The Adventures of Kit Carson – Thunder Over Inyo (film #9 in the Classic TV section of Movieflix). [Category: Early Film & TV]
This is another one of the better Kit Carsons. Kit and El Torro help a little girl with a will to her father’s mine protect the mine from claim jumpers. The little girl is cute, though her acting could be better, but the scenes of Kit and El Torro interacting with her are genuinely touching. And I got really caught up in the story, which takes some surprising twists and turns.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Addams Family (film #15 in the Cigarette Advertising on TV section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Bumper from “The Addams Family” that features the Dutch Masters singing their memorable jingle about the joys of cigar smoking. TVParty gets docked 5 points, though, for digitizing this so tiny you can hardly see it.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Nude Ranch (extra on The Beast That Killed Women/The Monster of Camp Sunshine DVD (Something Weird, 2001)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This 30s film features women in skimpy, partially-topless Western outfits playing badminton, ping-pong, and horseshoes, while a male voice sings about chickens. I’m not sure what the point of this is supposed to be. OK, I do know what the point is supposed to be––ogling and female objectification––but this is much weirder in execution than it is in concept.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Expedition and House Burning (in the Educational section of Open Video Project). [Category: Public Service]
Silent footage of natives engaging in a complex cultural practice that culminates in the burning of a grass house. This is obviously one of the “Apa Tani” films, but beyond that, I know little about what’s going on. A woman who appears to be a white female anthropologist appears in this one, but she’s no help. I sure wish I had some context in which to put these striking images of native culture.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: **** (gets docked a star for lack of context). Overall Rating: ***.
Hey Folks! It's Intermission Time, Vol. 2 (Something Weird). [Category: Commercial]
This one is not quite as much fun as some of the others in this series, as it focuses mainly on holiday messages and still ad cards for movies, which are usually pretty dull. Still, it has its moments, and you drive-in and walk-in movie ephemera buffs will still find it a valuable addition to your collections.
Highlights:
- Nominations for the Bucky Beaver Hall of Evil: 1. Opera Night gets in for concept alone. 2. Two Vespas, two twins. Here's where the evil begins!
- "Warning to All Sourpusses! Stay Away from This Theatre!"
- Hell Is for Heroes stars Steve McQueen, Bobby Darin, Fess Parker, and Bob Newhart. Now that's a cast of exciting people!
- Most Selfless Public Service Announcement Award: Goes to a spot urging theatergoers to sign a petition to prevent cable tv from coming to their local communities. The spot calls it "pay tv" and says "soon you may have to pay for tv programs you now get for free." Wasn't it considerate of theaters to protect us from such competitors––oops, sorry, I mean money-grubbing corporate criminals?
- Thanks to the selfless efforts of the movie industry, mentioned above, "This Attraction Will NOT Be Seen on TV for at Least 7 Years!"
- Security State Bank "Offers Unusual Services: Drive-In Walk-Up Banking and By-Mail Free Parking." That's pretty unusual!
- 1954 must have been a terrible year! (You must watch the tape to know what I'm talking about.)
- North Bridge Marine Service Co. is on the "East Side of Old Bridge." Got that?
- High-Class Entertainment Award: "Monday & Tuesday Nights, 2 Adult Flicks, Must Be 18."
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Act Three (film #18 in The Carol Burnett Shows section of TVParty). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
In this segment from “Eunice,” Eunice argues with Mama about her own drinking after her divorce. Again, this is well-written and funny. Kudos to TVParty for preserving bits of this little-known special.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Apollo, Segment 6007 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
This clip from a NASA film documents Apollo 16 and 17, the last of the Apollo missions. There’s some rather poorly-preserved footage of men on the moon here. Somebody put a lot of effort into these NASA Air & Space Reports––it’s too bad they weren’t better preserved.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Atomic Blasts (film #1 in the 0800042 Atomic Blasts – Operations Greenhouse Through Upshot-Knothole section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
The title card says this clip is silent, but DOE Nevada added a peppy version of “The William Tell Overture” to the soundtrack, so you don’t have to experience things blowing up real good in silence. Seriously, these a-bomb blasts produced awesome images.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Bright Young Newcomer (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #250 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
In this training film for office managers, a conflict flares up between Joan, a newly-hired employee with lots of new ideas, and Betty, a long-time employee who designed many of that office’s procedures. Joan has some helpful suggestions about how the filing system could be changed, but Betty resents the upstart’s criticism of “her” filing system, which she thinks “has always been good enough up to now.” The office manager, Mr. Barnes, has to figure out how to resolve the issue, which he allowed to escalate by taking no action up to this point. The film ends without resolution, like the other films in this series, posing the discussion question, “Why is Betty resisting new ideas?” The answer, of course, is that Betty, as well as the other “girls” in this office, has been treated with absolutely no respect, even though the film makes clear that she essentially runs this office. They even admit that she has been there as long as Barnes. Yet she sits at a desk in the office pool, with no more authority than any of the other “girls” (they are always called that) in the office. This leaves her to fight like a junkyard dog over what little she can control––if she allows some young upstart to mess with “her” filing system, then she no longer can claim that it is “hers,” and take complete and sole credit for it. Both Barnes and the narrator of this film have the temerity to act as if this conflict was of no importance, that the “girls” make “mountains out of molehills” and get into spats over “nothing”––even though records management is essentially what this office does, and it’s clear that the “girls” handle all the real work of the department, leaving Barnes to answer “important” phone calls in his private, empty office and sign the occasional form that is brought to him. The real discussion question here, folks, is “Why is this company so resistant to the idea of treating their female employees with respect?” One of the most appallingly sexist films I’ve ever seen, which makes it a great historical document of why the woman’s movement was necessary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
MST Scrapbook (Best Brains, 1995). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Msties won't want to miss this long tape of ephemera from "Mystery Science Theater 3000". The show's history is well-covered, from the pilot on Minneapolis station KTMA to the first Conventio-Con Expo-Fest-a-Rama in 1994. There's lots of stuff you won't find anywhere else, such as scenes from the KTMA pilot, home movies of the Brains building a new set just after getting the contract with the Comedy Channel, and scenes of them writing and taping the Santa Claus Conquers the Martians episode. Highlights include Trace ad-libbing about hanging himself while building the set (and Joel and an intern playing along), and Frank doing a really embarrassing dance number in a tight-fitting leotard during the Conventio-Con (and asking people backstage afterwards, "I didn't look silly, did I?"). Ephemera fans will want to check out a PSA the Brains did for the Red Cross which features them msting some brief clips from a public service newsreel called "Red Cross News". A must for all msties.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Cartoons Go to War (A & E Home Video, 1995). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
