Abandoned Hospital at Night (film #1 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

A film crew snuck into an abandoned hospital in the middle of the night and filmed what they saw. Unfortunately, the only lighting they provided was a flashlight. And they are non-English speakers, so I couldn’t understand what they were saying to each other, even when you could hear their voices over the roar of a nearby superhighway. They were obviously not the first to explore this ruin, as practically every available surface you can see in the round beam of the flashlight is covered with graffiti. Still, there are a few interesting images to be found in the murk. This would have been a lot better if the filmmakers had provided a little more light.

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

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Communication: A Film Lesson in General Science (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #358 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]

This early, silent educational film from the 20s shows us various forms of communication technology and how they work. It starts with a simple electric bell and goes on to cover the telegraph, the telephone, and radio. This is actually quite well done and interesting. The visual images have a striking vintage look and the explanations are clear and understandable. I learned some things I didn’t know about how these technologies work. This would also make a good film for video artists to mine footage from. And there is a slight irony in watching a silent film try to explain how sound waves are carried.

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

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Sleaze & Outsider Top Sources


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News Top Sources


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Hollywood Top Sources


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Best Sources for Film Ephemera by Category


Here's a list for each category of what I have found to be the most extensive sources for finding film ephemera. These have been determined by numbers only, with the sources that have the most ephemera being listed as the best in their categories. First, I will provide a list of definitions for the source types I will be listing:

  • "Best Source" means the single source that has the most ephemera in its category.
  • "Best Archive Collection" refers to a collection of online archives hosted at a single site.
  • "Best Budget DVD" refers to single DVDs that are budget-priced, such as those that can be ordered from shipping and handling only sites such as Planet DVD Now, or DVDs from dollar stores or dollar bins in retail stores.
  • "Best Budget DVD Series" refers to a series of budget DVDs that are sold seperately.
  • "Best Budget DVD Set" refers to multi-disc DVD sets that are budget priced, such as the DVD Megapacks.
  • "Best Budget DVD Set Series" refers to a series of multi-disc DVD sets that are budget priced.
  • "Best CD-ROM" refers to computer multimedia CD-ROMs. Most of these will be out of print, as DVD seems to have eclipsed CD-ROMs.
  • "Best CD-ROM Series" refers to a series of CD-ROMs, sold seperately.
  • "Best Downloading Archive" refers to online archives that allow downloading of movies.
  • "Best DVD" refers to single, regular-priced DVD where the focus is on ephemera.
  • "Best DVD Extras" refers to DVDs that focus on other things (such as feature films) but which have ephemera on them as extras.
  • "Best DVD Series" refers to a series of DVDs, sold seperately.
  • "Best DVD Series Extras" refers to a series of DVDs, sold separately, that have film ephemera as extras.
  • "Best DVD Set" refers to regular-priced multi-disc DVD sets.
  • "Best DVD Set Series" refers to a series of multi-disc DVD sets.
  • "Best DVD Set Series Extras" refers to a series of multi-disc DVD sets that focus on other things (such as feature films) but which have ephemera on them as extras.
  • "Best TV Show" refers to TV shows that show epehemra, which may only be available through tape trades.
  • "Best VCD" refers to video CDs (VCDs).
  • "Best VHS Tape" refers to single VHS tapes that focus on ephemera.
  • "Best VHS Tape Extras" refers to VHS tapes that focus on other things (such as feature films) but which have epehemra on them as extras.
  • "Best VHS Tape Series" refers to a series of VHS tapes, sold seperately.
  • "Best VHS Tape Set" refers to VHS tape boxed sets.
  • "Best VHS Tape Set Series" refers to a series of VHS tape boxed sets.
  • "Best Video Game Easter Eggs" refers to video game software for console gaming units that have ephemera on them as easter eggs.
  • "Best Viewing Archive" refers to online archives that have streaming video only, without allowing for downloads. Archives that have both streaming and downloadable movies will be classified as downloading archives.
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Democrats Cheer (film #153 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: News]

Newsreel footage from the 1936 Democratic National Convention, featuring a speaker praising FDR and citing religion as justification for his policies. This is typical political speech-making, but it does have historical value. And lots of democrats cheer, so the title is accurate.

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

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B-29s Rule Jap Skies (film #80 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Newsreel from WWII reporting successful bombing raids on Japan by US B-29s. This has some scenes of great nose art on the planes. Also included are stories about the bombing of Manila, an incredibly dangerous-looking device designed to allow airplanes in flight to pick up soldiers from the ground, a blizzard in Canada, and the Green Bay Packers winning the National Championship. A fairly interesting slice of life from the war years.

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

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The Electrician (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #479 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

Another chapter in the “Your Life’s Work” series, this vocational guidance film profiles the different kinds of careers in the electrical industry. This is pretty straightforward and ordinary, but it does have lots of interesting visuals of various electrical devices, guys repairing different kinds of machinery, and some cool neon signs. The narration is dull, but the visuals hold interest and provide a historically interesting look at electrical work and machinery in the 1940s.

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

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Dewar's It's Scotch (film #18 on The Movies Begin, Volume Three: Experimentation and Discovery (Kino Video, 1994)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

The narrator on The Movies Begin says this was the first advertising film. Oh yeah, seeing a bunch of guys dancing maniacally in kilts really makes me want to drink more Dewar's Scotch, you betcha! Or at least it makes me want to drink. An 1898 Edison film.

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

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Along Came Daffy (film #7 on Cartoon Classics, Vol. 12 DVD (Flashback Home Entertainment). [Category: Hollywood]

Fun Warner Bros. toon in which Daffy makes the fatal error of trying to sell cookbooks to a pair of Yosemite Sam look-alikes who are starving in a mountain cabin in the middle of winter. I want the wind-up duck decoys that all look like and hop around like Daffy for the Film Ephemeral Museum of Quirky Devices. Like most Warner Bros. toons, this is great fun.

