Charley – Mummy Should Know (film #45 on National Archives). [Category: Educational]
This time, Charley the cat not only prevents his owner from going off with some friends without telling his mother, but prevents him from going after them when they leave before he gets back from asking Mummy. This is a bit longer than usual, and has some dramatic moments, but mostly it’s typical Charley stuff, which means its cute and charming.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
By the Sun’s Rays (extra on The Penalty DVD (Kino Video, 2001)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
In this mystery Western, Lon Chaney plays the employee of a mining company who is in cahoots with a band of outlaws to steal shipments of gold. A detective from the company eventually discovers his secret and also prevents him from despoiling the honor of a pretty female employee. This is lively and fun, with good storytelling for its time. A 1914 Universal film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Barbie (film #3 in the Commercials section of Movieflix). [Category: Commercial]
This early Barbie commercial shows the doll to be the original material girl, and encourages little girls to fantasize about growing up to be just like her. So they can’t claim that wasn’t their intention––the evidence is all right here. Of course, that makes this essential for any collector of TV commercials.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
A Day Along the Way (film #9 in the Rural Settlement and Security section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This 1968 Israeli film features interviews with people living in various border settlements in Israel. Unfortunately, with the exception of an interview with a pair of English-speaking turkey farmers who say that their parents are none too glad to have them be there, these interviews are entirely in Hebrew, making the film pretty much indecipherable to those who don’t speak that language. It does have perky opening credits music and some interesting visuals of the rural settlements where the people being interviewed live, giving it some historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Disused Fridges (film #36 on National Archives). [Category: Public Service]
70s British PSA warning people to not leave discarded refrigerators lying around, as children could crawl into them and get suffocated. This is done with very limited animation, but other than that, it’s pretty standard.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Animal Quackers (film #18 on Disc #2 of Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Vol. 1 (Warner Bros.)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Short compilation film highlighting two favorite co-stars of Daffy Duck: Porky Pig and Marvin Martian. Interview footage provides some background for these characters and lots of great scenes from some of their best cartoons are shown. This is a pretty standard DVD extra, but it’s fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Election 1974 – BBC News (film #10 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: News]
Opening credits for election night coverage on the BBC in 1974. Again, this is very short and very tiny, though the video quality is better than in the 1970 clip.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: **. Overall Rating: *.
Berlin Airlift Increased (film #87 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Newsreel clip from the days of the Berlin Airlift with serious soundtrack problems. It starts with German narration, which is bizarre because the title cards are in English. Then it suddenly switches to English narration for a few seconds, then the sound cuts out entirely. Then it switches to footage of a UN discussion of the Berlin situation. At first, this is silent, but then we get to hear a speech from an American delegate about the reasons for the airlift. Then it goes silent again, as we see one of the other delegates looking frustrated. I wish some of these newsreels had been better preserved––this would have had a lot more historical value with a complete soundtrack.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Fashion’s Favorite (film #504 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This DuPont film from 1940 tells us all about the wonders of rayon in great detail. A lot of time is spent showing us how rayon is made, including two different chemical processes for making it, and how extensive quality control is maintained. This gets a little dry after awhile, as it is just bombastic narration with no soundtrack music, but the visuals make up for it somewhat. There are lots of great scenes of scientists working with all kinds of strange equipment and scary-looking glassware, as well as scenes of all kinds of DuPont products, such as clothing, lingerie, draperies, kitchenware, paints, and even tires. I had a field day mining images from this one. One scene I particularly enjoyed was the explanation of “cross-dying.” Apparently, it’s possible to weave white cloth with two different kinds of rayon yarns, then dye it in a mixed dye bath, containing two different dyes of different colors that each react with only one kind of rayon. What ends up happening is a single piece of white cloth is dipped in a single vat of dye and comes out plaid! Proof that there really is such a thing as plaid dye! Now all DuPont needs to do is invent portable holes. I’m sure they’re working on the problem as we speak.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Dude and the Burglars (track #1 on The Origins of Cinema, Volume 2: The Films of American Mutoscope and Biograph (Video Yesteryear, 1995)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A dandy neatly and daintily routs a couple of roguish burglars. Good for a couple of snickers. A 1903 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Boo Moon (film #32 on Disc #4 of 150 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2005). Also, film #2 on Disc #3 of TV Cartoon Classics DVD Boxed Set (Platinum Disc, 2005)). [Category: Hollywood]
Casper the Friendly Ghost goes to the moon to see if he’ll get a better reception there. There he meets some tiny moon people who look way too much like Smurfs for comfort. They don’t like him any better than the Earthlings, but change their minds after he helps them defeat the evil Tree People (“How would you like it if somebody picked your apples?”––no, that’s The Wizard of Oz). This defies so many rules of science, not to mention theology, that it’s not funny. If you can get past their sickly sweetness, these Casper cartoons get weirder the more you think about them.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Charley – Matches (film #44 on National Archives). [Category: Educational]
This time, Charley knocks over his owner’s block tower in order to keep him from playing with matches. Again, this is cute and charming, and probably was effective for its intended audience.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Buying Stamps from Rural Wagon, U.S.P.O. (film #25 on America at Work, America at Leisure. Also in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Uh, this doesn’t look like a person buying stamps from a rural wagon. This looks like a mailman delivering mail to a woman living in a brownstone apartment house in someplace like Brooklyn. But maybe the brownstone is out in the middle of nowhere, and the wagon is off camera. Nevertheless, this leaves me scratching my head. A 1903 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
A Few Quick Facts (film #22 on The Complete Uncensored Private SNAFU DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
GIs are told that too much spending on their part can cause runaway inflation, resulting in poverty for the local population, and they are advised to save their money for the future instead. Although Private SNAFU appears and illustrates these points visually, there is little of the usual humor found in Private SNAFU cartoons, making this more of a short training film than a cartoon.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Axe Trailer (extra on The Child DVD (Something Weird, 2001)). [Category: Commercial]
Disturbing trailer for the 70s slasher flick Axe, in which a rape victim gets revenge with the help of a handy hatchet. Not for the squeamish.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Castel: The Quest for Eternity (film #2 in The Arts section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This film profiles the Israeli artist Moshe Castel, showing lots of his artworks and letting you see him in his studio creating. Unfortunately, the narration is in Hebrew, so it’s hard to follow if you don’t know the language. Still, the visuals are arresting, and that creates some interest anyway. I’d like to know more about this artist.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Decimal Currency – The System (film #37 on National Archives). [Category: Public Service]
British PSA explaining the decimal currency system, which went into effect in 1971. This is told in a straightforward but visually interesting way, with stop-motion animation of coins and bills. A snapshot of a bit of British history.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Anemic Cinema (film #23 on UBUWeb. Also, film #3 on the Light Rhythms disc of Unseen Cinema: Early American Avante-Garde Film 1894-1941 DVD Boxed Set). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This film, made by Marcel Duchamp, alternates rotating spirals a la Hypnovision-type movie gimmicks with sentences written in white plastic letters on a black circle, which also rotates. As you might suspect, this is fairly mesmerizing, though I wish I could understand French so I could read the sentences. Many of the spirals are quite beautiful, or maybe I just got hypnotized by them. At any rate, I liked this a lot.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Election 1970 – BBC News (film #9 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: News]
Brief clip of the opening of election night coverage on BBC in 1970. This is so small and poorly digitized that you can hardly see anything. It does have bombastic music, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Berlin Airlift (film #12 on National Archives). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This British film documents the Berlin Airlift, when supplies were brought into West Berlin by air after the Soviets blockaded it. This is told in a straightforward and detailed way, with particular emphasis on the types of aircraft used. This has historical value, but no surprises.