MIDTOWN HI-JINX
Unknown filmmaker, ca. 1940s, 16mm, silent with music, 3:54
Location: New York City
Shown at Home Movie Day, Lexington, Kentucky
Film scan by Kinetta
Film courtesy of Brian L. Frye
Thanks to: Brian L. Frye, Katrina Dixon, Jeff Kreines
About the Film
For whatever reason, many home movies are abandoned by their makers and end up orphaned and for sale at antique or thrift stores or on eBay, to be rescued by film collectors. Such is the case with the reel we have named Midtown Hi-Jinx, which was acquired by filmmaker and collector Brian L. Frye. Nothing definitive is known about the film, who made it or who the people shown are, so it is a matter of detective work to try to figure out the locations around New York’s Beth Israel Hospital, Stuyvesant Square, and Central Park. Rather than focusing too much on the mystery of the details it is better to merely enjoy it as a short film.
About the Music
“Louise” by Richard A. Whiting and Leo Robin performed by Gardiner Gibbs & His Orchestra. Background Music Vol. 3: Light and Lively. Capitol Records (1952)
The record was digitized, skips and all, by Brian Frye, and edited to fit the length of the film.