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

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Defense for America (film #4 on Industrial Incentive Films (Vintage Video)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

More industry! Working to make the world even safer for democracy! This is a little more fun than America's Call to Arms as the narration is more enthusiastic (and you definitely need enthusiastic narration for this sort of thing).

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

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Burning of the Standard Oil Co.’s Tanks, Bayonne, NJ (film #44 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]

Scene of a quiet industrial street in Bayonne, with lots of buggies, wagons, and pedestrians, and, oh yes, some smoke in the background, from some burning oil tanks, I guess. This one leaves you scratching your head, but it does give a historically interesting and clear view of an industrial street in 1900. A 1900 Edison film.

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

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For Orphans 3 (film #5 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Hollywood]

This consists of silent footage of a Dutch film premiere and milling-around festival and a guy in a tux announcing the premier of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town in Dutch. Now, I can’t speak Dutch, but it really sounds like he says that the Dutch title of the film is OK, Mr. Deeds. Mostly, though, this is pretty standard, but it does give you some idea of what European movie theater ephemera was like in the 30s.

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

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Belair & Raleigh Commercials Compilation #1 (film #160 on UCSF Tobacco Control Archive). [Category: Commerical]

Collection of dorky early-60s commercials for Raleigh and Belair cigarettes. These are not the cool “how do you think I got this neat X?” commercials, but earlier ones that present the Raleigh coupons in an incredibly stilted manner. These are ripe for msting, especially the ones that claim that the smoking suburban couple “lives a good life, enjoying those Raleigh gifts,” including lung cancer, I’m sure. See how easy it is?

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

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Color Keying in Art and Living (film #349 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]

This dry educational film about color mixing and combining has some striking imagery, both abstract and concrete, of the outcomes of combining or juxtaposing various colors together. Unfortunately, the print has washed-out color that emphasizes green in everything. This could increase the camp value of the film, but it doesn’t because it’s just too hard to see the colors. Meat fans will enjoy the brief scene of a huge side of beef, and the 50s makeup scenes are appropriately garish, but even then I think they’d be more enjoyable if the colors were more accurate.

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

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Break of Day (film #2 in the Rural Settlement and Security section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

This 50s film, like others in the Spielberg Archive, tells the story of a family of rural Israeli settlers in the many pioneer settlements of the period. But whereas most such films are hopeful, this one has a sad, tragic feel to it, though the ending hints at some hope. The father of this family tires of the endless hard work and privations of the settlement, so he moves his family away to a slum village. But life is still very hard, and he must face the disappointment of his young son, who considered the settlement his home. The events leading up to the family’s eventual return to the settlement highlight the difficulties these pioneers faced, whatever choices they made. I suppose it was made to discourage these people from giving up on pioneering, but how effective it was at that is hard to say. It is a well-made and touching film, though, with lots of historical value.

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

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The First Million (film #16 in the General section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Public Service]

Israeli film from the 70s, narrated in Spanish, about the importance of educating disadvantaged youth. The foreign-language narration made this hard for me to follow, but it seems to be a fairly standard story about the problems of disadvantaged youth, and how education gives them brighter futures. There’s lots of footage of children, adolescents, and young adults engaging in various pursuits in 70s Israel, if you’re looking for that.

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

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The Devilish Tennant (film #11 on Melies the Magician DVD (Facets Video, 2001)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

The Devilish Tennant is Melies himself, who rents an apartment and proceeds to furnish it out of his magic carpetbag, which rivals Felix the Cat's. When the rent comes due, he scares his landlord half to death by making all the furnishings dance, and then while the landlord is cowering downstairs, he folds up and puts away all his furnishings in the bag and skips town. An interrupting policeman is simply folded up inside the piano, which is placed in the bag. This is a delightful little Melies romp, and the hand-colored print is beautiful. A 1909 Melies film.

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

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Abstract Coaster Footage #2 (film #260 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

This version starts nostalgically, like before, then interrupts things to add bright computer colors and heavy metal music. I think I like the nostalgic footage better.

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

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Dedication: Warren, Hoover Hail New Truman Library (film #152 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: News]

Fairly standard newsreel story about the dedication of the Harry S Truman Library. Conspiracy theorists should have fun with the Masonic rituals depicted. Others will find this pretty ordinary.

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

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Aviation in the News (film #78 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Newsreel clip from WWII showing the 5000th bomber to leave a California aircraft factory, with the signatures of the workers all over it. This is a fun little piece of wartime propaganda. Also included is a story about the emergence of General Tito in Yugoslavia, when he was still considered to be a good guy. Too bad this is one of the newsreels with darkened footage––I would like to be able to see the signed plane better.

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

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December 7, 1941 (film #2 on Cinemocracy. Also, film #1 on disc #2 of Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941 DVD (Madacy Entertainment, 2001)). Also, film #2 of Side A of Disc #10 of War Classics DVD Mega-Pack (TreeLine Films, 2004). Also, film #1 on Side A of Disc #2 of WWII: The Ultimate Collection DVD Boxed Set (Brentwood Home Video, 2004)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Directed by John Ford, this retelling of the events of December 7, 1941 is a masterful piece of propaganda, stirring the emotions without straying too far from the truth. The scenes of devastation in the aftermath of the attack are particularly tragic. Surprising is the scene where Ford has several of the slain GIs "speak" to us––the ones he picks are of several different races and ethnic backgrounds. They are all narrated by the same person and the question is asked why they all sound alike. The answer: "We are all Americans." This little piece of tolerance for diversity was way ahead of its time, though it is somewhat offset by the stereotyped "Jap" voice Tojo is given in a later scene. Another amazing sequence is that of the changes made in the civilian lives of Hawaiians in the aftermath of the attack. We see schoolchildren ducking down in foxholes and trying on gas masks, and it reminds us that Hawaii was the one piece of U.S. territory to actually see combat. Most interesting is a sequence where we see Japanese-Americans in Hawaii removing all traces of Japanese culture from their homes and businesses––the most striking being the guy who takes down the sign "Banzai Cafe" and replaces it with "Keep 'Em Flying Cafe" (I want both signs, of course, for the Film Ephemera Museum of Quirky Devices). The ironic thing about this, though, is the fact that Hawaii was the only place in the U.S. where Japanese-Americans were allowed to keep their homes and businesses, rather than be shuffled off to internment camps. One thing that increases the historical interest of this film is the fact that some scenes had portions of the frame blacked out by the censor. This is an essential piece of WWII propaganda.

