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The Moving Picture Boys on the Coast Or, Showing Up the Perils of the Deep
The Moving Picture Boys on the Coast Or, Showing Up the Perils of the Deep by Appleton, Victor
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The content of this book are in the public domain in the United States. Any use or redistribution of this item outside the United States is done at the user's own risk and liability.
Listed
Children's Book Series
"Rediscover This Timeless Classic - The Ultimate MP3 Audiobook CD Experience!"
Journey back in time and immerse yourself in a world of timeless stories with our classic MP3 Audiobook series.
Why Dive into Our Classic Title MP3 Audiobook CDS?
Historical This masterwork, has shaped literature, inspired countless adaptations, and touched the hearts of generations.
Authentic Faithfully reproduced to capture the essence of the original publication.
High Quality Narrated by a cutting-edge AI voice.
Consistent AI narration ensures a consistent tone and pace throughout the book. There's no risk of the narrator becoming fatigued or any variations happening in the audio quality.
Universal This CD is compatible with any device that supports MP3 playback - from vintage CD players to modern car stereos and computers
Made in the Meticulously produced within a specialized duplication facility in the USA.
Reacquaint yourself with the tales that have withstood the test of time and embark on a audible journey through literature's golden age!
The content of this book are in the public domain in the United States. Any use or redistribution of this item outside the United States is done at the user's own risk and liability.
Listed
Children's Book Series
MP3 CD Library Binding
First published January 1, 1913
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About the author
Victor Appleton
354 books44 followersVictor Appleton was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate and its successors, most famous for being associated with the Tom Swift series of books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_...
The character of Tom Swift was conceived in 1910 by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book-packaging company. Stratemeyer invented the series to capitalize on the market for children's science adventure. The Syndicate's authors created the Tom Swift books by first preparing an outline with all the plot elements, followed by drafting and editing the detailed manuscript. The books were published under the house name of Victor Appleton. Edward Stratemeyer and Howard Garis wrote most of the volumes in the original series; Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, wrote the last three volumes. The first Tom Swift series ended in 1941.
In 1954, Harriet Adams created the Tom Swift, Jr., series, which was published under the name "Victor Appleton II". Most titles were outlined and plotted by Adams. The texts were written by various writers, among them William Dougherty, John Almquist, Richard Sklar, James Duncan Lawrence, Tom Mulvey and Richard McKenna. The Tom Swift, Jr., series ended in 1971.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_...
The character of Tom Swift was conceived in 1910 by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book-packaging company. Stratemeyer invented the series to capitalize on the market for children's science adventure. The Syndicate's authors created the Tom Swift books by first preparing an outline with all the plot elements, followed by drafting and editing the detailed manuscript. The books were published under the house name of Victor Appleton. Edward Stratemeyer and Howard Garis wrote most of the volumes in the original series; Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, wrote the last three volumes. The first Tom Swift series ended in 1941.
In 1954, Harriet Adams created the Tom Swift, Jr., series, which was published under the name "Victor Appleton II". Most titles were outlined and plotted by Adams. The texts were written by various writers, among them William Dougherty, John Almquist, Richard Sklar, James Duncan Lawrence, Tom Mulvey and Richard McKenna. The Tom Swift, Jr., series ended in 1971.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 17, 2023
This adventure book for boys is from an old series from the house name under which the Tom Swift, Don Sturdy, and The Motion Picture Chums, among others, were spawned. I have a collection of old boys’ adventures from this era and occasionally read them from time to time and even glancing wistfully at the lists of other series books detailed on the back matter. So, I was delighted to find The Moving Picture Boys on the Coast (about movie makers and not to be confused with The Motion Picture Chums about movie exhibitors) on the Gutenberg Project in eBook form. As much as I enjoy more mature pulp adventure, I get a terrific nostalgia high by reading at least one of these (and maybe two this year) per year. In this one, I loved when they were camping out in what came to be known as “pup tents,” but they called them “dog tents” (Loc. 173—all locations given via my Kindle pagination of the eBook).
The first volume of the series dealt with happenings around New York City, helping set up the business of the two protagonists, Joe Duncan and Blake Stewart. The second volume had them come out West to film ceremonial dances of the Native Americans, referred to as “Indians” in the vernacular of both the time the book was written and the events described (though the more offensive “redmen” is used in Location 274). In NYC, the boys had worked on a “motion picture newspaper,” an odd description of the newsreels known as “Movietone News” or “Pathe News.” This third volume picks up after the footage on the Native Americans is complete and the “boys” along with their cowboy guide, Hank, are headed for the west coast to process and distribute the film.
Typical to the juvenile adventures of the time, even when attacked by renegades and fully armed with pistols, the boys and their cowboy guide fire into the air in an attempt to frighten the raiders rather than do any damage. I also enjoyed the sensitivity given to the very hint of “sexual tension” when one of the female actresses shakes Blakes hand and, …”if he held her fingers a little longer than was necessary I’m sure it’s none of our affair.” (Locations 541-542).