I was disappointed by this tape when I first bought it because I though it would be a collection of wartime cartoons. It isn't––it's a documentary about the toons made during World War II. As documentaries go, though, it's not too bad, and it does contain tons of clips from wartime cartoons (even some toons made by Disney, which are really hard to find otherwise), animated segments of military training films, and even a few newsreel clips about the toon studios doing their bit for the war effort. It also contains lots of interview footage from directors, animators, and artists of the time period. Still, I wish they had included at least a few complete cartoons.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Adventures of Kit Carson – The Trap (film #8 in the Classic TV section of Movieflix). [Category: Early Film & TV]
In this rather unusual episode, Kit and El Torro help a wanted criminal foil a plot to drive his wife and son off of their ranch. This is another one of the better Kit Carsons, with a plot that has some interesting twists and turns. And, amazingly enough, it has El Torro cooking instead of womanizing!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Abominable Snowman (film #4 in the Trailers section of Movieflix). [Category: Commercial]
Letterboxed (nice touch, Movieflix!) trailer for The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas, that 50s classic of Yetidom. The film is not particularly campy, but this trailer is a real hoot, with over-the-top narration and carefully edited clips designed to appeal to paranoid nutcases. Great fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Naked Nudist Trailers (extra on The Beast That Killed Women/The Monster of Camp Sunshine DVD (Something Weird, 2001)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
A small group of very campy and cheesy trailers for nudie movies from the 60s. Lots of bare breasts and bottoms are shown, but no male naughty bits. Lots of leering, too. Since there are so few of these, I won’t give away the best moments.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Egg and Us (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #478 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
The “egg” of the title is a nest egg of U.S. Savings bonds. This film tries to attribute the postwar prosperity of the 50s entirely to the Savings Bond program, which is laughable, to say the least. Beyond that, though, this film is a great snapshot of 50s attitudes towards its own time. Postwar prosperity is presented as a natural outgrowth of the American way of life (read: capitalism) and the optimistic idea that it will never end is not questioned. This seems particularly naïve when they talk about inflation. For all that, it’s not very campy, really, but it does give you a good look at the 50s mindset. And it has lots of that 50s cute-style animation, too.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Littlest Giant (film #6 on An American Retrospective Through Animation (Moviecraft, 1994)). [Category: Industrial]
The "littlest giant" is the American consumer in this film that once again has corporate America trying to fool the little guys into thinking they have a lot more power than they actually do. This time it's consumer credit which supposedly empowers ordinary people and Makes Life Better for Everybody. Granted, legal consumer credit is an improvement over the loan shark (played by a Snidely Whiplash wannabe), but anybody who's struggled with a massive credit card debt can tell you that all this credit is a mixed blessing, and this is not even dealing with broader issues such as the environment or who gets the shaft during an economic downturn (the little guy, usually). The 50s "cute" style animation reminds me of the "Live Better Electrically" spot, which is always an advantage in my book.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Acrobat’s Journey (film #42 in the Drama section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
I don’t know…I don’t think the Chinese proverb “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” provides enough plot for an entire movie. The cinematography and music are nice, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Apollo, Segment 6006 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
This brief clip features President Nixon arranging for the joint U.S.-U.S.S.R. space mission, and preparations for Skylab. There’s some historical value here, but not much else.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Cookin' with Gags (film #13 on Cartoon Crazys: Sci-Fi (WinStar Home Entertainment, 1999)). [Category: Hollywood]
Popeye and Bluto go on a picnic with Olive Oyl. It's April Fool's Day, and Bluto takes every opportunity to torment Popeye with April Fool's gags, until Popeye finally gets revenge. This is a pretty standard Popeye cartoon, though the gags are mildly amusing.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: **. Overall Rating: **.
ASROC (film #1 in the 0800044 U.S. Navy Training Film section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Brief introductory clip from a navy training film about ASROC surface-to-air missles. Includes a bit of that primitive animation so common in military films.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Breakfast in Camp (film #11 on Buckaroos in Paradise). [Category: Industrial]
Rancher Les Stewart wakes up his ranch hands well before dawn with a yell that could wake the dead, which was probably necessary at that ungodly hour of the morning. The hands, none of whom are morning people, stumble into the cook shack, mumble “Mornin’” to each other, and proceed to gobble down their breakfasts without further comment. I don’t care how many Westerns you’ve seen––this is what it’s really like to be a cowboy!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Adventures of Kit Carson – Singing Wires (film #6 in the Classic TV section of Movieflix). [Category: Early Film & TV]
In this episode, Kit foils the attempt of a corrupt cattle buyer to start an Indian war. This is by far the best Kit Carson I’ve seen so far. It actually builds up quite a bit of suspense. The portrayal of the Indians, though somewhat stereotyped, is not as bad as you’d expect for the time period it was made. In particular, Kit knows the differences between different tribes, instead of lumping all Indians together, which is surprisingly enlightened for the 50s. This is one Kit Carson to see. El Torro is even shown to fail miserably in his womanizing attempts!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Bee City (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #193 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]
This is like Ant City, only about bees. It's a little more interesting than the other film, probably because bee life is somewhat more interesting than ant life. Like the other film, though, it has a questionable narrator who sounds like he's winging it. And he never tells us exactly how honey is made, which to my mind is missing the point. Mostly, though, this is an average nature film with slightly weird narration.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
ABC Was Still the One in 1977 (film #20 in the Fall Season Jingles section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Long network promo from the 70s, done to the song “Still the One”. This is pretty well-done and memorable, especially the beginning, which features clips from ABC shows from the 50s to the 70s. I also find the song to be pretty catchy. This will definitely bring the 70s rushing back to you, so be warned.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Murder in Harlem (film #23 in the Black Culture section of Movieflix). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This very primitive 1935 movie for African-American audiences features a black lawyer and novelist who helps out a young woman whose brother was charged with killing a white secretary in the chemical plant where he works as a nightwatchman. The script has some interesting ideas, and deals with issues such as sexual harassment in the workplace, racist treatment of African-Americans by police and the courts, and domestic violence, that were usually swept under the rug back in the 30s. But the story is turgidly told and the acting is uniformly awful. It also has that stagey feel of early talkies, though it was made in 1935. It’s too bad, really––this could have been a really great film if it had been more competently done. It does deserve some commendation for inserting some actual plot development into the obligatory nightclub scene.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ***.
Education Is Good Business (film #477 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This film, made by the National Chamber of Commerce, tries to sell the idea that education is good for business. A high school girl who studies art might grow up to be a housewife who has a taste for “the finer things in life,” a boy who learns better farming techniques in high school will eventually run a farm that has better yields, and a girl who takes a typing class in high school will be able to find a good job after graduation and thus have more spending power, at least until she finds a good husband. Communities that support education sell more magazines! Though I agree that higher education levels tend to improve the economy, there is something incredibly lame about this film and its tendency to reduce people to “tax-supported community assets.” I shudder to think what kind of education the people responsible for this film would like to support. The more you think about this film, the more appalling it becomes. But mostly, it’s just dull and poorly-made, which frankly doesn’t reflect well on the education of the filmmakers.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Abducted (film #10 in the Comedy section of Brickfilms. Also, film #5 in the Drama section of Brickfilms. Also, film #1 in the Horror section of Brickfilms. Also, film #3 in the Sci-Fi section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This film blows the lid off of the whole alien abduction of Lego men conspiracy. And it’s very well-made, suspenseful, and funny to boot. This is one of the best Brickfilms I’ve seen––it showcases what can be done with the medium.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
Apollo, Segment 6005 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]
Brief clip from a NASA film highlighting aeronautical research in wind tunnels. Unfortunately, there are no soundtrack woes here, but some of the visuals are kind of unusual.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Amchitka Program (film #1 in the 0800038 The Amchitka Program section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Brief clip from a film documenting an atomic bomb test on Amchitka Island in the Aleutians, near Alaska. The film claims that the explosion caused minimal damage. As usual, I’m skeptical.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Bridge for the Yaque (film #248 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
Boring film about building a bridge in the Dominican Republic. Those who are really into bridge-building might enjoy this, though, as the process is described in detail. And since the film was sponsored by U.S. Steel, no opportunity was missed to point out how strong and what a great material in general the steel used to build the bridge was.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
The Boy Detective (film #9 on The Origins of Cinema, Volume 3: The Films of American Mutoscope and Biograph Mature (Video Yesteryear, 1995)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A plucky newsboy brings two guys to justice (for what crime is not made clear) by, among other things, skulking about, sending another guy to check up on them, and, oh yeah, dressing up in drag. Strange? Uh-huh. Gives new meaning to the word "mature". Oh yeah, and that gun he's playing with at the end is really only a cigarette holder––be sure to try that one at home, kids! A 1908 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
Hey Folks! It's Intermission Time, Vol. 1 (Something Weird). [Category: Commercial]
Drive-in movie snack bar promos––I love 'em. They're some of the cheesiest and most ephemeral of all film ephemera. I even loved them as a kid going to the drive-in for real––I often found them to be more interesting than the movie and would be disappointed when my parents would turn off the speaker during intermission. I love the "Intermissions" that Sinister Cinema puts on its Drive-In Movie Double Feature tapes and always wished I could find a whole tape of this stuff. Imagine my delight when I found this tape in the Movies Unlimited catalog! 90 minutes of nothing but drive-in ephemera, and it's only Volume 1! There are five other volumes in the series! I thought I had died and gone to film ephemera heaven! The tape does not disappoint––it's chock full of all kinds of drive-in paraphernalia: snack bar promos, public service announcements ("Go to church Sunday", "Show an interest in local Boy Scout activities"), timers, holiday greetings, announcements of special shows and promotions, cheesy ads for local businesses, and the highlight of the tape––a bunch of promos for live spook shows that are extremely campy! Highly recommended.
Highlights:
- We are reminded to get regular check-ups and to be x-rayed frequently by title cards with backgrounds that look like fresh meat. Uh-huh...
- Disembodied heads are big fans of ice-cream bars!
- Back in the 60's, when Honda was best known for making cute little motor bikes, they decided to market their cute little bikes to farmers and ranchers by means of a drive-in commercial. So we are treated to scenes farmers and ranchers buzzing around their acreages and herding livestock on cute little Honda motor bikes. Thanks, Honda!
- It doesn't get any more 60's than a snack bar promo done in the style of Yellow Submarine. Groovy!
- Santa and the following merchants wish you a happy holiday season: Denison Redi-Mixed Concrete, Farmer's Elevator Mill, Cronk's Cafe, John Rattenborg Produce, B & M Motors, Schlitz Standard Service, Johnson Drug––Veterinary Dept. (only the Veterinary Dept.), and Witt Hardware.
- Denison Readi-Mixed Concrete is "so easy to work with, leaving no muss about the place when the job is done." I never knew that about concrete.
- Believe me, the spook show promos on this tape are great! It's good that this obscure slice of pop culture has been preserved. These promos make the Godzilla trailer look tame! Here's just a small sample of the outrageous claims made by these live shows (I swear neither I nor Dave Barry are making these up!): "See a Man Buried Alive!" (volunteers are solicited for this), "We Will Not Be Responsible for: Your Hair Turning Grey, Broken Suspenders, Frantic Wives, or Lost Sweethearts!", "A Human Being MURDERED before your eyes!", "Beautiful Girls Sacrificed to the Blood Lust of Inhuman Monsters!", "Maybe Your Tongue and Eyes Will Be Ripped Out!", "All Undertakers and Grave-Diggers Admitted Free!" "Humans Turned Into Zombies!", "Monsters Grab Girls Out of the Audience!", "Invisible Man Terrorizes You!", "Slave Maidens at the Mercy of Hideous Beats!" "The Devil, in His Wildest Flights of Fancy, Cooked Up These Fantastic Tricks to Baffle You and Frighten You!", "Don't Be Chicken! Show That Gal Friend You Got What It Takes!", "This Theatre Reserves the Right to Stop the Show Anytime It Becomes too S-C-A-R-Y!", "You'll See Human Sacrifices!", "Monsters Cut Off Girls' Heads!", the most incoherent: "You'll See a Blood-Curdling Space Monster Who Died, Yet Alive, Will Come to Seek the Warm Blood He Needs to Keep Himself Alive!", and the most unbelievable: "Even Scarier than Advertised!!" Two different shows make this exact same word-for-word claim: "Positively Never Here Before! Brand New!"
- Msties, take note: Dr. Macabre's Frightmare of Movie Monsters features the Colossal Beast (as in War of...) alive! In Person!
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Casper, the Friendly Ghost (film #3 in the Xmas TV section of TVParty). [Category: Hollywood]
Clip from the beginning of an old Casper cartoon, A-Haunting We Will Go. Fortunately, it ends before things get too sappy.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
The Adventures of Kit Carson – Road to Monterey (film #5 in the Classic TV section of Movieflix). [Category: Early Film & TV]
In this episode, Kit and El Torro help a state senator get to Monterey despite the machinations of the senator’s political rivals. I’m beginning to see a pattern here in things like bad guys starting fights in order to distract Kit (something he always falls for), Kit and El Torro guarding hotel rooms only to have the abduction take place through the window, and the Hispanic female proprietor of the hotel being in league with the bad guys. The formula must have been pretty strong to be detected after only three episodes.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
ABC Was in the Mood to Celebrate (film #21 in the Fall Season Jingles section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Late 70s ABC network promo containing brief clips from the hit shows that made them number one. Should bring back those 70s tv-watchin’ memories.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Moon Over Harlem (film #22 in the Black Culture section of Movieflix). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
A young woman from Harlem experiences many troubles when her mother marries a gangster. This was directed by cult director Edgar G. Ulmer, and it shows. There is a dark, gritty, tragic feeling about the proceedings, even though the film ultimately ends on a hopeful note. All the characters struggle in one way or another with poverty and hopelessness, and although this is never explicitly stated, the connection of this to racism is obvious. This is also one of the more realistic and less stereotyped of the all-black cast films. I bet African-American audiences of the time really identified with this one.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
MST Poopie (Best Brains, 1995). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This blooper reel from "Mystery Science Theater 3000" is a lot more fun than most blooper reels, and I don't just say that because I'm a mstie. The Brains are very creative people and it shows on this tape. They don't just curse when they blow a line or a piece of set falls over––they use it as an opportunity to ad-lib wildly, and some of those ad-libs are funnier than the original script. Also, the puppet handlers often remain in character as their puppets, so it doesn't so much look like Trace or Kevin blowing a line as it does Crow or Tom Servo. Highlights include Joel blowing his single one-word line in the "funny thing with Cambot about waffles", an intimate moment between Morrisey and Dr. Forrester, and Kevin Murphy as a giant leech asking a constantly cracking-up Frank, "Is it my sucking?" Lots of fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
Education for Excellence (film #475 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This early 60s film about educating gifted students in New York City does nothing to dispel the geek stereotype, unfortunately. Most of the children are very nerdy, and some even project a bit of smugness. Most of the teachers are pretty nerdy, too. The film goes on and on about how the program is developing critical thinking abilities in the kids, but when the kids open their mouths, they recite memorized passages in such a stilted fashion that you doubt they really understand anything about them. The film should bring back lots of memories, mostly unpleasant, for people who went to elementary school during the 60s, and it’s very mstable, especially the shots of kids who don’t know their being filmed, and the incredibly nerdy principal with aerodynamically sound ears.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
ABC Movie of the Week #2 (film #29 in the Fall Season Jingles section of TVParty). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Incredibly loud and bombastic intro to an “ABC Movie Special”. Remember when viewers actually cared about such things?Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Am I On? (film #2 on News Bloopers DVD (Time Life Video, 1999). [Category: News]
This section of News Bloopers features newscasters who don’t realize they’re on the air. These are pretty darn funny, especially the looks on their faces when they realize they are on the air. This is the kind of gaffe I love seeing as it happens. One of the better parts of News Bloopers.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
Allies Take Rome (film #5 in the D-Day and Beyond section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
British newsreel footage of Allied troops parading through Rome after their victory. Also featured is some mildly disturbing footage of crowds going after traitors and footage of the pope commemorating the Allied victory. Pretty standard, but historically interesting.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Art of Foiling and Frosting Hair (film #9 in the Makeovers, Diets and Fitness section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Industrial]
Excerpt from a 60s training film for hairdressers that explains how hair is frosted and streaked. “Foiling” is a process that involves using actual strips of aluminum foil to hold the bleach on the hair––another use for foil that could have been put into Aluminum on the March. This is actually pretty interesting and the model getting her hair done just screams 60s style.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Cap'n Cub (film #1 on V for Victory WWII Cartoons & Shorts Show, Vol. 1 (Something Weird, 1996)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This cartoon, featuring a cute bear cub pilot, is kind of surreal. It's plot kind of wanders all over the place, but basically it involves Cap'n Cub demanding more planes, supervising an aircraft factory which builds tons of planes so that all the cute forest animals can go fight the Japs, and an air battle with a huge Japanese plane piloted by a Japanese monkey ("No racial stereotypes here!" my husband quipped when he first saw him). Nevertheless, there's some fascinating imagery here, especially the technology of the airplane factory (I want the entire plant for the Film Ephemera Museum of Quirky Devices) and what happens to the monkey's plane after it is shot apart by Cap'n Cub. I bet kids who grew up during the 40s had weird fever dreams about this one.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Beatles and Pop Culture (film #8 in The British Invasion section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Hollywood]
Silent newsreel footage shows us some rather fascinating factory footage of Beatle wigs being made. I wonder what happened to the soundtrack to this. Then the sound kicks in and we see the Monkees shamelessly ripping off the Beatles’ media schtick. A fun relic of Beatlemania.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Let's Go to the Movies (film #830 on Prelinger Archives. Also, recorded off of Turner Classic Movies). [Category: Industrial]
The Motion Picture Academy made a series of films in the 50s showing how movies were made. This was the first of that series. It gives a brief history of movies and shows us some of the raw materials of film stock. It doesn't go into too much other detail, leaving that for later films in the series. Still, there are some interesting images in this, especially of old-time movie theatres.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Coo Coo the Magician (film #24 on The Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999)). [Category: Hollywood]
While vacationing in Arabia with his girlfriend, Flip the Frog has a run-in with a magician (Flip exposes his tricks as fakes) who kidnap's Flip's girlfriend and sends her to a harem, requiring the obligatory rescue from Flip. Like most cartoons of its time featuring an Arab setting, this features lots of racist Sambo characters as the Arab soldiers and henchmen, which is curious, since black people aren't native to Arabia. Other than that, this is a pretty ordinary Flip cartoon.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Adventures of Kit Carson – Desperate Sherrif (film #3 in the Classic TV section of Movieflix). [Category: Early Film & TV]
This is one of the better Kit Carsons. Kit and El Toro help a young sheriff defeat a gang of bank robbers. It has all the standard Western elements of poker games, barroom brawls, chases on horseback, and good guys who outshoot the bad guys. El Torro goes through his usual stereotyped womanizing schtick. Western fans should enjoy this.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
ABC Saturday Morning Lineup Promotion from 1974 (film #26 in the Fall Season Jingles section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
I don’t remember any of the cartoons advertised on this. Of course, by 1974, I was 14 and getting too old for Saturday morning tv. But still, these look lame, especially the one about the turn-of-the-century family (probably a Waltons rip-off).Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Marching On (film #20 in the Black Culture section of Movieflix). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
There is something oddly touching about this wartime film made for African-American audiences. This is one of the least stereotyped films of this type that I’ve seen so far, so that plays into it. It’s sort of an African-American version of This Is the Army, featuring a draftee that has a bad attitude towards the army until he has some unusual experiences when he attempts to desert. The film was obviously cheaply made and there are some excruciating moments of bad acting, bad dialogue, and overly-convenient plot contrivances. But still, unlike many African-American movies of its time, most of the characters seem like real people, rather than racist stereotypes. The patriotism is heavy-handed and thick, but the fact that African-Americans were not treated very well by the country they were supposed to love and defend gives the patriotism a poignancy that is hard to escape. And the film gives you a feel for what it must have been like to be black and in the army during World War II. The whole thing is interrupted in the middle by the obligatory nightclub floor show, which seems particularly arbitrary here, as well as taking up a huge amount of screen time. But, like most of these types of interludes, it’s lively and fairly fun to watch. Overall, this is one of the most interesting and touching of the made-for-black-audiences films I’ve seen.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
BBC1 Schools: Secondary (film #3 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]
This counter is similar to the Primary counter, but the diamonds completely disappear after awhile, and the soundtrack is blander. Mesmerizing.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
A Citizen Makes a Decision (film #322 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
Homer, an ordinary working-class guy, tries to decide whether or not to vote for a proposed dam project after his town is devastated by a flood. He ends up doing more research about this than the kid in How to Prepare a Class Report. He even goes to the library, which is something the film is careful to point out is unusual for him––he’s no longhaired egghead after all. Despite the many mstable moments in this film (such as the line “Homer was aroused!”) and the fact that the political process is shown to be the exclusive province of white males, the earnestness of this Centron film gets to you after awhile, and you can’t help but agree with its basic premise of thinking carefully and gathering facts before taking a political stand, even if the example shown way overdoes it. Another example of Centron getting away with murder because of its sincerity.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Bob Kick (film #1 on More Melies (A-1 Video)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A pie-hatted, mustachioed "kid" has a little too much to drink. This causes the ball he was playing with to turn into a living human head! Then some other weird stuff happens, which is hard to see because the print is so bad. Still, this is weird enough to be worthy of Melies. What the point of the weird techno-rock sound track is, I don't know, though. A 1903 Melies film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
ABC Movie of the Week #1 (film #10 in the Fall Season Jingles section of TVParty). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Opening credits for the popular 70s series of tv movies. This one announces the Western Second Chance, starring Brian Keith, Juliet Prowse, and William Windom, a 70s tv-movie cast if ever there was one. This should bring back lots of 70s memories of mediocrity.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Acts of Nature (film #6 on News Bloopers DVD (Time Life Video, 1999)). [Category: News]
Various forms of nature, such as wind, rain, or insects create blooper moments for newscasters. Most of these are pretty ordinary, but there are some fun moments, and the segment is edited together well. My favorite is when a hornet brings a local newscast to a complete standstill.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Able (film #2 in the 0800000 Nuclear Film Declassification Project section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
The fourth atomic bomb blows up real good in this very short clip from an official military documentation film. This one makes a huge hemispherical cloud, rather than the standard mushroom cloud. Lots more of these explosions to come, folks.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Branding, Ninety-Six Ranch (film #18 on Buckaroos in Paradise). [Category: Industrial]
This short film shows the branding process in detail, so it’s not recommended for those who tend to identify with the calf. The calf gets a brand burned into its side, a wattle cut under its chin, an earmark cut into its ear, and several shots, all in the course of a couple of minutes. Fortunately, they only talk about castrating the bulls, rather than showing it. It certainly does not look like any picnic for the calf, but he does seem to recover from it rather quickly, but then what do I know? The film is a good record of cattle-raising practices, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Grandpa's Sci-Fi Hits (Amvest Video, 1988). [Category: Commercial]
Al Lewis as Grandpa Munster is at it again, this time hosting a tape of trailers from science fiction movies from the 50's, 60's and 70's. This compilation is a little bit better than Grandpa's Monster Movies––there's a little less of Grandpa and a little more of the trailers and the trailers are little more fun. Most of the trailers are from pretty cheesy movies and the cheesiness comes through in the trailers, making them fun. Unfortunately, being a little better than Grandpa's Monster Movies is not saying much. The film and video quality of the trailers is quite good, though.
Highlights:
- The trailers for the serials Flash Gordon, Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars, and Buck Rodgers have all of the campy fun of the original series with none of the boredom or incoherence.
- Alert! The Lost World stars Frosty the Poodle!
- This tape gets docked 10 points for listing the trailers on the package in the wrong order, another 10 points for listing trailers which don't appear on the tape, and another 10 points for not listing trailers which do appear on the tape. The following trailers do not appear on the tape, despite the list on the package: The Spider, The Colossus of New York, The Incubus, The Fabulous World of Jules Verne, The Black Scorpion, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Friday the 13th Part II, Dinosaurus, Beyond the Time Barrier, The Mysterians, 5 Million Years to Earth, and They Came from Beyond Space. The following trailers do appear on the tape, despite not being listed on the package: Destroy All Monsters, King Kong (1976), The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, The Omega Man, Fahrenheit 451, Village of the Giants, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Ghidrah the 3-Headed Monster, Varan the Unbelievable, Reptilicus, and Battle of the Worlds.
- Msties, take note: contains the trailers for Village of the Giants, The Amazing Colossal Man, Godzilla vs. Megalon, and This Island Earth.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **, Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Africa Speaks (film #1 in the Documentary section of Movieflix). [Category: Hollywood]
This memorable adventure documentary from the early 30s influenced many other films to come. It features a pair of white male documentary filmmakers making their way across Africa, filming the wonders of nature and having many adventures along the way. Because it was made during an unenlightened time, its portrayal of the natives and the way animals are treated are excruciating to watch at times. Particularly upsetting are the way they portray the native tribes’ treatment of women, but its hard to tell how accurate this is because the whole film is so skewed in its portrayal of natives. Still, the film is pretty entertaining to watch and has lots of action and wonderful scenes of animal life. And its unenlightened perspective makes it a historically interesting snapshot of popular attitudes towards Africa at the time. Many lesser films would be made according to this mold, so its good to see the original.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Adventures of Kit Carson – Border Corsairs (film #2 in the Classic TV section of Movieflix). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Standard-issue 50s oater in which Kit Carson and his Mexican companion Torro try to prevent a Mexican-American landowner from starting a border war. Torro is a stereotyped womanizer and there are several plot holes, but mostly this is pretty ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
ABC Promos in the Sixties (film #4 in the Fall Season Jingles section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Hard-sell 60s promo for the ABC new fall primetime season. This has a cheesiness that is reminiscent of the drive-in snack bar promos of the era.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Maniac (Sinister Cinema). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This legendary 30s exploitation flick is one ripe piece of cinematic cheese. It features one of the most over-the-top mad scientists ever, who gets killed early on by his assistant, who just happens to be a down-on-his-luck actor. Fortunately, we are not spared scenery-chewing, as the actor decides to take over the identity of the mad scientist, and shows himself just as capable of over-emoting as his mentor. The film also features scenes of cats fighting, weird montages of a laughable devil and his minions, a gruesome scene of the main character eating a cat’s eyeball, and the obligatory exploitation scenes of scantily-clad women conversing and a fight between two women that involves pulling each others’ clothes off. All of this is passed off as a documentary about mental illness by inserting title cards at random moments that spout psychobabble about various psychiatric diagnoses. For lovers of bad films, this is entertaining from beginning to end, as well as being weird as all get-out.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Monsters We've Known and Loved (Creepy Classics). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This tv documentary should please fans of cinematic monsters––it's an affectionate chronicle of them from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies. There's not much in-depth analysis here, but there is lots of affection for the horror genre and tons of clips from both famous and obscure monster movies. Those who are not monster movie fans will find it less interesting, but it is a prime example of a mid-60s tv time-filler that local stations would use to plug up holes in their schedules.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Campus on the March (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #269 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This WWII-era film shows us in great detail how colleges across the nation are preparing for war. Mostly it involves doing lots of military training, along with training women to assume jobs usually done by men (what a radical concept!). Lots of scenes of military units marching around college greens are shown. One segment features an African-American college, which was unusual for the time this film was made (not unusual in the sense of existing––there were and are lots of such colleges––but that it was put into a film designed for mainstream audiences). Other than that, the film is pretty ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Leave It to Roll-Oh (film #2 on Lifestyles U.S.A., Vol. 1 (Something Weird, 2000). Also in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #819 on Prelinger Archive. Also, film #13 on Ephemeral Films CD-ROM (Voyager) (excerpt)). [Category: Industrial]
If you want something that's guaranteed campy, you can't go too far wrong with early visions of robots. Roll-Oh is a robot taken straight out of a cheap serial and placed in the home with a housewife. He waters flowers with his own water supply, vacuums the carpet with his feet, and scares away a delivery boy. Despite this, he looks incredibly clunky and more trouble than he's worth. After awhile, the narrator tells us he's "just a dream", but that his counterpart already exists in our homes in the form of modern appliances. This film was shown at the GM exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair, probably as a rip-off of Electro, the Westinghouse robot that caused such a stir at the fair. But it's a really lame rip-off. This was made during the time when they still couldn't decide how to pronounce the word "robot"––in this film it's pronounced "ROB-but" one time, and "ROBE-it" another.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Coney Island USA (film #43 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Hollywood]
This 50s film about Coney Island is also full of historical footage of the amusement park in its heyday, but presented with an arty and disturbing spin. The dark, atonal background music, reminiscent of modern jazz, particularly gives this feel, as well as the focus on the leering faces of various advertising dummies and automatons found throughout the park. And occasionally the camerawork gets all weird and psychedelic. I think this was all supposed to make a Serious Statement about amusement park culture, but I'm not sure what that statement is. Still, like the much more innocent and fun Coney Island, this movie also has lots of great historical footage of the grandest of the grand old amusement parks during the pre-theme-park era. The two films together encompass both the fun and the sleaze of the classic amusement park experience.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
BBC1 Schools: Primary (film #2 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]
This counter features a mesmerizing changing diamond pattern backed with a bright, cheerful semi-classical soundtrack. I bet this held the attention of those primary kids well.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Black Imp (film #7 on The Movies Begin, Volume Four: The Magic of Melies (Kino Video, 1994)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Back in the bad old days before hotel sanitation laws, you could never be sure that the room you just checked into wasn't infested by a black imp who could and would make objects appear and disappear at will for its own amusement. Needless to say, a good night's sleep is well nigh impossible under such circumstances. Georges Melies has a grand old time playing around with stop motion. The restored print of this film is absolutely stunning. A 1905 Melies film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
Grandpa's Monster Movies (Amvest Video, 1988). [Category: Commercial]
Al Lewis as Grandpa Munster hosts this compilation of trailers from classic horror films. Grandpa makes the weakest of hosts for this sort of tape. His jokes are lame and he overplays them shamelessly. And there's way too much of him––he appears between almost every trailer. He does have one of the more interesting "Igors", though––one that is almost as swishy as Locar. The trailers are mostly from classic Universal horror films of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. If you're a fan of those great old films, then you might find this tape at least a bit interesting––the film quality is quite good considering their age. Unfortunately, the trailers in and of themselves are not very interesting––they're pretty straightforward and dull. The tape gets 5 extra points for listing the trailers in order on the package, but gets docked 5 points for having Grandpa announce at the beginning of the tape that they're going to be showing "bad" movies––these old Universal horrors are classics!
Highlights:
- The typefaces in many of these trailers are great––especially the ones in Dracula's Daughter, Dracula, and Black Friday.
- Most of the trailers are from a Screen Gems rerelease and they end with an utterly plain title card with the movie title in block letters sans articles, i.e. "FRANKENSTEIN MEETS WOLFMAN". This is ever-so-slightly strange.
- House of Dracula features a hunchbacked nurse! Now that's scary!
- Gimmick Alert! The trailer for Black Friday claims Bela Lugosi was hypnotized in order to give a more realistic performance!
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: **. Overall Rating: **.
Monsters Crash the Pajama Party Spook Show Spectacular extras (Something Weird, 2001). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
When I first saw the spook show trailers on the Hey Folks! It's Intermission Time tapes, I said to myself, "Somebody should write a book about the history of those spook shows. I'd buy it!" Well, leave it up to Something Weird to go one better than that. This DVD, in addition to containing Monsters Crash the Pajama Party and all the other items I've reviewed seperately, also contains a ton of extras, including a gallery of spook show ads and stills with a soundtrack containing spook show radio spots, illustrated essays on how to do various spook show effects, lots of silly/strange movie clips, a short film of a spook house ride, a booklet containing memories of a spook show promoter, and even the full-length feature Tormented. It's all controlled with spooky animated menus designed to give you lots of surprises (Hint: If those menus frustrate you, or you just want to make sure you find everything, try using the numbers on your DVD remote). Altogether, it makes possibly the best ephemera DVD ever made, and certainly one of the best uses of the technology to cover a particular topic. Until the definitive history of spook shows comes out, this DVD is the resource on the subject.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****+. Overall Rating: *****.
The Caissons Go Rolling Along (film #7 on Industrial Incentive Films (Vintage Video)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Another World War II sing-along short, this time in honor of the army. The first minute or so is missing and the film quality is only fair.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Know Your Customer (film #3 on Lifestyles USA, Vol. 2 (Something Weird, 2000)). [Category: Industrial]
This limited animation film was made by DuPont for gas station owners, telling them what a large survey of customers want. The information is presented in a slightly weird way, as they keep reminding us that the survey was conducted by psychologists, they talk about customers' “hidden anxieties" (they're not as interesting as you might think, though), and the animation gets a bit trippy at times. There's plenty of sexism here––women are portrayed as being car idiots who must consult their husbands about every decision they make. All in all, it's a typical 50s animated film, both in style and content.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Coney Island (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #583 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Hollywood]
This newsreel featurette is a real slice of life from the heyday of the amusement park. Usually these kinds of films portray activities that are fun to do but lame to watch. But this one is actually quite fun to watch, perhaps because the old classic amusement park culture has disappeared for the most part. In this film it lives again, and you get to visit the sideshows, complete with freaks (check out the wonderful advertising posters for these shows), ride all kinds of common and bizarre rides, eat traditional Coney Island food such as hot dogs and frozen custard (prices start at 10 cents!) and even get a souvenir picture postcard taken of you and your friends. The place is packed and everybody seems to be having a great time. This film is one of the best pieces of nostalgia I've seen in a long time, and that's saying a lot for what is essentially just an old Castle Films newsreel featurette.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
BBC1 Schools: Announcement for Teachers (film #5 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]
This is a very staid promo for a new educational program about student volunteers. There’s just a title card and a properly British voice-over just like the ones that were sent up so well on Monty Python. Still, that makes me smile a little bit.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
The Black Hand (film #5 on The Origins of Cinema, Volume Three: The Films of American Mutoscope and Biograph Mature (Video Yesteryear, 1995)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
An evil conspiracy called the Black Hand kidnaps a butcher's little girl and holds her for ransom. Fortunately, the ruffians are brought to justice, thanks to the efficient efforts of New York's Finest and the pluck of the little girl herself. A fun melodrama full of great stuff for the Film Ephemera Museum of Quirky Devices, such as the signs in the butcher shop ("LAMB 12¢ POUND", "HAM 8¢") and the priceless ransom note. A 1906 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Godzilla Movie Trailer Collection (Toho, 1996). [Category: Commercial]
When I ordered this tape from Mickey's Toys and Collectibles, I thought it would be a standard collection of trailers from Godzilla movies. Well, that's what it turned out to be––a collection of trailers from all the Godzilla movies––all the Japanese trailers from the Japanese versions, that is. In Japanese. With no English subtitles. Despite that, or even because of it, it's a pretty interesting collection of trailers. Godzilla fans in particular will enjoy seeing non-dubbed, original clips from these movies for a change. Godzilla is pretty serious business in Japan (or at least it's not as much of a joke as it is here), and this tape allows you to finally see why––the original acting is much better than the English dubbing we're all used to. This comes through even if you can't understand Japanese at all. And some of the trailers have fun visual moments, such as Minya's cartoon balloons in the trailer for Son of Godzilla (I would love to get a translation of those), and the cool plastic model kits you can get for Godzilla vs. Queen Mothra. Another interesting thing you find out is that Western classical music was often used in the soundtracks to Godzilla movies, and sometimes odd choices, such as Offenbach's traditional can-can music (the real title of that piece escapes me). Even if you can't understand a word of Japanese, I recommend giving this tape a try, especially if you're a Godzilla fan. MSTIES, TAKE NOTE: Contains the trailers for Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster and Godzilla vs. Megalon (the Japanese versions, of course). SPECIAL TIP: My husband, consummate Godzilla fan that he is, could identify all the movies on this tape, despite the language difference. If you're not quite that Godzilla-intensive, though, there is an easy way to identify the movies. They're in straight chronological order. So if you just get a chronological list of the Godzilla movies, that will tell you the order of the trailers on this tape. One such list is the table of contents for the book Godzilla: King of the Movie Monsters by Robert Marrero.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **** (probably less if you understand Japanese). Historical Interest: *** (add one if you're a Godzilla fan). Overall Rating: ****.
The Mighty Hercules (film #36 on Chicago Television (Hollywood's Attic, 1996). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This is mostly just a cheap, poorly-acted limited-animation kid's cartoon version of a sword-and-sandal movie, though it does have its moments. Hercules' faun sidekick is thoroughly evil and the terrible voice acting provides great msting fodder. Did any kid really enjoy this?Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips (film #1 on WWII Cartoons, Vol. 1 VCD (The Authentic History Center). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Bugs Bunny gets shipwrecked on a Pacific island and does battle with a whole slew of outrageously stereotyped Japanese soldiers. He pulls a bunch of standard Bugs gags, including switcheroos, dressing in drag, and hiding grenades in ice cream bars. Funny moments include a soldier who makes a self-referential comment after recognizing Bugs in disguise, and Bugs’ encounter with a sumo wrestler. The stereotypes are pretty outrageous, but this is a funny Bugs toon anyway.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Inside Cackle Corners (film #5 on An American Retrospective Through Animation (Moviecraft, 1994)). [Category: Industrial]
Feuding barnyard businessmen Pop Webfoot (a duck) and Mr. Redcomb (a chicken) compete to win the favors of Mrs. Consumer (another chicken) by making fancier and more ridiculous kitchen gadgets. Of course, this competition results in a sort of barnyard utopia, 50s-populuxe-style. This film is a bit more appealing than the others on this tape, both because of the barnyard setting and the fun "Kitchen of Tomorrow" ending.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Cobweb Hotel (film #12 on Cartoon Crazys: Sci-Fi (WinStar Home Entertainment, 1999). Also, film #7 on Weird Cartoons (Rhino, 1987)). [Category: Hollywood]
This cartoon is not really all that weird, not in comparison with a lot of others of its time (1930s). It has the standard 1930s cartoon plot of a bunch of cute little characters battling a big ugly bad guy––in this case, a bunch of flies battling a big ugly spider who runs the "Cobweb Hotel", which is really a front for his web! For all that, though, it's a pretty fun cartoon with great artwork and animation. Rhino gets docked 10 points for cutting off the ending, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
BBC1 Schools #5 (film #8 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]
This is similar to #4, but the soundtrack is now easy listening. This probably put students to sleep! I say bring back disco.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
The Biter Bit (film #33 on The Movies Begin, Volume Two: The European Pioneers (Kino Video, 1994)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
D'oh! A prankster gets his when he pulls the old stepping-on-the-garden-hose trick on an unsuspecting, but subsequently cranky, gardener. That's the risk you run being a wise guy, bub. A 1900 James A. Williamson film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
From Beyond - Science Fiction Trailers (films #8 to #32 on Godzilla Trailers & Sci-Fi Monsters (Simitar Entertainment, 1998)). [Category: Commercial]
O.K. This is just a collection of 50s and 60s science fiction trailers. I really don't have much to say about this as most of these trailers appear on other collections that I've already reviewed. But it is a pretty decent collection if you don't have the others. Each trailer is introduced briefly by the narrator, but it's not that distracting. Host Joey Travolta seems to exist only to say hello and goodbye, which is kind of odd. Msties take note: Contains the trailers for Robot Monster, The Astounding She-Monster, Attack of the Giant Leeches, The Mole People, Gamera and Queen of Outer Space (the Great Lost Mst3k Episode).Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Lego Knights (extra on Monty Python and the Holy Grail DVD (Columbia Tri-Star, 2001)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Oh, on second thought, let's not play with Legos. It is a silly toy. (P.S. This bit of ephemera is absolutely essential.)Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: *****.
Bugs Bunny Bond Promo (film #1 on Cartoon Scandals (Goodtimes, 1987)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Bugs, assisted by Elmer and Porky, sings "Any Bonds Today?", a song pitching War Bonds. This already short cartoon has the opening visuals covered by a superimposed introduction to the tape. Pretty standard, though Bugs' impersonation of Al Jolson is mildly amusing.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
In the Suburbs (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #4 on Our Secret Century, Vol. 6: The Uncharted Landscape CD-ROM (Voyager). Also, film #742 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
We're talking 50s, folks. 50s big white families with big cars who live in little boxes made of ticky-tacky that all look just the same. 50s "young adults" who go to the mall and spend lots of money. Redbook magazine, the makers of this film, claimed to have its fingers on the pulse of this big-spending bunch from the ‘burbs. The film was obviously made to sell this demographic group to advertisers, and seeing such a film illuminates how much the 50s suburban nuclear family mythos was a marketing creation. These "young adults" are portrayed as consumers only, not as actual people. Although the film pays lip service to 50s social and political issues in the form of brief newsreel clips, it's just to show how "serious" these young adults are, and how Redbook addresses this "seriousness" by running articles like "The Sexual Responsibility of Women". But don't worry, advertisers, they're not too serious––they're back at the mall in the next scene. What's really scary is how these rigid marketing concepts became ideals to aspire to during the 50s, and how they've become items of nostalgia today. A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the 50s suburban reality tunnel.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Circus on Ice (MST3K Episode #421: Monster-a-Go-Go). [Category: Hollywood]
CIRCUS?? ON ICE??!!!! Yes, this newsreel featurette of the Toronto Ice Carnival is just as bad as it sounds. It would be mind-numbingly dull if it weren't so cheesy. Maybe some people like to watch ice carnivals live (though I'm willing to bet it's about as many as like to eat fruitcake), but a cheesy film of an ice carnival rates below zero on the audience appeal meter. And they couldn't have picked a worse theme than the circus (but I won't go off on that topic as I still have Here Comes the Circus to review). As Joel says, "Even my mom would be bored with this!" The msting is some of their best ever, though: "They are agents of Satan...", "And now a clown will deliver the eulogy...", "She can do that because she feels fresh!", etc.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: BOMB. Msting: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
BBC1 Schools #4 (film #7 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]
This counter is like the one in #3, only the letters in the center remain stationary, and the ponderous classical music soundtrack has been replaced by a generic disco soundtrack. Can you tell this was from 1978?Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
The Big Swallow (film #36 on The Movies Begin, Volume Two: The European Pioneers (Kino Video, 1994)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
The whole camera, cameraman included, goes down the hatch in what is indeed a very big swallow. A rather silly 1901 James A. Williamson film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
Frigidaire Finale (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #5 on Our Secret Century, Volume One: The Rainbow Is Yours CD-ROM (Voyager). Also, film #566 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Commercial]
This short film, designed to introduce the 1956 Frigidaire product line, is all style over substance. It's style over everything, in fact––there's no narration, no product information of any kind, just music and a glamorously-dressed couple dancing around appliances. Did people really get this excited about stoves and refrigerators?
Highlights:
- The big highlight of the display is a black refrigerator! The reproductions of print ads provided as reference on the CD-ROM shows that this model really was sold. But to whom? In all my born days, I've never known anybody who had a black refrigerator.
- There's a really weird Freudian moment when the male dancer tries to get close to the female dancer, only to end up with a bin full of ice cubes. The producers had to know what they were doing here––the reference to "frigidity" is just too obvious. But what is this doing in a sales film probably targeted at women?
