The lights are off; I’ve got a bowl of popcorn, one of my favorite blankets, and a fantastic movie from “Old Hollywood.” I’m particular to any Judy film or classic musical; Singing in the Rain, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Swing Time, The Wizard of Oz; you name it, I likely love it. Fortunately, these are some of my moms’ favorites, and I grew up loving them.
I remember renting the movie “The Pirate” from Netflix DVD when I was around 15 or 16 years old and going into my parents’ bedroom to use their DVD player – as my dad was using the living room for something I wasn’t interested in. Once I had turned everything on, I sat on the water bed, and fell in love with Judy and Clark all over again.
I didn’t realize at the time how awe-inspiring these movies are and the history that comes along with them. In the fantastic dance scenes, the actors and actresses would nowadays be considered double, triple, or even quadruple threats for their outstanding skills! All I knew was that I would adore Hollywood and films for life!
Flash forward, and here we are in 2022, with a lot of these old movies either forgotten or lost to history. That’s beginning to change; projects such as the Backdrop Recovery Project are taking effect, trying to preserve a massive piece of these great old films; the backdrops.
The Backdrop Recovery Project is spearheaded by the Art Directors Guild Archives and the J.C. Backings Corporation. The J. C. Backings Corp had acquired over 2,000 backdrops around 2012 from MGM Storage which no longer needed the products. Thank goodness Lynne Coakley, the head of J. C. Backings, could get ahold of them to preserve them!
***Art of the Hollywood Backdrop – Opening April 20, 2022
Coming to Boca Raton, FL, at the Boca Raton Museum of Art this year. There will be a special exhibition from April of this year to January of 2023. The display will showcase multiple backdrops that were used in numerous old films from a bygone era.
Did you know that several scenes from ‘The Sound of Music’ had painted backdrops? The characters acted out their scene on a Hollywood set. Behind them, were these astounding paintings to bring the film to life! Check out this YouTube video that gives a much deeper explanation and can provide more insight!
I have to credit William Spring and Jose Lima with News Travels Fast for reaching out to me and letting me know that this was coming up! They send me things about the Boca Raton Museum of Art in Florida, and someday, I’ll make it down there for one of them! That’s a bucket list item for sure!
Additionally:
The majority of paintings that will be on display at the museum from Hollywood’s heyday have never been seen by the public. What’s even more intriguing is that no one works without credit in the movie industry now and when we finish a film, there will be 10 – 20 minutes of credits. However, back in the day, the painters that did all of the work putting these backdrops together and painting day after day; weren’t mentioned in the credits of any film!
Come to find out, Karen L. Maness, an artist and co-author of the book “The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop,” conducted interviews and more with as many of the artists and artists’ families as she could get in touch with. She wants to preserve their history and acknowledge the insane amount of work they put into these paintings. These artists allowed the movie production companies to create their movies! Now that’s a book I need to get my hands on – how awesome!
The Boca Raton Museum of Art:
Constantly rotating different exhibits and showcasing pieces of art, history, culture, and more, this is a world-class museum. If you’re in or around Florida, you should take the time to check it out.
This is one of the first posts I’ve done about this museum, but I can see I’ll more than likely post about it in the future. Either when I’ve visited in person or when another exhibit comes out! What do you think?
Visiting this museum would require a bit of travel, but we love to travel. Check out my prior posts regarding travel. This post is about Oregon and how gorgeous it is! This is a vacation club we’re members of – fantastic prices! Lastly, our trip to Ireland is still at the top of my favorites.
Love ya,
Kelly Ann
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Great article Kelly!! So glad I had a part in your love of the old films 🙂
I love you – mom
Thanks mom! You definitely get the credit! I wouldn’t love them without you – and Grandma 🙂