Bright Lights: Cycle Safety (film #2 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
Very short British PSA urging cyclists to keep their headlights clean so that they will shine brightly and improve visibility at night. This is too short to say much about.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: **. Overall Rating: **.
The Avengers #1 (film #5 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Opening credits and the first few seconds of a 1961 episode of “The Avengers.” This is smoothly cool, but not yet very wacky. It does have historical value, though, in being a from a very early episode.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Apollo, Segment 6002 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
This clip from a NASA film features pictures of Mars sent back by the Mariner 9 unmanned spacecraft. The pictures are kind of blurry and hard to see, but this has historical value anyway.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
A Chinaman's Chance (film #14 on The Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999). Also, film #4 on The Cartoons That Time Forgot, Volume 3: Things That Go Bump in the Night (Kino Video, 1993)). [Category: Hollywood]
In which our hero, Flip the Frog, in the guise of a policeman, tracks down the notorious Chinese criminal Chow Mein. This is a delightfully "toony" toon, complete with the most "toony" car you've ever seen, and a plot that unfolds with "toony" logic. The water scenes are beautifully done, and the scene in the opium den will remind you of many anti-drug films to come. Great fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
John Henry and the Inky Poo (film #18 on Cartoon Crazys: Sci-Fi (WinStar Home Entertainment, 1999). Also, film #3 on She (Sinister Cinema)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This puppet-animated retelling of the John Henry legend is rather unusual. First of all, it’s an African-American version of the story, and though its portrayal of that culture probably wouldn’t pass muster today, it’s not to bad for its time (the 40s). And although it features music and singing, it doesn’t really sing at any point the folksong we all remember. The strangest part concerns John Henry’s birth––he is born fully-grown and about the size of Paul Bunyan and politely introduces himself to his mother (I don’t even want to think about what she went through!). And the film specifies that John Henry started working on the railroad at about the age of 3 weeks. The Inky-Poo of the title is the steam drill––I cannot imagine where they got that name for it. Strange as it is, though, the cartoon is rather stirring and inspiring, portraying John Henry as a larger-than-life symbol for the sweat of all the working men who built the railroads and this country in general. All this makes the cartoon prime ephemera.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Albany St. Lumber Yard (film #1383 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
Silent film footage from the 30s of firefighters fighting fires in various Boston locations, including the Albany St. Lumber Yard. Some of the scenes of fires are pretty spectacular while other scenes are murky and hard to see. This is gritty, real firefighting footage, though, so if that interests you, this is a film to check out.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Asia in America, St. Louis Exposition (film #5 on America at Work, America at Leisure: Motion Pictures from 1894-1915. Also in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Category: Early Film & TV]
This is footage of a parade of Asians in cultural dress at the St. Louis Exposition, taken from a rather far away vantage point so it’s hard to see things. This has some historical interest, I suppose, though. A 1904 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Ajax Laundry Detergent (film #16 in the Video Vault section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
This is one of the classic “Stronger Than Dirt” commercials from the 60s, featuring a white knight on a charging steed and a cranky housewife. This one is not the best example I’ve seen from this series, but it’s still pretty fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Democracy at Work in Rural Puerto Rico (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #414 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This 40s film, made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Extension Service, chronicles the services the Extension Service provides to rural Puerto Rican families, including training in better farming methods, help with starting home-based businesses, and starting 4-H clubs for the kids. It’s pretty straightforward, though the emphasis on “American” values seen in a Hispanic culture is a little bit unusual in spots. Mostly, though, this is just what you’d expect. It does give a historically interesting glimpse into rural life in Puerto Rico during the 40s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Barbiturates: Case Study (film #5 on The Educational Archives, Volume One: Sex & Drugs DVD (Fantoma, 2001)). [Category: Educational]
A former pothead describes how he got hooked on "reds" and "yellows" when pot just didn't do it for him anymore. Since this is a 60s film, the description of the drugs' effects is quite psychedelic, involving the same amoeba-like camera effects seen in practically all anti-drug films of the period. Again, this seems to be an excerpt rather than an entire film. Groove along to catchy, poppy music in this film about downers.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Apollo, Segment 6001 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
This is the opening credits to another Aeronautics and Space Report from NASA. Again, it’s prefaced with a crummy handwritten title card with a number on it, backed by a female voice reading off the number. But first, her little brother or somebody makes her laugh. This might have some value to somebody, but I don’t know who.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: **. Overall Rating: *.