A hint of the shifting of the motion picture business to Caifornia because of climate is found at Location 585, but the relative novelty of the technology is shown when the boys set up an automated camera to take shots from a hotel window and the clicking as the film goes through the sprockets leads them to think it is an explosive device with clock ticking (Loc. 1081). And, of course, you know you’re in a different era when the narration tells you: “I assure my readers that it is not uncommon for a concern to spend ten thousand dollars in making a single play, and some elaborate productions, such as Shakespearian plays, and historical dramas, will cost over fifty thousand dollars to get ready to be filmed (Locations 2273-2275).
Reading along, feeling smug and superior as I read this prose necklace of anachronistic adventures, I suddenly read something that surprised me. In one scene, a swordfish attacks a fishing boat (Loc. 1319). In my ignorance, I thought, “This author must not know anything about fierce marine creatures. I think he meant a shark.” I did a quick web search just to make sure and discovered, to my surprise, that swordfish do attack boats and divers. Oops! I was also intrigued by the times the author gave detailed descriptions of how mechanisms worked. For example, he described the interior mechanics of the automatic camera on Locations 1001-1008 and the use and theory of the breeches buoy during another scene (Locations 2082-2089).
The Moving Picture Boys on the Coast is good enough to help me remember how much entertainment value I received as a child in finding some of these boys’ adventure series volumes in thrift stores and auction. One would most likely categorize these as juvenile pulp adventure. They carry a lot of characteristics of the hastily scribed stories and novellas for magazines, but without any of the excessive violence or innuendo that often characterized the latter. I am no longer the audience for this material, but it’s a joy to revisit some of the guilty pleasures of my childhood and ‘tween years.
The first volume of the series dealt with happenings around New York City, helping set up the business of the two protagonists, Joe Duncan and Blake Stewart. The second volume had them come out West to film ceremonial dances of the Native Americans, referred to as “Indians” in the vernacular of both the time the book was written and the events described (though the more offensive “redmen” is used in Location 274). In NYC, the boys had worked on a “motion picture newspaper,” an odd description of the newsreels known as “Movietone News” or “Pathe News.” This third volume picks up after the footage on the Native Americans is complete and the “boys” along with their cowboy guide, Hank, are headed for the west coast to process and distribute the film.
Typical to the juvenile adventures of the time, even when attacked by renegades and fully armed with pistols, the boys and their cowboy guide fire into the air in an attempt to frighten the raiders rather than do any damage. I also enjoyed the sensitivity given to the very hint of “sexual tension” when one of the female actresses shakes Blakes hand and, …”if he held her fingers a little longer than was necessary I’m sure it’s none of our affair.” (Locations 541-542).
A hint of the shifting of the motion picture business to Caifornia because of climate is found at Location 585, but the relative novelty of the technology is shown when the boys set up an automated camera to take shots from a hotel window and the clicking as the film goes through the sprockets leads them to think it is an explosive device with clock ticking (Loc. 1081). And, of course, you know you’re in a different era when the narration tells you: “I assure my readers that it is not uncommon for a concern to spend ten thousand dollars in making a single play, and some elaborate productions, such as Shakespearian plays, and historical dramas, will cost over fifty thousand dollars to get ready to be filmed (Locations 2273-2275).
Reading along, feeling smug and superior as I read this prose necklace of anachronistic adventures, I suddenly read something that surprised me. In one scene, a swordfish attacks a fishing boat (Loc. 1319). In my ignorance, I thought, “This author must not know anything about fierce marine creatures. I think he meant a shark.” I did a quick web search just to make sure and discovered, to my surprise, that swordfish do attack boats and divers. Oops! I was also intrigued by the times the author gave detailed descriptions of how mechanisms worked. For example, he described the interior mechanics of the automatic camera on Locations 1001-1008 and the use and theory of the breeches buoy during another scene (Locations 2082-2089).
The Moving Picture Boys on the Coast is good enough to help me remember how much entertainment value I received as a child in finding some of these boys’ adventure series volumes in thrift stores and auction. One would most likely categorize these as juvenile pulp adventure. They carry a lot of characteristics of the hastily scribed stories and novellas for magazines, but without any of the excessive violence or innuendo that often characterized the latter. I am no longer the audience for this material, but it’s a joy to revisit some of the guilty pleasures of my childhood and ‘tween years.
October 31, 2015
Though reading this book certainly wasn't useless for me, I found The Moving Picture Boys on the Coast to be kind of a dull book. It didn't have the personality and good cheer of The Moving Picture Girls or the proud disregard for human life of Tom Swift, and the film industry is completely incidental to the nautical crimes of the main story, once it gets going. There's some decent lost family sentimental drama in this, though, which kept me dragging through it. It's not the most engaging example of an early 20th century children's serial novel that I've ever read, but it's not my favorite, either.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews