Blood and Sand Trailer (film #19 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Commercial]
Trailer in glorious Technicolor for the 40s big-budget bullfighting movie Blood and Sand. If you want the Hollywood version of Spain and bullfighting, then this is your trailer. If you want to see beautiful costumes and sets from Hollywood at its peak, then this is also your trailer. Personally, I’d rather watch Bully for Bugs. Like most SabuCat trailers, this is remarkably well preserved.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Bob Dylan & the Band, Isle of Wight 1969 (film #15 on Bedazzled. Also, film #10 in the Video section of Bedazzled). [Catgory: Sleaze & Outsider]
The Band performs the song “The Weight” in this live footage from the Isle of Wight concert. This is one of my favorite songs of theirs, so it’s fun seeing it live. The shaky camerawork and murky lighting make me think this may be a bootleg film––it sure looks like it was filmed by a member of the audience. Despite the title, Dylan is nowhere to be found in this clip.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Driven to Kill (film #456 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]
Lowell Thomas narrates this mawkish driving safety film. He tells us the story of Hal, a nice guy and solid citizen, except when he’s driving. Hal drives like a jerk and eventually causes an accident that kills the other driver. Thomas makes a lot of emotional hay with this, but somehow I doubt the film had much impact on jerky drivers. The film is very similar to many other driving safety films of its time, with little to make it stand out, other than Thomas and the shameless overacting of the woman who plays Hal’s wife.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Eyes of the Mummy (Hollywood's Attic, 1996). [Category: Early Film & TV]
This version has its title cards all in German, so it's a little hard to follow if you don't understand the language (like I don't), but eventually the story pieces itself together. A European explorer in Egypt discovers a beautiful Egyptian woman being held prisoner in a pyramid by a strange, wild-eyed Egyptian man. The European rescues her and takes her home with him, where she has a bit of trouble adapting to straightlaced Victorian society. She eventually makes a hit with her exotic dancing (yes, you read that correctly). Unfortunately, the wild-eyed Egyptian manages to track her down and begins harassing her in secret. The nice European guy is unable to prevent a tragic ending for them both. Pola Negri plays the exotic Egyptian woman and I bet this film made her career. An interesting exotic romance with some nice visual moments. Be warned if you're a monster fan, though, that there are absolutely no mummies in the film. A 1918 Ernst Lubitsch film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Astro Boy Opening (film #44 on ToonTracker Cartoon Showcase). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Cheesy, yet lovable opening of the 60s syndicated cartoon show “Astro Boy.” A great slice of early 60s kidvid.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
5th Republic: New Era Dawns as De Gaulle Invested (film #23 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: News]
50s newsreel showing the investiture of Charles De Gaulle as president of France, ushering in France’s 5th republic. This is pretty much what you’d expect (De Gaulle even ends his speech with “Vive L’France!”), but it has historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Herr Meets Hare (film #10 on Bugs & Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons (MGM/UA Home Video, 1989)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Now this is more like how we like to see Bugs Bunny! Bugs takes a wrong turn at Albuquerque and ends up in Germany's Black Forest, confronted by Hermann Goering himself. Of course, Goering is no match for Bugs. Bugs' impersonation of Hitler is priceless. And his impersonation of Brunhilde is a preview of What's Opera, Doc?Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Biggest Bomber (film #99 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Post-war newsreel showing the B-36 bomber, at that time the biggest bomber made. Also included is a story of General Eisenhower inspecting the military in Brazil. This is all very ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Flying with Arthur Godfrey (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #526 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
Arthur Godfrey hosts this film, sponsored by Eastern Airlines, where he tells us that although broadcasting is his bread and butter, his real passion is flying airplanes. He tells us all about his flying history, and shows us some early planes, but the real meat of the film is an extended section of him piloting a routine Eastern Airlines domestic flight in a Lockheed Super-Constellation. This is actually quite interesting, as he goes into detail about how a commercial airline is piloted, how to navigate over water, and how pilots use instruments to guide them when the weather prevents a visual approach. Then he shows us one of the Air Force’s latest jets, and an air force pilot does some stunts for us, as well as showing us what it’s like to be in a plane when the sound barrier is broken. The film ends with an Eastern Airlines bigwig accurately predicting