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

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Easy Does It (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #473 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

Silly Jam Handy film that spends most of its time arguing that the members of the “weaker sex” do just as much hard work as men do, so therefore lots of time and energy has to be put into developing an easier gearshif for them. Yeah, I know, it doesn’t make much sense to me, either, but since it’s a Jam Handy film, it’s bright and breezy and fun. I like the proposed automatic makeup machine portrayed at the end of the film––I want one for the Film Ephemeral Museum of Quirky Devices. Lots of great gender role stuff to mine here.

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

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Flying the Lindbergh Trail (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #524 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Hollywood]

This late 30s travelogue, which features Pan-Am "Clipper Ships" touring South America, goes on and on and on. Still, there's historical value here––if you want scenes of life in pre-war South America and the Caribbean, this is your movie. The attitudes towards the natives are about as Eurocentric as you'd expect given the time it was made, and there are occasional interesting moments of animals, scenery, and cultural practices. But mostly, this is a very basic travelogue with no surprises.

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

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Along Came a Duck (film #8 on Disc #2 of 150 Cartoon Classics DVD Maga-Pack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2006)). [Category: Hollywood]

Cute, cheap cartoon in which a frog saves the life of a duckling. More fun are the live-action/animated opening and closing sections featuring a little boy talking to an animated frog. Mildly amusing.

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

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Buffalo Bill, Jr. – A Bronc Called Gunboat (film #4 on Disc #2 of Classic Kids’ Shows DVD (Genius Entertainment, 2004)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

Standard kiddie western featuring a teen-aged cowboy who helps save the life of a supposedly-unbreakable horse while helping to catch some bad guys as well. Mildly entertaining, with a great old judge character and a little girl named Calamity to boot.

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

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Bewitched (film #19 in the 1966 ABC Fall Preview section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]

Short sponsor bumper for “Bewitched.” This doesn’t have much to do with the show, but it does give you a quick rundown of the products produced by the Quaker Oats Company in 1966.

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

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The Blessing of Mount Gilboa (film #13 in the Rural Settlement and Security section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

Early 60s film, narrated in Spanish, documenting the rural development of Mount Gilboa in Isarel. Another plot of desolate Israeli land is made to flower. This has some historical interest, but it’s pretty ordinary.

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

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50 Miracle Minutes: Operation Moving Day (film #7 in the Health section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Public Service]

This film from 1960 documents the moving day of the Hadassah Hebrew Medical Center in Jerusalem to new, more modern quarters. The story is told in great and loving detail, and with high emotion, considering the hardships the hospital went through during the various wars for independence in Israel. For someone not intimately involved in this story, it drags a bit after awhile, but I respect what they were trying to do, and suspect the film was very moving to its intended audience. It does give a historically interesting portrayal of what was involved in moving a hospital to new quarters in 1960.

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

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Abstract Coaster Footage #1 (film #259 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

Black-and-white footage of an old roller coaster to the tune of an acoustic version of “Across the Universe” by the Beatles. This has a nice nostalgic feel to it and allows you to groove on the visual images, which I think was its purpose.

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

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The Clowns (film #1 on Clowns and Cavemen DVD (A/V Geeks)). [Category: Educational]

A collage-animated clown escapes from a painting and struggles to play ball with a most uncooperative fish. This little piece of Czech silliness was put out by an educational film distributor, but it’s hard to see what the educational value of it is. Still, it’s kind of fun to watch, as some of the animation is quite clever.

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

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Death of Lawrence of Arabia (film #7 in the Featured Clip Archive section of WPA Film Library). [Category: News]

British newsreel reporting the death and funeral of T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia for his championing of Arab independence. This is very British, with clipped narration and the merest hint of possible foul play. Brit fans will find this historically interesting and fun to watch.

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

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Attlee Here for Parley (film #76 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Post-war newsreel reporting a visit by England’s Prime Minister Clement Attlee. This is pretty dull. More interesting is a later story about a goofy-looking 3-wheeled car. Also included are stories about the president’s yacht (must be rough, Truman!) and the making of a new air speed record. The 3-wheeled car is the definite standout here. I definitely want one for the Film Ephemera Museum of Quirky Devices.

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

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Detroit News Newsreel (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #272 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]

This early newsreel documents events in Michigan. I never knew that there were local and regional newsreels made, so that's a new one on me. The most interesting story involves cops who nab speeders by jumping from their motorcycles onto the cars' running boards. More surprising than that is the penalty the speeders pay––they are sent to a prison workfarm! Remind me to always obey the speed limit in Michigan. The rest of the stories involve local community events such as parades, picnics, and sporting events. They're pretty standard, but they should have quite a bit of historical value for those researching Michigan history. A 1917 film.

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

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The Easier Way (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #471 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

A guy who’s obsessed with time and motion study thoroughly ruins a dinner party by talking about nothing else and making the guests try out different ways of putting pegs into a pegboard. His wife gets even with him by assigning him to the kitchen to design a better way of doing dishes. This is a charmingly dorky film that actually makes its points pretty well, but in a silly way. Making it a highly entertaining piece of ephemera.

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

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Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (film #1 on Disc #4 of 150 Cartoon Classics DVD Mega-Pack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2006)). [Category: Hollywood]

Olive Oyl, a writer for Surprise Pictures, writes a version of “Aladdin” with Popeye as the main character and herself as the princess. This is told fairly straightforwardly, with the exceptions of Popeye’s mumbled asides and the fact that his can of spinach whups the magic lamp after the villain gets ahold of it. The script causes Olive to be fired, but they filmed it anyway. This is standard Popeye fare, with mildly amusing moments in a fairly ordinary cartoon.

