Walk-In Triple Feature #1 (Sinister Cinema). [Category: Commercial]
Since this is a triple feature, it has two intermissions. Also since it's a triple feature, the intermissions are quite short, which is somewhat more justified in this case, since they needed to make room for another whole feature-length movie on the tape. Still, it makes it less interesting from an ephemera standpoint, although there are a few good moments, such as a nice print of "Let's All Go to the Lobby", an amusing "Giant Comedy Spookero" promo, and the "nutritious" Hollywood Candy Bars ad.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
The House Fly (film #693 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This Encyclopedia Britannica film is more strident than most, portraying the house fly as a carrier of filth and disease and a public health menace. Lots of anatomical diagrams of flies are shown, as well as lots of disgusting footage of flies buzzing around garbage, animal corpses, and dairy cattle, and that’s not even touching on the really disgusting footage of maggots. The flies seem to be everywhere in this film’s 50s world, despite attempts to control them with fly swatters, insecticide sprays, and widespread dissemination of poison. Although the film is straightforward and dry, in that EB way, it shows a disturbing picture of the seemy underbelly of 50s anxieties. This would be a good short to show before screenings of The Fly, another great example of 50s insect horror.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Combat America (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #352 on Prelinger Archive. Also, film #1 on Side A of Disc #10 of War Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004). Also, film #1 on Side A of Disc #9 of WWII: The Ultimate Collection DVD Boxed Set (Brentwood Home Video, 2004)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
After his wife, Carole Lombard, was killed in a plane crash, a grieving Clark Gable couldn’t face Hollywood anymore, so he joined up with the Army Air Corps, requesting that he be sent into actual combat. So naturally the Army decided he should make a movie about his combat group, the 351st Bombardier Group. Gable narrates this complete portrait of his outfit and appears in several short scenes where he interviews his comrades-in-arms. The focus of the film, though, is the group itself, especially the gunners. The film starts just after training is complete and the group flies to England to begin flying actual missions. The film covers all aspects of the lives of the gunners, from actual combat to leisure time, and from goofy hijinks to the gritty reality of seeing your buddies get killed or seriously wounded in combat. The film is quite similar to The Memphis Belle, though perhaps not as engrossing as that film. Still, the film has quite a bit of historical value as a portrait of combat and army life, and in color to boot.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Abe’s Job (film #256 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Apparently, Abe Lincoln is still alive and aggressively protecting his copyrights. I guess the makers of this film are in trouble, then. I wonder if he pals around with Elvis.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ???. Overall Rating: ***.
Atlas in Orbit: Radios Ike’s Message of Peace to World (film #128 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: News]
Newsreel story about the launch of the third Atlas missile, which, the narrator informs us, is way better than Sputnik, and which became one of the first communications satellites, broadcasting a message from President Eisenhower wishing everyone peace on earth. This was the space program in its infancy, folks, giving this some historical value, as well as some mild amusement when the narrator reports the dismal failures of the first two Atlas missiles, though he refers to them as “triumphs.”Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Signals: Read 'Em or Weep (extra on Carnival of Souls DVD (Criterion Collection, 2000)). [Category: Industrial]
This safety film sponsored by Caterpillar features bungling construction workers fudging on safety in various ways, and then paying the price when their big ol' earth-moving machines bust up in various spectacular ways. More than any other safety film, this one makes you wonder how it was made without endangering the actors, 'cause big machines really do bust up before the camera. The best scene is the one where a faulty hose causes a big pipe to be dropped on the supervisor's truck, totalling it––the worker looks tremendously embarassed, but I'll bet the real construction workers in the audience where whooping and hollering. Not a bad piece of ephemera for being made as late as 1981.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
A-Sub Epic: Nautilus Pioneers North Pole Seaway (film #135 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Newsreel clip documenting maiden voyage of the atomic submarine Nautilus. Unfortunately, there are no “encounters with mythical sea creatures a la Jules Verne.” Instead, we get to watch sailors playing solitaire. Boy, those nuclear subs were exciting!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Brussels World’s Fair (film #119 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: Industrial]
Newsreel clip showing the construction of buildings for the Brussels World’s Fair, “the first world’s fair of the atomic age.” It includes the construction of a diorama showing the Highways of the Future, but it’s just not as much fun as the 1939 World of Tomorrow, darn it. Perhaps tomorrow had become today by that time.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
The Devil's Ball (track #5 on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1913) (Sinister Cinema). Also, film #1 on Early Sci-Fi Fantasy Films (The Buyer's Gallery Home Video)). [Category: Hollywood]
This fragment of an early stop-motion cartoon is real nightmare stuff. Even the talking vegetables are evil, and that's saying a lot, coming from me. Like most dreams, it has lots of weird stuff in it and it doesn't make much sense. But you won't easily forget such images as dancing wineglasses that break themselves, an inflatable saxophone player, or a love triangle involving a shady character, a ballerina, and an ape. I wonder where they dug this one up.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
All’s Well (film #2 on Film Chest Vintage Cartoons). [Category: Hollywood]
All’s well with Gabby until he meets an obnoxious baby who resists all attempts to have his diaper changed. This is a pretty ordinary cartoon that ends predictably.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Borrowed Power (film #228 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]
Teen Jerry is a gentleman under most circumstances, but put him behind the wheel of a car and he becomes a real jerk. He gets his comeuppance, though, when the police arrest him for reckless driving and hint that he might be charged with a recent hit-and-run. This makes him sweat but good, as well as stupidly blurting out, “I didn’t hit anybody!” before anyone had even mentioned hitting and running. So as punishment, he has to sit and listen to a judge boringly lecture him about safe driving in front of his parents and his two best friends. This early 50s film is incredibly stilted and woodenly acted. There’s good msting fodder here, but other than that, it’s pretty tedious going. Still, it ends quickly with Jerry being exonerated, causing him to announce that from now on he intends to be the “brains behind the car,” an assertion that is not particularly reassuring after what we have seen before. This film was obviously meant to scare teenagers into safe driving, and it obviously didn’t work, given that driver’s ed films would become progressively gorier and more disgusting as time went by.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Betsy Ross Dance (film #2 in the Dance section of American Variety Stage). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A girl in a frilly dress dances for our entertainment. What this has to do with the first flag is questionable. It does give you some idea of what 1903 audiences found entertaining, though. A 1903 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (film #11 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Commercial]