that jets would soon take over commercial airline flights, and inaccurately predicting that the airlines would run helicopter shuttle services between downtown areas and airports. This is an engaging film that typifies the genre of the company feel-good film. Godfrey sweeps the viewer along on various flight adventures, while soft-selling the real message of the film, which is that commercial airline fight, at least as it’s done by Eastern, is completely safe, because nothing is left to chance. Godfrey is the perfect pitchman for this sort of thing, with all of his TV experience. In fact, his pitching goes into overdrive after awhile, causing him to plug Chesterfield cigarettes during the cruising stage (watching him and the other pilots smoke in the cockpit is a real hoot from today’s perspective), and to plug Air Force recruitment after the jet sequence. Overall, this is a classic example of the industrial film genre.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Hollywood Scrapbook (film #40 in the Documentary section of Movieflix). [Category: Hollywood]
In this 30s featurette, we see a bunch of random clips of stars engaging in various sports and recreational activities, narrated in a boring style by a guy who sounds like he’d rather be someplace else. The footage is blurry, most of the stars are minor and nearly unknown today, and the glimpses you get of them are brief. I think they could have tried harder with this one.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
County Hospital (film #10 on Laurel and Hardy DVD (Hallmark Home Entertainment, 2003)). [Category: Hollywood]
Ollie is laid up in the hospital with a broken leg, and everything is calm and peaceful until Stan arrives. Stan causes the usual mayhem and this gets them both kicked out of the hospital, but not before Stan accidentally sits on a hypo containing a powerful narcotic. Stan ends up driving Ollie home under the influence, resulting in one of the most bizarre driving process shots ever. This short is not one of the duo’s best, but it does have its moments. I like Stan’s subtle moments the best, such as his confused expression upon hearing the word “solarium.”Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Cattle Leaving the Corral (film #34 on America at Work, America at Leisure. Also in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Cattle are driven out of a corral, while a couple of cowboys sitting on the fence look on. This is pretty much as advertised, but for real cattle-leaving-the-corral action, I’d go with Cattle Driven to Slaughter. An 1898 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Development of a Salamander (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #430 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]
Silent film from the 20s that uses time-lapse photography to show the development of a salamander from egg to larva. I bet this was really amazing back in the 20s, and it’s still pretty interesting today. There’s something amazing about cell division and growth when you see it fast enough to detect the motion. This is well photographed and fairly well preserved, with some striking imagery for a video artist to mine.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Blood and Black Lace Trailer (extra on Blood and Black Lace DVD (VCI Entertainment). Also, extra on Horrors of the Black Museum DVD (VCI Entertainment)). [Category: Commercial]
Lurid, over-the-top trailer for the 50s horror movie Blood and Black Lace. The scenes shown are actually fairly scary, but the horror is skewered by the incredibly annoying narrator, who says things like, “It will skewer your emotions!” Yeah, buddy, if your voice doesn’t first.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Beatles Press Conference, Los Angeles, 8-16-64 (film #3 on Bedazzled. Also, film #3 in the Video section of Bedazzled). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This press conference from right after the Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time is a real free-for-all, with everybody talking at once, and reporters simultaneously firing questions at different members of the band. The Beatles, when you can hear them, answer with their usual humorous aplomb, especially John, who does his best to be a real smartass. This has historical value, as well as an authentic unscripted feel, but I wish you could hear the questions and answers better.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Extraordinary Illusions (film #3 on Marvelous Melies (A-1 Video)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A magician creates a woman from various parts, then brings her to life and puts her through all kinds of weird transmutations. I'd like to see both a Freudian analysis and a feminist critique of this one. A 1903 Melies film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Naomi Says Yes (film #26 in the Jewish Communities section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Public Service]
Susie, a puppet-animated member of Hadassah, is hell-bent on recruiting Naomi, a busy, puppet-animated Jewish housewife, into the organization. She does this by giving Hadassah the hard sell, and by forcing Naomi to climb a large, red line that represents Hadassah’s membership growth over the years. She succeeds eventually, despite the fact that neither she nor Naomi have working mouths. This is a cute, mildly strange film that makes its points well, though with the weird ambiance found in puppet animation. One of the more unusual films on the Spielberg Archive.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Assault from the Past (film #23 in the Action section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Imagine all of the famous armies and warriors of the past came and attacked us all today, due to a horrible mistake made during a time travel experiment. Only imagine it happened in Legoland. The result is all-out Lego war. The animation of the battle sequences is not bad, but the silent opening sequences, in which the plot is explained are kind of lame. Still, if you like war brickfilms, then this is your movie.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Feast Day Procession, Potero Hill (film #20 on Shaping San Francisco). [Category: News]
Brief clips of a church festival parade in San Francisco in 1937, narrated by somebody who remembers such festivals. The woman’s drum corps forms a striking image, but mostly this is pretty ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Beachhead and Breakthrough (film #2 on Side A of Disc #2 of the War in Europe section of Combat Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2006)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This documentary covers the early Allied advances after D-Day. This is one of the duller films in this series, focusing mostly on combat footage and on the takeovers of French towns. There are a few interesting moments in the liberation footage, but mostly this is very ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Flying Businessman (film #523 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This 50s film shows us all about how planes and air travel are used in business. It starts with a section on airline travel, and we see lots of grey-flannel-suited white men on airline flights, back in the days when air travel was relatively comfortable and luxurious. Then there’s a section on custom-designed company planes, and we get to see similar businessmen and secretaries doing work, and also resting and watching TV on luxurious-looking company planes. Then there’s a long section on businessmen learning to fly, and we get to see just what it’s like to take flying lessons, which is pretty interesting. The final section shows us a bunch of different brands and varieties of planes, including weird ones like the Aerocar, a flying car that never caught on but is a wonderful little obscurity in the history of flight. All in all, this is a fun film with lots of great visuals, as well as historical interest in documenting business flight during the 50s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Hell-Bent for Election (film #2 on The Memphis Belle (Video Treasures, 1989)). [Category: Military & Propagadna]
Chuck Jones directed this rather silly animated election promo for the 1944 presidential race. Joe the railroad switchman must throw the switch allowing the Win the War Special to get through on track 44, bypassing the Defeatist Limited, but he has to contend with a shady-looking politician from the D. Ltd. who tries to lull him to sleep. The Win the War Special has FDR's profile, while the Defeatist Limited represents the Other Leading Political Party. Of course, the Win the War Special stands for Victory, Progress, Economic Growth, Social Welfare, and everything else good, while the Defeatist Limited pulls along Depression, Inflation, Racism (the "Jim Crow Car"), Mudslinging, and even Hitler. In other words, politicking as usual, though the silliness of it makes it more palatable. Comes complete with catchy theme song with lyrics posted so you can sing along!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
A Corny Concerto (film #7 on Cartoon Explosion, Vol. 3: Corny Concerto/Jerky DVD (Front Row Entertainment, 2000). Also, film #26 on 50 Cartoon Classics DVD. Also, film #20 on Disc #4 of 150 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2005)). [Category: Hollywood]
This Warner Bros. 7-minute skewering of Fantasia is a great deal of fun, from Elmer Fudd’s embarrassing attempts to mimic Leopold Stowkowski, to seeing a standard Bugs Bunny chase toon done to the Strauss waltz “Tales of the Vienna Woods.” A necessary addition to any cartoon collection.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Cattle Driven to Slaughter (film #33 on America at Work, America at Leisure. Also, film # 58 on Edison Film Archive. Also in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Catagory: Early Film & TV]
Longhorn cattle are driven out of a corral and into eternity by cowboys wielding big sticks. Short, but has historical value. An 1897 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Blood Alley (film #3 in the John Wayne and Television section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Very cheap-looking trailer (or perhaps it was a TV commercial) for the 50s John Wayne vehicle Blood Alley. The cheapness is surprising, since by the 50s Wayne was making fairly big budget pictures. The cheapness adds to the camp value, as well as seeing Laruen Bacall push Wayne around, while the narrator tells us so. Brief and fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Amazing World of Psychic Phenomena (Tropic Twilight)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