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

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Book Salesman (film #4 on The Burns & Allen Show DVD (PC Treasures, 2005). Also, film #1 on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show DVD (Treasure Box Collection)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

This is a great example of early live tv at its finest. “The Burns & Allen Show” occupied a netherworld between vaudeville, radio, and tv sitcoms. George Burns starts the show by giving a monologue on a stage, then the curtain opens to reveal a sparse house set, where the silly antics of George, Gracie, and their neighbors, the Mortons, take place. George alternates between narrating and appearing in the action, and the proceedings are wonderfully surreal, with Carnation milk commercials being bizarrely incorporated into the action, jokes being made about the open-house set, and flubbed lines and appearances of the boom mike being left in. There’s a song in the middle of things, but the real attraction is Gracie’s illogical logic, which is in full flower here. The title of the episode refers to a wonderful segment where Gracie bamboozles a book salesman until he admits defeat––I’d love to have her around to take care of telephone solicitors! The humor is still fresh and lively today, with Gracie’s character so brilliant in her stupidity that she prevails in every sequence, so you can in no way call the portrayal insulting. This episode was found on two different bargain DVDs from the dollar store, which only makes me want to dig through the bins some more to see what other gems can be found there.

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

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Dangerous Comment (film #6 on Americans in War (NFV, 1990)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

This British film reminds us that a slip of a lip can sink a ship. A flyer tells his girlfriend about a raid he's going on, she tells it to a friend, the friend goes to the pub and lets it slip in casual conversation, and the fifth columnist bartender tells the Nazis. Disaster for the pilots is only narrowly averted. This is told as a story to another young pilot, who then says he can't wait to tell his dad all about it, leaving the old guard officers who told the story to shake their heads in dismay. This seems to imply that the filmmakers thought the film would have no effect on its intended audience! Veddy British.

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

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Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (Stills) (film #14 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Commercial]

Watch the other trailer for Beneath the 12-Mile Reef first. This one will make you appreciate the first one’s Cinemascope underwater vistas, as it only has cheap-looking illustrations of underwater vistas, not even actual stills from the film! The 14-year-old boy in all of us will snicker at the trailer’s claim of “The Most Awesome Underwater Climax Ever Filmed!” Cheesy and therefore fun.

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

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The Black Rocks of Chorazim (film #1 in the Rural Settlement and Security section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

This early 60s film documents the building of an Israeli settlement on a site that once held an ancient civilization. It’s narrated in Hebrew, so it’s a little difficult to follow, but it seems to cover the same ground of most films of this type: hard work, bringing forth new life from the desert, and ending with a celebration. A fairly typical Spielberg Archive film.

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

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The Essence of It All (film #9 in the Health section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Public Service]

This 60s film documents the work of the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, a huge hospital serving patients of many nationalities and cultures. This is told very idealistically and touchingly as a story of people helping people. The film has a very Jewish feel to it, using a variety of Jewish narrators and regularly invoking religious ideals. It could have been maudlin, but apart from a section on handlicapped children which is hard to watch by today’s standards (a toddler who is paralyzed from the waist down is referred to as “half a baby”––this gives you an idea of the tone of this section), it’s actually quite touching and not overdone. The multicultural content of the film is ahead of its time, giving the film a lot of historical interest.

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

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The Flying House (film #10 on Animation Legend Winsor McCay DVD (Lumivision, 1997)). [Category: Hollywood]

A woman, after eating too much rarebit, dreams her husband put a huge gasoline engine in the attic and transforms their house into a flying machine. They fly all over and have lots of strange adventures, including blocking a smokestack, destroying a dome, being attacked by an outer space giant while attempting to land on the moon (the giant is much bigger than the moon––now that's some giant!) and having the house destroyed by a rocket shot out of a giant space gun. Winsor McCay does it again––this is beautifully animated and lots of fun to watch, combining a great script with beautifully-drawn imagery, especially the backgrounds. Highly recommended.

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

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The Alien (Audio Commentary) (extra on Monster Kid Home Movies DVD (PPS Group, 2005)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

The commentary track for this second film called The Alien features the filmmaker giving us some idea of the process he went through to make the film, including the fact that it had a total of three actors (so there was really only one fat guy––this was not obvious in the original film) and that he actually played one of the victims as well as the alien at one point. This actually makes the film seem a little bit more impressive, though the commentary is also quite funny as well.

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

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Early Films Whose Titles Make Them Sound Pornographic, but They Aren't



  • Airy Fairy Lillian Tries on Her New Corsets
  • Aunt Sallie’s Wonderful Bustle
  • The Bangville Police
  • The Dandy Fifth
  • Discharging a Whitehead Torpedo
  • The Doctor’s Secret
  • The Exploits of Elaine
  • Fat and Lean Wrestling Match
  • Fatty’s Spooning Day
  • Fatty’s Suitless Day
  • Foxy Grandpa and Polly in a Little Hilarity
  • Freight Train Fun in Camp
  • A Frontier Flirtation
  • Fun in a Bakery Shop
  • The Gay Shoe Clerk
  • A Gesture in Hester Street
  • A Girl’s Folly
  • Going Through the Tunnel
  • Grandma and the Bad Boys
  • Gussie’s Wayward Path
  • The House with Closed Shutters
  • How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the New York Herald Personal Columns
  • How Jones Lost His Roll
  • Interrupted Lovers
  • Love in a Hammock
  • Love, Loot and Crash
  • Maude’s Naughty Little Brother
  • The Messenger Boy’s Mistake
  • The Old Maid Having Her Picture Taken
  • The Stenographer’s Friend
  • Tom Tinker’s Pony Patter
  • Trapeze Disrobing Act
  • Treloar and Miss Marshall, Prize Winners at the Physical Culture Show in Madison Square Garden
  • What Happened in the Tunnel
  • What Happened on Twenty-Third Street, New York City
  • Why Mrs. Jones Got a Divorce
  • The Widow and the Only Man
  • Wife and Auto Trouble
  • Women of the Ghetto Bathing
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The Civil War (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #328 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]

Straightforward, rather dry film on the Civil War made by Encyclopedia Britannica. Actually, this is a little bit better than you might expect given the low budget I’m sure they had to work with. Some attempt is made to get an emotional feel for the material. Mostly, though, this is the typical Civil War stuff you learned in school.

