The Hunt for Motion Pictures

Spoke with the wonderful archivist at the National Library of Medicine this afternoon. They have an amazing collection of educational films, slides, and motion pictures about tuberculosis. It seems that our government used film to promote proper care and to highlight our nation's sanatoriums.

Some of these films have never been used in a documentary before and we're excited to be working with the Library to bring these important motion pictures to the big screen.

Here's a brief description of one of the films in their archive, an educational and instructional film from 1940.

"This film tells the story of a girl who contracts pulmonary tuberculosis, following her case from the time of infection through the period of convalescence. It describes, by means of animated drawings, the process of primary infection and reinfection; demonstrates tuberculin tests and X-ray examinations; and portrays hospital treatment, pointing out the importance of rest, nourishing food, fresh air, sunshine, and cleanliness."

I also just finished watching the DVDs from this past weekend's very exciting and very successful auditions at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick. I was so pleased with not only the number of people who showed up, but also the number of quality vocal talents that were heard that day. We've got many tough decisions ahead of us....

And finally...two "did you know" facts that we learned about while researching for this film. Did you know that the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, for a very brief (and unsuccessful) amount of time in the 1840s, actually was home to 15 tuberculosis patients, looking for a cure?

And did you know that Providence, Rhode Island, was one of the first cities to have open-air schools for school children with tuberculosis?

All right. Enough blogging. Time to play some Wii.

---Dave Bettencourt