This 70s Sunn Classic film, narrated by Raymond Burr, presents us with lots of “evidence” of psychic phenomena, including historical accounts of same, scenes of lots of psychic researchers doing experiments, the claims of famous psychics, and anecdotal reports from ordinary folks of strange experiences. These anecdotal reports are perhaps the most interesting, since they are usually fairly dramatic and lack motives for deception. They are also fairly campy, as they are generally recreated with terrible actors. No arguments from skeptics or debunkers is shown, because what fun would that be? How entertaining you find this may depend on where you sit on the skeptics vs. true believers spectrum, though skeptics may nevertheless enjoy the movie for its camp/ironic value. All in all, the movie provides a good overview of the psychic fad of the 70s, as well as containing very 70s clothing, hairstyles, and interior decoration.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Hollywood on Parade (track #1 on Studio Snapshots (Kino Video, 1998)). [Category: Hollywood]
Uh, I don't know what this is supposed to prove. This was supposed to be a "screen magazine", but the only magazine it resembles is one after it has been attacked with a pair of scissors by a collage artist. It features lots of Hollywood stars and also-rans doing lots of, well, stuff. The only requirement for each segment seems to be that it fill a certain amount of screen time. Some of it is rather silly, some of it is weird, a few segments have disturbing implications (Gary Cooper flirting with a chimp?!), some are lame, and many are inexplicable. It does solve one mystery, though––it is in this film that Bela Lugosi tells Helen Kane, "You have booped your last boop!" Leaves you scratching your head.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Motorboat Explosion (film #24 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
Brief 70s British PSA that warns motorboat owners to check for gas leaks before setting out. They do this by, as you can guess, showing a boat blowing up real good. Brief, but effective.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Aggressive Brown Water in the Tubes of the Professor (film #12 on German Cinema). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Early 70s German experimental film that appears to be about mass apartment evictions, possibly for urban renewal. A middle-aged white man argues with a group of women, possibly about the evictions. This alternates with more experimental scenes, such as a scene of a drawing of the man spewing blood from his mouth. The theme music from Shaft is somehow involved. It’s hard to make sense of this without understanding German, but there are some striking images here.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Apollo 9: Three to Make Ready (film #4 on Open Source Movies). [Category: News]
This NASA film documents Apollo 9, the mission that tested the Lunar Module and spacesuits later used in the moon landings. This is told straightforwardly, with few surprises, but in an interesting way nonetheless. There are some lovely images of the earth from space in the film, which also adds to its value. This was an important, but not very exciting mission, so the film did a good job in keeping it from being boring.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Battle of the Bulge (film #7 on Side A of Disc #2 of the War in Europe section of Combat Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2006)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This documentary covers the Battle of the Bulge, when the German lines bulged outward into northwestern Europe, slowing the Allied advance. The film covers the battle straightforwardly, with lots of compelling archival footage. There’s also an interesting section on the attempts made to allow the beleaguered GIs occasional opportunities for rest and recreation––I would like to see the original films the archival footage was taken from.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Flitful Flashes of First Alarms (film #22 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This 30s film shows us a great variety of the everyday tasks of New York’s firefighters, from putting out vehicle fires to stopping an ammonia leak to pulling a horse carcass out of the sewer to putting out prank fires kids set on election day. Lots of great scenes of vintage firefighting equipment are in this film, including scenes of old-time steamers. Lots of historical value here, and firefighting fans should find this interesting.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Developing Self-Reliance (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #429 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Eductational]
This Coronet film stars Woody from Dating Dos and Don’ts, though it’s not nearly as campy as the other film. Now that he’s got dating under control, his next problem is being too dependent on others, so a teacher gives him a set of simple steps to self-reliance, and soon Woody is so self-reliant he’s taking over whole projects at the Student Council. Of course, the adults responsible for this film didn’t really want teens to “make their own decisions,” or rather, they only wanted them to make their own decisions if their decisions were ones the adults would have made for them. Still, this film is not quite as farfetched as the usual Coronet outing. If we take its premise at face value, the “Steps to Self-Reliance” seem reasonable, though somewhat simplistic. But the teacher even admits that, saying that it takes a long time to develop self-reliance. For the most part, though, this is pretty standard Coronet stuff, meaning it’s charming in its own innocent way.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Cops (film #7 on Feature Films). [Category: Hollywood]