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

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A Day in History: Telstar Brings World Closer (film #27 on Universal Newsreels). {Category: News]

Early 60s newsreel documenting the launching and testing of Telstar, the first communications satellite. This has great historical value, and is fun to watch as well, featuring animations of radio waves bouncing off the satellite, footage of it being built, and footage from the first satellite television broadcast. It also gives a fairly accurate prediction of such satellites encircling the earth, except for the part about it increasing international understanding.

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

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Desperate Poaching Affray (film #30 on The Movies Begin, Volume Two: The European Pioneers (Kino Video, 1994)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

Cops chase some poachers. That's it, really, but it's one heckuva chase. The actors looked like they had way too much fun in the water sequence. Great title, eh? A 1903 Haggar and Sons film.

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

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Atom Test Nears (film #75 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Newsreel excerpt from the late 40s reporting on sailors preparing for Operation Crossroads, another big atomic bomb test at sea. This mostly involves the narrator making light of airplanes crash landing on carriers. Preceding this is a collection of brief mentions of minor-league celebrities that probably few have heard of today, except, of course, Marlene Dietrich, who is in full flower here. An interesting, though brief, glimpse at the post-war period.

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

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Drug Effects (film #7 on The Educational Archives, Vol. 7: More Sex & Drugs DVD (Fantoma, 2003)). [Category: Industrial]

This was part of a series of films for managers teaching them how to address drug problems among their employees. For some baffling reason, this was done with an animated film using Flintstones-like characters. The caveman professor gives another caveman marijuana in order to show us the effects of the drug; however, the depiction of said effects is broadly comic and grossly exaggerated. Nevertheless, the film ends with the professor showing the audience how this film fits into the overall series of films, saying, “Now you know all about drug effects.” That’s like saying a person would know all about Paleolithic humans from watching an episode of “The Flintstones.” A head-scratcher.

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

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Daffy the Commando (film #6 on Bugs & Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons (MGM/UA Home Video, 1989). Also, film #2 on Cartoon Scandals (Goodtimes, 1987). Also, film #7 on V for Victory WWII Cartoons & Shorts Show (Something Weird, 1996)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

You've probably seen this one a million times––it's a public domain Warner Brothers toon that is shown on tv all the time and appears on many video collections. Still, it's pretty funny. Daffy the Commando torments two Nazi eagles in his usual style. One Nazi eagle is a colonel and the other is a sergeant named Schultz––one wonders if "Hogan's Heroes" got the idea for its Nazi characters from this cartoon. Don't miss the great rotoscoped Hitler raving in outrageous faux German at the end.

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

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Ain’t That Ducky (film #8 on Cartoon Classics, Vol. 12 DVD (Flashback Home Entertainment)). [Category: Hollywood]

Great Warner Bros. cartoon in which Daffy Duck contends with a mean little crying duckling and a wimpy hunter that was probably a precursor to Elmer Fudd. This has a lot of great gags, including a wonderful moment where Daffy chews out the animator for forgetting to draw a barrel he can hide in. This just reminds me that Warner Bros. toons were generally head and shoulders above the rest during the time they were made.

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

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The Blizzard (film #2 on the Picturing a Metropolis disc of Unseen Cinema DVD Boxed Set (Image Entertainment, 2005)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

Panorama of an 1899 New York blizzard. This has the real feel of a glimpse into another time, as well as an amusing element in a guy with a shovel who follows the panorama of the camera, so as to stay on film. A great piece of filmed history. An 1899 Biograph film.

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

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Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (film #15 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Commercial]

Slightly campy trailer for the 60s film, Beneath the 12-Mile Reef. This mainly touts the Cinemascope process in over-the-top pronouncements, like claiming it is “The Greatest Step Forward in the History of Entertainment!” Yeah, right, let’s just get to the movie we paid to see.

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

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Fitting Faces (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #522 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Hollywood]

This Paramount short features Mary Jones, who completely ruins her beauty routine by donning a pair of eyeglasses. A makeup artist shows her how to choose frames according to face shape, leaving her with three new pairs of glasses that are almost identical to her old glasses. We also get to see some interesting industrial footage of optical lenses being made. An average featurette with an industrial feel.

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

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Behind the Blockade (film #12 in the Pre-State section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

This late 40s film documents the agricultural development of pre-state Israel by Jewish pioneers. This involved lots of hard work and the ever present threat of violence. It’s an interesting story, but it’s told rather dryly, with rousing narration that nevertheless fails to stir the passions. This has historical value, but it’s one of the less interesting films on the Spielberg Archive.

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

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City Water Supply (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #325 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]

Boring film that goes on and on about water access and water treatment in New York City. Leave it to Encyclopedia Britannica to make a dry film about water.

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

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Drew Pearson Reports on Israel’s Living Desert (film #18 in the Rural Settlement and Security section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Public Service]

In this 50s film, Drew Pearson reports on the problems of irrigation and how they were being solved in Israel. Mostly, though, the film is about the courage of the Israeli pioneers, many of whom were Holocaust survivors, and most of whom were refugees. The film is rather dry in spots, but very touching in others, particularly the interviews with the pioneers. Another historically interesting film about the history of Israel on the Spielberg archive.

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

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The Alien (film #13 on Monster Kid Home Movies DVD (PPS Group, 2005)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

In another version of The Alien, a bug-eyed alien roams around a forest killing fat guys who live in trailers. Not only that, but its rampage also includes knocking over trashcans. One fat guy manages to get away in his car, but the fat guy who uses a gun on the alien is faked out. Credits are done in ballpoint pen on notebook paper. This truly has the feel of a kid’s production, and the fat guys in the trailers, who were probably the director’s neighbors look like they’re having a good time. I’m not sure how old the director was, but it looks like he saw plenty of scenes of dead people in the movies, considering the lingering shots of the alien’s victims in this production. As usual, this is lots of fun.