- This product line was called "The Sheer Look" for no possible reason I could discern. Even the female dancer's dress wasn't sheer, much less the appliances.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ***.
Kid-a-Vision (Digital Mirage). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
If you spent as much time in front of the tv as I did when you were a kid, all it would take would be this tape and Classic Toy Commercials to relive your childhood. Openings from most of the kidvid shows you remember from the 50s, 60s, and 70s are here, and some you don't remember as well ("Salty"? "Korg: 70,000 B.C."? "Dodo, the Kid from Outer Space"?). I particularly enjoy the cheesier 50s shows, such as "Johnny Jupiter" and "Andy's Gang", and the weird, psychedelia-influenced 60s shows, such as "The Banana Splits". Digital Mirage gets 5 extra points for providing an accurate list of the clips on the back of the box.
Highlights:
- See a young Alan Hale star in "Casey Jones". See an old Jay North star in "Maya".
- Kix cereal is "83% energy food!" In case you don't know, "energy food" is a food industry euphemism for "sugar". You do the math.
- Personally, I'd rather not know that "The Mighty Hercules" has "iron in his thighs".
- Aren't you embarrassed to admit that you know all the words to the "H.R. Pufnstuff" theme?
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Brezhnev (film #246 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This Russian documentary on the life of Soviet premiere Leonid Brezhnev is narrated entirely in Spanish. Why is hard to say, unless perhaps it was meant for Cuban audiences. There is a brief moment where Brezhnev talks to Castro, but it’s not any longer than the brief moment he talks to Gerald Ford, and the film was obviously not made for American audiences. At any rate, if you don’t speak Spanish, it’s pretty confusing, though certain things are pretty obvious, such as that Brezhnev was a “man of the people,” that he liked to mingle with crowds, that lots of old babushka ladies liked him, that he met with lots of foreign dignitaries, and that there was a pretty big war in the Soviet Union back in the 40s. Other than that, you’re on your own. There is lots of historically interesting footage of Soviet life from the turn of the century to the 70s; it would be a lot more interesting if you could understand the narration, but there you are.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Hidden Grievance (film #11 on The Educational Archives, Volume Four: On the Job DVD (Fantoma, 2002)). [Category: Industrial]
This is another "discussion film," like The Grapevine. Jake, a machinist with a Canadian accent, has a lot of complaints––the light's too dim, his feet hurt, etc. His foreman tries to be accomodating, but no dice. Jake finally tells him his real beef––he thinks he's being given all the tough jobs and none of the easy ones. The foreman tries to tell him that the jobs he's been assigned are no tougher than what anyone else has to do, but Jake doesn't believe him. So he goes and files a complaint with the union that he's being discriminated against, for being Canadian, I guess. What's the poor foreman to do? Again, this has a "What do you think?" ending. This seems a little more fair than The Grapevine. Neither Jake nor the foreman is made out to be a total bad guy––it seems like the problem is more a result of a misunderstanding. I'm not sure how I would handle it, frankly.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Circus (film #22 on The Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999)). [Category: Hollywood]
Flip the Frog runs a hot dog stand at the circus in this one, complete with anthropomorphic hot dogs. OK, folks, you know how I feel about walking and talking food, so we'll move on. Flip valiantly agrees to chase down a pickpocket, resulting in a ridiculous chase scene. Another cute and fun Flip the Frog cartoon, with extra points for the hot dogs.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
BBC1 Schools #3 (film #6 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]
This counter is another mesmerizing one. Dots that make up a circle slowly count down, while unintelligible symbols gradually turn into letters that spell out “SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES.” I bet this killed a lot of time for students.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Bewitched Traveller (film #15 on The Origins of Cinema, Volume 6: Rare Films (Video Yesteryear, 1997)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Ever have one of those days? You settle into a nice chair only to have it disappear on you? You sit down to a nice breakfast only to have the table suddenly shift to behind you? You get on a bus only to have it disappear entirely, leaving you rolling down the street? Apparently Hepworth was enamored of the dissolve effect for awhile and used it to ruin the day of some poor shmoe. It ends like you would expect it to. A 1904 Hepworth film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Flying Saucer Mystery Extras (on The Flying Saucer Mystery (Sinister Cinema)). [Category: Commercial]
Since The Flying Saucer Mystery is such a short film, Sinister Cinema added some trailers to the tape. All of them are from 50s sci-fi movies with an alien invasion theme, which is a pretty fun subject for a collection of trailers. A nice extra bonus which rounds out the film well.
Highlights:
- Gimmick Alert! The trailer for It Came from Outer Space features a fun explanation of the 3-D process, complete with animated stuff flying out of the movie screen.
- The trailer for Killers from Space features the incredibly campy bug-eyed aliens of that film.
- In the trailer for 20 Million Miles to Earth, a dumbfounded reporter, on being informed that the monster of this movie comes from Venus, says, "You mean the planet Venus?"
- Msties, take note: Contains the trailers for This Island Earth, The Astounding She-Monster, and It Conquered the World.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Dynamic American City (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #467 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
According to this film, cities remain dynamic by tearing down “obsolescence”, i.e. old buildings. That’s right, folks, no matter how beautiful or how historically important a building may be, down it must come, in order to make room for more parking garages! And all the stores moving out to the suburbs don’t affect the city one bit––it’s still as dynamic as ever! Why just look at all the wrecking balls and rubble! Actually, I’m making this piece of urban renewal propaganda sound a lot more interesting than it is––it drags on and on, with a droning narrator the only thing on the soundtrack. That is, if you can get to the actual film before falling asleep––the opening is the most tedious I’ve ever seen, featuring three guys from the United States Chamber of Commerce having the most boring conversation imaginable about how they made this film about cities and are selling a book to go with it. Perhaps the makers of the film attended too many tedious Chamber of Commerce dinners. Just wait until their headquarters gets torn down to create more parking.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Uncle Tom and Little Eva (film #13 on Cartoon Scandals (Goodtimes, 1987)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Lots of stereotyped black characters who look suspiciously like mice frolic and chase each other across ice in this 30s cartoon, very loosely based on Uncle Tom's Cabin. Very confusing.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Johnny Carson: His Favorite Moments from "The Tonight Show": 80s & 90s: The King of Late Night (Buena Vista, 1994). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This tape is a lot funnier than I expected it to be, but then it occurred to me that a tape of highlights is the ideal way to experience something like "The Tonight Show". The tape covers highlights from the 80s and 90s (there are two other tapes in the series which cover the 60s and 70s) and there's a wide assortment of clips, including bloopers, silly ad-libs, interviews gone strange, kids and animals upstaging Johnny, and early appearances by well-known comedians. My favorites are the weird guests they would get occasionally, such as the female accordionist who describes sitting on the toilet and playing new song ideas to her husband while he takes a bath ("Any marriage that can survive that is a strong union!" asserts Johnny), or the lady who sees faces in potato chips and brings her collection of chips to the show (Johnny plays a hilarious prank on her which I won't give away here). The end of the tape gets all sentimental as we see some of Johnny's last guests commenting on his retirement (including a jubilant Ted Koppel), but it fortunately doesn't get too weepy. A good record of the last years of the ultimate tv institution. Watch for the great surreal moment when Charles Grodin gets Johnny to admit the gut-level honest truth about his job as a talk show host.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 ...
