Archives and the ‘Silver Screen’

     When the site of your archival facilities combines an historic location with the presence of the long-running film industry in Southern California, (as is the case with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles), then it’s a given your collections include material referencing an ongoing series of motion pictures, television shows, and ads. While the history of filming at San Fernando Mission has spanned more than a century, the Archives has gathered a modest collection of photographs, documentation, and digital resources that help represent this connection to its local history.

     ‘Over Silent Paths’ was the first film to depict some of the historic scenery at Mission San Fernando.  Released in 1910, this short, silent movie was directed by D.W. Griffith and features Marion Leonard with Dell Henderson.  The National Film Preservation Foundation re-distributed the film, and it’s accessible through CriticalCommons via this link.

     The following image from a 1967 episode of ‘Dragnet’ shows Sgt. Joe Friday (portrayed by Jack Webb) during filming along San Fernando Mission Blvd.   This shot takes place in front of the same c.1820 Convento building depicted in D.W. Griffith’s 1910 production.

     The original version of the movie ‘Yours, Mine and Ours’ was released in 1968, and star-red Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. The following image was created during a scene completed in the original c.1806 San Fernando Mission church prior to its reconstruction in the 1970s.

     The use of Mission San Fernando as a filming location has resulted in a sizable list of productions over the years (follow this link to see a IMDb website listing) and it continues to provide a modest source of income for Mission operations. The 1985 re-lease ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’ utilized the Mission site – the film may not be epic but its earnings in excess of $30-million sure were.  The 1987 release of ‘La Bamba’ also generated huge profits.  While no filming was actually done at San Fernando Mission, a memorable scene shows a funeral procession proceeding past the historic landmark and heading towards the adjacent Catholic cemetery where the real Richard Valenzuela had been interred in 1959.

     When productions such as a series of promotions that HBO did for the show ‘Dexter’ are filmed at the Mission, staff are typically treated to the services of the gourmet food trucks that are retained for the casts and crews.  Last year’s TV mini-series ‘The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe’ was distributed by Lifetime Television after a couple days of shooting took place at the Mission.  It definitely was a little strange walking right past the actress portraying the famous blonde on my way out the office.  The most recent shoot at Mission San Fernando took place when the cast and crew of the popular show ‘Criminal Minds’ arrived early the morning of August 20, 2015.  Scenes filmed inside the church were included in an episode which aired in January, 2016.

Imaging - Timing

An accomplished professional photographer once taught me that the general quality of an image was often determined by 'timing.'  Taking that lesson to heart and mind, I've watched it materialize in my own and other instances many times over the last few years.  In this c. 2012 photograph, a large bird flew right into the frame and combined with the dusky lighting to create a nicely shaped silhouette.

Sunset Santa-Monica-Bay Seagull

Imaging - Looking Back and Editing

Music -- Jeff Lynne ELO / Now and Then

This is a written expression of the personal inspiration that I just experienced as I listened to the recording of an hour-long concert by Jeff Lynne’s ELO.  It was a live broadcast of a BBC Radio Theatre production performed earlier this month at the Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London. Having been motivated to search online and listen in conjunction with my desire to see a show tomorrow night at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood—while realizing that my opportunity to actually do so is waning rapidly—I figured that if attending the local live show probably wasn’t going to happen, I could gain some small degree of consolation by garnering a few current updates to Mr. Lynne’s new musical production and tour.  A couple of days ago I viewed (several times) and shared the video of the new version of  Mr. Blue Sky which was excellent, and a couple of cuts from the new album that was officially released November 13^th have been getting some local radio airplay. Still, I was not expecting what I just experienced.

First off, I’m not a professional musician and I’m not associated with the industry here in L.A.  Nonetheless, I can claim to be a certified history major and, to a somewhat limited level, a bona-fide music minor. Next, I wouldn’t describe myself as overly emotional and I don’t make too many entertainment judgments without the backing of experience, study and reflection.  Finally, I can’t consider myself an overtly religious person nor one whom is highly committed to a single set of particular beliefs and practices. However, I do think that anyone who can regularly exclaim “It’s a beautiful new day” is defining a process of being born again. And, I know for sure, I am enthused by music which enriches my life.

