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Film, Video [Liza Minnelli's birthday party & other films--Ira Gershwin--home movies] Liza Minnelli's birthday party and other films--Ira Gershwin--home movies / Container title: Liza Minnelli birthday party & other home movies

digital viewing copy

About this Item

Title

  • [Liza Minnelli's birthday party & other films--Ira Gershwin--home movies]

Other Title

  • Liza Minnelli's birthday party and other films--Ira Gershwin--home movies
  • Container title: Liza Minnelli birthday party & other home movies

Summary

  • Footage of Liza Minnelli's 2nd or 3rd birthday party, plus additional home movies with Judy Garland, Harold and Anya Arlen and other Gershwin friends. Ira Gershwin was Liza Minnelli's godfather. He and his wife Leonore Gershwin hosted Liza's early birthday parties at their home, 1021 N. Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills, California.

Created / Published

  • [between 1948-1953]

Contents

  • Liza's birthday party: 1. A red train/bus gives rides to party guests, picking them up at the curb in front of Ira and Leonore Gershwin's home at 1021 N. Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills. Judy Garland waves from the sidewalk, and then walks away with Liza, followed by footage of Liza and other children with cotton candy (00:09-01:31) -- 2. Liza outside on a balcony playing with a spinning top, dancing, and talking to the camera operator (01:31- 02:51) -- 3. On the sidewalk at 1021 Roxbury Drive, children and adults get off and on the red train, followed by footage of a man making cotton candy for the children (02:51-04:14) -- 4. Children sit at a decorated table with party hats, gifts, and balloons. Liza and the other children eat lunch with Judy Garland nearby (04:14-05:42) -- 5. Liza plays with a woman (her nanny?) on the edge of the lily pond at Beverly Hills Garden Park at Wilshire/Santa Monica Blvd. More footage of the red train and a yellow double decker bus (Tinker Toys Transit Lines). Liza and children get on the yellow bus and go for a ride. Liza on the red train. Judy leans in and gives her a kiss (05:42-06:57).
  • Remaining segments appear to be filmed at different times: 6. Liza plays outside with a black dog. Close-up footage of a Christmas tree, followed by footage too dark to describe. Liza plays outside on a balcony with her hair in curlers, wearing a pink dress and holding a Brownie camera (06:57-08:08) -- 7. At the Gershwin's house in Beverly Hills, Sid Luft approaches the camera wearing a dark gray suit and striped gray and white tie, left hand clutching the open suit jacket. On the patio, Luft, sitting with cigarette in hand and Ira Gershwin, standing, look over a piece of paper held by Harold Arlen, sitting with left leg crossed over his right (08:08-08:33) -- 8. Judy Garland with Anya Arlen (in navy shorts & top), sit on the lawn under a tree. Anya lights a cigarette. Harold sits on the lawn next to Judy drinking iced tea. Next, Harold lounges on the grass with Anya. The two kiss and wave to the camera. Judy (in pink hat) and Anya (still in navy shorts and top) play tennis. Judy and Anya pose for the camera with Leonore Gershwin, in sunglasses (08:33-10:17) -- 9. Roger Edens and Harold Arlen walk in front of the Irving Thalberg building on the MGM lot. Indoors, Arthur Freed with Arlen, holds the book St. Louis Woman. Arlen quickly holds up a picture of an orchid. The final shot is of an unidentified man dancing (10:17-10:56).

Headings

  • -  Gershwin, Ira,--1896-1983--Friends and associates
  • -  Gershwin, Leonore,--1900-1991--Friends and associates
  • -  Minnelli, Liza,--depicted
  • -  Garland, Judy,--depicted
  • -  Luft, Sid,--depicted
  • -  Arlen, Harold,--1905-1986,--depicted
  • -  Arlen, Anya,--1915-1970,--depicted
  • -  Edens, Roger,--1905-1970,--depicted
  • -  Freed, Arthur,--1894-1973,--depicted
  • -  Birthday parties--California--Beverly Hills

Genre

  • Amateur films
  • Nonfiction films

Notes

  • -  Approximate dates from inventory, edge code dates of film, and original containers.
  • -  Sources used: original containers, Michael Feinstein email of June 9, 2017; Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Trust archive, 1895-2012 LC ILS record (LCCN 2018571963); Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Trust Archive finding aid (https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu022023).
  • -  Appearing: Liza Minnelli, Ira Gershwin, Leonore Gershwin, Judy Garland, Sid Luft, Harold Arlen, Anya Arlen, Roger Edens, Arthur Freed.
  • -  Filmed at 1021 N. Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills, California, and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Culver City, California, between about 1948 and 1953. May be footage from other locations.
  • -  Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Trust archive, 1895-2012.
  • -  Moving image material transferred to LC NAVCC Moving Image Section from the LC Music Division, 2011-04-05.

Medium

  • 1 video file (digital) (approximately 11 min.) : si., color.

Source Collection

  • Gershwin Trust Collection (Library of Congress)

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2024600512

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

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In rare cases, copyrighted motion pictures are made available by special permission to the Library and may be used only for educational purposes. For example, the Gershwin home movies fall within this category. Rights assessment is your responsibility. No registration information exists for some titles, and reproduction of some titles may be restricted by privacy rights, publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Additionally, some works may still be protected by copyright in the United States or some foreign countries. The written permission of the copyright owners in materials not in the public domain is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions.

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Credit Line: Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Liza Minnelli's birthday party & other films--Ira Gershwin--home movies. [Between to 1953, 1948] Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/2024600512/.

APA citation style:

(1948) Liza Minnelli's birthday party & other films--Ira Gershwin--home movies. [Between to 1953] [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2024600512/.

MLA citation style:

Liza Minnelli's birthday party & other films--Ira Gershwin--home movies. [Between to 1953, 1948] Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2024600512/>.