Fairly entertaining trailer for the really stupid movie Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, starring those lovable Martin & Lewis ripoffs, Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo, plus Lugosi and a guy in a gorilla suit. With this trailer, you get all the mildly entertaining parts of the movie, while getting to skip the boring and excruciatingly stupid parts. Making it better than the movie. This is one of the better reasons movie trailers should be preserved.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Cookin’ with Gags (film #118 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This sign language version of the silly Popeye cartoon about April Fool’s Day explains every single joke Bluto pulls, ruining the flow and the surprises of the original cartoon. Most of the explanations are on the level of “Oh! Bluto pulls another April Fool’s trick!” Couldn’t deaf kids figure this out for themselves?Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Chaplin - The Fireman (film #21 in the Silent section of Movieflix). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Charlie plays a bungling fireman in this one, though his coworkers aren't much better. He saves the day when he saves the daughter of an insurance cheat from a burning house by litereally climbing up the side of the building, in an amazing stunt sequence. The rest of the film is slapstick aplenty, including many forms of food and drink being thrown around. A 1916 Charlie Chaplin film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Hope Is in Your Hands (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #690 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This is a standard-issue 50s promo film for the United Fund, showing all the good works it does in St. Louis, including funding a school for the deaf, providing sports as an alternative to gang violence to inner-city youth through the YWCA, funding Scout troops for the poor, providing swimming lessons to kids through the Red Cross, taking care of old folks, and helping unwed mothers to give away their babies to geeky couples. The aforesaid geeky couple provides camp value, while the rest provides a historically interesting look at social service practices during the 50s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Walk-In Double Feature #3 (Sinister Cinema). [Category: Commercial]
Sinister Cinema has had so much fun with their Drive-In Double Features that they've come out with some "walk-in" versions, which feature ephemera from ordinary sit-down movie theaters, rather than drive-ins (plus two feature films)––an idea that gets hearty blessings from me. This tape is lots of fun, what with all the dorky couples, special promotions, and warnings not to spit on the floor and such. I look forward to seeing more from this series.
Highlights:
- Nutrition Alert! As always, Buttercup Popcorn and Hollywood Candy Bars are "nutritious".
- The announcement advertising books of theater tickets as a great gift idea is as hard to read as any web page with a busy tiled background. Some things never change, I guess.
- Mr. Whipple sez don't throw "missles" at the screen or he will report such "childish activity" to the management!
- Note for future reference: It's o.k. to talk during a movie if you're a dorky teenage white couple who thinks "bears" is pronounced "bars" and who gets up and goes out to the snack bar to buy something every few minutes, no matter how annoying you are.
- Boyfriend to Girlfriend: "Old Faithful...what does that make you think of?" It evidently makes her think of ice-cold soft drinks, unfortunately for him.
- What are your problems today? Do you think life is passing you by? Are you annoyed by schmaltzy religious messages too?
- There's no smoking in this theater––but buy plenty of cigarettes at our snack bar anyway.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Alabama Jones and the Lost Topping of Doom (film #14 in the Action section of Brickfilms. Also, film #13 in the Comedy section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This very ambitious and well-made brickfilm is not only a parody of the Indiana Jones movies, but also seems to be a parody of contemporary big budget movies in general. There’s a sweeping soundtrack, beautiful graphics depicting the heroes around-the-world journeys, creatively done sets and special effects, sly in-jokes, and even a credit cookies sequence featuring photos of “outtakes.” It all adds up to a film that is quite impressive and entertaining, while still maintaining that cute, do-it-yourself brickfilmy quality.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: *****.
BBC Vote 2001 – The Verdict (film #24 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: News]
Opening credits for a BBC report on the 2001 British election results. These credits are a very well-done montage of scenes of British people with a plane that gives off colored vapor trails flying overhead. Impressive and far more creative and classy than what is usually seen on American tv.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Chevrolet Leader News, Vol. 2, No. 4 (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #301 on Prelinger Archive. Also, film #4 on Ephemeral Films CD-ROM (Voyager) (excerpt)). [Category: Industrial]
The biggest highlight of this newsreel features the Voice of Safety, which is essentially a loudspeaker mounted on top of a car, through which the driver yells at other drivers and pedestrians who break safety rules. If this isn't the biggest invitation to accidents, or, indeed, violence, I'll eat my Gallagher "STUPID!" flag. I'm sure we all wish we had one, though. A real jaw-dropper. Other silly stories include a car that tows sunbathers, an amphibious car, and a fireman's cat that slides down poles. There are also some boring stories about oil drilling and model airplanes.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Baby Pop (film #5 in the Film section of Bedazzled. Also, film #4 in the Juke Box Movies section of Bedazzled. Also, film #3 in the Scopitones section of Bedazzled. Also, film #3 in the Television section of Bedazzled. Also, film #6 in the Video section of Bedazzled). [Category: Hollywood]
A French female pop singer sings a bouncy pop song, while her backup singers sing in high-pitched, childlike voices. This is not as creepy as it sounds, since they all seem to be pretty young. But the pop singer sure can’t dance––she stands woodenly throughout most of the film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Coast Guard SPARS (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #340 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This WWII recruitment film for the Coast Guard SPARS program (the Guard’s women’s auxiliary) is full of sexist stereotypes and thus is quite campy. The film tells us that by becoming a SPAR, you take over a man’s job so he can go to sea and blast Axis submarines. The vast majority of the jobs shown take place in offices and involve typewriters, filing cabinets, and huge rolodexes. If you don’t care to work in an office, though, you could dress minor wounds in the dispensary or work in the storeroom! “No, you won’t become an admiral, but you could be the admiral’s secretary,” is an actual quote from the film. I bet that really packed ‘em in to the recruitment offices. Lots of fun and ripe for msting.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Beginning of a Skyscraper (film #5 on The Life of a City). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A bunch of construction workers work on the foundation of a skyscraper. This was back in ought-two (nineteen ought-two to you whippersnappers!) when they did darn near everything by hand. So you see lots of shovels and picks and horse-drawn wagons. It’s amazing those buildings got built back then. A very short piece of construction history. A 1902 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Beechnut Sour Stripe Gum (film #9 in the Saturday Morning 1966 section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Silly, campy commercial for Beechnut Gum featuring The Sour Stripe, a superhero character a la Captain Keds. This is quite fun and very 60s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