Booked for Safekeeping (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #229 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This early 60s police training film, made in New Orleans, was designed to educate officers in how to handle people who are mentally ill, a type of situation that is more common in police work than you might think. The film is quite well-made and realistic, showing us scenes of police officers handling a confused, senile old lady making a scene at a grocery store; a depressed man who tried to kill himself by jumping off a bridge; a frightened, paranoid psychotic armed with a knife; and a catatonic who doesn’t speak English who suddenly goes from a state of stupor to a violent attack. The main cop in the film keeps his cool in these very difficult and dangerous situations, trying to talk down the disturbed people, and when this fails, physically subdues them in the least painful and frightening ways possible. The film points out in a number of different scenes that there are often inadequate facilities and services to deal with such people, and that is why the job falls to the police. For example, the narrator repeats several times that jail is not a good place for such persons, yet in all cases shown, the disturbed person ends up being held in a bleak jail because there is no other safe place available to keep them until they can be seen by a doctor. The New Orleans setting of the film gives it a strange, otherworldly quality (unless you’re from there, I suppose). All in all, this is a fascinating film about a difficult social problem that I doubt is much different today.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Battle in the Clouds (acquired through trading). [Category: Early Film & TV]
The print I have of this is pretty poor quality, so it's a bit hard to follow, but this seems to be an early vision of what war would be like enhanced by airborne technology. There’s airships aplenty, a battle between an airplane and an airship, an armored vehicle that gets blown up, a house that gets bombed, and, of course, a love story. The planes and airships are a lot of fun to look at and the special effects in general are quite good for its time. I wish I could follow the story better, but hey, you can't have everything.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Jericho (film #16 in the Black Culture section of Movieflix (www.movieflix.com)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Paul Robeson stars as a soldier who is wrongly accused of murder. He escapes into the Arabian desert and eventually becomes the leader of a large Arabian tribe. This plot is very similar to The Emperor Jones, but the similarity ends there. While Jones was a dark, serious film, this is more of a light-hearted adventure tale on the order of Gunga Din. Robeson’s character is likable and the situation in which he is accused is unjust enough that the Hayes Office let the film allow him to get away without being caught at the end. The movie is lively and full of fun little comic moments, though race issues in the army are also dealt with, though subtly (one gets the feeling that race was a factor in his unjust murder conviction, for example). Overall, this is an entertaining film that manages to be considerably less offensive to today’s sensibilities than most “race films” of the period.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
ATV Ident (film #38 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
60s network identification spot for the independent British ATV network. Features a dull-looking color wheel and a giant eye. Very 60s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
As in a Looking Glass (film #2 in the Comedy Sketches section of American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870-1920. Also in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A kid plays a prank on Grandpa involving a string, a hole in the wall, and a dresser drawer. What this has to do with a looking glass is a mystery to me. Still, you get an idea of the popular pranks of the time.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Adventures of Superman (film #22 in the When Stars Did the Commercials section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
This commercial for Sugar Smacks, done by the cast of TV’s “The Adventures of Superman,” is quite campy and fun. It features a cranky boss yelling “Great Caesar’s Ghost!” and complaining about Jimmy Olsen being late with breakfast, Jimmy doing a pratfall on his entrance (the boss threatens to fire him if he spills the Sugar Smacks), and Clark Kent acting cool as a cucumber. There’s also an evil animated clown appearance at the end. This one has something for everybody.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Decimal Coinage – New System (film #7 in the Public Info. section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
This brief British public service announcement tells people that if they’re confused by the new decimal money system, they should “think decimal,” i.e. 1 pound=100 pence. This totally clears up the confusion a ditzy housewife experiences upon receiving her change in a shop. This stereotype makes the PSA slightly campy.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Apollo, Segment 5002 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
In this very brief clip from a NASA film, work on Skylab is reported, then things are wrapped up for 1971. Not much here, folks.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: **. Overall Rating: *.
Bookbinders (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #228 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
Part of the “America at Work” series made by the AFL-CIO, this vocational film portrays the bookbinding trade in a romanticized fashion. Most romanticized is the first part of the film, which shows the restoration of antique books, while romantic strings play in the background. The rest of the film shows the mass production of books in a step-by-step fashion and fairly straightforwardly. Actually, this is pretty interesting stuff––the bookbinding trade is a little closer to its craftsmanship roots than many other industries. This makes for a film that is pretty fun to watch, especially if you like “factory tour” films.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Three Little Kittens (film #7 on Cartoon Scandals (Goodtimes, 1987)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Three cute little kittens frolic in a grocery store until their fun is spoiled by a very large rat, whom they battle to the death. The only thing I can see that merits its inclusion on Cartoon Scandals is a mildly upsetting scene of one of the kittens almost getting put through a meat slicer. Other than that, it's a standard 30s toon, like many others.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
An Artist’s Dream (film #19 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]
That same artist as in Dilemma has a silly dream about the female figures in his paintings coming to life, but being unable to embrace them due to camera trickery. About as weird as the average dream. A 1900 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Jasper in a Jam (film #1 on George Pal Puppetoons (Loonic Video). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Jasper gets caught in a pawn shop at midnight and thus gets to see all the musical instruments come to life and play a hot jam session. After he gets through being scared, he starts to play along––turns out he plays a pretty hot clarinet. Eventually, all the noise bothers a wooden Indian (let’s see how many ethnic groups we can offend, shall we?) who traps Jasper on a totem pole and starts heaving hatchets at him. The whole thing is stopped by a passing cop who, of course, sees nothing. Another fun Jasper cartoon with lots of jiving inanimate objects.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Deadline for Action (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #409 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This film, made by the electrical workers’ union of the CIO in the late 40s, gives the other side of all those pro-business films also made during that time. It criticizes big companies like GE for cutting paychecks after the war, ostensibly because they could no longer afford to pay wartime wages. However, the union’s research showed that production and labor costs to the company had actually gone down and that the pay cuts were done to increase profits. But it goes a lot further than just that issue, pointing out how American big business is getting bigger and bigger and more and more powerful. It also points out the links big American companies had with Axis companies during the war, and equates big businesses dream of an “American Century” with the Nazi goal of world domination. The answer is shown to be participating in strikes and voting the union ticket. This is actually pretty scary to watch, because I’m sure things are ten times worse now in terms of big business dominating government. Of course, it’s hard to tell without doing your own research how accurate the film is, just as with the pro-business films of the period––it’s obviously meant to be propaganda. It is a fascinating account of union political views of the period. It also has lots of great propaganda graphics, including smashing fists and a giant octopus to represent big business. And there’s a memorable, though somewhat puzzling, scene to represent the concept of 31 million dollars (how much of America’s assets are controlled by Morgan interests): They don’t just talk about laying that much money in $100 bills end-to-end; they show a guy discovering the line of bills on the sidewalk and trying to pick them all up. A memorable film overall.