Muscle Beach (film)
Encyclopedia
Muscle Beach is a short documentary film
directed by Joseph Strick
and Irving Lerner
, showing amateur athletes and bodybuilders at "Muscle Beach
" in Santa Monica, California
. The soundtrack consists of songs sung by Earl Robinson
.
This film and The Savage Eye
(1959) were restored by the Academy Film Archive
in 2008 and premiered in February 2009 at San Francisco Cinematheque.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Joseph Strick
Joseph Strick
Joseph Strick was an American director, producer and screenwriter.Born in Braddock, Pennsylvania, Strick briefly attended UCLA before enrolling in the Army during World War II. In the Army, he served as a cameraman in the Army Air Forces.In 1948, he and Irving Lerner produced Muscle Beach...
and Irving Lerner
Irving Lerner
Irving Lerner Before becoming a filmmaker, Lerner was a research editor for Columbia University's Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, getting his start in film by making documentaries for the anthropology department. In the early 1930s, he was a member of the Workers Film and Photo League, and later,...
, showing amateur athletes and bodybuilders at "Muscle Beach
Muscle Beach
Muscle Beach refers to either Muscle Beach Venice, an area in Venice, California, on Ocean Front Walk two blocks north of Venice Boulevard or to Original Muscle Beach, two miles north of Venice, south of the Santa Monica Pier...
" in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. The soundtrack consists of songs sung by Earl Robinson
Earl Robinson
Earl Hawley Robinson was a singer-songwriter and composer from Seattle, Washington. Robinson is probably as well remembered for his left-leaning political views as he is for his music, including the songs "Joe Hill", "Black and White", and the cantata "Ballad for Americans"...
.
This film and The Savage Eye
The Savage Eye
The Savage Eye is a "dramatized documentary" film that superposes a dramatic narration of the life of a divorced woman with documentary camera footage of an unspecified 1950s city. In a 1960 review, A. H...
(1959) were restored by the Academy Film Archive
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
in 2008 and premiered in February 2009 at San Francisco Cinematheque.