A Coach for Cinderella (film #529 on Open Source Movies). [Catetory: Sleaze & Outsider]
I guess they couldn’t find enough public-domain cartoons to interpret for the deaf kids––they had to pad out their line with industrial films. OK, this is basically a cartoon, but it was made by Jam Handy to advertise Chevrolets. The interpretation is rather intrusive in this one, and you get the feeling that parts of the original cartoon were cut out. Still, the concept is strange enough to make this worth watching. I love the Modernizer, of course, but comments about that will have to wait until I review the original film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Shake Hands with Danger (track #6 on Best of A/V Geeks I DVD (A/V Geeks). Also, track #8 on The Educational Archives, Volume Four: On the Job DVD (Fantoma, 2002). Also, film #4 on Sound of Centron DVD (A/V Geeks)). [Category: Industrial]
This safety film for contruction maintenance workers is very well-made and looks like it might have been effective for its audience. Various repairmen working on big contruction equipment ignore safety rules and get into various mishaps, some close calls and some gory accidents. Instead of attributing these safety violations to the vague rubric of "carelessness" like so many other films, this film actually points out some of the psychosocial factors involved, such as machismo, overconfidence, pressure to get the job done fast by supervisors, and being distracted by troubles at home. The situations are quite believable and well-acted. The accidents are rather hard to watch because the gore is very realistic and you never know in any situation whether you're going to see a close call or somebody's hand being cut off or something. The film has a catchy country music theme song that will make you smile.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Highway Hearing (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #668 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
Another 50s film about highways. This one shows a fictional town called Connorsville, whose citizens are all up in arms because the proposed superhighway will bypass the town. But our friendly highway engineer convinces them that the bypass will make their town better rather than worse, and soon everybody is smiling about it at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. This film was obviously made to convince small-town folk just like the ones in the film to let their towns be bypassed by the Interstate. Whether it actually helped or hurt them can be seen today. One would hope that they weren’t as easily swayed back then as the people in this film, but considering today’s results, I doubt it. This does have historical interest as a document of the arguments that got the Interstate built.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
About a Door (film #1 in the Action section of Brickfilms. Also, film #11 in the Comedy section of Brickfilms. Also, film #6 in the Drama section of Brickfilms. Also, film #1 in the Documentary section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
A strange door appears in Legoland, with a huge sign ordering people not to open it. This, of course, causes insatiable curiosity in the Lego guys about what’s behind it. Curiosity leads to controversy and controversy leads to violence. This is an interesting premise, but I found the ending to be somewhat unsatisfying, because it leaves things unresolved. Still, this is an ambitious concept for a brickfilm, and the story moves along well. I also liked the wide variety of characters that were created for it. Obviously a lot of care went into this, and it shows.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
BBC News Report (film #22 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: News]
A BBC news report from 1992 reporting changes in the Cabinet after an unexpected upset in the elections. This has some historical value, but it’s pretty dull.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Chevrolet Leader News, Vol. 2, No. 3 (film #300 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
Another silly newsreelette from Chevrolet. This one features bathing beauties diving into a pool from the top of a Chevrolet (these Leader News segments are always mercifully free of safety concerns), a man who kept his 1913 Chevrolet in mint condition being rewarded by being given a new Chevrolet, a 7-foot tall man (but no woodpecker) who inspects the tops of Chevrolets coming off the assembly line, smelt fishing by driving your Chevrolet into the water and allowing the fish to swim into it (so that’s where that fishy smell in some people’s cars comes from!), and a really silly dog tea party, with the guests, as usual, being hauled to the party in the trunks of cars. Is there no end to animal abuse in the name of increased Chevrolet sales??Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Desert Empire (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #620 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Hollywood]
This Universal travelogue (featuring the ultra-cool giant-letters-going-around-the-earth Universal Pictures logo) tells us everything we'd ever want to, and never want to, know about Utah, including way too much information about copper mining. The narration is some of the most bombastic I've ever encountered, making this film extremely mstable. Still, I must admit that this is well-made; the visuals are striking for the most part and the narration, bombastic as it is, keeps things moving. So despite its laughable moments, this is one of the better travelogues I've seen––it even makes me want to visit Utah. And since it was made in the 30s, it has a great deal of historical interest to offer as well.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Ain’t That Just Like Me (film #6 in the Film section of Bedazzled. Also, film #5 in the Juke Box Movies section of Bedazzled. Also, film #4 in the Scopitones section of Bedazzled. Also, film #9 in the Video section of Bedazzled). [Category: Hollywood]
Very 60s Scopitone featuring The Condors singing “Ain’t That Just Like Me.” If you want go-go dancing, this is your film––the lead singers enter the stage by walking between the legs of gyrating dancers! If you can get past the female objectification, this is a lot of fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
BBC News and Newsreel (film #16 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Opening credits for a 1954 BBC newscast. This has cool rotating letters, sort of like the old Universal Pictures logo. A great little relic from early British tv.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Becky Sharp Trailer (film #10 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Commercial]
This trailer has quite a bit of historical value, as Becky Sharp was the first feature film made in Technicolor. The trailer trumpets this, showing scenes in both black-and-white and color, so audiences would be wowed by the difference. Other than that, it’s a standard trailer for a period drama.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ***.
