Living Better Cinematically

Apollo, Segment 6015 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]

This clip from a NASA film announces the Gemini space program, as well as the goal to put a man on the moon by 1970. Mildly historically interesting.

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

Castle (film #1 in the 0800013 Operation Castle section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Very short color clip of an atomic explosion. That’s it, folks.

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

Believe It or Not #2 (film #5 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]

Very short clip of the opening credits of an episode concerning “Life and Death”. With such an important subject, you’d think they would have included more.

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

California Cotton Mills (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #1803 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

Silent footage, probably from the 20s, of cotton being unloaded, spun into thread, and woven into cloth in a big mill. It’s mildly interesting factory footage with some historical value.

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

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Goodtimes, 1990. Also, Image Entertainment, 1997 (DVD)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

This landmark German expressionist film set the tone for horror for years to come. A strange doctor comes to a village fair with a "somnambulist" who tells fortunes. Soon after his arrival, strange murders start happening. A young man solves the mystery by discovering that the doctor is the head of a local insane asylum and is using a strange cabinet to carry out the experiments of an 18th-century crazed monk named Caligari in controlling the behavior of a catatonic patient, including making the patient commit murder. The young man calls on the law to confront the mad doctor Caligari, who ends up locked up in his own asylum, raving mad. But the story is told in the young man's flashback––and he turns out to be the insane one! This is one weird film, especially for its time. Especially weird are the bizarre, twisted sets––everything that should be straight and rectangular (such as walls, doors, windows, etc.) is instead slanted and curved at wacked-out angles. This adds to the nightmarish quality of the film, which is also enhanced by the fact that you can't tell the sane from the insane half the time. A recommended early landmark in weirdness. A 1919 German film. The Image Entertainment DVD features a beautifully restored version of the film, with a great soundtrack by Timothy Brock, and incredibly cool title cards done in an expressionistic font. It is the most highly recommended version of the film.

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

Hey Folks! It's Intermission Time, Vol. 6 (Something Weird). [Category: Commercial]

Lots more snack bar promos, lots more local ads from strangely-named businesses, and a collection of title cards and campy promos from exploitation movies highlight this volume. Starts with a bang, with the thoroughly evil James River Smithfield Barbecue ad, and ends with a bang, with a campy "sex hygiene" promo for Slightly Damaged. Lots of great ephemera in between, too.

Highlights:

I'm not going to describe the evil barbecue ad I teased you with in the main revue because that would lessen its impact. But be duly warned that it deserves a Bucky Beaver 5-Star Evil Warning.
Other additions to the Bucky Beaver Evil List: the Firm Security Systems speaker thieves announcement (look for the sign of the big red fist––that franchise must have been a big hit behind the Iron Curtain), and the bizarre, incoherent 7-Up promo featuring a dorky teenage couple. Though the carnival barker in the hamburger promo is an evil-wanna-be.
Patronize the following local merchants: Grippo Potato Chips, Harm's Drive- In Dispensary, L. R. (Buddie) Hopkins Clothing, Papa Gino's Pizza, Inc., Uncle Charles Sausage Company, Conkwright Hardware, Gordon's "Magic Pak" Potato Chips, Steak House, A. T. Whitt & Co. Insurance, Broadway No. 1 Meat Market, Broadway No. 2 Meat Market, Binder Men's Wear, Ale-8-One Bottling Company, Howard Pasley's Standard Oil (you realize only a single letter "i" keeps me away from making another tiresome Dick Swing joke), Rice TV Sales & Service ("Is Your TV Sick?"), Hasty Tasty Drive-In, and Bluegrass Beauty Academy.
O.K., so the "Projected by Union Operators" card is in terrible shape––stop snickering!
Most of the disgusting food on this tape is pizza. Some looks like roadkill, some looks like moldy roadkill, some looks like roadkill topped with miniature marshmallows, and the Tolona Pizza has a whole six pieces of pepperoni on it!
Items for the Film Ephemera Museum of Quirky Devices: the cookbook entitled "Famous Italian Recipes" from a pizza promo (you see this just as the narrator is saying the pizza is made from a "famous Italian recipe"), the "Guess What?" candy packages from a candy promo, and the magnetic letters from a soft drink promo.
James Coburn orders us to use Christmas Seals. I'm not gonna say no to him.
Msties, take note: contains title cards for Swamp Women (an alternate title of Swamp Diamonds), and Pin-Down Girl (an alternate title of Racket Girls).
Added to the end of the tape is footage from the Ultimate Hat Party, with the Solar System Hat the Grandest of All.

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

Suicide Theater unsold tv pilot excerpt (film #5 on TV Turkeys (Rhino, 1987)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

I don't understand why this show didn't sell. I mean, doesn't a weekly drama anthology on the subject of suicide sound like a great idea for a series (Warning! Sarcasm Alert!)? And the pilot even takes a humorous spin on the subject––it features a guy who's too poor to commit suicide (hyuck! hyuck!)! Just what kinds of drugs where those network executives taking when they came up with this idea? Of course, this makes it a must for ephemera collectors. I'm sure Ellen Corby put this on her resume when she auditioned for "The Waltons".

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

Censored (film #18 on The Complete Uncensored Private SNAFU DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999). Also, film #7 on Disc 2 of Pearl Harbor: Before and After DVD (Triton Media, 2001)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Snafu tries to write about the big surprise attack on Bingo Boingo Island to his girl Sally Lou, but his letters keep getting cut to ribbons by the censor. Technical Fairy First Class finally agrees to let an uncensored missive through and Snafu lives to regret it. This is a really great Snafu. I particularly like the series of elaborate contraptions the censor employs to prevent jerks like Snafu from sending out classified information. And it's one of the racier ones, too––Sally Lou is topless (though shown with artful camera angles)!

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

The Blacksmith (film #1 on Side A of Disc #2 of Comedy Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004)). [Category: Hollywood]

A poor shmoe of a blacksmith makes the big mistake of hiring Buster Keaton as his assistant. That guy should never be allowed near fire, magnets, motor oil, or railroad tracks. This is classic silent slapstick comedy, with lots of moments that made me laugh out loud, such as Buster doing a whole shoestore schtick with a horse that needs to be shod; Buster thoroughly destroying a rich man’s car that was simply being parked through sheer incompetence; and Buster foiling his angry boss, avoiding being hit by a train in the nick of time, and eloping with the girl of his dreams, all within the space of a few seconds. One of the funniest Buster Keaton shorts I’ve seen, with the added historical interest of being made during the time when horses and cars were about equally common and blacksmiths were expected to be able to fix both.

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

Automobile Parade (film #24 on Edison Film Archive. Also, film #3 on The Life of a City). [Category: Early Film & TV]

If you’re really interested in the latest 1900 model cars, then this is your film. 1900 cars of all shapes and sizes parade slowly past the camera. I wish the film quality had been a little bit better on this one––some of the cars are hard to see. A 1900 Edison film.

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

Benson and Hedges 100s in 1967 (film #14 in the Cigarette Advertising on TV section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]

I remember this series of Benson and Hedges commercials that feature hapless smokers struggling to get used to their new longer cigarettes. Like the text on the TVParty site says, the real surprise here is seeing how many places it used to be acceptable to smoke, such as one’s desk at the office, a closed Volkswagen, while talking, or even in an elevator, for God’s sake! Sometimes change is good, I think.

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

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

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

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

Freedom of the American Road (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #563 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]

This 50s film, sponsored by Ford, emphasizes the need for better highways so that Americans can go places lots faster and the landscape can be further dominated by the automobile. How better highways were built in four different parts of the country is shown. It mostly involves the grass-roots efforts of ordinary citizens, yet the sponsored nature of the film makes you wonder how grass-roots these efforts really were. All changes that result from bigger and faster highways are shown to be beneficial in all ways. The campiest part of the film is the last segment, which shows the citizens of St. Joseph, Missouri taking a safety campaign to near mind-control proportions. Jaywalkers are photographed by “concerned citizens” and handed leaflets telling them how wrong they are. Of course, cars are never dangerous, only drivers. This is a prime example of the sponsored “public service” film that really exists to serve corporate agendas.

