Lost Catalina

Cecil B. DeMille’s 1924 silent film, “Feet of Clay” has been lost to the ages, unless someone finds a print in their musty attic or dank basement. Here’s the plot edited from Wikipedia:

Kerry Harlan (Rod La Rocque) is unable to work because he was injured in a battle with a shark, so his youthful wife Amy (Vera Reynolds) becomes a fashion model. While she is away from home, Bertha (Julia Faye), the wife of his surgeon, tries to force her attention on Kerry and is accidentally killed in an attempt to evade her husband. After the scandal Amy is courted by the dashing Tony Channing (Ricardo Cortez), but she returns to her husband and finds him near death from gas fumes. Because they both attempted to commit suicide, their spirits are rejected by “the other side” and, learning the truth from Bertha’s spirit, they fight their way back to life.

For DeMille’s reputation, it might be a good thing that this film has been lost!



Above are Rod La Rocque, Julia Faye, Vera Reynolds, and Ricardo Cortez. So much drama in one photo as the two couples have switched partners! Below is a surviving still from the film, which was shot on Catalina Island.



While the pier is still there (although most likely redone at some point), the building in the background does not appear to exist anymore.



In the first detailed view below, the cast is literally horsing around:



Sunbathers on the shore:



About to make a dive:



I’ve been to the Island twice, most recently in 2020. While it is beautiful, I can’t say it’s a place that I would rush back to.



See more Catalina photos at my main website.

Catalina Welcomes You!

It’s 1940, and Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard had just finished filming “The Great Dictator” and vacationed in Catalina to celebrate:

Relaxing at Santa Catalina and letting the world go by are the Chaplins-three. Charlie, Sr., Paulette Goddard and Charlie, Jr. Sidney, the younger son, had to stay at home to make up his studies. Charlie has just completed his long awaited sound picture and is resting at his Santa Catalina hide-away dividing his time between fishing, tennis and strolling around Avalon Town with son Charles and Paulette.

The boat that took them from Los Angeles to Catalina can be seen in the background. The gents below are vacationing there, too, circa May 1958:

A vintage view of the Casion in the background, from September 1960:

This ho-hum Catalina shot from June 1962 got a little more exciting for me when I noticed there was a brochure in the little girl’s hands:

Zooming in and flipping the image 180 degrees I got this:

Which matches this “Catalina Welcomes You” vintage brochure easily found on ebay:

See more Catalina photos at my main website.

Traveling Thursdays: Catalina Island

I have only been to Catalina Island once. When I stepped off the boat and looked around, I wished I had booked a longer weekend trip. By that very same evening, I was ready to go home. Overall, the island seemed somewhat touristy to me; too full of people and activity to relax, but not enough attractions that appealed to me to keep me busy. I played a lot of miniature golf.

Still, I was very impressed by the Avalon Theatre, shown in the first vintage image. The 12 story tall structure opened on May 29, 1929, ad has a movie theatre and museum on the first level and a dance hall on the top level. The theatre has one movie screen that shows first-run movies (you can watch "The Mysterious Island" if you happen to be on the island tonight!), and is so well-insulated that guests can't hear the noise from the dancehall above, yet the acoustics are so good that a speaker on the theatre stage can speak in a normal voice without a microphone and be heard clearly by all in attendance.

The theatre still has its original 4-manual, 16 rank theatre pipe organ built by the Page Pipe Organ Company of Lima, Ohio, which you can see in this clip showing Bob Salisbury playing (appropriately) the song "Avalon":




The photos shown here were taken from my June 2004 trip; I was still using a camera that took film, and I have to say my photography skills were not very advanced. Still, I think you can see what a historic gem this theatre is.

















See more vintage & current Catalina Island photos on my Catalina web page.