...at the immaculate suggestion of Gingerologist Superior, Barbara Atkinson (OklahomaBarb, if I may be so bold), here's a post on GingerFilms which are currently on the National Film Register of the Library of Congress...
...SO, what IS the Library of Congress, you may ask? Good question... it's like... a large building in Washington D.C., the National Capital of the the United States of America. Within it, there are.... books....lots of books... I mean there's REALLY... ...a LOT of books... (I've been there, y'all, so... take it from me...) ...but there are also all other forms of 'media', including films, recordings, etc... its existence is for the preservation of anything which is of significance which has been produced in the U.S.A. since its inception... Now, MY copy of Queen High has this deal at the front of it:
...maybe this is a 'general entry', and not specifically for a film on the National Film Register...
Anyway,
HERE is their general site... pretty cool stuff...
So far, here are the GingerFilms which are on the Library of Congress National Film Register:
Forty-Second Street (1933, Warner Brothers);
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933, Warner Brothers / Vitaphone);
Top Hat (1935, RKO Radio); and
Swing Time (1936, RKO Radio).
...pretty dang awesome, but... ...here's where we come in... from the LofC website:
"The National Film Registry selects 25 films each year showcasing the
range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for
its preservation. To be eligible for the Registry, a film must be at least 10 years old
and be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
...with that,
HERE is the link to the nomination page for 2017... you can nominate up to fifty (50) (!) films per year for consideration by the National Film Preservation Board to be placed on the National Film Register (NFR)!
They do have a pretty extensive list of past nominations which did not make the cut for the NFR - that list is
HERE - quite a few 'suggestions'... just perusing the 30s, I noticed that "In Person" was placed in the 1934 list as well as the 1935 one....hmmmm... could this be a SIGN for our nominations?
With that, here's THIS: Which GingerFilm (if only one can be picked), would YOU choose from the remaining list, and could make a decent argument as to it's 'significance'? Remember it has to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"... well, heck, ALL GingerFilms are QUITE "aesthetically significant"... but, with that, here are MY five (yeah, I couldn't go with just one either) that best fit the criteria (I'm leaving out the balance of the G&F films, as it's pretty obvious ALL of those are candidates):
Young Man of Manhattan (1930 - Paramount)
This one has 'historical significance', as it has quite a bit of actual newsreel footage of various sporting events with the actual athletes, most famously a boxing match between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney. Additionally, it does a fair job depicting the life of a news reporter back in the day, between Norman Foster and Claudette Colbert. But of course, the GingerAngle is that she creates the character of Puff Randolph to be a very convincing 'flapper chick' which the era is famous for... with a few cute tunes she performs as well. It's also Ginger's first role in a 'feature film', which is historical enough for me.
Stage Door (1937 - RKO Radio)
Pretty much an 'all-star' effort for RKO, with not only Ginger and Kate, but also Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Gail Patrick, etc... and Adolphe Menjou thrown in as a potential sugar daddy. This film does depict life as a starving actress in the Depression Era, which is definitely of historical significance. Just the exchanges between Ginger and Kate are enough to fast-track its inclusion on the List...
Kitty Foyle (1940 - RKO Radio)
Ginger's Oscar-winning role is of course a fave of most all Gingerologists, primarily for the love story involved; but the film's 'general' tone deals with the emerging female workforce in 'modern-day' society... the fact that this phenomenon was documented in this film just before the U.S. involvement in World War II is timely, as females played a HUGE role in production of goods for the war effort.
I'll Be Seeing You (1944 - Selznick International)
On the other side of WWII, we have this underrated film which has Ginger meeting up with a veteran who has not shook the nightmares of the war experience from his mind... this is an early film which dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) in a somewhat 'unfiltered' manner... still somewhat tame compared to later films in the 60s, 70s, and beyond, it still has historic value as to how Hollywood was trying to present a tough subject in a impactful manner. Plus, Ginger is quite radiant in this one, and turns in an excellent dramatic performance alongside Joseph Cotten and a teenaged Shirley Temple... not to mention Spring Bynington, one of my faves...
Monkey Business (1952 - 20th Century-Fox)
Well, this one is just historically significant for the sake of film... Ginger is alongside Cary Grant and Marilyn Monroe, with that constant 'elder', Charles Coburn... I mean the cast is incredible! And to me, it's really a 'precursor' to all the goofy yet cool Disney 'live action' films of the 60s, like Flubber, That Darn Cat, Now You See Him-Now You Don't, Herbie, etc... which, I guess is of some cultural significance...
=====
...well, that's that. Of course, I think we could all figure out something about ANY of the GingerFilms which would qualify for its inclusion on the National Film Register... but I guess these kind of stuck out to me. For example, one could argue Suicide Fleet or Carnival Boat, due to historic footage of the late 20's Navy Fleet and early logging industry methods, respectively... The First Traveling Saleslady deals with the resistance Western ranchers had to barbed wire, which was most likely pretty accurate... and the list just goes on.
Well, with that, go over to the nomination site and DO so! I haven't YET, but plan to this weekend... vote early and often!!!
Until Later...
KIG!
Hu
---