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Andy Reads a Story from One of the Later Episodes (film #2 in the Plunk Your Magic Twanger section of TVParty). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This clip from “Andy’s Gang” features Andy reading a story about Indians, which is then acted out on screen. The two Indians are most unconvincing and poor actors to boot, giving this some camp value. No Froggy here, so the faint of heart need not worry.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Horror Home Productions (extra on Monsters Crash the Pajama Party Spook Show Spectacular DVD (Something Weird, 2001)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This is a montage of amateur and home movies with horror themes. Included are scenes of a guy in a vampire get-up terrorizing some 20s couples, a 40s amateur mummy movie, a 20s amateur Dr-Jeckyll-and-Mr.-Hyde rip-off, and some scenes of 60s trick-or-treaters and Halloween decorations. All with a spooky rock-and-roll soundtrack! Where does Something Weird get some of this stuff??Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Jasper and the Haunted House (film #3 on George Pal Puppetoons (Loonic Video)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Jasper is a little African-American boy who was unfortunately animated using the racist stereotypes of the time. Despite that, he’s an appealing character. In this puppet-animated cartoon, a scarecrow tricks him into taking a wrong turn and going into a haunted house, in order to steal a pie Jasper is trying to deliver. Unlike most “haunted house” cartoons, the ghosts and spooks in the house are suggested by having all kinds of inanimate objects move of their own accord, supposedly manipulated by invisible supernatural hands. This is a wonderfully creative premise for a puppet-animated cartoon. It’s quite fun to watch, especially the climax which features various objects dancing to a jazz tune. The scarecrow eventually gets his comeuppance from Jasper in a funny ending. This is one of the better puppetoons I’ve seen.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Apollo, Segment 5001 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
This short clip from a NASA film contains footage of the Apollo 15 mission, including footage taken from the Lunar Rover. That gives it a bit of historical value, though it’s rather short.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (film #3 in the When Stars Did the Commercials section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Mildly strange opening credit/commercial featuring the Nelson’s eating Aunt Jemima Pancakes while the theme-song singers shout out each character’s name in unison. This comes off weirder than it sounds.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Andy Griffith (film #2 in the TV ’68 section of TVParty). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This is the opening credit sequence that we all remember, featuring Andy and Opie coming home from a fishing trip, as well as the whistled-soundtrack song. Charming, but nothing you can’t see every night on TVLand.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Bird Dogs (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #220 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This silent film shows us how bird dogs are trained and hunted with. It’s actually a pretty interesting project and the dogs are cute and fun to watch. The first part of the film, which shows training, is more interesting than the second part, which focuses on hunting. Still, I enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I would.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Arrival of the Governor General, Lord Minto, at Quebec (film #17 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Quebec here looks like the North Pole or something. A bunch of people arrive on a boat on the shore of a lake, or perhaps a very wide river. Snow is piled up everywhere. A bunch of people get out of the boat and pull it up on to the shore. Then they just keep pulling and pulling, and you see some other people, which must be the governor and his entourage still sitting in the boat. After awhile, it seems like they are unaware that the boat is no longer on the water and they expect to be pulled overland in the boat. An oddity. A 1902 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Blockade of Cuba (film #8 in the Cuban History section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Straightforward newsreel story about the American blockade of Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis, probably the scariest moment of the Cold War. No real surprises here, but this was an important piece of history.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value; N/A. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Integration Report I (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #759 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This grass-roots film from 1960 documents the major protests in the struggle for civil rights for African-Americans. Included are the sit-ins at drugstore lunch counters in the south, Jackie Robinson protesting segregation at airports, a major march on Washington which included many white college students among the protestors, and the struggle to get children into primarily white public schools in New York City. Speeches by most of the major civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr. are also featured. This is a well-made, understated film that mainly lets the images and the speeches speak for themselves. The soundtrack features folksongs and African-American religious songs that inspired the protestors at the time. It all adds up to an interesting, historically important document of the civil rights struggle.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Darkness Before the Dawn: The Pride of Judea Story (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #394 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This 50s film profiles the Pride of Judea Children’s Services, an agency which provides psychological and social work services to Jewish children in New York City. This film tries to be all things to all people. It starts with a brief, lurid handwringing about the problem of juvenile delinquency, then goes through all the things Pride of Judea is doing about it. There’s a lot of stuff, so the narrator chatters on and on without taking a breath, covering the summer camp for troubled and underpriviledged boys, the psychotherapy services provided for children and their parents, the homemaker service which provides help for families where the mother is temporarily incapacitated or absent, and the day nursery for single-parent families. Most of this is covered in a fairly standard fashion, with momentary lapses into sensationalism or sappiness, but nothing lasts long because the film is so jam-packed with stuff. It does give a historically interesting glimpse into social services and Jewish culture during the 50s. But, man, I wish that narrator would slow down and take a breath once in awhile!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Going Places (film #7 on Blood of Floor Sweepings (LSVideo)). [Category: Industrial]
More "Goodyearites" go on vacation, this time in the good ol' U.S. of A., and show us their home movies. Very much like Across the Border, but not quite as historically interesting, as the places they visit are mostly pretty obvious. Wave at the camera, Mabel! Not to be confused with the animated Going Places, reviewed later.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Apollo, Segment 4007 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
This short segment of a NASA film talks about research being done on moon rocks gathered by the crew of Apollo 14. This has some historical value, but not much else.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
The Bill Cosby Show (film #24 in the Lost Fall Previews of the 60s section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Preview for Bill Cosby’s late-60s sitcom, where he played a high school P.E. teacher. This includes some mildly amusing Cosby schtick, including a conversation with his feet while jogging. A mildly fun glimpse at a young Cosby.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Chess-Nuts (extra on Drive-In Discs, Vol. 2 DVD (Elite Entertainment, 2001)). [Category: Hollywood]
A couple of sedate men play chess, but with a difference: the pieces are different Betty Boop characters! Specifically, Betty is the Black Queen and Bimbo is the White King. They make eyes at each other, but unfortunately the Black King is a cranky Old King Cole that wants Betty all for himself. So war is inevitable. This is a wonderfully funny, strange, and "tooney" toon, which portrays the weirdest chess game you've ever seen, guaranteed. Koko is running around in there, too, and you can tell this was pre-code, because we get plenty of glimpses of Betty's undies. I would love it if they would make a chess set based upon these characters––I might even be persuaded to play the game then.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: *****.