Buster Keaton’s snooty girlfriend won’t marry him unless he becomes a rich businessman, so after convolutedly stealing a guy’s wallet, he makes his first big investment, buying a load of furniture off of a con-artist who tells him a sob-story about being evicted. Unfortunately, the furniture actually belongs to a family that is waiting for the movers. But Buster doesn’t know this, so he drives the furniture away in a huge wagon. Eventually, after having some trouble with his horse, he ends up in a policeman’s parade, and if that wasn’t bad enough, he ends up catching a bomb thrown by the local anarchist, using it to light his cigarette and then casually tossing it into the massed policemen. This gets the whole force angry at him, and it all ends with a wonderfully clever chase scene, as Buster takes on and prevails over every cop in town. This is a fun Buster outing, with lots of great off-the-cuff gags, and some amazing stunts that show you just what an acrobat he was.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Extraordinary Cab Accident (film #19 on The Movies Begin, Volume Two: The European Pioneers (Kino Video, 1994)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A man gets run over by a horse-and-buggy cab but emerges unscathed due to the magic of special effects. Nya! Fooled ya! A 1903 Robert W. Paul film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Catching an Early Train (film #57 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A guy gets dressed in the morning with lightning speed thanks to the magic of running the film backwards. It’s fun to watch filmmakers discover all the neat little camera and editing tricks you can play in these early films. A 1901 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Handbook for Air Raid Wardens (film #6 on WWII V for Victory War Bonds & Rallies Show (Something Weird, 1996)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This training film for air raid wardens and the general public on how to deal with air raids is quite quaint when you consider that the U.S. never had to deal with any. It has a stark, educational-film quality about it that gives it a real wartime feel. It's hard to remember that in the days after Pearl Harbor people were really afraid of being bombed. This is a great wartime relic with much historical interest and a bit of campiness as well.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Blondie on a Budget Trailer (film #18 on SabuCat Movie Trailers). [Category: Commercial]
This trailer for a film in the 40s Blondie-and-Dagwood series is made way more annoying than it needs to be by a whiny-voiced narrator. Also, it gives away most of the plot. Still, the narration is bizarre and oblique, making this way weirder than your average trailer for a conventional comedy such as this. If ever there was a really bad trailer for a movie that wasn’t so bad, this is it.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Ain’t That Loving You, Baby (film #9 on Bedazzled. Also, film #8 in the Video section of Bedazzled). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
In this 60s TV clip, Glenn Campbell sings “Ain’t That Loving You, Baby.” This was back when he was a rock and roller, rather than the country star he would later be better known as. He really does rock out here, complete with backup singers and screaming teenyboppers. His guitar playing is impressive, though not helped at all by the dancers wielding prop guitars, though this only makes the clip more fun, reminding us that television, as well as other mainstream media of the time, just didn’t know how to deal with rock and roll.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Fireworks Recipe (film #16 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
70s British PSA urging parents to follow the Firework Code, a set of safety instructions available at fireworks dealers. This is straightforward and fairly effective at conveying its message, without resorting to sensationalistic depictions of injuries, like other PSAs of this type.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Apprentice (film #10 in the Action section of Brickfilms). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
In medieval Legoland, an old man’s apprentice battles the apprentice of an evil king in order to rescue a kidnapped girl. This silent brickfilm is technically well done, but the story seems to be only a section of a larger work, which cuts down the interest level somewhat.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Hollywood Extra Girl (film #39 in the Documentary section of Movieflix). [Category: Hollywood]