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

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Cuba President in US (film #137 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: News]

Brief, poorly-preserved newsreel clip from the late 40s. The initial story is about a visit to the US by the president of pre-Castro Cuba. This is followed by a story about some sort of trial proceedings in Holland that is narrated entirely in German (or a language that sounds like German). It might be a war crimes proceeding, since they show some scenes of the concentration camp, but it’s not really clear. This is followed by a story about the Hiss-Chambers hearings. These stories all have only partial soundtracks, and despite the title cards, this feels like unedited raw footage, especially the Hiss-Chambers section. Which makes it more interesting than it might otherwise be.

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

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Atom Sub: President Officiates at Laying of Keel (film #74 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Early 50s newsreel documenting the keel-laying of the first atomic submarine, the Nautilus. This is fairly standard, but the narrator’s assertion that the sub is a “deadly weapon for war or peace” leaves you scratching your head. Also included are stories about a POW uprising in Korea, a new bomb targeting system, a transit strike in New York City, the Rose Parade in Oregon (including disturbing floats and a beauty queen taking a simulated bath on one float––all I could think of was the thorns! Ouch!), a British soccer match, and a rodeo in Oregon. This complete newsreel gives you a feeling of the contradictions of the early Cold War period, with disturbing war stories alternating with lighthearted entertainment. A great snapshot of the early 50s.

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

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Desilu Screen Test excerpts (film #4 on TV Turkeys (Rhino, 1987)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

One of the great things about watching stuff from the early years of film and/or tv is watching them try all different kinds of things, searching for the formats that would work in the new medium. In the early 50s, they didn't know yet what show formats would rake in the ratings, so they tried all kinds of bizarre ideas. Somebody got the idea that people maybe wanted to watch screen tests, and so "Desilu Screen Test" was born. We get to see an unbearably cute 4-year-old do the kinds of stuff such little girls do at adult parties when their parents are showing them off. She smiles, curtsies, talks about her pets, sings "Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be?", etc. Then it gets weird––they have her do a scene from The Bad Seed, the infamous movie about an evil little girl. She delivers her lines surprisingly well for a 4-year-old, but blows it with her facial expressions––she seems to think being evil consists of having a grouchy expression on her face, which she has a hard time holding without cracking up. An interesting obscurity.

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

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Drawing Account (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #458 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

This goofy Jam Handy film features a cartoon animator who meets a Chevrolet mechanical engineer on an airplane that totally lacks seatbelts. The animator manages to talk the engineer into helping make a cartoon in which a bunch of gremlins run a car engine. The engineer helpfully provides a cutaway engine model for the guys in the animation studio to look at. This results in a baffling scene in which the kooky animators brainstorm about the gremlins while the engineer gives boring lectures about how the car engine works, sneaking in sales messages about how great Chevrolet engines are while he’s at it. One animator, who looks like a Radford Baines wanna-be gets way too excited about making one of the imps into a Roman chariot driver: “We’ll make him a big, muscular guy with a whip!” he crows. Then we get to see a really interesting sequence on how cartoons are made, including how sound synchronization is done, something that was new to me. Then, of course, we get to see the finished cartoon, which is pretty silly. This is one of the goofiest industrial films I’ve ever seen, which makes it a great piece of ephemra. Termite Terrace these guys definitely ain’t!

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

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D-Day Minus One (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #600 on Prelinger Archive. Also, film #2 on World War II, Vol. 8: D-Day, the Normandy Invasion (Madacy Video)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

The story of the paratroop and glider corps, who landed in France the day before D-Day and cleared the way for the invasion, is told with first person narration. It's actually a fairly compelling story, which impresses you with the bravery of the men involved. The footage is excellent, giving you a real feel for what it must have been like to be over there.

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

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April Maze (film #9 on 11 Cartoons Starring Felix the Cat DVD (PC Treasures, 2005)). [Category: Hollywood]

This is an early sound Felix, and boy did sound have an impact. This seems way more creaky than the earlier silent Felixes, which are pretty lively. In this one, everything is turgid, probably for the purposes of sound synchronization, and even then, the sound doesn’t synch up very good. The cartoon is about Felix’s attempts to go on a picnic with his two kittens, and how they are repeatedly thwarted, first by an evil stormcloud, and then by a trickster rabbit. The turgidness of the proceedings gives the cartoon a dark, depressing feel, especially during the parts about the stormcloud. You don’t want to so much laugh as cry, making this a fascinating piece of ephemera.

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

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Fish from Hell (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #520 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Hollywood]

This is one of the all-time great ephemera titles and it doesn't disappoint, though to be more accurate, it should be called Narrators from Hell. Murky footage of deep-sea sport fishing is narrated by a guy whose religious mission is to convince us that fish are EVIL. The passion and logic of his arguments lay somewhere on the spectrum between circuit-riding revival preachers and psychotic cult leaders, and his delivery brings back scary memories for me of my dad listening to the Nebraska-Oklahoma football game and nearly blowing a gasket. The footage cooperates with the narrator's religious mission by mainly showing us various ways to kill sea life, including guns. The highlight of the film is the scene with the giant octopus––to the narrator, this creature is Satan himself and he responds accordingly. Even porpoises are dismissed as only being good for leather and oil, and sharks always bring out the most violent behavior possible in the fishermen––it's a good thing they didn't have access to nuclear weapons, or they would have most assuredly used them against every single shark they meet. If you haven't figured it out by now, this film is an environmentalist's nightmare. It's great ephemera, though––from HELL!!

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

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Annie Oakley – Justice Guns (film #6 on Disc #1 of Classic Kids’ Shows DVD (Genius Entertainment, 2004)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

In this episode of “Annie Oakley,” Annie has to help out an aging lawman who doesn’t realize he’s past his prime. This is a well-written story with a fair amount of suspense. It also has the original Canada Dry commercials in it, which liven things up a bit, being “ginger-uppers” and all.

