Another set of early shorts

Today in TCM's Summer Under the Stars is given over to a bunch of movies starring Lon Chaney, a boon for those who enjoy silents. Looking at the schedule, however, I noticed that TCM also included a bunch of early shorts -- no Traveltalks or Pete Smith here.

Two of the shorts are among the earliest talkies, being among the shorts that were released as part of the premiere of Don Juan. The feature was the first movie with a synchronized score, and the shorts were mostly musicians, both instrumentalists and singers. Will Hays did a short intro as well, as I think I've mentioned elsewhere. Anyhow, I'm not certain I've mentioned ukulele player Roy Smeck before; his musical stylings will be on at about 12:20 PM. There's also a female opera singer doing a Verdi aria, which will be on overnight at 1:07 AM.

If you recognize the song "I Ain't Got Nobody" today, it's probably because it got put into a medley with "Just a Gigolo". But the original "I Ain't Got Nobody" by itself is one of two numbers is a Vitaphone short from 1929 called Opry House which will be on at 7:49 PM. (I haven't seen this one before; I'm just going off the synopsis.)

Finally, those of you who remember the name Ruth Etting from Love Me or Leave me may be interested to see one of her shorts, Song of Fame, early tomorrow morning at 5:30 AM.