This charming short tells the story of a female extra and how she is given her big chance by Cecil B. DeMille during the filming of The Crusades. Memorable scenes include hearing the thoughts of various extras and why they keep doing it even though their chances of stardom resemble a snowball’s chance in hell, and hearing DeMille bawl out the hairdresser for letting an extra through with one of the latest 1930s hairstyles. The film is both encouraging and discouraging of ordinary peoples’ dreams of stardom, which is par for the course for this sort of thing. There’s a real charm to this, though, and despite its romanticized view of Hollywood there’s still a somewhat realistic “behind the scenes” feel to the proceedings. This film typifies the sort of thing I like to see in the Hollywood category.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Apollo 8 – Go for TLI (film #3 on Open Source Movies). [Category: News]
This 1969 film documents the Apollo 8 mission, the first to orbit the moon. The story is well told, giving a fair amount of drama to the proceedings, and adding interesting little details, like the fact that the astronauts got to have turkey TV dinners for their Christmas meal, while the mission control staff ate burgers and chips at their desks. This mission would be overshadowed by Apollo 11, so it’s interesting to see it get its due as an amazing feat in itself.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Battle of Supply (film #5 on Side A of Disc #2 of the War in Europe section of Combat Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2006)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This documentary covers the difficulties of shipping supplies to the front in the months after D-Day. It also covers the taking of Antwerp, Belgium, important to the Allies as a port city and thus a solution to the supply distribution problem. This is all told straightforwardly, with the help of some striking archival footage, as most of the films in this series. Military transportation buffs should enjoy the extensive scenes of trucks and of rebuilding European rail lines.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
500,000 to One (film #21 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This film about insects starts with a dramatic scene of the end of the world, with the last surviving form of animal life being a bug. Cheery thought, isn’t it? The rest of the film gives us way more information than we want to know about insects, with lots of visuals of various kinds of bugs, some creepy and some beautiful. It tells us that human beings have altered the balance of nature in ways that affect insect populations, mostly creating overpopulation of pests. The solution to this is to wage all-out war on the insects we don’t like––after all, we can’t be expected to alter our routines any, can we? Lots of spraying of everything with chemicals is shown, but to the film’s credit, other types of insect control are also mentioned, such as traps, quarantine, biological warfare, importing predators, and the good old-fashioned flyswatter. Priceless moments include the animated apocalyptic opening scene, a 50s housewife rescuing her freshly-frosted cake from an overeager kid armed with a flyswatter, a big ugly 50s car pulling a trailer that sprays everything in sight with insecticide, a scary scene of an exterminator in a gas mask fumigating a house with cyanide (says so on the warning signs), and a scientist injecting larvae one at a time with a deadly insect disease. Still, at least lip-service is paid to the idea that the cure of the insect problem shouldn’t create new problems in the future, making this a slightly more enlightened film than most 50s films on this subject. And junior entomologists will enjoy all the footage of bugs.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Destruction: Fun or Dumb? (film #11 on AV Geeks). [Category: Educational]
This 70s anti-vandalism film is as strident as any 50s film, plus it has an incredibly dorky theme song and lots of bad acting to boot. They may leave it to the students to decide if destruction is fun or dumb, but as for the film itself, I pick the latter. Sometimes you just want to break something, you know?Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Convict 13 (film #7 on Feature Films). [Category: Hollywood]
While playing golf near the penitentiary, Buster Keaton gets knocked out by his own ball just when an escaped prisoner happens by. The prisoner exchanges clothes with Buster, causing the pursuing guards to think he is the escaped convict. Buster runs, but because nothing ever goes right for him, he ends up back in the prison. The warden’s daughter helps him to escape hanging, and he gets the opportunity to exchange clothes again with a guard, but must contend with a huge bullying convict and a prison riot. Unfortunately, this is one of Buster’s weaker efforts, exchanging a complicated, farcical plot for Buster’s usual difficulties attempting to do ordinary things, which are hilarious. It does have its moments, especially in the satirical hanging sequence, but it could have been way funnier.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Explosion of a Motor Car (film #2 on The Movies Begin, Volume Three: Experimentation and Discovery (Kino Video, 1994)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A family has their nice Sunday drive ruined when their car explodes, leaving behind only a bunch of old metal parts and flummoxing a passing policeman. After dodging falling body parts for several minutes, the cop, in true cop fashion, writes out a ticket. My husband commented upon seeing this, "He's right. Somebody deserves a ticket for this!" A 1900 Hepworth film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Casting a Guide Box, Westinghouse Works (film #32 on America at Work, America at Leisure. Also, film #3 on Inside an American Factory. Also in the Historical section of Open Video Project.) [Category: Early Film & TV]