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Farmer Miller Goes Into High Gear (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #502 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This 20s silent film, made by Goodyear, tries to sell farmers on rubber tires for their tractors, a new idea back in the 20s. Farmer Miller writes to Better Farming magazine, asking what’s all the hoohah about rubber tractor tires. The editor writes back and encourages Farmer Miller to visit a farm equipment dealer for the real scoop. Farmer Miller does and he finds out his neighbor has been using rubber tires and loves ‘em. Meanwhile, his son Bob goes one better and visits the Goodyear factory and sees how tires are made. Farmer Miller is convinced, and he is so happy with his new Goodyear tractor tires that he writes the editor of Better Farming back to report his good news. The editor runs the letter in the next issue, along with an article about the National Plowing Champion, who also uses Goodyear tires. This is a great example of an early industrial film, and it contains most of the elements that would become standard later on, such as a personalized story and factory tour footage. Farm equipment buffs should enjoy this film very much, as it has lots of footage of old tractors and other farm equipment in action. The film documents an interesting period in the history of farming, when rubber tires eclipsed steel wheels, which gives it a lot of historical value as well.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Bold King Cole (film #4 on 11 Cartoons Starring Felix the Cat DVD (PC Treasures, 2005)). [Category: Hollywood]
Felix the Cat helps Old King Cole battle some ghosts with the help of handy lightning bolts. This later Felix, though not quite as much fun as the early ones, is wonderfully weird. Especially weird is the rather disturbing device the ghosts use to rid Old King Cole of his hot air, and the way the lightning turns Felix’s head into a lamp. I usually don’t like these later Felixes, but I have to admit this is one of the better ones.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Charley – In the Kitchen (film #43 on National Archives). [Category: Educational]
After being splattered by hot grease, Charley the cat tells his owner to stay away from the stove, in his incomprehensible language that only the owner can translate. Again, this is charming and cute.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Butterflies (film #5 on Early Sci-Fi Fantasy Films (Buyer’s Gallery Home Video). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A Japanese chorus line (well, it looks like one) and a magician create a human butterfly with ever-changing colored wings. All goes well until she courts a black moth, who must be destroyed. His death scene leaves no scenery unchewed. As you might expect, this is a Melies film. There’s some footage at the end of a bunch of serpentine dancers and a magician; I’m not sure if this is part of the movie or not. A Melies film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Golden Gate City (film #607 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Hollywood]
This 30s Castle film is a standard-issue travelogue about San Francisco. Some of the more interesting moments include four lanes of streetcar tracks on Market Street, scenes of coin-making inside the U.S. Mint, and some of the scenes of Chinatown. If you're looking for footage of San Francisco in the 30s, this is your film. Otherwise, it's pretty ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Atragon Trailer (extra on Atragon DVD (Toho, 2005)). [Category: Commercial]
Original Japanese trailer for the monster movie Atragon. I find these Japanese trailers fascinating and a lot of fun, as they give you an idea of how the acting actually was, and the Japanese captions are cool-looking. This is a fun one, featuring a sea serpent monster, a woman with neon red hair, and a cast of thousands. It’s letterboxed and beautifully preserved, too.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
A Colony Is Born (film #15 in the Pre-State section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This silent French film from the 40s shows us a group of Jewish pioneers building a colony in Israel. This basically covers the same ground as Collective Adventure, only much more primitively. This gives it more of an outsider film feel, though the lack of soundtrack and the French title cards make it hard to follow, which lowers the interest level considerably. Still, this has historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Clunk Click – Shopping with Jimmy Saville (film #39 on National Archives). [Category: Public Service]
70s British PSA featuring a popular DJ reminding drivers to fasten their seatbelts, even for short trips. There’s a mild shock sequence of a woman going through the windshield, but mostly this is a DJ repeating a catchy phrase.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Andy Griffith Show #6 (film #6 on Side A of Disc #8 of TV Favorites DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2003)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
When a goat eats a box of dynamite, it brings out the weirdness in the people of Mayberry. The blasting engineer looks suspiciously like the guy from Don’t Touch, and the Warner Brothers cartoon influence is apparent again as Barney lights his cigarette lighter in a room full of dynamite (he doesn’t blow sky-high, though). This is one of the wackier Andy Griffiths, which makes it a classic.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
BBC2 News Extra Close (film #26 on TVArk). [Category: News]
Very brief clip of the closing of a 1973 news show on BBC2. This was hardly worth preserving.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: **. Overall Rating: *.
