Huell really isn’t kidding when he says that this episode of California’s Gold starts off “with a bang,” and it’s sure to put a smile on your face right away! This is a really fun episode that’s filled with early motion picture theater history — not the big stuff like movie studios and glamorous stars, but the nearly forgotten details that added their unique touch to the entertainment. From an early 20th century entertainment center with music and sound effects to a hand-cranked movie projector, these are the pieces of history from which all our modern audio and video technology has its origin.

Huell meets Joe Rinaudo whose passion is a 1926 Fotoplayer, which uses music rolls like those for player pianos to provide music and sound effects to silent films. Joe spent thousands of hours restoring his Fotoplayer and although the “talkies” made them obsolete in the late 1920s, Huell discovers there is still no better way to enjoy a silent movie than with Joe, his hand cranked projector and his Fotoplayer.

(Click on the linked image below to see the video.)