REO Motor Car Company was known as an innovator in the production of cars, trucks and buses but few people know that REO also produced newsreels in the 1920s for showing in Michigan cinema houses.
Newsreels at one time were one of the major mediums that people worldwide learned about the news of the day. First started in 1911 in Europe newsreels soon crossed the ocean and began appearing in movie theatres at the beginning of a movie or between two movies.
Newsreels were immensely popular and for many it was the first time they would see motion pictures showing war scenes, architectural wonders and the many quirks of varying cultures.
Little did viewers know that fake news would creep into the newsreels and soon they would be used for propaganda by despots and dictators. This would include newsreel segments of naval battles shot in swimming pools and land battle fought on golf courses.
Join the Historical Society of Greater Lansing for an evening covering the history of newsreels and the history of REO Motor Car Company’s entry into the newsreel business. REO’s newsreels were known as REOGrams and an important collection of them has been preserved by Michigan State University Archives and Special Collections.
This will be the first time these special newsreels have been shown publicly and they cover everything from beauty contests to MAC football trips. They are a sight to behold and interestingly REOGrams were produced without sound so the video carried the storyline with few captions. Join us as we step back in time before 24-hour cable news and artificial intelligence generated news memes.
The event is at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 11, at the Oldsmobile Transportation Museum, 240 Museum Dr., Lansing. The event is free and open to the public. Come early and roam among the vintage car exhibits.