Molten metal pours from a huge vat into a mold. This takes a good long time and requires lots of manpower. It also looks like very dangerous work. This goes on a bit, but it has lots of historical value in documenting metal casting practices at the turn of the century. A 1904 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Gripes (film #3 on The Complete Uncensored Private SNAFU DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
SNAFU has nothing but complaints for the way the army is run, so Technical Fairy First Class gives him a chance to run things. He turns his outfit into a GI's paradise, that is, until the Germans attack. This is a pretty ordinary SNAFU, with a few good moments.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Blob Trailer (extra on The Blob DVD (The Criterion Collection, 2000). Also, film #35 in the trailers section of Movieflix.). [Category: Commercial]
Classic trailer for the classic 50s horror flick The Blob. How can you go wrong with lines like “will be oozing into this theater!” or “Starring Steve McQueen and a cast of exciting young people!” A must for your trailer collection.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
The Clash on Alright Now, March 1979 (film #67 in the Video section of Bedazzled). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
In this TV clip, the Clash are interviewed by a host in an outrageous black-and-white checked suit, and they tell us that they would like to be considered a rock and roll band, rather than a punk band, and definitely not a new wave band, because new wave artists wear skinny ties. Then they play a rousing version of “English Civil War”, while title cards tell us such bits of trivia as the fact that Mick Jones’ biggest influence was 3rd-rate rock bands from ’67-’73, or that Topper likes milking goats. A fun piece of rock history from the punk explosion.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Fireworks – Blind Child (film #14 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
British PSA from the 70s that tries to get parents to be careful with fireworks by putting the fear of blinding their children into them. Well made and effective.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Hollywood Boogie (film #1334 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Hollywood]
We get to see an all-girl orchestra in action in this lively soundie, but there’s no sign of Tony Curtis or Jack Lemmon. Seriously, this soundie is a lot of fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
As It Was Beckett (film #25 on German Cinema). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
This experimental German film seems to feature a middle-aged married couple arguing, though it’s hard to tell for sure because I don’t understand German. They do seem to be having an emotional time of it. At times, the action on screen freezes, but we still hear their voices on the soundtrack, perhaps to convey inevitability. This looks like an interesting film, so I wish I understood the language for this one.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Death on the Highway (film #6 on Hell’s Highway DVD (Kino Video, 2003)). [Category: Educational]
Excerpt from a really gory driver’s ed film showing such cheery things as cut-off limbs, blood-spattered pavement, and bodies cut in half. This would be really disturbing, except the blood was obviously retouched with bright red paint, which makes everything look fake. The film was obviously very cheaply made, with stark narration and no music. Too bad this is just an excerpt––the full film is probably a camp classic.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
FDR Social Security Act Speech (film #1051 on Open Source Movies). [Category: News]
In this film clip, Franklin Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act and gives a speech about how it will benefit Americans. This has no surprises, but it does have historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Battle for the Marianas (film #3 on Side A of Disc #2 of the War in the Pacific section of Combat Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2006)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This documentary covers the battles for the major islands in the Marianas: Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. These were quite bloody battles, and so there’s lots of grisly and brutal combat footage here. This is mainly a combat-focused documentary with lots of historical interest. But if you don’t like watching battles, it’s rather slow going.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Five Fires (film #1400 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
More spectacular fire footage from around the world. This one gets rather grisly, as it features scenes of dead bodies being taken out of ruins and identified. The aftermaths of several huge fires are shown in some scenes, and some of this footage is quite eerie. Other scenes just show lots of stuff burning up. Again, this is a great film for fire buffs.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Exploits of Elaine (acquired through trading). [Category: Early Film & TV]