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

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The Ape Trailer (extra on Night of the Blood Beast DVD (Sinister Cinema)). [Category: Commercial]

Fairly campy trailer for a classic old horror flick featuring Boris Karloff as “A Man Gone Mad!” and a man in a gorilla suit who terrorizes a town. The claim that the movie is a “Spine-Tingling Horror Drama” is a real hoot, as are the titles that shake with fear. Lots of fun creature feature stuff.

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

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Beautiful Tel Aviv in Winter (film #12 in the Cities section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

Silent Israeli color film from 1950 showing scenes of Tel Aviv. This goes on and on, and without a soundtrack, it gets pretty dull. It does provide you with a snapshot of Tel Aviv in 1950, which gives it some historical interest.

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

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The Dream and the Deed (film #8 in the Health section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Public Service]

This early-70s film documents the history of the Hadassah organization in bringing medical facilities to Israel. It starts way back in 1909, where a small clinic for mothers and babies was set up in Palestine to 1971, where many Hadassah-funded hospitals in Israel, particularly the huge Hebrew Medical Center on Mt. Scopus, practiced cutting-edge patient care and medical research. The film is narrated by a folksinger, who breaks into song periodically. This could have been unbelievably hokey, but in this film, it works; it actually carries the story along and makes things a bit more lively and less dry. A great source of information on the history of the Hadassah movement.

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

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The Alien (Audio Commentary) (extra on Monster Kid Home Movies (PPS Group, 2005)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

Bob Burns, director of The Alien, uses the commentary track as an opportunity to narrate the silent film. Since he has lots of fun with this, including making fun of himself and the movie, it’s great. It also allows you to make a bit more sense of the film, as he includes what he was originally intending to portray during certain moments that were unclear in the original movie. The Alien is lots of fun on its own; this commentary track adds to the viewing experience.

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

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Circus Day (film #7 on Clowns and Cavemen DVD (A/V Geeks). [Category: Educational]

This 60s film features a clown from a circus in a sports arena who narrates what it was like back in the old days of circus tents and circus trains. We see color footage of an old-time circus from the 40s, and get a real sense of what it was like back then to attend a circus under a tent. It’s rather pathetic, actually, involving out-of-tune band music, hay bales, tired-looking animals, and lots of sawdust. Still, this is a fascinating glimpse into a form of entertainment that doesn’t exist anymore. Of course, I have a hard time imagining even the 60s kids this was made for getting excited by this film, much less the kids of today.

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

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Crowds in New York and Los Angeles (film #9 in the Apollo 11 section of WPA Film Library). [Category: News]

Silent footage of the Apollo 11 astronauts getting a ticker tape parade, commendations from the UN, and nifty plaques from President Nixon. This has some historical value, but it would have been better with sound.

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

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The Atom Goes to Sea (film #3 on AV Geeks). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Fairly dull film made by General Electric to document the creation of the first two atomic submarines, and to champion GE’s role in the development of one of them. In fact, the non-GE submarine, the Nautilus, was considered so unimportant that the section of the film devoted to it goes immediately from introducing it to showing it being christened, so that more time can be devoted to describing the development of the GE submarine, the Sea Wolf. A huge sphere is shown that had some important role or other in the development of the submarine’s engine; it isn’t really clear what, or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention, which gives you an idea of how much interest this film stimulates in its subject matter.

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

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Down the Gasoline Trail (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #457 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

This cute animated Jam Handy film for GM shows the journey of a gasoline drop down the fuel line to the engine, where it is vaporized, turning it into an angel which flies out of the exhaust pipe. I won’t touch with a ten-foot pole the theological issues involved here. I’ll just say that this is a fun film with a great “Mr. Product” character. Remember, folks, every time you drive, angels are flying out of your exhaust pipe. Or at least they did in the days before catalytic converters.

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

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The Derby (film #16 on The Movies Begin, Volume Two: The European Pioneers (Kino Video, 1994)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

Trackside view of a horse race. Even the restoration efforts of The Movies Begin people couldn't cut the graininess of this one. An 1896 R. W. Paul film.

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

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Another Fine Mess (film #11 on Laurel & Hardy DVD (Hallmark Entertainment, 2003)). [Category: Hollywood]

Laurel and Hardy get into a complicated scrape after ducking into the cellar of a rich man’s house to avoid police and getting locked in. They eventually end up posing as the owner of the house (Ollie), and the butler/maid (Stan, alternating), showing the house to prospective renters. Things get even more complicated when the real owner of the house shows up. This is a very funny short, with a plot that just keeps getting more and more absurd. Stan in drag is a real hoot, and you get to see where Monty Python got the pantomime horse riding a tandem bike gag from. This truly is a fine mess.

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

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Annabelle Serpentine Dance #4 (film #8 on the Viva la Dance disc of Unseen Cinema DVD Boxed Set (Image Entertainment, 2005)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

Why they called this “#4” when there is another “Annabelle Serpentine Dance #4” on the disc I have no idea. This one is beautifully hand-colored, with constantly shifting bright colors on the skirts. Annabelle should watch out for the skirts dropping over her head, though. An 1897 Edison film.

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

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Bells of Coronado (film #13 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Commercial]

Not a sequel to Bells of Capistrano, this western is in color and features Roy Rogers. It also features an up-to-the-minute atomic plot about bad guys who steal some radioactive “atomic ore.” This is mildly silly, but mostly it’s pretty ordinary.

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

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Curiosity Killed a Cat (track #2 on Americans in War (NFV, 1990)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

G.I.s Goofus and Gallant wander around battlefield Europe, Goofus constantly poking his nose into everything he finds, and Gallant constantly shouting at him to stop fiddling with everything, for Chrissakes! Designed to teach soldiers that unexploded shells, dead bodies, and the like are dangerous and should be left alone. Know-it-all Gallant is at least as annoying as dim-witted Goofus, though.