Atomic Achievement (film #24 on National Archives). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This 50s British film documents and explains the rise of nuclear power in England. It goes into great detail about how nuclear power is generated, going so far as to explain how uranium ore is processed and how plutonium is made. No downside or risks are shown, and nuclear power in general is shown to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. But other than that, this is a classy and well made film, though it drags a bit in spots. Considering it was made in 1956, it’s surprising to see how much nuclear energy and experimentation was going on in England at the time. They even show a whole bunch of dots on a map to represent nuclear reactors or research stations, and they’re all over the island. Let’s hope they’re all reasonably safe. The visuals in the film look more modern than 1956, making the film somewhat ahead of its time. All in all, this film has a lot of historical value in documenting the history of nuclear energy in Britain.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Farm Petroleum Safety (film #1821 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This 50s film was designed to warn farmers of the dangers of petroleum products and show them how to handle them safely. It starts at a county fair, where the local Farm Safety Committee, aided by the fire department, gives a speech and demonstration on petroleum products and their dangers. This is fun to watch, with lots of dramatic demonstrations of things burning and blowing up, feeling very much like an actual demonstration one might watch at a county fair. Then Jim, a teenager whose family house burned down when his mother unwisely poured kerosene on the fire of the wood-burning stove. This story, though typically tearjerking and dramatic, is actually well told enough to have some impact. It actually stirred some emotion from me, which is unusual for these types of safety films. I think it’s because they presented the tragedy in a straightforward and realistic fashion, pulling no punches, and avoiding scenery-chewing for the most part. Overall, this is a charming film which makes its points well and was probably effective for its intended audience.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
County Government (film #372 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]
Dry, straightforward 50s film explaining the various aspects of county government. It is thorough, meaning it probably fulfilled its educational purpose in its time. And it has historical value as a snapshot of county government during the 50s. But its entertainment value is practically nil.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Blacksmith Song – Spike Jones (extra on Seven Keys to Baldpate DVD). [Category: Hollywood]
Let me first just say that I didn’t need to see Spike Jones with his shirt off. Now that I’ve gotten that off of my chest (insert drum riff here), let me just say that a pantomime horse is a great addition to this soundie, especially when he starts singing. Which is a good thing, as the song is one of Spike Jone’s weaker efforts. This is a wonderfully weird short, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Charley – Falling in the Water (film #42 on National Archives). [Category: Educational]
Charming British PSA for children in which Charley the cat falls into the lake where his owner and his dad are fishing and nearly drowns. This is dramatic and almost upsetting, but not too much. Then the little boy who owns Charley translates Charley’s sputters into English, telling children to stay close to their parents when near water. This is cute and quite effective in getting its message across.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Buster’s Revenge on the Tramp (film #50 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]
While the maid sleeps, Buster ties her apron around her head so he can get into the jam. A tramp crawls through the window and helps him get the jar down, but when he hogs all the jam, Buster calls his mama in to help. Havoc ensues. One of the sillier Buster Brown films. A 1904 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Drunkard's Child (film #8 on The Origins of Cinema, Volume 5: Griffith and Lubin (Video Yesteryear, 1997)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
This has all the melodramatic elements you need to tug at the heartstrings: a crippled boy, a dying mother, a drunken cad of a father, honesty rewarded, an unpaid mortgage, a happy ending. Of course, that makes it campy fun today. A 1909 Lubin film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Anthrophagous Beast Trailer (extra on Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror DVD (Shriek Show, 2005)). [Category: Commercial]
This trailer for a 70s horror film mainly features scenes of people exploring an old dark house interspersed with scenes of blood and gore, while really annoying electronic music plays on the soundtrack. I have no doubt that the actual film is two hours of the same thing. As trailers go, this is, uh, anthrophagous, meaning its pretty cheesy.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