Cinderella (film #533 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This is a sign-language version of Betty Boop’s Poor Cinderella. The interpretation is frequent and intense here, and I can’t help but think that perhaps the assumption here was that deaf kids are not familiar with the story of Cinderella, and that this interpreted cartoon was meant to rectify that situation. Considering that Cinderella is played by Betty Boop in this cartoon, that’ll leave ‘em with a pretty bizarre idea of Cinderella, sort of like the image I had when I was a kid of Scrooge being Mr. Magoo.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Heritage of Splendor (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #668 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
Ronald Reagan narrates this 60s anti-littering film, sponsored by a big oil company, in which he tells us that big corporations are in no way responsible for pollution, but our public lands are a mess because individual citizens are litterbugs. This is pretty much what you’d expect from this kind of film, with a mildly disturbing scene of a child dressed in a freaky-looking litterbug costume locked in a cardboard cage. Eventually, Reagan threatens to close all the National Parks if we don’t clean up our acts and stop acting like pigs already. Tell that to Exxon, Ronnie, though I will make an effort to keep a litterbag in my car.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Body Care and Grooming (MST3K Episode #510: The Painted Hills. Also, film #3 on Disc #4 of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 2 DVD (Rhino, 2003). Also in the Epehemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #227 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]
This college-level health film is not only about the importance of good personal hygiene, but also stresses the "appropriateness" of dress, meaning dress like everybody else. A great example of 50's conformity at it's most insistent. Hygiene films are almost always fun––there's something so earnest and simple about them. One wonders what its college level audience thought about being talked down to so much. The msting is great––I especially like the sound effects they add to the scene of dead skin cells shedding.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Msting: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Accident (film #1 in the Action section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
A Lego guy takes a spill from his motorcycle and gets carted off by the rescue squad. Told ya those things are dangerous!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
BBC News Late Headlines (film #21 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: News]
A late-night update from 1979 on the fragile medical condition of Yugoslavia’s President Tito, given by a British newscaster who doesn’t look too chipper himself. This has historical value, mainly.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Auto von Heute (film #292 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This is a 60s commercial for the Trabant, an East German car that was even more hated than the Edsel, but because they were the only car available, millions were sold. The commercial is long, with a kitschy 50s feel, though it’s a lot more campy if you know the story behind the Trabant. Still, this is quite fun, even if you can’t understand German.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Chevrolet Leader News, Vol. 2, No. 2 (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #299 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
Another lightweight episode in the Chevrolet newsreel series. This one features a town that named itself after Chevrolets, an alligator wrestler who totes his opponent in his Chevrolet (I bet the upholstery in the back seat didn’t last long), cops who practice appearing in gangster movies by shooting out of their Chevrolets, a large boat tied to the top of a Chevrolet (I guess boat trailers hadn’t been invented yet), a humorous spot about parking meters (which seem to be a new idea, giving this some historical value), and some silly stunts at a water carnival, including an extremely dangerous-looking greased-pole contest. Silly and mildly historically interesting.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Chaplin - Mabel's Busy Day (film #35 in the Silent section of Movieflix (www.movieflix.com)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
The Little Tramp gets into a tussle with a feisty female hotdog vendor at a racetrack. This eventually escalates into a brawl involving most of the spectators at the race. This one is kind of hard to follow, but some of the physical schtick is amusing.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Les Babouches a Buddha (film #5 on Scopitones). [Category: Hollywood]
Silly French Scopitone in which a woman in a belly-dancing costume sings in French to a man dressed like a sheik about, I think, his gold Buddha slippers. This has a lot of that early 60s “sexy” feel, as well as poor sound synchronization. Add a dog who tries to steal the slippers, and you’ve got a mildly surreal experience.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Adventurer (film #48 on Feature Films (in “Charlie Chaplin Festival”)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Charlie plays an escaped convict who gets in good with a rich family by saving them from drowning. This is a very funny Chaplin outing, with especially brilliant chase scenes. Chaplin really knew how to defy expectations when being chased, and I’ve not seen funnier chase antics outside of a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Highly recommended––this is one of the silent comedies to watch when you really want to laugh. A 1917 Charlie Chaplin film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: *****.
Baby Doll Trailer (film #9 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Commercial]
Lurid but well-made trailer for a movie that looks lurid, but well-made. Carol Baker plays Southern jailbait in a movie that looks to have every Southern cliché in the book. Still, the trailer makes it look reasonably intelligent, as well as being a dark little piece of filmmaking in and of itself.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Christmas Comes But Once a Year (film #119 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Sign language version of the classic old cartoon in which Grampy cheers up some orphans on Christmas by making all kinds of clever toys from kitchen junk. This is a really fun cartoon, and the sign language interpretation is pretty straightforward and not too intrusive, so the deaf kids should enjoy this one.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Help Them Stay Safe (film #19 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
Straightforward British PSA from the 70s urging people to fix loose carpets in the homes of elderly relatives, lest they have a nasty fall. Since I have an elderly mother, this hits close to home. All I can say is, “Do it.”Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
The Adventures of Daddy McGregor (film #675 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Silly horror movie about a guy who torments bunnies, animated with pencil drawings of stick figures on typing paper. Despite production values giving new meaning to the term “low budget,” this is genuinely amusing and fun. In fact, the amateurishness of it makes it more fun somehow. Animal rights activists will be happy to know that no bunnies were harmed in the making of the film, and that PETA plays a prominent role. Animal haters will enjoy the scene with the guilloutine.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
BBC Nine O’Clock News #3 (film #11 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: News]
Another opening credits sequence and first few seconds of the BBC Nine O’Clock News, this time from 1978. We get to see footage of a prime minister who lost the majority trying to patch things up, Margaret Thatcher commenting on it all, and, for the first time, a female newscaster. For its length, this packs in lots of late 70s Britain.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Campaign in Europe (film #2 on Side A of Disc #2 of WWII: The Ultimate Collection DVD Boxed Set (Brentwood Home Video, 2004)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This WWII German propaganda film documents the German takeover of Poland in September of 1939. The Germans first portray themselves as victims of “Polish Terror,” stating that Germans in the city of Danzig were treated badly by the Poles. Although the goals of the invasion were first explained to be the “liberation” of limited areas of northwestern Poland, once it gets going, all concepts of limitation are forgotten, and we see the German war machine relentlessly blast through the entire country, decimating the Polish military in a matter of weeks. This is all portrayed in an extremely stark, deadpan style, with occasional narration in British English. This film gives you a good idea of what the Germans were saying in their propaganda, as well as showing how relentless the German war machine was in its early days.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ***.