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

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Banim Bonim (film #2 in the Pre-State section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

This silent film from the 20s gives a detailed portrait of the early Zionist pioneers to came to Palestine to take the first steps to build a Jewish homeland there. The film shows a group of pioneers arriving in Palestine, touring the country, and then getting on with the hard work of pioneering, mostly involving agricultural work and building construction. This has a great deal of historical value, as it’s very detailed, but it tends to drag after awhile, as it goes on and on and on. Still, this is a valuable film, so it’s good that it was preserved.

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

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The Door on 69th Street (film #13 in the General section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Public Service]

This early-60s film documents the role of the American Jewish National Fund in the development of Israel, particularly in terms of land reclamation. This has historical value, as it goes into a great deal of detail on all the various bureaucratic things that had to be done to get Israel started and keep it going. But it’s pretty boring to watch, as it’s very self-congratulatory and insists upon mentioning every last famous person who helped them over the years. For persons researching the history of the modern state of Israel, this film has some value; others will probably find it a snoozer.

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

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The Alien (film #1 on Monster Kid Home Movies DVD (PPS Group, 2005)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

The Monster Kid Home Movies DVD contains amateur sci-fi and horror films made by kids during the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. This 50s film features a teenaged mad scientist who invents a device that he uses to bring a space alien with a plastic forehead to Earth. The alien is a benign presence who is able to perform various kinds of magical tricks, and the scientist takes him for a walk around the neighborhood, where he performs various amazing feats. Then the scientist sends the alien back to where he came from, but the alien ends up erasing all the scientist’s notes, so no one will ever believe him, poor schmoe. This is a really charming film that is really well done for an amateur film. The story is told very well, making good use of the silent genre. I especially like the opening and closing credits and the title cards––they are beautifully designed. Shows what a little passion and ingenuity can do when the budget is almost non-existent.

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

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Craig Breedlove and the Spirit of America (film #7 in the Featured Clip Archive section of WPA Film Library). [Category: News]

Silent footage of Craig Breedlove breaking the land speed record in 1965 in his specially-outfitted rocket car, The Spirit of America. This has historical interest for racing fans, but no surprises.

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

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Atom Fallout: New Tests Begin as Safety Debate Rages (film #73 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

50s newsreel reporting the latest round of nuclear tests in Nevada. We get to see a spectacular nuclear explosion and, despite the narrated concerns about fallout, lots of folks watching the blast wearing those eye-protecting glasses. Also included is a story about one of the last Navy sailing ships. This is pretty standard, but it has lots of historical interest.

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

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Dow Midland (film #458 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]

This 50s industrial film, made by Dow Chemical, is missing its soundtrack. Even without sound, it’s pretty obvious that its message is Dow chemicals are everywhere. Lots of great visual imagery is here, including factory footage, containers of various kinds of dangerous chemicals, guys in lab coats doing experiments surrounded by bubbling beakers, and a guy in the plastics department mixing chemicals in 50s kitchen mixers, resulting in mixtures that resemble cake batter. Without the soundtrack, the viewer can feel free to add his or her own commentary, inferring stuff that is lots worse than what was probably said (though who knows?), or perhaps better, but what fun is that?

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **** (mainly for the possibilities). Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.

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The First Circus (film #7 on Origins of American Animation). [Category: Hollywood]

This is actually two short vignettes of early-20s silhouette animation. In the first one, two chimps discover a bottle of liquor. Just as it threatens to turn into a bizarre combination of The Gods Must Be Crazy and 2001: A Space Odyssey, the alpha male shows up and steals it from them. Typical. The second vignette features a caveman’s version of a circus, the highlight being a high-wire act involving a brontosaurus and a snake. These vignettes are mildly charming and fun to watch. This film is notable for being the first downloaded silent film I’ve run across that includes a musical soundtrack. As usual for the films on the American Memory sites, this film is very well-preserved and beautifully digitized, looking just as good on my tv screen as on a computer screen.

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

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Alice’s Wonderland (film #1 on Disc #1 of Disney Rarities DVD (Disney, 2005)). [Category: Hollywood]

This first of the “Alice” shorts features Alice visiting a cartoon studio. There she views wonders such as an animated mouse tormenting a real cat, and a boxing match between a cat and a dog (though what’s in the box marked “DANGER”?). This is by far the best part of the cartoon. Then, later that night, she goes to sleep and dreams a cartoon train takes her to Cartoonland, where she is given a warm welcome by all the cartoon animals. Everything goes well until the lions get loose. This is a lot of fun, very “tooney”, and a good introduction to the “Alice” series.

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

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Annabelle Serpentine Dance #4 (film #6 on the Viva la Dance disc of Unseen Cinema DVD Boxed Set (Image Entertainment, 2005)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

More hand-colored twirling skirts. The red portion is striking. An 1897 Edison film.

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

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Bells of Capistrano (film #12 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Commercial]

Fairly standard trailer for the musical Gene Autry western The Bells of Capistrano. Apart from the nicknames given to the sidekicks and the assertion that this is “The Greatest Show on Earth” (wonder what Barnum & Bailey’s lawyers thought of that one?), this is ordinary.

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

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Cindy Goes to a Party (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #319 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]

Tomboy Cindy is bummed out because she wasn’t invited to her friend Mary’s birthday party, presumably because of her tomboyish ways. Fortunately, her fairy godmother comes and saves the day, mostly by waving her magic wand to make rules of party etiquette appear in the air in front of her. Cindy and her friend Dennis (who is also afflicted with the same psychosis, even seeing the fairy godmother in a print of Whistler’s Mother) have fun at the party by being good little conformists and following all the fairy godmother’s rules. However, when Cindy begins to anticipate what the fairy godmother will say (which is not too difficult as her rules are incredibly obvious and elementary––“Don’t break things” is an example), the godmother slides into a fit of depressed uselessness, saying, “You don’t need me anymore!”, which is a cue for Cindy and Dennis to emotionally rescue her by insisting that they do too need her, and generally shoring up her fragile ego. So they are also learning the habits of codependence at an early age as well. As you might guess from the description, this film is incredibly campy and has a great deal of entertainment value. I always say you can’t go wrong with supernatural visitors, especially neurotic ones.

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

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