The Amazing Transplant Trailer (extra on The Amazing Transplant DVD (Something Weird, 2001)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Sleazy and disturbing trailer for the 70s X-rated sci-fi sex-psycho film The Amazing Transplant. They don’t get specific about what was transplanted, but it seems pretty obvious. This probably brought in the audience it was aimed at, but it’s not something I find particularly pleasant.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Broken Glass (film #41 on National Archives). [Category: Public Service]
70s British PSA warning beachgoers not to litter the beach with bottles and broken glass by showing a boy running along the beach who almost steps on a broken bottle. This is simple and effective.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Andy Griffith Show #5 (film #5 on Side A of Disc #8 of TV Favorites DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2003)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Fairly funny episode featuring Barney, a deputized Gomer, and some bank robbers the state police are housing in Mayberry’s jail temporarily. Barney is really a boob in this one, but it all turns out OK in the most unlikely way, true to the spirit of Mayberry.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Eisenhower Re-Elected (film #163 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: News]
50s newsreel reporting the reelection victory of President Eisenhower. Also included are stories on the Suez Canal crisis, an uprising in Hungary, a coal mine explosion in Nova Scotia, the birthday of the Statue of Liberty in New York, and football games in Los Angeles and Iowa. No surprises here, but this has historical value as a snapshot of the mid 50s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Falling Hare (film #5 on Bugs & Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons (MGM/UA Home Video, 1989). Also, film #10 on 50 Cartoon Classics DVD. Also, film #7 on Film Chest Vintage Cartoons. Also, film #31 on Disc #3 of 150 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2005)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Another ubiquitous public-domain Warner's toon you've seen a million times. This is the one where Bugs is tormented by a gremlin at an air base and takes a wild ride in a plane with the little monster. We all remember how it ends: "Sorry, folks, we ran out of gas!", but can you think of a better ending for this kind of toon? Personally, I prefer seeing Bugs doing the tormenting, rather than being the victim, like in this toon. But he does pull the exact same gags on Yosemite Sam in a later cartoon.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Army Recruitment (film #31 on National Archives). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This late-60s British army recruitment promo uses international travel as a selling point, a common military recruitment tactic. This makes the promo very ordinary, though it’s also very British.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Farewell to Treasure Island (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #1820 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
Short promotional film from 1940 trying to get people to visit the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco before it closes. This has lots of color footage of the fair’s architecture, giving it historical value. OK folks, I know the meaning of a certain word beginning with G has changed over the years, but I couldn’t help snickering at the huge pair of signs announcing the “Gay Way.” Otherwise, this is pretty ordinary, but it does have the usual futuristic fun of world’s fair propaganda.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Big Bad Wolf (film #20 on Disc #3 of TV Cartoon Classics DVD Boxed Set (Platinum Disc, 2005)). [Category: Hollywood]
Ordinary Castle Films cartoon in which Ub Iwerks combines the characters from several different nursery rhymes and fairy tales to make a standard good-guys-vs.-bad-guys toon. This is kind of cute, and it gets a bit weird when the pumpkin-headed scarecrow loses his head (literally) in battle and replaces it with a goat’s head. But mostly, this is ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Buster’s Dog to the Rescue (film #47 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Buster uses his dog to retrieve a tray of goodies from a high shelf. You didn’t think the word “rescue” referred to anything good, did you? A 1904 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Goal Rush (track #26 on The Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999)). [Category: Hollywood]
Apparently, Flip the Frog played football during his college days (what, you mean you didn't know he went to college?). This leads to some standard football gags, but about halfway through they run out of those and then the real fun begins. The weirdest moment happens when Flip and the ball somehow end up on a nearby farm and the ball strikes up a relationship with a mama sow and starts nursing her like all the other little piglets! This one is unexpectedly inspired.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Andromeda Strain Trailer (extra on The Andromeda Strain DVD (Universal, 2003)). [Category: Commercial]
Fairly standard trailer for the late 60s science fiction film The Andromeda Strain. This does tell us that “no one will be seated during the last 10 minutes of the film,” which ups the camp value a little. But mostly this is pretty ordinary, though it does make the film look pretty good.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
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