The Moving Picture Girls – that’s a wrap!
My newest solo has been released at LibriVox. I needed a bit of light relief after the splendidly wordy William Morris, so the Moving Picture Girls by Laura Lee Hope, seemed like a good choice. It’s set in early 20th century New York city, the home of a burgeoning movie industry, and is a very family-friendly fictional account of how a reputable theatre actor and his two daughters make their way into the business. I particularly like it for its description of how a movie is made and for a perspective on how movies were initially looked down on by “legitimate” actors — this is fictional, but not too far from the truth, I think.
There are no swear words of even the mildest sort, no sex (not even kissing, just some blushing & giggling romance), and the closest we get to violence is a light scuffle in an apartment building. It’s 7 hours of the cleanest fun!
Listen to chapter 1 below, download the book from this page, or visit archive.org to stream the whole thing.
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/mpgs_0903_cs/movingpicturegirls_01_hope_64kb.mp3] 12:06min, 64kbps]
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I just listened to “The Moving Picture Girls” and thought it quite blah apart from the cleverly constructed climactic chapter dealing with the patent thieves. (The adventurous heroine and her retiring sister, the pompous windbag actor, the moustache-twirling villain, the dashing hero – they’re all here.) I probably wouldn’t have listened at all if you hadn’t recorded it, so I was regretful afterward that you’d pretty much wasted your time and mine on some eminently forgettable ephemera whose only redeeming qualities are fleeting glimpses of the early motion picture business and 1920s etiquette. (“Excuse my slang,” says the hero to the heroine.)
I enjoyed your voice, though. Did anyone ever tell you that you have a nice one?
Hi Dana, thanks for listening and for commenting. This is a favourite story of mine, and I’m glad it’s finding an audience, too — it’s a fascinating time period and so interesting to see an industry developing so quickly.
Hi Cori,
I research silent film history and was completely taken by your reading of THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS. Best wishes for all future endeavors and thank you.
– Dana
[Note, I did email Chris, and the project is fun!]
Hi Cori, I’ve borrowed your voice for a comedy show I’m making, from your reading of “the interesting narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano” and I thought you should know, in case you hate it. In my show, Olaudah (and you) are a rabbit, so that’s got to be a plus? Email me and I’ll give you the details, and I sincerely hope this causes you little to no distress.