"Back Page": A Super Colossal Production (1936), with live accompaniment by Steven Ball

Thu, 03/28/2019 - 7:01am

When: March 28, 2019 at Michigan Theater

On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, the Ann Arbor District Library and the Michigan Theater presented the WORLD PREMIERE of "Back Page: A Super Colossal Production," a silent film made in 1936 by Ann Arbor News staff and recently unearthed from the archives of the Ann Arbor News. 

This film was made by the Display Advertising Department of the Ann Arbor News in 1936. It's a humorous look at a day in the life of the advertising staff as they work to secure an advertisement from a local merchant and get it to press in time for the daily run. 1936 marks the year the Ann Arbor News building was completed at 340 E. Huron and the year the News acquired its new printing press, both of which are featured in the film. There's also a tantalizing glimpse of the Bell Tower under construction on the University of Michigan campus. The Library received this 16 mm film along with the clipping files and photo negatives from the Ann Arbor News.

Original: 16mm film, silent, 00:21:41, 1936