Irving Plaza, New York City, 20 November 2015

The YouTube page that links to the concert’s archived recording—featuring decent audio and video qualities along with solid production values—complimented the performance with a nice summary [Published on Nov 16, 2015]:  “The BBC's Radio Theatre opens its doors to an iconic band that have been making music history since the 1970s. ELO and their frontman Jeff Lynne have sold over 50 million albums worldwide and created a back catalogue of chart-topping hits that include Mr Blue Sky, Telephone Line, Livin' Thing and Strange Magic. Jeff Lynne's ELO play his classic tracks along with some new songs from their first album of new material in almost 15 years, Alone in the Universe, to an intimate crowd of fans. Jo Whiley presents Jeff Lynne's ELO live from the BBC Radio Theatre in London. He's experienced global success as a singer, a composer, a producer and a songwriter but he's rarely seen performing live.” . To clarify a bit, this latest version of ELO (“Jeff Lynne’s ELO”) is the culmination of a long process that seems to have aged just right at just the right time.  Clearly the vision of its 67 year-old artist, producer and leader, the current touring ensemble includes pianist and vocalist Richard Tandy, “the only other link to the Seventies line-up.” (quoted from an online article that was published by rollingstone.com.

Listening to the recording of this concert took me back to the mid-to-late 1970s when I was but a teenager living in suburban Detroit.  Jeff Lynne and his Electric Light Orchestra were popular enough among my friends and I circa 1977 that we bought and listened to the group’s best-selling albums and managed to see a live show or two along the way.

One show in particular, (which I went to but I don’t recall a lot of the details particularly well), was staged at the Pine Knob Amphitheatre which is located at Clarkston, Michigan and is now known as the DTE Energy Music Theatre.  Most likely this show was one of three Pine Knob shows that ELO headlined in September, 1976.  What I do recall, albeit vaguely, is the light show which accompanied the music.  There was one or two of those mirrored, rotating ‘disco balls’ hung above the stage and/or crowd.  Laser lights were shot onto and reflected off the hanging fixtures, and the resulting color beams were somehow (perhaps a bit of strange magic?) digitally tied to the music which produced a dazzling live display akin to some of our more modern PC screen-saver apps or visualizations.

It’s fairly incredible how good a voice Jeff Lynne is in while singing these most popular ELO selections roughly four decades after they were originated. These updated arrangements strike a extremely pleasing chord that is highly reminiscent of the 1970’s records while technically current and professionally polished. The musicians—during both the London concert and the Tonight Show performance—were clearly enjoying themselves and their musical collaboration.  That said, what really moved me while watching and listening closely to the YouTube presentation from the BBC was how Mr. Lynne’s creative out-put was able to transport me between today and a specific time and place in my past; namely, Camp Dearborn (Oakland County, Michigan) and the summer of ’77. While the various forms of this “takes me back” cliché is more than tired, it can be applied in this instance because the music—the lyrics, vocals and instrumentation—did help me remember (more clearly than anything else has in a long time) so many elements from some happy times of nearly forty years ago. Names, faces, actions, happenings, news, and especially songs that return so easily to familiarity.  Maybe not so much for their meanings as for their feelings. Records that seem so suited to our histories now that we’ve had a few decades to realize it. Words that Jeff Lynne sang back then that still ring true "Oh I . . . I’m never gonna be the same again." So do words that he sings again with such timeless poignancy “I’ll remember you this way.” So it was in '77 and on it goes in 2015.

Me and my co-conspirators at Camp Dearborn (near Milford, MI) where, among various other acts and activities, records by Jeff Lynne and his Electric Light Orchestra were listened to in-numerable times c.1974-78.  We typically had a cheap turntable and stereo set up somewhere.

P.S. an image I captured during the Jeff Lynne, et al. show at the Hollywood Bowl / 09 Sept. '16

Exflorations - Pochote

Over the last 50 years, several species of imported trees have been added to the grounds at Mission San Fernando including a variety of palm trees and a couple of large redwoods. Among the Mission's col-lection of  transplants is a colorful tree with an interesting history that originated in some of the dry forest areas of Southern Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela.

Pachira Quinata, commonly known as Pochote, is a flowering tree classified within the extensive (Malvaceae) family that includes the numerous varieties of okra, cotton, and cacao plants as well as the large Hibiscus genera.  Commonly grown on plantations, (mostly in Costa Rica), it produces a relatively cheap yet remarkably stable hardwood which is harvested and marketed for guitars, furniture, and other fine craft uses.

The trunks and limbs of the Pochote bear large, stubby thorns and these sturdy trees have often been utilized as living fence posts with barbed wire strung between them. The thorns have also been used in the making of small sculptures that characterize the longstanding sacred status of the Pochote in a number of American cultures.

In addition to its attractive flowers and leaves, Pochote trees produce large seed pods that contain a fluffy, cotton-like fiber. This natural “silk floss” has been utilized historically to make pillows, comforters, and other domestic items.