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

Meet King Joe (film #2 on An American Retrospective Through Animation (Moviecraft, 1994). Also in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #908 on Prelinger Archive. Also, film #24 on Ephemeral Films CD-ROM (Voyager) (excerpts)). [Category: Industrial]

This animated film tries to explain to labor why the capitalist American system is the best in the world. A buffoonish everyworker named Joe (who looks an awful lot like Private Snafu) is patiently told by the narrator that he enjoys the best standard of living in the world, no thanks to him, but thanks to the capitalist system. The film is actually quite insulting to workers and it strongly implies that they have no right to complain about their wages or working conditions in any way. If I were trying to forment communist revolution, I wouldn't bother making my own propaganda films––I'd just show workers Meet King Joe. In fact, the communists didn't have to bother––apparently this film was shown regularly to workers in many plants during their lunch hour.

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

Crashing the Movies (recorded off of Turner Classic Movies). [Category: Hollywood]

Newsreel clips are shown of all the weird and wacky stunts 30s people performed to get the newsreel cameras focused on them. This is lots of fun, as a lot of the stunts really are quite weird and wacky. You haven't lived until you've seen the Human Loop-de-Loop. This, and most of the other stunts, leaves you with questions about the sanity of somebody who would think up such a thing. The narration, which could have been lame, is genuinely funny.

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

Believe It or Not #1 (film #4 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]

Believe it or not, this is an educational program about religions, which is a different take on this title. Those wacky Brits! Anyway, this brief clip shows the first few minutes of a show about Judaism, featuring Jewish teens doing an Israeli folk dance. Can’t you hear the music playing in the village square?

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

The Adventures of Crispy Cheeser: Where the Sharks Are! (film #1 in the Action section of Brickfilms. Also, film #11 in the Comedy section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

This is the first Brickfilm I’ve encountered that has a laughtrack, and that tells you something significant about it. This is basically a screwball comedy about a pair of Lego guys who get chased down the sidewalk by a shark. It’s actually goofy fun, with the laughtrack making it even goofier. This is another Brickfilm that makes use of facial expressions, and again, they add a lot to it.

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

Apollo, Segment 6014 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]

This clip from a NASA film documents the Mercury space program, and it’s actually fairly interesting, especially the part about training the astronauts for space flight––it features a lot of bizarre and tortuous-looking devices and experiments.

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

Buster (film #1 in the 0800010 Operation Ranger & Operation Buster/Jangle section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

A guy sets off an atomic bomb, while dramatic music plays in the background. Do we really need dramatic music for something that is so awe-inspiring on its own?

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

Buy Your Own Cherries (film #20 on The Movies Begin, Volume Two: The European Pioneers (Kino Video, 1994)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

A working-class shmoe gets no respect from anybody––not his family, not barmaids, nobody––until he joins the International Order of Good Templars (or something like that). This suddenly makes him richer and a nicer guy to boot. Elicits a "huh?" The painted backdrops are a hoot, though. A 1904 Robert W. Paul film.

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

California Color Film: Golden Gate International Exposition (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #1802 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

This film starts out like a travelogue about San Francisco and goes on and on until you wonder if they’re going to say anything about the World’s Fair. Finally, about halfway through, they get to the Golden Gate Bridge, and then to the fair, which was designed to celebrate the bridge’s opening. Lots of parade footage is shown, and then we get to see the models for the exhibition buildings for a bit before the film abruptly ends. I wouldn’t say this was the best vehicle to promote a World’s Fair. Maybe that explains why it was eclipsed by the one in New York.

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

Bear Shooters (film #6 on Side A of Disc 1 of Comedy Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004)). [Category: Hollywood]

The Our Gang kids go camping and manage to nab a guy in a gorilla suit. Really. As usual for Our Gang shorts, this has a lot of cute moments, a few disgusting moments, and a plot that lumbers along in an unlikely way. Mildly weird and mildly amusing.

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

Auto Boat Race on the Hudson (film #9 on America at Work, America at Leisure. Also, in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Category: Early Film & TV]

Blurry footage of some rather slow racing boats. I guess this has some historical value, but little else. A 1904 Biograph film.

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

Beechnut Gum (film #4 in the Saturday Morning Commercials section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]

This is the classic “Yipes! Stripes!” commercial, featuring puppet-animated striped animals singing about Beechnut Fruit Stripe Gum. By gum, they’re cute!

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

Hey Folks! It's Intermission Time, Vol. 5 (Something Weird). [Category: Commercial]

Snack bar promos, local ads, timers, and cheesy time-fillers are the order of the day on this volume of this excellent series. The many easy-listening, pleasant-images time-fillers on this tape can be hard to sit through if you're not a die-hard ephemera fan, but I am, so I still give this tape high ratings. Besides, the snack bar promos are a lot of fun.

Highlights:

The peppy blonde from the jazzy Dr. Pepper promos reappears here. This time, she sings "Dr. Pepper Is the Friendly Pepper-Upper."
Nutrition Alert!: Candy bars are "wholesome". Mission Orange Drink is "naturally good".
Additions to the I-Don't-Buy-It-for-a-Minute List: a chef who comes out to your car at the drive-in who appears in one snack bar promo; the Winchester Bank's claim that they give you "a better, happier life"; and the concept of "towing satisfaction" in the ad for Woodhill Exxon.
"Electronic Music Created by the Optigan": This is a very primitive version of the kind of thing you see if you use the music CD-playing feature on your Sony Playstation. With cheesy, roller-rink-type organ music. I keep waiting for Ernie Kovacs to start singing "Mack the Knife" in Hungarian.
This tape has more disgusting food in it than any other. Hot dogs are pale, fleshy pink with bloody-looking toppings, shakes look like freshly-mixed plaster of Paris, pizza looks like roadkill or cow pies, soft drinks are in extra-small cups without a trace of ice, hamburgers are only a few microns thick, etc. Watch for the topper, though: an unidentified sandwich appearing in the lower left corner of the screen during a "settle back, well- fed, etc." promo near the end of the tape. This can only be properly described as a Barf Sandwich.
Probably the coolest image on this tape is a cleverly-animated claymation snack bar attendant who emerges from a blob of clay. He opens two snack bar promos which are otherwise very ordinary.
Why did the owners of the Meadow Park Apartments settle for such a bland slogan as "a place to live" when they could have had one as great as the one for Toohey's Auto Supply: "When your car goes phooey, see Toohey!"?
Additions to the Bucky Beaver Evil List: the creepy opening of a generic anti-freeze ad featuring a weathergirl and a disembodied voice moaning "freeeeeeze, freeeeeeze!"; and the timers featuring "Ma" (the effect of these is cumulative). And "your potato expert", while not completely evil, is certainly way too interested in the potato he's holding.
Hardcore thrifters should watch for the J. B. Epperson Furniture ad––it features a truly amazing 50s living room set made of "long-lasting Plyhyde". It's got to be in a thrift somewhere because it looks thoroughly indestructable.
If the food in the snack bar promos hasn't made you lose your lunch yet, just wait till you see the broasted chicken in the Carl's Bar-B-Q ad.
This tape has only one snack bar promo featuring the Ubiquitous Family, but it's essential. In it, the voice-over announcer invites Mom to forget cooking dinner and feed her family all the disgusting drive-in snack bar food instead.
One maker of time-fillers decided that the typical photographs of nature were a little too edgy for his taste and so substituted paint-by-number landscapes.

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

Reefer Madness (film #120 on Feature Films. Also, film #2 on disc #1 of Schlock Hysteria, section #10 of Total Movie & Entertainment free DVD set). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

This is the quintessential pseudo-documentary exploitation film, and it deserves it. A dope-pushing ring gets some nice teenagers hooked on marijuana, resulting in murder, suicide and permanent madness. This is actually somewhat more competently done than most of the films of its type, with a plot that actually moves and actors who can actually act a little bit, though scenery is chewed aplenty. It’s the supposed “educational” component of the film that is most laughable––it’s obvious the filmmakers knew nothing about marijuana, other than it was a bad, scary, evil substance that corrupts youth. Everybody, including the teenagers, smokes tobacco cigarettes in the film as a matter of course, so all the drug pushers have to do to get a nice high school girl like Mary to try one is to offer her a cigarette and give her a reefer, pretending it’s a regular one (and they all look indistinguishable from regular ones in the film). The effects of the drug vary with use, going from acting drunk (mild use), acting like you’re hopped up on speed (moderate use), to acting violently insane (heavy use). Everybody is immediately hooked the minute they smoke their first reefer, even though nobody inhales. Even when promoting this sort of misinformation, the film has to resort to a farfetched plot involving accidental murder to show consequences negative enough to justify the partying and sex scenes that were the real purpose of the film. This makes for quite an entertaining and campy film, though a rather predictable one as well, without the weirdness of films like Maniac or Assassin of Youth. Still, this is essential viewing for fans of the pseudo-educational exploitation genre.

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

Pop Culture Classics from the 50s & 60s (Video Resources, 1993). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

This fun tape mines a hodgepodge of TV weirdness from the 50s and early 60s. Highlights include the Three Stooges as network vice-presidents, Dave Garroway trying to explain the concept behind "The Today Show", Froggie the Gremlin (who may have been the first mster) foiling at every turn the attempts of an extremely sappy kid show performer to tell a fairy tale, Poochie, the puppet dog on "Rootie Kazootie" singing like Mario Lanza, and McHale's Navy rocking out to "Papa Oom Mow Mow." A fun collection of weird moments, which is a lot of what collecting film ephemera is all about.

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

Forty Years of Human Service (film #555 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]

This 30s film tells us about the work of the National Jewish Hospital in Denver, a charitable hospital for tuberculosis patients who can’t pay for medical treatment. This was back in the days when tuberculosis was a dread, debilitating disease that required years of treatment with dicey chances of success. This is basically your standard-issue “look at all the good works we’re doing––give us money” film, but it does have some extra historical value in showing us the tuberculosis treatments of the day, all to an incredibly schmaltzy organ soundtrack.

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

All in a Day’s Work (film #6 in the Sci-Fi section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

A janitor on a space station repeatedly and cleverly evades the attempts of an unfriendly invading alien to take over. This is a really great brickfilm. The story is funny and very cleverly told despite the technical limitations of amateur brick animation. I love the way the animator gives the janitor different facial expressions––this is something that is not usually seen in brickfilms and it really adds to the humor and the interest in the story. One of the best brickfilms I’ve seen so far.

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

Apollo, Segment 6013 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]

This clip from a NASA film documents the early satellites, such as Echo and Telstar, then goes on to early manned high-speed flights that were the precursor to manned space flights. This is pretty ordinary, but it has some historical interest.

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

Booster Event (film #2 in the 0800009 Operation Greenhouse section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

This atomic blast, done on the top of a tower, was called “Booster Shot.” And I thought my booster shot was bad!

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

Butchering Hogs (film #6 on Buckaroos in Paradise). [Category: Industrial]

Actually, this just covers one step of the butchering process, that of dipping the dead hogs in boiling water to remove their hair. Rancher Les Brown tells us that the timing of boiling the carcass has to be just right, but doesn’t get any more specific than saying they’re kept in for “a little while.” No gruesome stuff here, apart from a guy at the end who reaches into a slit-open carcass to pull the guts out, but it ends before the guts actually come out. Just FYI, in case you’re repulsed or attracted by that sort of thing.

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

The Balloonatic (film #6 on Side A of Disc 2 of Comedy Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004)). [Category: Hollywood]

After striking out in finding a date at an amusement park, Buster Keaton accidentally ends up on a hot air balloon, which takes him to a remote area where he has various mishaps involving a shallow river, a three-part snap-together canoe, and a pretty female fisherman. This is quite amusing, as Buster has a talent for making any bad situation worse. A fun silent comedy short.

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

Celebrities Sell War Bonds (film #2 in the Patriotism in America section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

You can play Spot the Star on this newsreel clip about celebrities doing their bits for the war effort during World War II. There’s also an extended section on various celebrities enlisting in the armed services. This mainly has historical and nostalgia value.

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

Aunt Sallie’s Wonderful Bustle (film #23 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]

All I can say about this is this must have been where bungee jumping first got started. A 1901 Edison film.

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

BBC2 Continuity #1 (film #106 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Commercial]

Trailer for “Whose Doctor Who,” a retrospective documentary about the series. This is actually pretty interesting, containing clips from several Doctors, and giving you a feel for British television as well.

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

Psychedelic Party Footage (extra on Teenage Turmoil, Vol. 6 (Something Weird, 2001)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

Why bother to take an acid trip when you can groove out to this psychedelic party footage from some movie or other that Something Weird put on the end of the Teenage Turmoil, Vol. 6 tape? Some of it is creative and fun, some of it is unpleasant, but most of it is just plain silly. Like a real acid trip, perhaps.

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

For the Living (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #550 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]

This 40s film promotes the building of public housing projects to replace slums in New York City. Housing projects are presented as The Answer to poverty, transforming the lives of slumdwellers from misery and danger to the bright, shiny, clean lives the middle class were living in the suburbs, with the father going to work in a crisp suit, the son going to school in a new sweater, and Mom wheeling the baby down a tree-lined sidewalk to the laundry room, where “the washing is easy.” This is laughable from today’s standpoint, where the words “the projects” conjure up as many images of poverty and crime as “the slums” used to. But the film does portray the problems of the poor sympathetically, and, at least at first, the housing projects were probably an improvement over the places these people used to live in. So I wouldn’t laugh too hard––poverty just turned out to be a lot more complex and difficult a problem than people thought. The film does give a historically interesting view of the original thinking behind public housing projects, as well as the conditions they were designed to ameliorate.

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

All American Girl (film #210 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

This is a music video about a woman struggling with an eating disorder, according to the comments provided on the film’s page on Open Source Movies. While the folk-style song plays, we see a slide show of images of female beauty in Western art and advertising. The song is excellent, and while the film as a whole creates a haunting mood of a woman who hides feelings of sadness and emptiness behind a mask of beauty, the eating disorder part doesn’t really come through for me (though the emotional dynamic just described is common in eating disorders). Still, this is not a bad effort, and it shows the filmmaker has some potential.

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

Apollo, Segment 6012 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]

More soundtrack woes. The soundtrack keeps speeding up and slowing down, speeding up and slowing down. Eventually things settle down about halfway through the clip. The clip is actually a bit more interesting than usual, documenting the early successes and failures of the space program, so it’s actually a pity you can’t rely on the soundtrack.

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

Master Hands (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #1 on Our Secret Century, Vol. 2: Capitalist Realism CD-ROM (Voyager). Also, film #898 on Prelinger Archive. Also, film #2 on Ephemeral Films CD-ROM (Voyager) (excerpt)). [Category: Industrial]

This film, made by Chevrolet in the mid 1930's, purports to be a salute to the workers in the Chevrolet plants, but it really seems to be a salute to heavy industry in general. The process of making a car is shown from start to finish, to the tune of a majestic soundtrack based on Wagner. Prelinger calls this sort of film "capitalist realism", a play on "socialist realism" which was mandatory in the Soviet Union at the time. It's a very apt label here, as this could have just as easily been made in the Soviet Union. It's an amazing work of modern art that the Futurists would have been proud of. The machines are the art, which is a modernist ideal. Some scenes don't look so much like manufacturing as dance, a bizarre dance of men and machine together. The workers don't look so much like people as part of the machines they're operating. You are impressed by their skill, though, and how hard and dangerous the work looks. These guys really earned their paychecks! The big question I have, though, is this: Were the opening and closing credits really made as bronze plaques as they appear to be? If so, do those plaques still exist today? I want the one that says "The End".

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

The Army Mascot (film #2 on Disc 1 of Walt Disney on the Front Lines DVD (Disney, 2004)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

This Disney cartoon tells us where all that rationed meat went––it went to feed the dog mascots of various army divisions. Pluto understandably wants a share of this bounty so he gets into a conflict with a goat (that’s right––a goat) for the role of mascot of a nearby army post. This involves, among other things, tobacco chewing, and it only gets weirder from there when Pluto accidentally swallows a whole plug. One of the weirder WWII, as well as Disney, toons I’ve seen, and that makes it essential.

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

Business Films (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #265 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

This is a film about sponsored films for the makers of sponsored films. It features boring speeches by men in suits, talking about what an exciting visual medium film is. It then moves on to its real agenda, which is how to get sponsored films, with their messages of corporate propaganda, on tv during “non-commercial” “public service” time, into schools to infect the minds of the young, and into movie theaters disguised as entertainment. This is appalling, but we can take some consolation in the fact that the ultimate destination for these films is the internet, where they can be laughed at ever after by generations to come. Not this film, though, as it is dull as a convention of public relations executives.

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

The Coveted East Indies (film #596 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Hollywood]

This late 30s color travelogue is missing its soundtrack, or maybe it was silent to begin with––it's hard to tell. Anyway, it's about the Dutch East Indies and it gives an interesting snapshot of what the islands were like on the eve of WWII. There's lots of class differences apparent here, with lots of footage of rich upper-class white people contrasted with the poor, hardworking natives. There's lots of military footage, too, as the island gear up for war. And there's lots of ordinary travelogue stuff, such as scenery and the locals showng us their culture. I sure wish there was a soundtrack to explain some of this stuff, but even without it there are some striking images, such as a bizarre poster of a political cartoon with the caption in Dutch, the sad face of a child peddlar who carries a huge yoke of stuff on his shoulders, and local women demonstrating various native crafts related to fabric dying. A great historical snapshot of a single place at a single time.

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

Being Different (film #6 on Campy Classroom Classics, Vol. 6 (Something Weird, 2001)). [Category: Educational]

George spends the summer butterfly hunting with a local scientist and has a great time. Unfortunately, he makes the fatal mistake of writing about it in his requisite "What I Did This Summer" school composition and his teacher reads it in front of the whole class. You can imagine how well this goes over among the other boys. George's "best friend" spends the rest of the film trying to convince him that only "creeps" hunt butterflies. The film ends inconclusively, for class discussion purposes, no doubt. There's something strangely "off" about this film. The kids have strange accents and the world they inhabit seems familiar yet alien at the same time. I puzzled over this for some time, then I finally figured it out––it's Canadian! Shows you how conscious the average American is of our neighbors to the north (OK, I'm far from average, but you get the idea). You think collecting film ephemera is strange––at least I'm not a creep who hunts butterflies! Actually, though, I'm on George's side all the way, as probably most of you readers are, I'll warrant. Creeps unite!

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

The Buckskin Kid excerpts (film #3 on TV Turkeys (Rhino, 1987)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

The video artists on "Alive from Off-Center" could only aspire to make something this weird. This early 50s tv western with an all-kid cast and dubbed-in adult voices just takes the cake in the strangeness department. In addition to the general weirdness generated by seeing kids talk in adult "character" voices and riding around on hobby horses, the production is incredibly cheap and shoddy, adding a dark mood to everything. Just where did Rhino dig this one up, anyway? I've had nightmares that were less spooky than this. A real video ephemera gem, worth alone the price of the TV Turkeys tape.

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

Atlantic City Floral Parade (film #8 on America at Work, America at Leisure. Also in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Category: Early Film & TV]

A bunch of flower-covered floats and baby carriages pass by in this slice of early 20th century life. It’s too bad the print is so blurry––some of this stuff looks really interesting and unusual, but it’s hard to see. A 1904 Edison film.

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

BBC1 – Talons, Pt. 6 (film #3 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Commercial]

Just starting on BBC1, yet another bumper for “Dr. Who,” this one announcing the final episode of “The Talons of Weng-Chiang.” At least the announcer pronounces “Chiang” correctly this time.

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

Prehistoric Daze (extra on Mighty Gorga/One Million AC/DC DVD (Something Weird, 2002)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

A very ugly caveman leers at some naked women swimming in a pool, while a narrator with a Yiddish accent wings it. Actually, that description makes the plot of this exploitation short sound more coherent than it is. But then, that implies that the audience this was aimed at cared about the plot. Of course, the whole point of this film can be summed up in the phrase “naked women swimming in a pool.” Still, this is mildly fun because it contains the usual caveman movie anachronisms, including well-shaven and carefully coiffed cavewomen and a man in a very bad dinosaur costume.

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

Hey Folks! It's Intermission Time, Vol. 4 (Something Weird). [Category: Commercial]

Yet another fun collection of drive-in and walk-in movie ephemera. This one focuses mostly on local ads and celebrity charity pitches, though there's still plenty of snack bar promos and even a few wartime propaganda pieces. Essential, as always. Dick Swing recommends it.

Highlights:

The following merchants wish you happy holidays: Lancaster Plumbing, Heating & Well Drilling, Stump Printing Company, Grip Nut Co., Dick Swing - Standard Oil Agent, Co-Operative Produce Co., Cokl Auto Sales, Farmers Store, Farmers Elevator, Dick Woods Motor Clinic, Pook Feed & Coal Company (I hope their bags were clearly marked!), Schimek Variety and Dept. Store, Campbell's Shell Service, V.F.W. Post 2919, Green Parrott, French's Texaco Service, Harshman Cleaners, Johnson Bros. Neon Sign Co., Joy's Electric Shop, Maston Hardware (not to be confused with Matson's Food Market), Bauman Stock Yards, Bayman's Food Banks Inc., George W. Hopes Insurance, Cwynar's Bakery, Hubbard Coal and Supply ("Coal - Feed - Builders Supplies - Custom Grinding and Mixing"), Patton's Finer Foods, Sill and Gene Custom Tailoring, Stan and Sam ("Just the Best in Television"––that limits the field considerably), The Card Shop ("Always Something New in Ladies' and Children's Wear" (???)), Liberty Restaurant ("Your Favorite Beverage"), Bell-Wick Auto Sales, Dale & Marguerite Washington's Juvenile Shoppe, George's Bootery, Baldine's Auto Sales & Service, Marle-LaVerne ("Shop the Card Shop for Your Gifts"), "Jack" Emrich, Western Auto Associate Store ("A. G. Salow - Owner"), Peoples Coal, Supply & Lumber Co., Harder Funeral Home, Hubbard Dollar Bank, Andover News Room ("Ice Cream and Confectionery"), French Bros. Coal - Feed - Builders Supplies, C. W. Wood Coal - Feed - Builders Supplies, Rotchford Pontiac Inc. ("Goodwill Used Cars").
I was going to reveal the horrible local scandal involving Dick Swing, Dick Woods, the Grip Nut Co., and the Stump Printing Co., but this is a family publication, so I'll abstain.
Gimmick Alert!: This tape has two horror movie gimmick announcements: the Horror Drum (the squeamish should close their eyes until the drumming stops) and the Horror Bell (close your eyes when the bell rings and don't open them until it rings again). Those who survive the Marathon of Fright get a free Fright Club membership card. You also get a chance to see the campy opening of Monsters Crash the Pajama Party. The topper, though, is the Oath of the Green Blood from Mad Doctor of Blood Island. If you take the Oath and drink the vial of green Kool-Aid they gave you you're guaranteed not to turn into a green-blooded monster!
Looking for a way to woo that special someone? Just take hir to the Friday the 13th Valentine Sweetheart Midnight Show. How romantic!
Back during Hollywood's glory days, the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital used such stars as John Wayne and Bette Davis in their charity solicitation announcements. Want to know who they're using in the 90s? The Bundys from "Married with Children".
Best Double Feature Award: Tammy and the Doctor with Paranoiac ("Story of a Psycho Killer").
Additions to the Bucky Beaver Evil List: the dancing reindeer in the North Pole Cinema Premier holiday greeting (Santa in a tux comes close, too.), and the Coca-Cola snack bar promo featuring a giant woman's face.
Watch for a "no smoking - dispose of trash - no talking" announcement that looks for all the world like it was animated by Terry Gilliam.
Addition to the Thanks-But-No-Thanks List: "Let the Aluminum Man tell you the 'Reynolds Story' about aluminum siding!"
Remember the Thorazine Kid from the hamburger snack bar promo on Drive-In Movie Double Feature #20? His dad is on this tape in a promo advertising hot dogs.

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

For Health and Happiness (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #549 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]

This 40s film features lots of children and teens frolicking and playing in bathing suits or sunsuits, while a female narrator goes on and on about how healthy and “well-developed” they are because of good nutrition, exercise, plenty of fresh air and sunshine, and all-around right living. She really does go on and on about this, and it’s only near the end of the film that some actual suggestions are given for how to bring this about. Most of the nutritional suggestions are reasonably sound (fresh fruits and vegetables, whole-grain breads, etc.) but the food looks really terrible, especially the dried fruit, the canned salmon, and the suggestion that pig’s liver is just as good as beef. A mildly campy look at another era’s childraising and nutrition standards.

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

The Old Farmer's Video Almanac (B/P Productions, 1990). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

The Old Farmer's Video Almanac?? Where's Robt. B Thomas when you need him? Judson Hale, the Almanac's current editor, says on this tape that the Almanac tries to strike a balance between the serious and the wacky. This concept is definitely in the "wacky" category. Willard Scott narrates, Roger Welsch provides various silly household hints, yokels of various stripes give tips on fishing, cooking, grocery shopping, gardening, etc., and just in case that's not enough folksiness, there's Jonathan Winters rocking on the porch telling tall tales. Like many small towns, there's something slightly "off" about this tape, though not in a disturbing sense. It's merely eccentric, like being stranded for awhile in Lake Wobegone or some such place. I'm a fan of the Almanac, and this tape is sort of like the Almanac, but in another way, the Almanac could never be put on video (just try to put a hole in the corner!), and in that way it's totally unlike the Almanac. Don't think about it too hard, though, or it will start to mess with your head. It's just plain goofy, is all.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: * (but it's not as funny as it thinks). Weirdness: * (it takes awhile for it to sink in, though). Historical Interest: (years from now folks will be amazed that this was even tried). Overall Rating: * (though it will probably go up with time).

Alien (film #14 in the Comedy section of Brickfilms. Also, film #2 in the Horror section of Brickfilms. Also, film #5 in the Sci-Fi section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

Some Lego people on a Lego space station discover a podlike thing made of Lego. It turns out to be the egg of a huge alien monster, which promptly hatches and wreaks havoc on the space station. This science fiction Brickfilm is visually stunning, with amazing sets and costumes, all created from Lego. Unfortunately, the dialogue is all done in speeded-up electronic voices, and while this increases the science fiction (as well as the Legoey) feel of the film, it only allowed me to make out the occasional word here and there, while the rest was gibberish. It’s too bad––this would have been a much better film if you could hear what the characters were saying. (NOTE: This might or might not be a Lego version of the film Alien, but I’ve never seen that movie, so forgive my inability to identify the obvious references if it is.)

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

Apollo, Segment 6011 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]

This is the beginning of a NASA film called America in Space, which celebrates the fifth anniversary of the space program. Again, the digitizer should be shot, as the print is overexposed and the soundtrack speeds up to Chipmunk speed at the very end. Other than that, there’s not much interest here.

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

All Together (film #18 on disc #1 of Walt Disney on the Front Lines DVD (Disney, 2004)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Apparently, the Disney studios didn’t have enough to do to produce tons of educational and propaganda shorts for the American war effort––they also collaborated with the National Film Board of Canada to produce this Canadian appeal for a war bond drive. Mostly, this consists of the well-known Disney characters marching in a parade, to the music of Mickey’s band. This is quite cute and fun, but when it gets to the hard sell, it’s almost psychedelic in its brightly-colored imagery. A great wartime relic from the Disney vaults. By the way, I applaud Disney for finally having the courage to release this wartime stuff for its historical value. The whole DVD is well put together, the prints of the films are pristine, and the whole thing is packaged beautifully in a metal tin.

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

Budweiser (film #258 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

This is a random collection of silent film clips that may have been produced by a company called Hardcastle. Mostly it’s clips of female factory workers assembling unidentifiable items. This footage appears to be from the 40s, and the film begins with footage of a military parade, so we may be watching war production, but it’s hard to tell. Interspersed with the factory footage are clips from home movies, title cards from Hardcastle (including “The End” cards in the middle of the film) and footage of what look like science experiments. None of this seems to have anything to do at all with Budweiser, the beer company, so your guess is as good as mine on why it was given this title.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: . Weirdness: . Historical Interest: * (gets docked a star for lack of context). Overall Rating: ***.

A Ceiling on Your Home (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #278 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

This post-WWII film advocates rent control as a way to control inflation as a result of the post-war housing shortage. It portrays young couples struggling to find a decent place to live and start their families, and finding “No Rentals” signs everywhere. This is an interesting slice of life from the post-WWII era, before the problem would be eventually solved by huge housing developments in the suburbs.

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

Athlete with Wand (film #22 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]

I know it says “athlete,” but this just looks like a middle-aged guy doing aerobics with a stick. Still, since this is a very early film, it has some historical value. An 1894 Edison film.

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

BBC1 – Talons, Pt. 1 (film #2 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Commercial]

Another BBC bumper for “Dr. Who,” this one announcing the first episode of “The Talons of Weng-Chiang.” Pretty ordinary.

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

Perversion for Profit (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #1147 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

This 50s film features anti-porn crusader George Putnam preaching a sermon on the evils of pornography. He claims that the examples that he shows (from what looks like a vast collection) can be bought at any newsstand, but interspersed with the usual girlie and pulp magazine stuff are pictures from S&M publications, which I highly doubt you could buy at a newsstand during the 50s. The milder pulp and girlie magazine stuff, lest viewers think it really isn’t that bad, he argues against by saying it “leads to” certain kinds of deviancy, or purporting it has hidden meanings designed to lure youth down the long slide to moral degeneracy. Examples: A naked girl in a farm scene with a goat in the background is about bestiality; a bunch of naked girls together in the same picture is about lesbianism; scantily-clad musclemen in body-building magazines exist for no other purpose than to entice youth into homosexuality (he even claims that “psychologists” state that adult heterosexual men who see “too much” body-building material will become homosexual); any showing of the buttocks is all about sodomy; and a picture of a bare-chested man holding a white sheet (not wearing it, mind you, but just holding it) is somehow about transvesticism. But if that doesn’t get his message across, there’s always the S&M stuff to shock the sensibilities of the straightlaced folks this film was made for. He lambasts nudist magazines by reporting a case of a teenaged sex offender who raped and killed a 5-year-old girl, and who stated he read such magazines; obviously this is the only cause of his criminal behavior––no other factors are considered for a second. How convenient for such criminals––they can blame their behavior entirely on magazines! And how convenient for society––it’s those offensive magazines and paperback books that cause crime, so we don’t have to deal with those messy disturbing factors like child abuse, poverty, drugs, or discrimination. He lambasts paperback books by reading a passage from one of them in which a teenaged gang member talks about how he enjoys the “kicks” of sex, alcohol, drugs, and criminal activity. The passage is indeed somewhat disturbing, but Putnam gives us no context for it, so we don’t know whether or not the story was written to make us identify or agree with this criminal character. Perhaps the passage was included to establish just what a bad guy he was. Putnam ends by invoking religion, saying that our government is founded on God’s laws. I guess he’s never read the First Amendment––he certainly has no knowledge of the concept of separation between church and state. Of course, this is all appalling, but there’s a creepiness about this film that keeps it from being much fun. Putnam seems to me to be a little too interested in this “perverted” stuff he is trying to stamp out. His extreme interpretations of a lot of it give you a glimpse into just how dirty his own mind probably was. And he’s so strident that after awhile I just wanted him to shut up.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: * (sadly, these kinds of attitudes are not that unusual, in the 50s or even today). Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: * (gets docked for being painful to watch).

Mainline U.S.A. (film #1 on Lifestyles USA, Vol. 2 (Something Weird, 2000). Also in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #872 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

This 50s film presents all the advantages of the modern American railroad system. And I do mean all. Breathless narration goes on and on about how great the railroads are. They just provide everything that is good and right with this country, all right?? At least until the next decade. Seriously, railroad buffs will probably enjoy this film as it has trains and train paraphenalia a-plenty.

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

Fire Routine (film #10 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]

This British PSA encourages viewers to go through a fire prevention routine every night before going to bed. This involves unplugging the tv, turning off all lights and electrical devices, and putting a metal guard in front of the fireplace, all while singing and dancing as if in a Broadway musical. I didn’t know that fire prevention depended upon my singing and dancing abilities––I guess I better go out and get some lessons!

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

The Costume Designer (recorded off of Turner Classic Movies). [Category: Hollywood]

This 30s film straightforwardly shows how costumes were designed for the movies during the old studio system. The designer is the only woman in the creative team, of course, but she looks like she could hold her own in any fight. Lots of different kinds of costumes are shown, making this a real treat for clothes-horses, but their claims of "historical accuracy" are a little farfetched. This is a great slice of 30s pop culture.

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

The Airport Music Video (film #3 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

This is that dull EB film, The Airport, done up Art-of-Noise style, with looped clips from both the video and the soundtrack put to a propulsive beat. I enjoyed this a great deal. I think it’s a vast improvement over the original film, which was dull as dishwater. I particularly like the looping of the nerdy pilot talking into his radio––he really looks like he’s grooving to the beat now!

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

Apollo, Segment 6010 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]

This clip talks so glowingly about a NASA contractor called Langley that it could have been from an industrial film, but I don’t think so. It does have some interesting footage of different kinds of experimental aircraft, including a horribly impractical single-user craft that has helicopter rotors underneath where the pilot is standing. One of the more interesting of the Apollo clips.

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

Baker (film #3 in the 0800000 Nuclear Film Declassification Project section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Very short clip of the Baker underwater nuclear test, in all its blurry glory, with the explosion almost off of the top of the screen. Not nearly as dramatic as most other examples of nuclear test footage.

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

Buckaroo Theodore Brown Parts a Cow from the Herd (film #16 on Buckaroos in Paradise). [Category: Industrial]

One of the cowboys leads a particular cow out of the herd, while the rancher narrates, explaining the process. If you want to know what real cowboys do, this is a piece of it. A great slice of Western life.

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

Behind the Scenes at the Supermarket (film #4 on The 1950s Time Capsule (Video Resources, 1994)). [Category: Educational]

Johnny's dad is a grocer and treats Johnny to a behind-the-scenes tour of the supermarket before it opens. It's pretty much what you'd expect, with some neat shots of 50s grocery products and sign painting. And unlike most films of the period, the store's employees seem to be of several different races. The opening theme music is great––it just screams "bouncy 50s educational film music".

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

Annie Oakley – Annie’s Desert Adventure (film #16 in the Classic TV section of Movieflix). [Category: Early Film & TV]

In this episode, Annie and a reformed ex-convict capture a pair of gold rustlers. This is fairly well-written and generates some suspense. I’m starting to have my doubts about her kid sidekick Tag, though. He seems to like violence way too much.

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

BBC1 – Robots, Pt. 1 (film #1 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Commrecial]

Very short “Just starting on BBC-1…” lead-in to an episode of "Dr. Who", “The Robots of Death.” These things always remind me of Monty Python’s send-ups of them, but other than that, this is too brief to have much value for anyone.

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

Peeping Tom’s Paradise (film #1147 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

A pretty 50s woman starts stripping, removing her skirt and her pouffy 50s petticoat first. She then starts pulling her sweater off, but just before we would get to see her nipples, she decides to turn her back to the camera. Then, before turning around, she puts on a handy bustier. At the end, she suddenly discovers she is being observed and gets embarrassed. This vintage stag film has far less skin than even others of its time, but it makes up for it in tease. The woman has a great 50s hourglass figure and she actually projects some innocence, which is rare in a stag film. This has one of the cheapest-looking title cards ever, though. It looks like it was put together with plastic letters, and some of the letters are askew.

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

Emergency Exit Promo (film #479 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]

Short movie theater announcement advising audience members to check out the nearest exits and, in case of emergency, to walk calmly to them, rather than trampling their fellow patrons. With all the movie theater ephemera I’ve collected, I don’t have this one, so that gives it historical value. And the style of it is mildly campy.

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

Aftermath of a Pie-Eating Contest (film #3 in the Chucko the Birthday Clown section of TVParty). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

This scene from a local LA kid show is very representative of the genre. Chucko helps kids with whipped cream all over their faces to recover from a pie-eating contest. The kids’ responses, and Chucko’s as well, are very spontaneous, making this an excellent example of live tv. Most of these kinds of local shows were never preserved at all, not even by their stations, so this clip is quite rare and historically important. It’s great to see TVParty so carefully preserve these local shows, so we can all have a taste of a bygone form of television.

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

Apollo, Segment 6009 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]

In this clip from a NASA film, President Kennedy gives the Collyer Award to the first seven astronauts. This has historical value, but it’s pretty dry.

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

Broken Blossoms (film #11 in the Silent section of Movieflix). [Category: Early Film & TV]

This is one of D. W. Griffith's best melodramas. It's the tragic tale of a Chinese shopkeeper who takes in a teenaged girl, played by Lillian Gish, who is the victim of frequent beatings by her brutal boxer father. The shopkeeper gives the girl the first kindnesses she has ever experienced, but it can go on only so long before her father finds out, resulting in a tragic ending. Gish is particularly good as the pathetic Lucy, giving a performance that never quite goes over the top, though other performances do occasionally. Though the tale periodically gets a bit maudlin, the relationship between Lucy and the shopkeeper provides an emotional center for the film that makes it genuinely touching. A 1919 D. W. Griffith film.

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

B-61 (film #1 in the 0800072 Developing and Producing the B-61 section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Brief overview of the B-61 bomb. This has some cheesy illustrated title cards, but little else to recommend it.

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

Always Tomorrow (film #8 on Feature Films. Also, film #75 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

Coca-Cola bottler Jim Westlake reacts to World War II by going on a long, extended reminiscence, where he tells us all about the troubles he had to deal with in the past, which he solved with good ol’ American pluck, know-how, and faith in Coca-Cola, amen! This is a campy and interesting portrait of the corporate culture of Coca-Cola in the 40s, as well as the more general attitudes of big business at the time. Campiest is probably Jim’s second banana Larry, who whines like Droopy about trifles like war, depressions, sugar shortages, and how they are going to pay their bills. Jim himself is obviously too important to dirty his hands with that stuff––he’s too busy thinking about The Future and how it involves selling more and more Coca-Cola so that the business can grow and grow and grow without end. Absolutely no downside is shown for this unending growth. The film goes on and on about this, grinding its messages of future-thinking and faith in the all-powerful-and-good sugary brown beverage into the ground until you want to scream. Some may find this tedious, but for my money this makes the film a must-see as the ultimate example of corporate religion spouted in an industrial film. Settle down, grab an ice-cold Coke, and watch the show, folks. Soon, at least according to the Onion, it’ll be mandatory!

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

Hey Folks! It's Intermission Time, Vol. 3 (Something Weird). [Category: Commercial]

My husband got me this one for my birthday because he knows how much I love the spook show promos on Volume 1, and this volume focuses on them, though not exclusively. It's "dedicated to the Southern King of Come-Ons, Donn Davison", who appears in several different guises throughout the tape, mostly as a disembodied head narrating horror movie trailers in an incredibly campy style. The big highlight of the tape, though, is a genuine "sex education" lecture from an "expert" (Davison again), made to introduce a "genuine birth of a baby" sequence from a roadshow exploitation pic, which must be heard to be believed. That and the spook show promos are worth the price of this tape, but you also get a great assortment of the usual snack bar promos, local ads, promos, and public service announcements, including a smattering of World War II propaganda stuff (which I have a special affection for). Another easy five stars.

