RFD Greenwich Village (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #1251 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

This late-60s film, made by cotton producers, is purportedly about Greenwich Village, except it’s the most gawdawful square film ever made. Robotic catalog models practice “relaxed suburban living” in the Village, wearing comfortable cotton clothes, while a laid-back narrator drones on and on about how carefree their “country lifestyle” is, and Muzak plays in the background. Everybody is white, and the only sign of hippies is a very brief view of a graffiti-covered wall with peace signs on it. Even given that I lived through the 60s as a child in Omaha, Nebraska, I can hardly believe this film exists. It’s as if all signs of the counterculture had been cleansed from one of its hotbeds, leaving a fresh, lemony scent behind. Contrast it with Greenwich Village Sunday, and see if it doesn’t feel like The Stepford Village to you. It even makes Coffee House Rendezvous look like Columbia Revolt! Unfortunately, after your jaw drops, it’s boring as all get-out, and that lowers its rating somewhat, though it does have the distinction of being the first film I’ve ever reviewed to get a “BOMB” in the Historical Interest category.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: BOMB. Overall Rating: ****.