I didn't see a lathe nor did anyone mention such when I last visited the Pavek. Might that short have been "Listen to This!" ? joe salerno Art Shifrin wrote: > There's a Ruth Etting short, circa 1935 that has a great opening showing an > ET sized master being cut in a control room. It transitions to her singing > in the studio and thereafter to the story that the film portrays I think > that the disk is wax but haven't seen it for X years. Perhaps it is a > lacquer. Search amongst her shorts & you might get lucky ( (double entendre > intentional). If you do find it, then I'd appreciate knowing the title and > from where a copy might be obtained. > > There's also a delightful promotional short depicting the production of a > Command Performance. It includes Bob Hope, Judy Garland and Lana Turner. > It's seen it several times on TCM. I think that it includes a montage of > the recording and distribution process. The montage might contain a shot of > a 16 or 17" lacquer being cut, because that's how the AFRS was mastering > their programs during WWII. > > Another possibility is to inquire at the Pavek Museum. Their technical > collection is stupendous. I wouldn't be surprised if they have an operating > lathe. BTW I have about ten never-cut 16" Audio brand lacquers & would > contribute one if newly produced footage had to be shot. > > Yet another source for cutting ET sized wax is the 4 reel Vitaphone Film > made in Sept / Oct '26. It has shots of recording, shooting and playing > back such films. The host is Edward B. Craft, then a Bell Labs VP. > Problem: I can't dredge out the film's title from my memory cells as I'm > typing this. > > Best, > Art (Shiffy) Shifrin > www.shifrin.net >