Arrival of Prince Henry of Prussia and President Roosevelt at Shooter’s Island (film #1 on Theodore Roosevelt: His Life and Times on Film). [Category: Early Film & TV]
We see TR and said prince walk by on a pier, followed by a whole lot of other folks. This has one of the clearer shots of TR I’ve seen, so it has some historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Indian Love Burlesque (film #744 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
An “Indian” (a stripper in a fringed bikini and a one-feather headdress) does a “tribal dance” (a striptease) where she “reveals her innermost feelings” (she takes her bra off) in this “daring” (offensive to women and Native Americans) “art film” (stag film).Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Andy Devine Calls Out Froggy with “Plunk Your Magic Twanger, Froggy!” (film #1 in the Plunk Your Magic Twanger section of TVParty). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
BUCKY BEAVER WARNING!!!! This is it, folks. The Heart of Evil lies here. You have been warned.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Bigger and Bigger (film #11 in the 100 Years in the Air section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Industrial]
Clip from a British newsreel about the unveiling of the 747 jumbo jet. This is pretty straightforward, but it has some historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Apollo, Segment 4006 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
This clip from a NASA film covers various experimental airplanes, including one that was a prototype for the space shuttle. Some of the plane designs are pretty cool.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
BBC TV Trailer #2 (film #105 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Commercial]
Another early Doctor Who trailer featuring Daleks. This one isn’t nearly as much fun as #1, so the Daleks haven’t ordered you to watch it yet.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Dangerous Diamonds (film #6 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
British public service announcement warning people to steer clear of anything with a diamond-shaped safety sign on it. One campy moment comes when two women see a tanker truck with a “Flammable Liquids” sign catch on fire––their facial expressions are priceless.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
The Androids of Tara Blooper (film #88 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
An actress in the “Androids of Tara” episode of “Doctor Who” blows one of her lines. It’s one of those overblown Tolkienesque fantasy speeches, so you understand her dilemma. Still, this is a pretty dull blooper.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: **. Overall Rating: **.
Big Trains Rolling (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #218 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This 50s film is basically about how great our country is and how great railroads are and how railroads make our country great. It follows two kids, Carol and Jimmy, as they take a train trip alone. The narrator tells us that normally kids like that would travel with their parents, but “just for fun” they’re going to show them traveling alone. That just begs to be msted, as does most of the film’s narration, which is very breezy and simplistic. There’s lots of color footage of trains and of scenic vistas of America during the 50s. All of this adds up to a typical industrial film experience, one with few surprises, but fun nonetheless.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Banks and Credits (film #187 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]
This is not your usual Coronet film. Instead of an earnest film about squeaky-clean teen problems, it's a dull, narrated film about banks and consumer credit which could have been made by Encyclopedia Brittanica. Of course, this sort of subject matter is just the kind of stuff that makes my eyes glaze over––if you're really into things like finance and economics you might enjoy it. But I doubt it. The big clunky adding machine the bookkeeper uses is kind of cool, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Baths at Milan, Italy (film #7 on Pioneers of the French Cinema (Hollywood's Attic, 1996)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A bunch of swimmers dressed in bathing suits about as revealing as the average pair of long-johns practice their diving in a swimming pool. Another brief Lumiere film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: **. Overall Rating: **.
Drive-In Movie Double Feature #90 (Sinister Cinema). [Category: Commercial]
This one has most of the good ones from #84, making it a better value for your money or disappointingly repetitive, depending upon your point of view. Included are the Jalopy Raffle, Manley's Hi-Pop, Chilly Dillies, Your Drive-In Potato Expert, and "the parched area at the back of the throat", as well as yet another jazzy Dr. Pepper promo.
Highlights:
- Little kids in toy cars like ice cream. At least that's less scary than the manic car in the "Bring the Kiddies" announcement.