Chevrolet Leader News, Vol. 2, No. 1 (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #298 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
More silly “news” from Chevrolet, this time featuring the latest swimsuit fashions, ski-jumping, a ferryboat run with a Chevrolet engine, more animal abuse as hunting dogs are shoved into a car trunk, a traffic school with kindergarteners in kiddie cars a la Tomorrow’s Drivers, a Chevrolet pulling a glider made by a high school student, and a chimp driving a car, in what has to be revenge for all the animal abuse that’s gone on in this series so far. This one is even more lightweight than the others so far, which is saying something.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Battle of Mafeking (film #26 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]
An old-fashioned battle ensues, involving lines of soldiers running towards each other, swords hacking, and the cavalry galloping through the foreground. You won’t see this kind of battle footage again. Still looks pretty violent, though. A 1900 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Babette Goes to War Trailer (film #8 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Sexist trailer for a 60s Brigitte Bardot comedy. It seems that this was made to introduce Bardot to a wider audience of women as well as men, but with lines like calling Bardot the “cuddliest doll in the world,” or calling the women of the audience “75 million American girls,” I wouldn’t bet on it.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Christmas Circus (film #166 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This sign-language version of a cartoon is more straightforwardly done and less weird, even though it also uses the box on top of a character effect. The cartoon itself is mildly strange, though, featuring animals who give a circus on Christmas. The way the interpretation is done seems to make more sense here, or maybe I’m just getting used to these interpreted cartoons.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Hard Shoulder (film #18 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
Straightforward British PSA warning motorists not to stop on the shoulders of superhighways unless it’s an emergency. The couple that stops to argue over the map is mildly ditzy, but mostly this is ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Air Enforcement (film #14 in the Action section of Brickfilms. Also, film #13 in the Comedy section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Simple object lesson on the dangers of speeding when “Speed Limit [is] Enforced by Aircraft.” An unpretentious little film that made me smile.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
BBC Nine O’Clock News #2 (film #10 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: News]
Another standard opening credits sequence and first few seconds of a BBC Nine O’Clock News broadcast, this time from 1974. This one is a bit more interesting, as it includes the evening headlines, giving you a snapshot of events in Britain in 1974.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Big Lift (film #1 on Side B of Disc #6 of War Classics DVD Megapack). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Montgomery Clift and Paul Douglas star in this fictionalized account of two air force men involved in the Berlin Airlift, when the U. S. Air Force flew in food and supplies to Berlin after the Soviets blockaded the city. What is unusual about this film is that all the other American military personnel in it were played by the real GIs involved in the airlift. The story is personal, however. It involves the two main characters each getting involved with women in Berlin. Clift almost gets suckered into marrying a woman who is trying to get into the U.S. so she can hook up with her German lover there, while Douglas, who is anti-German after having had traumatic experiences as a P.O.W. during the war, becomes more sympathetic to them after teaching a German woman what democracy is all about. The film is intelligently made for the most part, showing the complexities of the situation in post-war Berlin. It shows that the roots of many of the German’s corrupt and unethical behaviors come from post-war social disintegration, the need to survive, and the corrupt values they were taught as children in Hitler’s Germany, yet it also doesn’t let them off the hook for them. It also shows that a desire for revenge, though understandable, can nevertheless have painful consequences if it is acted out, in a disturbing scene where Douglas beats up a German man who may have been a prison camp guard who tormented him (the film doesn’t totally tell us whether the man actually was the guard, or whether he just looked like him––this makes the scene far more disturbing), then discovers that he feels worse instead of better from doing that. A few other scenes are a bit farfetched and pat, especially the scene where Douglas’ girlfriend finally “gets” the Constitution, but they are outnumbered by the more intelligent sequences. An interesting, if Hollywoodized, portrait of post-war Berlin, and the American military’s experience of it.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Chevrolet Leader News, Vol. 1, No. 3 (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #297 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
More silly “news lite” from Chevrolet, including the wonder of self-mixing cement trucks; the controversy over which house in St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest house in America; more lame yux about old car ads; a bizarre-looking experimental car that looks like it may be Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion Car (or a rip-off thereof); jewelry inspired by auto design; a lame joke about car interiors that block out noise; military vehicles made by Chevrolet; and, in yet more animal abuse news, using a live Chihuahua as a hood ornament. The most interesting segments are the experimental car and the one just mentioned about the poor dog who is not only forced to be the first smashed in a crash, but must wear dorky-looking glasses as well. PETA, where were you back in the 30s?Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Bathing at Atlantic City (film #15 on America at Work, America at Leisure. Also, in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Category: Early Film & TV]
It looks like back in ought-one, the beaches were just as crowded as they are today. But the people wore a lot more clothes in the water. A slice of turn-of-the-century life. A 1901 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Babes in Toyland Trailer (film #7 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Commercial]
Trailer for the 30s version of Babes in Toyland, starring Laurel & Hardy. This is quite fun to watch, as the graphic design is wonderful and some of the most visually striking moments are chosen to show, particularly the stop-motion animated wooden soldiers. A great relic from the 30s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Chocolate Princess (film #69 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Sign language version of a 70s cartoon with an anti-racist message, narrated by Bill Cosby. In this one, they experiment not just with having the interpreter break in at various points, but with inserting boxes on top of the characters with interpreters, in costume, playing the various roles in sign language. This gives the film a weirdness the other interpreted cartoons don’t have. The Chocolate King looks especially strange and surreal. It’s also curious that although the cartoon has an anti-racist message, the girl playing the sign-language “Chocolate Princess” is white, as are all the other sign-language actors. They deserve points for getting creative here, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Guide Dogs for the Blind (film #1827 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
Newsreel clip from the 50s about the training of guide dogs for the blind. Pretty straightforward, with some nice images of the dogs.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
