OregonScape

Abstract

OREGONSCAPE GRUNTS AND GROANS, a 1933 silent film, was made by Herbert Miller, a member of the Portland, Oregon, chapter of the Amateur Cinema League (ACL). The film shows a day in the life of the Turn Verein Gymnasium, which was located at 1139 Southwest 13th Avenue in downtown Portland. A “Miller Picture Corruption, Ink.,” dedicated to the “wives who let them out each Wednesday night,” the film shows a typical evening at the gymnasium from calisthenics to beer drinking. The turnverein movement came to the United States from Germany in 1811, and while based on a form of gymnastics, it became a popular social club for local German communities throughout the United States until the start of World War II. The ACL was the first international organization dedicated to non-professional filmmakers . Founded in 1926, the ACL worked to promote amateur filmmaking through hosting contests, organizing local clubs, and publishing Movie Makers, a monthly magazine dedicated to home movie enthusiasts. ACL films were known for their fine production qualities, including cinematography, editing, and use of homemade inter-titles. The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) preserved the original print of Grunts and Groans — including the striking of a new negative — with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Grunts and Groans, along with other archival films, can be viewed in full on OHS’ YouTube channel. A SCAN of the 16mm print of the 1933 film Grunts and Groans (1933) is pictured here. The original was preserved by the Oregon Historical Society with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation. — Matthew Cowan, OHS Moving Images and Photography Archivist OHS Research Library, Grunts and Groans, MI# 09429 ...