- Conspiracy Buffs Alert! The Pepsi "Taste That Beats the Others Cold" promo has subliminal "NOW!" messages.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Anyone at All (film #6 on Oops! (A/V Geeks)). [Category: Educational]
Phil’s surprise party for his best friend Larry is ruined when Larry goes and gets himself killed in a car accident. As a result, Phil goes on an organizing frenzy, starting a teen safety council at his school and getting all kinds of other people in the community involved. Fortunately, everybody who gets involved has a tearjerking story to tell about a friend or relative whose life was ruined after getting into an accident. The campiest part is the end, where all the accident victims get to speak their piece about safety, including Larry, speaking from beyond the grave. When Phil is thanked by community leaders for getting everybody so fired up about safety, he says Larry really deserves the credit, a premise which is ludicrous after a moment’s thought. I guess Larry did everybody a big favor by dying in that accident, though I’m not sure he would like people to think so. Maybe we should all improve our communities by getting ourselves killed. A fairly campy film with lots of scenery-chewing.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Arrival of McKinley’s Funeral Train at Canton, Ohio.
This is just a scene of a train pulling into a station and lots of people going up to meet it. You wouldn’t know it was McKinley’s funeral train unless you were told. Still, this is an important historical document of a presidential assassination, so it has some value. A 1901 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Hot Number (film #691 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Goodness, it’s hot in here! I do believe I’ll strip down to my undies in front of this camera! There! That’s better. Another rather silly stag film, folks.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Thank You Mask Man (track #14 on Cartoon Scandals (Goodtimes, 1987)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Comedian Lenny Bruce's "Thank You Mask Man" bit is animated here, using very 60s-style animation. The soundtrack, though, is Bruce himself performing the bit live. The bit provides us with a new spin on the Lone Ranger legend, involving messianic Jews, cuss words, and "unnatural acts". It's easy to see why people tried to censor Bruce back in the 60s (though he's nothing compared to somebody like Eddie Murphy today). It's a little bit hard to hear––Bruce talks so fast and the sound quality is only fair––and what you can hear is only mildly amusing, though I suppose it was funnier back when such things were much more outrageous.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Crisis in Morality (film #5 on Christian Youth Scare Films, Vol. 5 (Something Weird, 2000)). [Category: Public Service]
This sensationalistic 50s film diagnoses all social evils, including juvenile delinquency, increasing divorce rates, crime, and the nuclear threat, as symptoms of sin and moral decay, i.e. lack of sufficiently rigid religious beliefs. The answer, well besides everybody getting the One True Religion, is more Christian schools and colleges. This ending is surprisingly tame and pat considering the level of sensationalist hand-wringing that went on before. You get the feeling that this is just another sales film in the end. It’s pretty campy, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Apollo, Segment 4005 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
This clip from a NASA film focuses on planes that fly through the stratosphere, gathering research data and taking photographs from the upper atmosphere. One of the highlights of this research is the detection of corn blight in the Midwest. That gives you an idea of the overall level of interest in this clip.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: **. Overall Rating: *.
BBC TV Trailer #1 (film #104 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Commercial]
Remember back in 2000 when the Daleks invaded London? No? Then you need to watch this campy Dr. Who trailer from the mid 60s! Do it or you will be EX-TER-MIN-ATED!!!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Adventures of Rupert the Bear #2 (film #34 in the Children’s TV section of TVArk). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Closing credits for the same tv show as #1. Again, this is quite cute, showing all the various puppet characters in the show. I particularly like the elephant dressed as a stuffy English gentleman.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Big Train (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #216 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
Made by the New York Central Railroad, this 50s film tells us how railroads are modernizing in standard industrial film style. It goes into a great deal of detail about this in a rather dry fashion. Railroad buffs will probably find it interesting, others less so. The last part of the film is a rather whiny lecture by Alfred Pearlman about how the government subsidizes other forms of transportation, but lets the railroads shift for themselves. After learning about how many government perks the railroads were given back in the 19th century, I can’t say his little talk stimulates much sympathy in me. Still, this is a quite historically interesting record of where the railroads were at in the 50s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ***.
