, or lost it completely.

Batman himself has had his make-up touched up inside and in front of these MAGIC MIRRORS.

I was told that by a senior home owner who happened to lived on Lucerne back when Gone With the Wind filmed the infamous fire scenes. Quote: ” The Bat Mobile pulled up and parked here, and Batman exited with a brown paper bag drinking a beer.”

It is a right of passage to drink on the sets that dodged prohibition on property that has a checkered past. Wine bottles from Italy are inside this tiny escape trailer. A 1925 -well used – Star Massage vibrator still remained inside when this “Bat Story” was told to me.

The R.K.O – Desilu film vaults are a short walk from this backyard triangle. In a testament to Silent Films, highly flammable nitrate film was stored in explosive proof bunkers or vaults. Hal Roach Studios intersects this all time movie history corner. This Episode of Batman is a spoof of that era with twists and turns that are eerily delivered that connect to this studios past.

Batman unknowingly at this time, wasn’t just recreating history, it actually as creating significant television history-In Living Color, no-less.

This episode is a treat, so full of history, such as the Desilu Plantation Headquarters, the iconic building still proudly looking up at the Culver Hotel. Everything looks up to something. The Forty Acres backlot looked up to the infamous Desilu water tower, which sadly was removed by Amazon Studios, an owner that lost touch of the history that took place on the glorious formerly silent movie studio.

If you-yourself remain silent, areas of this studio still talk. They do to me anyways. The past still exists, just adjust the antenna on your roof, you will get a signal, I promise you. It only fades away if you let it, tune in, not out.

Time is your precious friend, full of rich, colorful memories that disappear if not preserved. That’s where I step in-to preserve the still remaining, almost forgotten past. The stories behind the films and T.V Series from yesteryear.

Written and Lived by…Donnie Norden