After the Taping Was Over (film #2 in the Lucy’s Backstage Battles section of TVParty). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Clip from an episode of “The Lucy Show” in which Joan Crawford guest-starred. In the text of the page, they mention that Crawford sounded drunk in this performance, and they’re right, though I might not have noticed it if I hadn’t been alerted beforehand. The one who really made me laugh, though, was Gale Gordon. I’m becoming increasingly convinced that he was the real comic talent in “The Lucy Show.”Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
BBC Nine O’Clock News #1 (film #9 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: News]
Opening credits and the first few seconds of a BBC Nine O’Clock newscast from 1973. Straightforward, with some historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
The Battle of San Pietro (film #2 on Side B of Disc #12 of War Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This film documents the Battle of San Pietro, one of the most bloody and difficult of the Italian campaign in WWII. For the most part this is rather slow-moving and dull. However, there are some striking images of bodies being put into body bags, and multiple graves being dug, giving you an idea of just how bloody this battle was. And the ending, in which we see the townspeople of San Pietro emerging from the caves where they had been hiding, is fairly moving. Mostly, though, this is straightforward, and it could have had at least 15 minutes of it edited out without really losing anything. Unless they were trying to show us the boredom of combat, in which case they succeeded.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Atlantic Imperial Gasoline Promo Film (film #6 on Sell Sell Sell DVD (A/V Geeks)). [Category: Industrial]
This clip from a film for gas station owners is pretty darn strange. Similar to The Battery, it combines female objectification with bizarre attempts at humor. The most jaw-dropping moment is a scene where an obviously insane woman wheels out a clean carburetor and treats it like a baby, chewing the scenery in the process. Other highlights include stock footage of Castro and Kruschev dubbed to sing the praises of Atlantic Imperial gas, and supposed “hidden camera” footage of various weirdos who pull into gas stations. I wish they had included the whole film––it looks like a winner.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Bass Fishing (film #14 on America at Work, America at Leisure. Also, in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A nattily-dressed turn-of-the-century dude trolls for bass in a mountain stream. Eventually, he catches a nice specimen. But you should have seen the one he caught when the camera stopped rolling. A 1903 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman Trailer (film #6 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Commercial]
Campy trailer for one of the all-time great bad movies. No real surprises here, but you do get to enjoy a scene with the incredibly lame giant hand effect. And the movie is so much fun that the trailer can’t help but be.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Child Bride Trailer (film #33 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Lurid trailer for the cheapie exploitation film about the not-so-charming redneck practice of marryin’ ‘em off young (like, about 9 years old, from the looks of the girl in this film). This actually looks like a pretty disturbing film. I’ve not seen it, but my experience with these kinds of films is that they’re a lot less offensive than their advertising makes them out to be. If that’s true of this film, then this trailer did a pretty darn good job of making it look creepy and awful. Let’s hope it is just good advertising.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Give Yourself the Green Light (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #602 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This is another 50s film about the problem of bad roads. Since it was sponsored by General Motors, the solution, of course, is to build lots and lots more roads. Huge superhighways! Huge parking lots! Everywhere! This was supposed to solve the problem of traffic jams. Well, all the roads got built and the amount of cars seemed to expand to fit them. This is a great film for learning how we got where we are today in terms of huge freeways and parking lots everywhere. It would take building all the roads encouraged in this film before people would start to notice any downside to paving paradise and putting up a parking lot.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet #6 (film #6 on Side B of Disc #1 of TV Favorites DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Ozzie and Harriet discover a little ghost town in the middle of nowhere, and they meet an old-timer who tells them the town used to be named Harrietsville, after a woman named Harriet. Harriet thinks it might be her great aunt, and so she convinces Ozzie to spend the night there. In the middle of the night, Rick and about 100 of his college student friends show up abruptly for no apparent reason. Of course, this bizarre plot is really just a setup for Rick to sing a couple of country songs. It’s interesting how far the writers fell backward in order to shoehorn Rick’s performances into the shows, but it’s nothing later sitcoms wouldn’t do to accommodate celebrity guest stars.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
BBC News and Campaign Report #1 (film #19 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: News]
Standard-issue opening credits for a BBC political campaign news report. This comes live from a newsroom, a type you don’t often see anymore. Other than that, this is ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Battle of Midway (film #1 on Side A of Disc #4 of WWII: The Ultimate Collection DVD Boxed Set (Brentwood Home Video, 2004)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This battle film was obviously made for the home front, as a propaganda piece. It’s in color, for one thing, which was unusual for the period. And it features the voice over of a little old lady, who comments on the soldiers periodically, mainly telling us how she remembered them as little boys. These sequences are pretty campy today. Other narration is kept to a minimum, so we can take in the striking images of death and destruction. You really get a feel in this film that the cameraman was in mortal danger. The ending is a great piece of propaganda, featuring title cards that tell battle statistics, which are then painted over by a hand wielding a huge paintbrush dripping with red paint. This film is quite fun to watch, and is so well made you might find yourself getting caught up in the fighting spirit after awhile.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Chevrolet Leader News, Vol. 1, No. 2 (film #296 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
More breezy, silly “news” from Chevrolet. This one would never fly today, as it contains such safety violations as driving a car on railroad tracks (on the Key West bridge, yet!), stuffing a Shetland pony into your back seat, and driving while about 50 bathing beauties are sitting all over your car. The combination bus/streetcar is pretty cool, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Bulleteers (film #15 on Feature Films). [Category: Hollywood]
Superman battles a gang that has a bullet-shaped rocket/car in this Fleischer toon. As usual, this has great art deco styling, and Lois Lane stupidly gets overinvolved in the situation, requiring rescue from Superman. The highlight is the scene where Superman mounts the rocket/car and opens it up like a can opener to rescue Lois. Lois, of course, gets the scoop, making me wonder how Clark Kent manages to keep his job.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