Hooray for Hollywood unsold tv pilot opening (film #2 on TV Turkeys (Rhino, 1987)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
The opening credits for the pilot of an unsold tv sitcom, "Hooray for Hollywood". The show is based on the antics of the secretary of a tyrannical movie producer during the silent days of the 1920s. This is a potentially funny premise, and the slapstick opening seems like it ought to be funny, but isn't. I think they were trying too hard. And it's too professional looking to be campy. Little Shop of Horrors fans will want to watch for a brief appearance by Jackie Joseph.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Beyond the Blue Horizon (film #1384 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Hollywood]
Hey, we’re swingin’ now! This soundie features not only an organist, but an accordionist as well, with an electric guitar for backup. Is that a young Lawrence Welk on the squeezebox? I hear that very white people like this sort of thing.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Arrival of Emigrants, Ellis Island (film #1 on The Life of a City: Early Films of New York, 1898-1906). [Category: Early Film & TV]
This mostly involves large crowds of people carrying huge amounts of luggage being ushered into a building. Still, this has quite a bit of historical interest. A 1906 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Alcohol Is Dynamite (film #5 on The Educational Archives, Volume Seven: More Sex & Drugs DVD (Fantoma, 2003)). [Category: Educational]
Some teenagers ask a guy on the street to go into a liquor store and buy some booze for them. Unfortunately, they are in a Sid Davis movie, so not only does the guy refuse, but he tells them a long, lurid story about three teenaged boys who start drinking and end up with police records, school trouble, and the inevitable horrible car accident. This is your basic Sid Davis number, which means that it’s quite lurid and preachy, and thus a lot of fun. Probably the most unbelievable moment is when two of the three guys, who must both at least be 17, are shown having their “first drink,” with the usual winces. Even for the 50s, it’s hard to believe that liquor has never crossed those lips before. Also fun are the heavily overacted scenes of teen drunkenness.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
BBC1 – Trailer (film #105 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Commercial]
A late-70s trailer for two episodes of Doctor Who. Unfortunately, it is in black-and-white and poor quality. Who fans may find this interesting, others probably not.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Conquering Roads (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #371 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This 30s Jam Handy film talks about the improvements in roads that have had to be made to keep up with innovations in cars. Divided highways, rotary traffic circles, railroad trestles, and cloverleaf junctions are particularly highlighted. This is a good historical record of the evolution of roads in the first half of the 20th century, and the breezy Jam Handy style makes it more interesting than it might be.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Apollo, Segment 4004 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
This clip from a NASA film features unmanned rockets that were sent into the stratosphere to send back scientific data. Also featured is one of the first space telescopes. This is quite brief and has a little bit of historical interest, but not much else.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Black Marketing (film #224 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This film has an imposing beginning: “THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRESENTS" appears over scary, dramatic music. I've seen lots of government films, but none that begin that way. That would make a great opening sequence for just about any film or video you'd care to make. It begins a rather poorly-made film about black market meat trafficking during World War II. The entire film is narrated by a U.S. attorney addressing a jury in a very echoey courtroom. He presents a conspiracy by several shady-looking businessmen (who sit in the courtroom wiping sweat from their faces and looking generally nervous throughout the film) to buy and sell meat under the table at inflated prices. By an incredible coincidence, the ringleader of the racket is named Mr. A and his cronies are named Mr. B, Mr. C, Mr. D, Mr. E, and so forth all the way down the alphabet. Scenes are shown of members of the racket, who all dress, smoke, and generally act like gangsters, making shady deals with local butchers in the most suspicious-looking ways possible ("Got another 'soup bone' for me this week, mister (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more)?"). A title card at the end of the film tells us that all the people in the film are really law-abiding, decent folks who volunteered to help their country by portraying the "chiseling saboteurs" in this film. So I guess they were just kidding. I'm sure there really was some black market activity during the war, but this film is as unconvincing as all get-out.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Future Is Now (film #3 on Atomic TV (Video Resources, 1994)). [Category: Industrial]
This gee-whiz early 50s film about the future was surprisingly accurate in some of its predictions, such as camcorders replacing home movies, refrigerators dispensing ice and water in the door, nuclear power plants, master-slave manipulators, and solar-powered gadgets. Other not-so-accurate predictions include pushbutton kitchen cupboards, preserving food with gamma rays instead of refrigeration, washing dishes with ultrasonic waves, and the ubiquitous picturephone (it must not be The Future yet, 'cause we don't have picturephones). The most jaw-dropping moment is a scientist carefully checking his Geiger counter before entering an irradiated cornfield marked with prominent warning signs, while the narrator tells us how radiation will improve the food of the future, implying that we're supposed to actually eat that radioactive corn. A great relic of 50s futuremania.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Catching Trouble (MST3K Episode #315; Teenage Caveman (short #2)). [Category: Hollywood]
Joel apologizes to everyone everywhere for this highly upsetting newsreel featurette about live wild animal capture, and rightly so. We're supposed to admire the antics of Ross, the wild animal hunter as he runs through the Florida everglades catching animals for cheesy reptile farms and the like, but after hearing the animals' anguished screams you root for them every time. Almost too painful to watch, but the msting helps. And to cleanse your soul afterwards, you absolutely must view the host segment that follows, entitled "Catching Ross", where Joel and the bots give the great white hunter a taste of his own medicine!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: BOMB. Msting: *****. Overall Rating: **** (with msting)/BOMB (without).
