Monday, June 13, 2011

1951 GSOE #1 (From Eric Beheim)

Continuing with our 60th anniversary celebration of the filming of DeMille’s GSOE, here are frame enlargements showing some of the individual acts that appeared in the 1951 edition. (The task of listing all their names I’d rather leave to you and, to paraphrase W.S. Gilbert, it really doesn’t matter whom you place upon the list, since they’ll ALL of them be missed!)
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Posted by Buckles at 6/13/2011 06:07:00 AM

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eric --- How do you make these wonderful still-frame photographs from the DVD? Do you need special software? Or equipment? Thank you. ToddP

13 June, 2011 07:35
Eric said...

The video frame capture program I’m using was set up by my son, who is quite talented in computer-related matters. (He’s currently working on his PhD at UC Davis – something to do with designing a computer modeling program for use in archeological research.) I have no idea how it works; I just follow the instructions he gave me when he set it up and have been able to obtain good results.

13 June, 2011 09:51
charles mathias said...

Great results. Thank you Eric. Could you show the picture at the "tear down" showing the elephant picking up the newspaper with the cotton candy stuck to it showing "the doctor who killed the thing he loved" You can see in the background a "globe of death" I was surprised to see this type of act in the 50's. Can someone give us a history on this type of act that is so popular today?

13 June, 2011 11:22
Buckles said...

In other words Todd........none of your business!

13 June, 2011 11:31
Eric said...

The “Globe of Death” is mentioned in Bill Ballantine’s book WILD TIGERS & TAME FLEAS in the chapter HOME IS WHERE THE SNAKE IS. Bill visited the show on July 4, 1951 and while eating lunch with some of the sideshow people, heard them discussing the Globe of Death and its owner: “Half the time he can’t get that rig of his in the air,” said Sealo. “You watch, some night the boys they red-light it off the train. It’s too heavy to bother lifting and loading and carry it every day.”

13 June, 2011 12:07
Anonymous said...

Charles,
The act you mentioned was not the same type of globe act we have today with the motorcycles.
The act in TGSOE-1951(The Morituris-Pendulum Globe of Death)was actually an aerial cradle type of act. The male member hung by his knees on a cradle apparatus and he held the large globe first by his hands and then for a few seconds by his teeth. Inside the globe the female partner rode around on a bicycle.
This act probably did not impress the audiences very much as they were only there for one season (1951). The feats of strength to hold this large globe by your hands and then teeth while the girl was whirling around inside high up in the Garden roof and Big Top was nevertheless impressive.
Dom

13 June, 2011 13:55
Anonymous said...

A busy garbage joint does my heart good.

13 June, 2011 21:31

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