ABC Network 1971 (film #5 in the Crazy Commercials and Unforgettable Jingles section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Mellow 70s “This Is the Place to Be” promo for ABCs 1971 prime time lineup. Inoffensive.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Cabin in the Sky Trailer (film #26 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Straightforward trailer for the all-black cast big-budget Hollywood musical. The graphic design of this has that wonderful 40s modernist look. Of interest is the fact that the two female stars, Ethel Waters and Lena Horne, are featured in the trailer, while the male star, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson is not mentioned at all!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Face of Youth (film #485 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This stark 50s mental health film shows us the role public health nurses have in safeguarding the mental health of a community’s children. Two boys in particular are featured, Alex, a class clown and troublemaker, and Ralph, a meek, anxious, people-pleasing kid. Alex’s problems are easily solved by putting him on the school safety patrol, where, supposedly, his desire for attention is channeled in a healthy direction. Ralph’s problems turn out to be more difficult, so he is referred to the local Child Guidance Center, where, after reassuring his mother that it is not “a place for crazy kids,” he is given play therapy. Pretty soon, he gets real angry, and this is supposed to be an improvement somehow, though this is hard to buy from today’s perspective. This film is similar to Angry Boy in subject matter, but in style it is stark and depressing. Although competent soundtrack music appears intermittently, many scenes are inexplicably silent. And the narrator sounds like he’s one of the walking dead. The boy who plays Ralph does a good job of looking genuinely anguished, and his pain seems understandable in the bleak black-and-white world he has to live in, a world where darn near everybody looks depressed. And whereas the therapist in Angry Boy was genuinely warm and caring, the therapist in this film seems wooden, as if he memorized his interventions from a book somewhere. The ending is disturbing, since although Ralph has plenty to be angry about, and obviously needs to move in the direction of more assertiveness, violent acting out will hardly make things better for him. The narrator tells us that limits were set on Ralph’s acting-out behaviors, but we are not shown this, and frankly, the therapist seems so bland that it’s hard to believe he could set and enforce any limits with an acting-out child. Overall, this is a dark, depressing, yet interesting film that has lots of footage to mine for video projects, especially if you’re making a video about depression.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet #5 (film #5 on Side B of Disc #1 of TV Favorites DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This mildly silly episode of “Ozzie & Harriet” features Skip Young, the TV Turkeys guy, as lazy Wally, Rick’s college fraternity brother, and his silly study system, which involves sunglasses, earmuffs, sardines, and standing on your head. Unfortunately, the other guys in the fraternity think Wally’s sudden burst of good grades has more to do with his job in the Administration Office, where the tests are stored, than his “never-fail” study system, so Rick helps him to prove himself honest by babysitting him before a big test. Silly, slightly surreal sitcom fare.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
BBC News #3 (film #22 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: News]
Well, it’s just after 6 o’clock, at time for the penguin on top of your television set––uh, I mean time for a short clip from the BBC announcing the evening news, with a world map graphic. Brief, standard, and very British.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Attack! The Battle for New Britain (film #2 on Side A of Disc #9 of War Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This WWII film documents the invasion of New Britain, an island off the coast of New Guinea. It’s told from the soldier’s point of view, covering training, preparations for attack, landing on the beaches, and the gritty reality of combat. This soldier’s-eye-view of things makes the film a lot more interesting than it might be. Nothing about this difficult battle was prettied up for the cameras, and we get to see such harsh realities as Gis slogging all equipment through the muddy, insect-ridden jungle, hacking away undergrowth with every step; a field of Japanese corpses; doctors doing surgery in field hospitals under the most primitive of conditions (and one of the hospitals gets bombed by the Japanese); and soldiers burying their dead comrades in the jungle. It doesn’t even end with victory, which is unusual for this kind of film. The one unfortunate aspect of the film is the way the New Guinea natives were portrayed, despite the fact that they were on our side and helped the military a great deal with preparations for the attack. For this, they get called such respectful names as “Fuzzy Wuzzies” and “Blogs”. Other than that, this is an interesting, realistic look at what the soldiers of WWII had to go through.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Chevrolet Leader News, Vol. 1, No. 1 (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #295 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
Newsreel stories are used to sell Chevrolets. That’s right, every story in this newsreel, from a giant dam-building project to ladies’ hairstyles is somehow lamely tied to Chevrolets. There are a lot of these to come, folks, though, so let’s get going. This one features the aforementioned dam project, ice-boat racing, a new kind of gas gauge, the latest hairstyles for upper class ladies, and a little girl stuffing a dog into a glove compartment, in what is probably the silliest and strangest “story.” These are all breezily and bombastically narrated, so the thing really moves. Mildly amusing.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Andy Taylor (Griffith), His Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) (film #2 in the Mayberry RIP section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
The highlight of this clip is a patently ridiculous commercial for Sanka coffee featuring Andy trying to convince Opie that it’s just the thing to feed his parakeet. When Opie insists that parakeets don’t drink coffee, Andy smiles wryly and says, “The sponsor don’t know that!” This is part of a larger clip that includes the last couple of minutes of "The Andy Griffith Show," the closing credits, and a brief promo for “Angel” as well. A great slice of tv-watching life during the early 60s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Bored Cuckoo (film #532 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This is a sign-language interpreted version of one of those classic old Warner Bros. toons that feature characters from books coming alive at night and engaging in various antics. These toons were usually an excuse to make lots of topical gags, and they are essentially plotless. Nevertheless, the interpreter pops in about every three seconds and tries to explain what is going on, even though most of the gags are visual. Some of the explanations are inexplicable, such as announcing a caricature of Greta Garbo with huge feet doing a soft shoe on the cover of So Big as, “Oh! Here is a very bad dancer!” While others are merely incredibly obvious, such as announcing and slowly finger-spelling the name of Rip Van Winkle, when in the cartoon, the large legend “RIP VAN WINKLE” appears above his head. OK, I suppose the intended audience of deaf children will probably not get the topical references (hearing children don’t, either), and maybe a lot of them can’t read. But was it really necessary to explain the Thin Man gag? Of course, the idea of even attempting to sign-language interpret this particular cartoon is strange, and its even stranger in execution, making this an interesting piece of ephemera all the same.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Bargain Day, 14th Street, New York (film #4 on The Life of a City). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Huge crowds mill around a dime store. Wonder what toy their children just had to have for Christmas? Teddy bears, perhaps? A 1905 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Vintage Intermission Cartoon (track #3 on Weird Cartoons (Special Edition) (Rhino, 1987)). [Category: Commercial]