Bacteria: Friend and Foe (film #184 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]
This film starts out a little bit like a Coronet film, with high-schooler Ted struggling to see bacteria in a microscope and being helped by his older brother Frank, a bacteriologist who bears a slight resemblance to Dr. Radford Baines. Unfortunately, it's not long before this becomes a standard dry EB science film about the various kinds of bacteria. There aren't even any killer shrews in it. The graphic elements are mildly fun, with title cards in various shades of Pepto-Bismol pink and a sort of periodic table of bacteria on the wall that Frank refers Ted to. But mostly this is the sort of film most students probably slept through.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
The Big Delivery Wagon (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #214 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
The Big Delivery Wagon delivers Heinz products to your store, or it did before wagons were replaced by trucks. This mildly amusing industrial film spotlights national distribution of Heinz food products in garish color. All tomatoes, ketchup bottles, and housewives’ lipstick are bright, screaming red especially. Mostly this is pretty ordinary, but since it’s about food products, it’s pretty fun, and it does have some curious moments, such as when the various different kinds of food products are spotlighted, one after the other, but all we see are stacks of shipping cartons marked with each product’s name. Mildly fun and good for msting.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Haunted House Soundie (extra on Monsters Crash the Pajama Party Spook Show Spectacular DVD (Something Weird, 2001)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This soundie has no title and I can’t identify the song, so bear with me. An African-American couple is spooked by ghosts and skeletons in a haunted house. This is full of the racist stereotypes of black people as cowardly and superstitious, especially in the performance of the male actor. The special effects and the general look of the film is fun and creative, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Bataille de Boules de Neige (film #10 on The Movies Begin, Volume Two: The European Pioneers (Kino Video, 1994)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Hey everybody!! SNOWBALL FIGHT!!! Hey, let's get that guy on the bicicyle!! Let's pummel 'im!!! Stop it, you hooligans!!! Arrrgghh!!! (sound of a guy falling off a bike). He eventually beats a hasty, snow-covered retreat. One of the more fun Lumiere films. An 1896 Lumiere film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
The Adventures of Rupert the Bear #1 (film #33 in the Children’s TV section of TVArk). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Cute opening credits for a British children’s tv show featuring puppet animation of stuffed animals. The notes on the site say this is “scary,� but I find it to be genuinely cute. I ought to send them Watch Out for Poisons––now that’s really scary!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Arrest in Chinatown, San Francisco, Cal. (film #2 on Before and After the Great Earthquake and Fire: Early Films of San Francisco, 1897-1916. Also, #16 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A guy is carried off in a paddy wagon, back in the days when it really was a wagon. One of the arresting officers just couldn’t resist repeatedly waving at the camera. An 1897 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Bassett’s Jelly Babies (film #1 in the Adverts section of TVArk). [Category: Commercial]
Weird British animated commercial for that very British of candies, jelly babies. I didn’t know babies could do the Charleston.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Confidential File: Medical Quacks (film #367 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This 50s tv program starring Paul Coates attempts to blow the lid off of medical quackery. First it tells the story of a little old lady with a lump in her throat, whose “friend� takes her to see a “doctor� in a hotel room, who “treats� her with a machine made of an old phonograph with lots of knobs attached. Then Coates interviews a California food and drug inspector, who, speaking very stiltedly, tells us that quacks who are caught are generally slapped on the wrist by the courts. He is very boring and hard to listen to, but it gets more interesting when he starts showing us various fake bizarre fake medical devices of the type that can be found in the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices today. Then Coates interviews says we are probably thinking that people who fall for such quackery are pretty stupid. He then interviews a guy who had half his ear eaten away by a “cancer salve,� after a quack diagnosed told him a scab he had on his ear was cancerous. The guy tells us that he used the salve for five weeks even though it burned his ear like battery acid. Eventually part of his ear fell off, and then the quack told him that the cancer had spread to the back of his neck. The guy used the salve there for several more weeks before he finally had enough of the pain and quit. Unfortunately, this interview does nothing to dissuade us from questioning the intelligence of quack doctors’ victims. This is a fairly campy show on an interesting topic, with a great 50s tv feel.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Harlem Review (film #643 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This all-black 30s soundie has stereotypes aplenty, some pretty offensive. It starts with two black sailors who look straight out of a minstrel show talking about how they used to be admirals in the African Navy. Then we see them dressed as admirals on the S.S. Topsy, a ship decorated with racist cartoon characters. This is the most offensive part of the film. Then it switches to the music, which consists of several African-American performers probably trying very hard to get a break into show business. It’s too bad they had to appear in such a film in order to get started. Not only is it racist, but the sound quality is terrible, especially when the jazz band plays––it sounds like it was recorded from the other end of a dance hall. This film is a good historical record for how difficult it was for black performers to get started in one of the few fields they had a chance to make good money in, if they became stars. We may not have eliminated racism from our society, but at least we’re doing better than this.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Apollo, Segment 4003 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
In this clip from a NASA film, unmanned space probes designed to study the sun are announced and explained. Pretty standard.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Adam Adamant Lives (film #4 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Outtakes and Obscurities]
Groovy! These opening credits for a British science fiction television show just scream the 60s. This is probably where Austin Powers gets his inspiration. Lots of fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Drive-In Movie Double Feature #84 (Sinister Cinema). [Category: Commercial]
Is it just me or are these intermissions getting shorter? It's not just me––the timer starts at 5 minutes! Dock Sinister Cinema 10 points! Still, this one has a couple of priceless items that haven't appeared before in this series.
Highlights:
- According to my husband, Chilly Dilly just barely makes it to the Evil List.
- Your Drive-In Potato Expert seems just a little too interested in those potatoes he's inspecting!
- Is that motor oil they're pouring into the popcorn popper in the Manley's Hi-Pop Ad? It's either that or the darkest butter I've ever seen!
- The highlight of this intermission is a promo for soft drinks featuring a "doctor" showing us a diagram of the "parched dry area at the back of the throat". This ranks right up with the best hokey "scientific" explanations in cheesy 50s science fiction movies!
- For some reason, the drive-in is raffling off an old jalopy, a self-described "bag of bolts". They suggest you use it to "teach the kids or the wife to drive." New Horizons in Auto Salvage?
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Big Board (film #212 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This film tries to explain in simple terms the workings of the New York Stock Exchange, but fails (at least for me, anyway). It does have some rather campy scenes of stockbrokers handling big blocks with stock certificates printed on them, going into start, secret-looking rooms, and making phone calls on colored telephones (one of these phones is bright red, just like the phone the President could use to usher in World War III––this just begs to be msted!). Mostly, though, this is rather dull.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Greenwich Village Sunday (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #635 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This laid-back early-60s film shows us street life in Greenwich Village on a Sunday. We see such things as sidewalk art displays, folksinging in the circle, and beatniks reciting poetry. This definitely brings back a memorable time and place, giving us a glimpse of the birth of the 60s counterculture. One rather silly aspect of the film is a prim woman in a striped dress and little white gloves who appears in almost every scene and reacts to things as if she was on Mars (though with a smile on her face). This film could have perhaps had more content to it, but then it wouldn’t have been as laid back as a Greenwich Village Sunday.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ***.
