The 'Quiet Little Englishman' on Stage!

Monday, 16 July 2007

Every year since Athens in 1985, a city in Europe has been designated as the European City or Capital of Culture and next year will be Liverpool's turn. Since winning the prestigious title in 2003, the Liverpool Culture Company have been very active preparing for the 2008 celebrations and have just announced the 'Liverpool Commissions '. These are eleven brand new works of art which will be showcased throughout the year. One of the commissions is a theatre production called The Quiet Little Englishman which will be about our very own George Groves and his pioneering sound film work.

For the last two years playwright Esther Wilson and her colleagues at Zho Visual Theatre have been developing their proposal, researching George's story and applying for funding. They've won their commission from the LCC despite considerable competition and will subsequently share in �500,000 of funding. Esther writes that they still have some way to go as they plan to create a "huge multi-media event on a 'film lot' " which will incorporate a sound installation, live music, dance and theatre. Matching funding will be required from other bodies but they are confident that they'll succeed. The director will be Paula Simm whose currently directing a show in Portugal.

This is fantastic news and congratulations to Esther and all at Zho. I will, of course, be reporting any developments in this blog. You can read more about the Liverpool Commissions here and here.

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The Jazz Singer Documentary from Warners

Monday, 09 July 2007

Sparkhill Productions of Burbank are completing production of a documentary on The Jazz Singer and the advent of motion picture sound technology for Warner Brothers and TCM. Sparkhill are a top producer of DVD programming for major motion picture studios and distributors. As one would expect, George Groves' contribution as recording engineer on the seminal film is being featured in the programme and I've been pleased to supply Sparkhill with some hi-res stills of George for inclusion. I hope to get a release date soon.

A Century of Sound DVD featuring George Groves

Talking of DVDs, I've been informed that the first part of A Century of Sound is close to being released. (See blog item below) This is the UCLA / Rick Chace three part documentary DVD series on the history of sound in motion pictures which extensively features George. The documentary's Wrap Party in Burbank is scheduled for July 19th to which I've been invited but am unable to fly over from St.Helens. Well I've got to think of my carbon footprint haven't I! Instead I've arranged for two of George's relatives who live in LA to attend. Hope it all goes well.

The DVD will feature seventeen minutes of George's oral history which he made c.1974 to Irene Kahn Atkins, daughter of legendary Hollywood songwriter Gus Kahn on behalf of the American Film Institute. I've discovered that a full two hour recording of George's recollections do exist stored at UCLA in LA. I'm currently trying to obtain a copy on behalf of the Groves family and, of course, this web site. The oral history was made just a couple of years before George died and is clearly an invaluable record from someone who was in at the very beginning of sound films and made important contributions in their development until his retirement in 1972.

I'll keep you posted on any news on this.

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George Groves in UCLA Documentary

Saturday, 21 April 2007

The Rick Chace Foundation and the UCLA Film and Television Archive are producing a comprehensive three part documentary DVD series on the history of sound in motion pictures. The DVDs will be released in June 2007 and will be distributed free of charge to educational institutions and archives worldwide. The first part is entitled A Century of Sound – The History of Sound in Motion Pictures: The Beginning 1876-1932 and is based on a lecture prepared originally in 1992 by Robert Gitt, Chief Preservation Officer of the UCLA Film & Television Archive. It contains many unseen film clips and portions of many Vitaphone productions and will also feature 17 minutes of George Groves' oral history which he made in 1975, just a year before he died.

I've been sent a copy of the introduction to the voice-over which refers to George's "illustrious career " and "significant contributions " to sound motion pictures. I've been delighted to supply the production team with many stills used in this web site and I look forward to viewing the DVD. It's great to see that George's pioneering work is continuing to gain recognition 31 years after his death.

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George Groves in Norwegian University of Science and Technology Exhibit

Saturday, 06 January 2007

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology will be including George Groves in an exhibition on the history of electroacoustics in the interwar period. The exhibition is organised by Faros, an exhibition group at the university in Trondheim and will be set up at the University museum from March to July 2007.

We've supplied them with the Mammy photo from 1930 with George pictured with Al Jolson. This picture is currently in the January edition of the UK's Hi-Fi News in an interesting article by Britain's leading technology writer Barry Fox on how sound in the theatre shaped home cinema and disc-based hi-fi. I'm pleased that there are mentions of George's contributions.

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HI-FI News

Friday, 17 November 2006

Hi-Fi News in the UK are printing an article on the development of film sound during the 1920s. We've supplied some photos to them for inclusion in the piece, including the 1930 Mammy photo of George with Al Jolson.

This is a very rare photo (right) and as far as we know has never been in print media before. It's believed to have been taken at Jolson's insistence so George could send it from his home in Hollywood back to his family in England, who by then were living in Liverpool. The article will be printed in the December edition of Hi-Fi News, on sale Dec 15th 2006. This website will get a mention.

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Free Thinking!

Friday, 28 July 2006

free thinking the city

As part of their Free Thinking initiative, BBC Radio 3 currently has a blog on their web site by Esther Wilson who writes about George Groves and links to this web site. Click HERE to view it. Esther is currently in development on a possible play on George.

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Gathering of the Clan!

Thursday, 27 July 2006

An unintentional benefit of this site has been the number of relatives and descendants of George Groves who we've been able to put in contact with George's niece Doreen Barrow. This has enabled her to expand her family tree and on Sunday 16th July, Doreen held a "gathering of the clan" at her home in Liverpool, England.

If you feel you may be connected to George, contact us and we'll put you in touch with Doreen. She also has a brother Roland in LA who also studies genealogy.

Su Barton has a Groves family tree which details the Bristol and St.Helens connections.

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The Story of Oscar-Winning Movie Sound Pioneer GEORGE R. GROVES