Johnny Vander Meer: The Typical American Boy footage?

[Rjskead]

Before he became a minor league ballplayer, 19-year-old Johnny VanderMeer played the role of "the typical American boy" in a 1933 documentary movie short (Movie Tone) about a sandlot player getting his first major tryout.

It was titled "A Typical American Boy" and filmed in a studio in Miami where Johnny tried out for the Brooklyn Dodger franchise.

I've tried MovieTone, Pathe, everywhere and can't find it.

It would be amazing to locate this. Any suggestions?

Rob Skead

[steve B]

Sounds interesting.

I emailed a friend of mine who collects films. He's not much into sports, so if he found one I'd probably own it. But he might know someone.

it's also possible it's lost. A lot of films don't exist or only exist in a partial form. The farther back you get, the more likely it's gone. Although a short has a better chance than most features. (10 minutes is one reel about 7" across in 16mm, where a full movie is usually 2-3 that are closer to 12" diameter- much more bulky and heavy. 35mm is way bigger and was the main choice for theatres. ) 33 is also more likely to be safety film so fewer storage worries.

Steve B

[steve B]

The two suggestions he had were this site

http://library.sc.edu/mirc/list.html?cat=6

I couldn't find it, but their search is a bit difficult. It's possible the articles have the year and title wrong.

The other suggestion was the film forum - Sort of like here, but for 16mm film.

www.16mmfilmtalk.com

The library link has a LOT of old baseball films, so it's worth checking out. I haven't viewed anything through them yet.

Steve B

[T3s]

Hello,

Somewhat off-topic, but certainly Vander Meer related. Back in the early 1990's when the Conlon card sets were being issued, the cards would always note on the back, date of birth and date of death of the players. Several of the players were still alive at that time and so I started looking them up and calling them on the phone.

I was able to reach Mr. Vander Meer (among many others including Joe Hauser, Tommy Henrich, Dick Bartell, Mel Harder, etc) on the phone and had a great chat. At then end, what I always asked for was their address. With their permission, I would send them copies of their Conlon cards along with blown up versions (low tech, done at Kinkos) for them to autograph and send back to me. Most did! Long story short, I sent Mr. Vander Meer the two cards noting his back to back no-hitters and he autographed the enlarged versions and sent them back to me. They are nicely framed, side by side today and hang on the wall of my office.

Best,
Craig

[Rjskead]

I had already tried the first one. No luck.
I'll research the second. Thank you.

[Scott Garner]

Hi Rob,
Although Johnny Vander Meer was selected to be in the movie you mentioned, it was never released. I do recall reading this several times throughout the years. To the best of my knowledge I do not believe that a copy of this film exists, FWIW.

That being said, it led to him getting a first look by personnel within the ranks of MLB.

I'm sure that's not the answer you're looking for, but I hope this helps.
BTW, I wish a copy of this film existed as well. I'd love to see it. ;)

[Rjskead]

Thanks for the insight. It's mentioned in so many articles about him after the No Nos that the reporters must not have known either. I'm glad my search can end. It would have been ideal for www.johnnyvandermeer.com.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Thanks for the insight. It's mentioned in so many articles about him after the No Nos that the reporters must not have known either. I'm glad my search can end. It would have been ideal for www.johnnyvandermeer.com.

Who owned the rights to the film? The studio may have something in their archives (however unlikely).

[Scott Garner]

According to Paul Lichtman (D), author of The Dutch Master, The Life and Times of Johnny Vander Meer 2001, here is info about the movie:

"Dave Driscoll (sic Business Mgr. of the Brooklyn Dodgers) happened to be in the office of National League President John A. Heydler, later in January (sic 1933), when Joseph Walsh, who produced short sport features for Pathe' in the New York City vicinity, came to see Heydler about an idea he had for a short baseball film.

Walsh's idea was to find some good-looking young man who looked like "the typical American boy", who could also play baseball well enough to get by, and have him pose as the typical rookie going to his first big league training camp, trying to break into the game. The idea of the picture would be to follow him through all of his experiences; to show how he lived, what he ate and the training regimen that he would experience. Walsh went on to explain that he wanted to show the boy's name and background, and that preferably, he wanted the boy's father to be an industrial worker. He really wanted a by who had a chance of sticking in professional baseball; and he had come to Mr. Heydler to help him find such a boy.

"I've got just the kid for you," Driscoll told Walsh. "He meets everycriteria that you have come up with and, in addition, he's smart and good looking." And that is how John, at eighteen years of age, chanced to "star" in a film A Typical American Boy. Part of it was filmed at the Miami training camp of the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the remainder being filmed at the Midland Park home of the Vander Meers and environs."