Highlights:

More great come-ons from spook show promos: "The Management of This Theatre Cannot Be Held Responsible for Persons Who Faint or Go Berserk During The House of Exorcism!" "Can It Be True That Any Volunteer Will Be Decapitated with a Meat Cleaver?" "See the Beatles Mystically Transformed!" "See Lady Godiva Riding in Mid-Air on a White Horse! (For Those Who Embarrass Easily, Blindfolds Will Be Furnished with Peeking Holes!)" "You'll See Blood-Curdling, Sadistic Surgery!" "The Head of Any Volunteer Will Be Cut Off by a Butcher Knife and Thrown Into the Audience!" "Many Drinks Will Be Produced from Pure Water...Just Name It and Drink It!" "13...14...15 Knives Will Be Driven Through the Head of Any Unsuspecting Person!" "Alive! He's Buried Alive! You Must See to Believe! Look Into the Grave!" "Free! 'My Sin' Perfume to All Girls Who Look Into the Grave and Do Not Faint! (Ambulance on Call for Those Who Do!)" "Tune In! Turn On! Drop Dead!" "We Guarantee Your Goose Pimples Will Get Goose Pimples!" "Don't Take This Lightly! How Are You Fixed for Blood?" "In Case You Pass Out Before Seeing a Complete Performance of This Double Stage-and-Screen Science-Mystery Horror Show, That's Tough!"
BUCKY BEAVER ALERT!! They may be pitching for the American Cancer Society, but my husband swears Harry Hambone and his pet anteater, Schnozz, are relatives of Bucky. Be warned.
Back in the days before the MPAA rating system, all movies were in good taste and suitable for children. Even snack bar promos with a Roman orgy theme. Really. "Wouldn't a hamburger taste great right now?"
This tape contains the best print I've seen so far of my favorite snack bar promo, "Let's All Go to the Lobby".
Check out this exchange from "A Visit from Santa" (I swear I'm not making this up): SANTA: And what do you want for Christmas, little girl? LITTLE GIRL: I want to get married! SANTA: You will, you will! Talk about spook shows!
Bizarre dancing flappers, who look naked from the waist up, but couldn't have been, provide a frame for local ads, including a body shop that actually uses the phrase "You wreck 'em, we fix 'em!"
Great stuff you can learn from the "sex education" lecture: "Most men, through sexual ignorance, build in their wives a hatred and revulsion for the sexual act," "Birth control usually involves the use of buttons, pills, douches, or even harsh acids!" and "The men who know about male menopause live longer, happier, healthier lives, and they outlive the women––the way it was meant to be." But you'll have to buy the books Knowledge for Men and Knowledge for Women if you want to get the scoop on "masturbation––how it can be cured and how it can be detected" or "the eight different erotic zones of passion that were placed on every woman's body for her husband's use."

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

Ask Dad (film #11 on Feature Films). [Category: Hollywood]

Edward Everett Horton stars in this rather turgid early 30s comedy short. He plays a businessman whose college-boy son develops a crush on his secretary. Mild comedy tries to ensue, but fails because the script is lame and the timing is clunky. Horton is great as usual, especially when he dictates letters, but he is wasted in this. He needs a situation that is far more wacky and dialogue that is far more sharp to really shine. Still, he tries his best here, and Horton fans may enjoy this little obscurity from early in his career.

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

Mystery Night Montage (film #8 on Felix the Cat, Vol. 1 (Video Resources, 1994)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

Video Resources included this short collage of all different kinds of stuff as a teaser for their other products. There's bloopers, newsreel clips, movie clips, cartoon clips, tv show clips, etc., making this a sort of 5-Minute Ephemera Collection. A nice little extra for the Felix tape.

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

Castro Defeats U.S.-Backed Dictator Fulgencio Batista (film #2 in the Cuban History section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Newsreel clip documenting Castro’s takeover of Cuba in a surprisingly objective manner. I’m also surprised at the peaceful evacuation of American tourists. This is a straightforward, important bit of history.

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

Annie Oakley – Annie and the First Phone (film #15 in the Classic TV section of Movieflix). [Category: Early Film & TV]

This early-50s western series has an incredibly campy opening––how many series do you know that have the chutzpah to shoot their viewers? This is pretty much "The Adventures of Kit Carson" all over again, except the hero is a cowgirl and her sidekick is an annoying kid instead of a womanizing Mexican. In this episode, she foils a land-grabber’s plans to rile up the local Indians so that they will attack the local settlers and persuade them to move, so he can buy up their land. Early telephones and a silly Frenchman work their way into the plot, making it mildly amusing, but mostly this is standard Western fare.

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

Another White Tornado Spot (film #5 in the Video Vault section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]

Some clueless firemen fall for the ol’ white tornado gag. I’d forgotten how campy these Ajax commercials are.

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

Palmour Street (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #1128 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

This 50s public service film shows us the stresses and strains of a typical family, and how the ways the parents handle things affect the children. But with a difference––this family is African-American and lives in rural Georgia. The family portrayed is basically a healthy one, though the parents have some flaws. This is pretty amazing, given how much stress they are under from living in a world of poverty and oppression. In fact, this film stands in stark contrast to the other films being made during this time. Instead of being a happy housewife in a clean suburban home filled with modern conveniences, like, say, in Young Man’s Fancy, the mother in this film does her laundry with a tub and washboard after she gets home from working all day–– something that is not a choice for her, but a necessity, as the family desperately needs the money. In fact, she really wants to be able to stay home with her kids, because her only childcare option for the preschoolers is to leave them with cranky Aunt Esther, who showers affection on the baby while treating the other kids like dirt. Still, she considers herself lucky, because she has a “good man” who works hard, brings home his pay, and showers the children with affection. And you can tell that in her world, that is pretty damn fortunate. The oldest child in the family, a little girl of about 8 or 9, sensibly runs away from a creepy stranger who shouts, “Hey little girl, come here!” but she doesn’t live in the squeaky clean world of The Cautious Twins, or even in the Sid Davis universe, but in a run-down neighborhood that probably has guys like that on every corner, making that interaction seem disturbingly real. The film ends on a somewhat tragic note when the father is seriously injured in an industrial accident. The mother spends a tense night at the hospital, and is finally told by a nurse that her husband will pull through, but you know he was just inches away from death. Still, you know his injury will be very hard on the family, and the film ends like a Centron discussion film, by asking the viewer “What would you do?” if you were in this woman’s place. But there are no easy, obvious answers to that question––it’s all too easy to imagine the family being destroyed by such a stressor. Granted, they do seem to be pretty tough, resilient people, but just how much can any family take before starting to fall apart at the seams? The film is well-made and portrays the family realistically and sympathetically. It promotes the sensible proposition that children won’t be significantly damaged by the occasional family argument or harsh words, as long as they are the exception and not the rule. And although the film takes seriously the responsibilities of parents to bring their children up right, there is an implicit acknowledgement that social factors can make this difficult and can even place limits on the power parents have to give their children a good environment. Racism is not explicitly dealt with in the film––the only scene of what seems to me to be explicit racism is when the white nurse talks to the mother in a simplistic tone one might use with somebody with mental retardation––but the incredible contrast this film makes to the films about white people speaks louder than words about the effects of racism. This is an important film to watch to contrast with the other films on the archive––it gives you the other side of the 50s.

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

FDA Public Service Announcement (extra on The Educational Archives, Volume Four: On the Job DVD (Fantoma, 2002), at the end of the film Barbers and Beauticians). [Category: Public Service]

We are shown several quack medical devices of the type that can be found at the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices and warned to stay away from quack doctors in this PSA. Short, but fun.

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

Looking Ahead Through Rohm & Haas Plexiglas excerpt (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #1 on Our Secret Century, Vol. 1: The Rainbow Is Yours CD-ROM (Voyager). Also, film #872 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

Wouldn't our homes be lots better if everything in them was made of Plexiglas? That seems to be the message of this 1950s film. Even a multilayered Plexiglas mural of a modernistic cityscape is shown as vastly superior to a boring old window. The house shown has a great "Home of Tomorrow" feel to it. And everything is in garish 1950s color.

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

Cosmetic Surgery (film #11 in the Makeovers, Diets & Fitness section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Hollywood]

Brief newsreel clip about nosejobs. A woman with a nose Streisand would be proud of gets the hump removed, which is a slight improvement. I trust the technology has improved since the time of this clip.

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

The Adventures of Murray (film #123 in the Comedy section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

Murray is a perky little human skull that hops around and scares all the Lego guys, but he’s just trying to reunite with his body. This seems like the quintessential Brickfilm somehow––it’s just so Brickfilmy. I think it’s the kooky music, though the way the sets are built also has something to do with it. To my mind, this is how things really are in Legoland.

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

Advance of Health Insurance 1945-1960 (film #176 on Open Source Movies). [Category: News]

More newsreel footage documenting the rise of Medicare and Medicaid. This is much shorter and less interesting than the previous film, focusing mostly on footage of politicians.

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

Attack in the Pacific (film #2 on disc #1 of Pearl Harbor: Before and After DVD (Triton, 2001)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

This film documents the war in the Pacific, particularly the long slow journey of the Navy from island to island, and how they provided support for the soldiers fighting to take each island from the Japanese. This is informative and historically interesting, but it’s pretty straightforward with no surprises. Some of the battle footage is pretty gritty. Fans of battle footage will like this; others, probably less so.

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

A Buckaroo Conversation After a Morning’s Work (film #12 on Buckaroos in Paradise). [Category: Industrial]

The cowboys rather tersely discuss problems they had rounding up the cattle. This is definitely a real slice of life in all its gritty glory, no scripts here.

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

The Adventures of Kit Carson – Wild Horses of Pala (film #12 in the Classic TV section of Movieflix). [Category: Early Film & TV]

In this episode, Kit and El Torro negotiate with an Indian tribe to buy wild horses on their land for the army, but they have to contend with a traitor in their midst who wants to steal the money the army gave them for the horses and stampede the horses. This is pretty ordinary, but it does have its exciting moments.

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

Another Beech-Nut Product, 5-Mint Gum (film #8 in the Saturday Morning Commercials section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]

60s teens frolic on the beach in this bouncy commercial for Beech-Nut 5-Mint Gum. Very 60s, in that beach-party-movie way.

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

Olio for Jasper (film #5 on George Pal Puppetoons (Loonic Video)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

That scarecrow guy that keeps getting Jasper in trouble wants Jasper to give him his snowglobe, so he tells an incredible sob story about his life. Man, this one is weird and it just keeps getting weirder and weirder as the story goes on. I love the “time marches on” sequences featuring Father Time, but I’ve never seen him on a pogo stick before. That’s just a sample of what I’m talking about here. This is one weird cartoon.

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

Fatal Floor (film #10 in the Public Info. films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]

This British PSA discourages housewives from placing throw rugs on slippery, polished floors, lest mishaps occur. OK, folks, I know this is a serious safety issue, but I can’t help laughing when the woman’s son-in-law takes a pratfall offscreen, shouting “Waa!!” as if he had taken Being Hit on the Head Lessons.

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

Ad Astra (film #55 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

This well-made science fiction short is a bit hard to follow, but it does create a compelling and disturbing mood. It involves a man on a future, dried-out shell version of Earth who manages to arrange to go to a colony planet under false pretenses. Other than that, I’m not sure exactly what happens, though the ending is rather gruesome. Still, the mood created makes you want to view the film over and over and think about it until you get it. It’s technically very well done for a low-budget film posted to Open Source Movies. The music especially is great. This director has some definite talent and potential.

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

Advance of Health Insurance 1912-1945 (film #175 on Open Source Movies). [Category: News]

This is newsreel footage with narration documenting the rise of the idea of national health insurance in the United States. Footage from Teddy Roosevelt’s, FDR’s, and Truman’s administration is shown. This is pretty straightforward, with a few interesting images here and there.

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

Atomic Guided Missiles (film #1 in the 0800052 Armed Forces Special Weapons Project section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

In this short clip from a military film, several different types of atomic guided missiles are shown taking off. If you want some stock footage you can use after a scene of the President pushing the red button, here it is.

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

Buckaroo Clay Taylor Makes Up His Bedroll at the Black Ridge Camp (film #14 on Buckaroos in Paradise). [Category: Industrial]

We get to see a cowboy make up his bedroll, which consists of many layers, including a sleeping bag and something that just might be a buffalo robe. On the outside is a canvas cover that hooks closed, and then the whole thing is rolled up. It looks heavy. Cows moo in the background.

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

Beginning to Date.

This Encyclopedia Britannica film is livelier than most EB films, probably because it covers a classic genre: dating. The film features a bunch of junior high school kids going to their first dating party. Unlike most films of this type, the kids seem very realistic––they vary widely developmentally in both physical appearance and emotional maturity, which is typical of this age group. The most entertaining couple is George and Mildred. Although their names make them sound like senior citizens (and they probably are today), George is a classic case of delayed puberty (he looks and talks like he's about 9 1/2, tops) while Mildred is charmingly shy and awkward, as well as being a full head taller than George. The film contains both many moments of realistic junior high behavior (one boy fails to pick up his girlfriend from the bathroom because he's busy playing tag with another boy in the coatroom; the dance floor initially splits into the "boy huddle" and the "girl huddle") and great mstable moments (possible topics of conversation are printed in subtitles above characters' heads; Mildred says "bye" and walks into her house without giving George so much as a handshake). Another classic of the dating genre.

Apollo, Segment 6015 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]

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

Castle (film #1 in the 0800013 Operation Castle section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

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

Believe It or Not #2 (film #5 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]

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

California Cotton Mills (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #1803 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

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

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Goodtimes, 1990. Also, Image Entertainment, 1997 (DVD)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

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

Hey Folks! It's Intermission Time, Vol. 6 (Something Weird). [Category: Commercial]

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

Suicide Theater unsold tv pilot excerpt (film #5 on TV Turkeys (Rhino, 1987)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

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

Censored (film #18 on The Complete Uncensored Private SNAFU DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999). Also, film #7 on Disc 2 of Pearl Harbor: Before and After DVD (Triton Media, 2001)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

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

The Blacksmith (film #1 on Side A of Disc #2 of Comedy Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004)). [Category: Hollywood]

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

Automobile Parade (film #24 on Edison Film Archive. Also, film #3 on The Life of a City). [Category: Early Film & TV]

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

Benson and Hedges 100s in 1967 (film #14 in the Cigarette Advertising on TV section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]

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

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

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

Freedom of the American Road (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #563 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]

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

Meet King Joe (film #2 on An American Retrospective Through Animation (Moviecraft, 1994). Also in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #908 on Prelinger Archive. Also, film #24 on Ephemeral Films CD-ROM (Voyager) (excerpts)). [Category: Industrial]

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

Crashing the Movies (recorded off of Turner Classic Movies). [Category: Hollywood]

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

Believe It or Not #1 (film #4 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]

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

The Adventures of Crispy Cheeser: Where the Sharks Are! (film #1 in the Action section of Brickfilms. Also, film #11 in the Comedy section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

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

Apollo, Segment 6014 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]

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

Buster (film #1 in the 0800010 Operation Ranger & Operation Buster/Jangle section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

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

Buy Your Own Cherries (film #20 on The Movies Begin, Volume Two: The European Pioneers (Kino Video, 1994)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

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

California Color Film: Golden Gate International Exposition (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #1802 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

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

Bear Shooters (film #6 on Side A of Disc 1 of Comedy Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004)). [Category: Hollywood]

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

Auto Boat Race on the Hudson (film #9 on America at Work, America at Leisure. Also, in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Category: Early Film & TV]

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

Beechnut Gum (film #4 in the Saturday Morning Commercials section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]

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

Hey Folks! It's Intermission Time, Vol. 5 (Something Weird). [Category: Commercial]

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

Reefer Madness (film #120 on Feature Films. Also, film #2 on disc #1 of Schlock Hysteria, section #10 of Total Movie & Entertainment free DVD set). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

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

Pop Culture Classics from the 50s & 60s (Video Resources, 1993). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

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

Forty Years of Human Service (film #555 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]

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

All in a Day’s Work (film #6 in the Sci-Fi section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

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

Apollo, Segment 6013 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]

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

Booster Event (film #2 in the 0800009 Operation Greenhouse section of DOE Nevada). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

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

Butchering Hogs (film #6 on Buckaroos in Paradise). [Category: Industrial]

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

The Balloonatic (film #6 on Side A of Disc 2 of Comedy Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004)). [Category: Hollywood]

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

Celebrities Sell War Bonds (film #2 in the Patriotism in America section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

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

Aunt Sallie’s Wonderful Bustle (film #23 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]

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

BBC2 Continuity #1 (film #106 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Commercial]

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

Psychedelic Party Footage (extra on Teenage Turmoil, Vol. 6 (Something Weird, 2001)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

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

For the Living (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #550 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]

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

All American Girl (film #210 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

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

Apollo, Segment 6012 (in the Documentary section of Open Video Project). [Category: News]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: * (but it's not as funny as it thinks). Weirdness: * (it takes awhile for it to sink in, though). Historical Interest: (years from now folks will be amazed that this was even tried). Overall Rating: * (though it will probably go up with time).

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

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

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: . Weirdness: . Historical Interest: * (gets docked a star for lack of context). Overall Rating: ***.

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Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: * (sadly, these kinds of attitudes are not that unusual, in the 50s or even today). Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: * (gets docked for being painful to watch).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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