A classic animated intermission concession stand promo featuring the Bon-Bon chefs. A cute extra on Rhino's Weird Cartoons collection.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs (film #4 on WWII Cartoons, Vol. 1 (The Authentic History Center)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This Warner Brothers toon is filled with outrageous African-American stereotypes, hot jazz, and wartime references. Almost as outrageous as the stereotypes are wildly exaggerated rubbery moves of the characters. If you can get past the stereotypes (which are pretty awful), this is a fun toon. But I’m not necessarily sure that you should get past the stereotypes. It is, though, a great piece of history, revealing both good and bad sides of WWII-era popular culture.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Empty Life (film #479 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
This 50s film claims to be about boredom, but it’s actually about the depression, angst, and neuroticism that lay just under the surface of many middle class families. Hugh Marriott is bored with life, but actually he’s angry and depressed because his wife disapproves of him doing the kind of work he loves, and he’s too much of a wimp to go against her wishes. He’s the main case study here, but other “bored” people in his neighborhood are mentioned as well, including a neighbor woman who’s an alcoholic, a local grocer who’s a sex addict, and a teen hot rodder who’s headed down the road towards being a grim traffic statistic. The film is bizarre and jaw-dropping in some moments, and quite realistic and sensitive in others, especially the portrayal of how Hugh’s “boredom” affects his son, leading to problems for the boy. The narration is relentless and deadpan, and the soundtrack music is wailing, angst-ridden jazz, giving the film a dark, heavy feel that resembles the leaden pain of depression. This combination of good and bad qualities results in a film that is hard to evaluate one way or the other, being both campy and weird, and realistic and sensitive by turns. At any rate, it’s far from boring. Hope they eventually post its sequel: Boredom II: The Search for Zest (and if you think I’m making that up, watch the movie).Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
The Selling Wizard (MST3K Episode #603: The Dead Talk Back). [Category: Industrial]
Cheesecake is used to sell display freezers to grocers. A bizarrely-dressed but silent woman (Crow once calls her "the pizza domanitrix") points out the outstanding features of Anheuser-Busch display freezers gameshow hostess-style, while a male narrator delivers the sales pitch. Like most advertising of this type, this film is extremely sexist and objectifying. Both the woman and the freezer are referred to as "The Selling Wizard" and every effort is made to get the assumed male audiences to see them as interchangeable. Appalling, and dull to boot. The msting makes it bearable, though, especially Tom Servo's falling head over heels for the pitch: "O.K., I wanna buy it now!! Just name your price, I'll take it, I'll take it!!"Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Msting: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet #3 (film #3 on Side B of Disc #1 of TV Favorites DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This episode is a supremely silly tale involving a bunch of really ugly ashtrays a neighbor lady made (said neighbor played by Mary Jane Croft, who later went on to be Lucy’s best friend) and a shotgun, and what fun is had when one meets the other. This is a lot weirder and thus more enjoyable than the usual “Ozzie and Harriet” fare, and thus is recommended. I would venture to say that its “shotgun approach” to the criticism of really bad art has some merit.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
BBC News #2 (film #21 in the News section of TVArk). [Category: News]
Lemon curry?Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *** (mainly due to Python influence). Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Atom in the Hospital (film #131 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This early 60s film shows various forms of medical research and treatment using nuclear radiation. It’s pretty straightforward for the most part, with some rather striking images of patients being hooked up to various kinds of huge machines. It does provide us with a look at the state of the art of nuclear medicine in the early 60s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Chevrolet Advertising Rings the Bell (film #294 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
No, really, it does! Disembodied hands spring out of Chevrolet print ads and ring doorbells! It’s true, I swear! This film with a missing soundtrack blows the lid off of this whole conspiracy! And who’s responsible, you may wonder? Why it’s Chevrolet Man, a robot-like apparition built of wire and bits of advertising ephemera! He places an evil curse upon all ads for the 1951 Chevrolet, and suddenly billboards start walking around! Print ads show up on people’s doorsteps and demand to be taken in and made members of the family! People become mesmerized by their tv sets! And here’s the really scary part of it: the 1951 Chevrolet was not actually released until December of 2000! Take heed everyone! Lock up your children!! They’re here already!! YOU’RE NEXT!!! [Ed. Note: Sorry about that outburst. The author has been taken away for reeducation and treatment. You may now return to your regularly-scheduled Chevrolet advertising.]Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
The Angry Movie (film #2 on Angry Night DVD (A/V Geeks)). [Category: Educational]
This late-70s Coronet film is a weird pseudo-psychedelic animated romp through the mind of an angry child, including such disturbing content as death wishes against parents and moments of depersonalization. In the end, the kid suddenly gets over it when the kid who originally made him angry gives him a telephone call. No discussion of this disturbing journey through the dark recesses of a child’s mind is given. My, we’ve come a long way from such Coronet fare as Control Your Emotions or Act Your Age. This thing leaves you wondering what the justification was for actually showing it to children. Granted, it portrays thoughts that commonly occur to angry children, but without any sort of context or discussion, it’s more frightening than illuminating. A weird little film that provides you with more than you probably want to know about the mind of a child.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **** (though really you don’t know whether to laugh or cry). Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Axel and His Dog (film #3 in the Twin Cities’ Local Kid Shows section of TVParty). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Clip from an early local kid show in the Twin Cities area, featuring goony Norwegian Axel, his perpetually offscreen dog, and his magic spyglass made of two paper towel tubes. Here, he’s obviously winging it. This sort of thing is representative of early local kid shows, making this a great historical relic, as well as a lot of fun to watch.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Andy Griffith Show (film #28 in the 1964 section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Commercial for Post Toasties where Barney gets Andy to exercise so he can steal his Post Toasties. Mildly amusing and quite nostalgic.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Blonde Pick Up (film #17 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Campy, lurid trailer for the exploitation cheapie Blonde Pick Up, aka Racket Girls (msties, take note!). Lots of great over-the-top ad lines, plus a scene featuring Timothy Farrell, always a sign of high-quality cinema! Lots of fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Desert Demons (film #25 in the Documentary section of Movieflix (www.movieflix.com)). [Category: Hollywood]
Here we see an ant in a life-or-death struggle with a wolf! Seriously, it's this kind of nature documentary that the Pythons were making fun of. With the exception of a few very brief shots of owls and turtles, this is all about desert animals killing other desert animals. I guess that's how they packed 'em into the theaters during the 1930s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
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Better Reading
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