Andy Pandy (film #1 in the Children’s TV section of TVArk). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Very cute opening credits to an early 50s British children’s tv show. I love the spelling of the show’s name in alphabet blocks. The very cute and British narrator may be found insufferable by some, but I liked her––she reminds me of somebody’s nanny. Watch this when you’re in the mood to be coddled for a bit.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Sheep Shape (film #5 on Cartoon Scandals (Goodtimes, 1987)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Blackie the Sheep dresses in drag in order to catch a wolf who has stolen money donated to the orphan's home. Not quite as weird as that sounds, unfortunately.Ratings Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Baretta (film #7 in the Fall Season Previews of the Seventies section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Standard-issue promo for the 70s cop show “Baretta,� featuring lots of Robert Blake clips. I’m not a cop show fan, so this didn’t interest me too much.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: *.
Children Watch Us Cross (film #5 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
Short, thoroughly charming British public service film about a little boy whose parents don’t cross streets safely. His mum and dad drag him into one near miss at getting hit by a car to another, until Mum almost manages to get them hit by Dad’s car (d’oh!!). The British pull off this kind of twist a lot better than Americans, and this will leave you smiling.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
Apollo, Segment 4002 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
Clip from a NASA film announcing the mission of the unmanned Mariner spacecraft that took some of the first close-up pictures of Mars. This has some historical interest, but not much else.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Ace of Wands (film #3 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Opening credits from a British children’s fantasy series. The prominently-featured pentagram would never fly in the U.S., unfortunately, religious fundamentalism being what it is. The slightly psychedelic graphics and the groovy soundtrack music definitely date this to early 70s, which also make it quite fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Besler Corporation Promo Film: Steam-Driven Vehicles (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #1800 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This early-30s film looks like it was probably an anachronism in its own time. It’s all about the wonders of that latest technological marvel, steam power. Not only that, it’s a silent film, even though talkies had been around for several years by that point. The first part of the film is the most interesting, as we see a steam driven car that can go up to 85 miles per hour (wow!). It’s bizarre to see a car occasionally emit puffs of steam from its side like an old-fashioned locomotive. I bet that would have gone over real well on city streets. Then we get to see a steam-powered airplane, which I admit threw me for a loop––I’d never heard of such a thing. But we see it flying, emitting puffs of steam all the while. Then it settles into its real subject matter, commuter trains, and then it gets dull. Still, there’s a pathetic wistfulness about this, as if it were an industrial film about improved buggy-whips. It’s as if the film is saying, “Please, Mr. Diesel, steam is a wonderful thing. Please don’t run over us with your technological juggernaut!� Sad, really.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Home Movies (film #14 on Ephemeral Films CD-ROM (Voyager)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Clips from color, silent home movies taken at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Although it's interesting to see the fair in color, this is just way too short to be very interesting. A nice touch, though, is the "film noise" soundtrack which was added to these silent clips.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Ameta (film #31 in the Dance section of American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870-1920). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A well-dressed woman does a dance with big twirly scarves. In the finale, she portrays the big tornado scene from The Wizard of Oz (OK, I made that up, but that’s what it looks like). Probably more fun to do than it is to watch.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Arrest and Trial (film #21 in the Lost Fall Previews of the 60s section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Short, rather campy clip from the preview of the 60s courtroom tv series “Arrest and Trial.� In it, public defender Chuck Connors blatantly badgers a witness with the approval of the prosecuting attorney, who, when questioned, asks the judge to be “flexible with procedure.� I don’t think that would fly in a real courtroom.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
The Green Pastures (acquired through trading). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This all-black cast film portrays African-American versions of Old Testament stories such as the Garden of Eden, Noah and the Ark, and Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. As usual for this sort of movie, it’s full of both stereotypes and genuine African-American culture and it’s difficult to tell the difference between the two. There’s a charming earnestness about the proceedings, but there’s also a patronizing undertone, as if the beliefs that are being portrayed are of simple, childlike folk. The theology is maddeningly simplistic at some points, while at other points, such as God’s discovery of mercy, it’s complex and fascinating. I would like to see a movie like this made without the constraints of white expectations and stereotypes. Still, overall it’s an interesting movie to watch, as it’s obvious a lot of effort was put into it. I especially enjoyed its down-to-earth portrayal of heaven, right down to the angelic cleaning women who wear apron-like garments on their wings.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Beyond the Skies (film #9 in the 100 Years in the Air section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Clip from a Soviet-made (but narrated in English) documentary about cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to orbit the earth. This is interesting from a historical perspective, and also for showing us the Soviet perspective on the space race, though, as usual, I wish I could see the whole film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Children and Ponds (film #4 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
British public service announcement urging parents to keep young children away from garden ponds, as they are a drowning risk. The little girl in the spot is incredibly cute and the spot is well-made.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
A for Andromeda #2 (film #2 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Clip from an early-60s British science fiction drama. Julie Christie plays a woman who used to be controlled by a computer and who is now enjoying her freedom after the computer has been destroyed. This well-acted clip indicates that the show was probably excellent. Too bad it wasn’t all preserved.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
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Better Reading
Better Reading . Teenager Harold Wilson has a problem—he can’t read for (expletive deleted). So he has to spend all his free time studying ...