This early serial is pretty hard to follow, since it's missing several chapters and though it's a U.S. production, some of the chapters are in French. The French chapters have lousy film quality to boot. It's about pretty Elaine Dodge and her attempts to track down her father's killer, mysterious supervillian The Clutching Hand. Helping her is Craig Dodge who appears to be a combination detective, newspaper reporter, and scientist (though I could be wrong about this––it’s kind of hard to tell). It is full of all the action and intrigue you'd expect in a serial, and one episode even includes a death ray. Still, I'm not much of a fan of the form, as you've probably guessed by now. A 1914 Pathe serial.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Fireworks – Bandage (film #12 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
70s British PSA in which a mother thoroughly mortifies her little girl by telling a neighbor in detail how she injured her heavily bandaged hand making a mistake with a sparkler. I mean, really, hasn’t the girl suffered enough? Although aimed at parents, I bet this had an impact on kids, if only to avoid embarrassment.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Comin’ Round the Mountain (film #1 on Disc #11 of 100 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004). Also, film #20 on Disc #3 of 150 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2005)). [Category: Hollywood]
This cartoon starts out fairly predictably, showing us two feuding hillbilly families, one of cats (the Catfields) and the other of dogs (the McHounds). After showing us a bunch of very old cat and dog and hillbilly gags, it suddenly turns into one of those “sing along with the bouncing ball” films, as we are asked to sing a wacked-out version of “Comin’ Round the Mountain” to welcome the new schoolmarm. That’s what I like about some of these old cartoons––sometimes they throw you for a loop.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Cartoon: TR’s Arrival in Africa (film #3 on Theodore Roosevelt). [Category: Early Film & TV]
The arrival of Teddy Roosevelt in Africa causes all the animals to scurry up a tree. Sorry, I gave away the whole plot of the cartoon. A 1909 film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Blitz Beer (film #8 in the Ida Lupino & Howard Duff section of TVParty). [Category: Commercial]
Fascinating 50s commercial for Blitz Beer that features silent film footage with silly dubbed-in voices and a plot that actually mentions drunken partying! A great old commercial that would never fly today.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Clash City Rockers (film #293 in the Video section of Bedazzled). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
The Clash rock out their song “Clash City Rockers” on this TV clip. No lip-synching here––this was obviously a live performance. In fact, this is one of the best TV performances I’ve seen of any band. The Clash was a breath of fresh air during the 70s––just ask Kevin Murphy.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Armageddon Factor Rehearsal #2 (film #90 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Another moment from the same rehearsal as in #1, this time featuring the Doctor telling off K-9 after he gives an “insufficient data” response. You know he’s always wanted to do this, so this is no surprise.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
FDR Sees Fear Vanishing (film #173 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: News]
President Roosevelt tells the public that, thanks to his work-relief programs, the winter relief rolls are down for the first time in five years. This has some historical value, but it’s pretty much just as I’ve said.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Awakening in the Pacific (film #2 on Side A of Disc #1 of the War in the Pacific section of Combat Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2006)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This documentary goes over the state of the countries and territories in the Pacific basin before Pearl Harbor, including the histories of Hawaii and Guam, US relations with Australia and New Zealand, and the political and social conditions in China and Japan before the war started. There’s a lot of great archival footage here of social and cultural practices in those countries at that time, giving this lots of historical interest, and setting a clear context for the other films in the series.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
First Alarms (film #1399 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
More 40s fires in and around New York City, courtesy of the Stillman Fires Collection. Other than a few mildly weird title cards (“Biscuits Burning,” “Horse Play=3 Dead”), this is like all the other Stillman films.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
The Goldbrick (track #5 on The Complete Uncensored Private SNAFU DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Private SNAFU is bummed out by the privations of army life until Goldie the Goldbrick (who looks like an early version of Technical Fairy First Class) comes to his rescue. Goldie advises SNAFU to cop out in such ways as faking illnesses to get out of drills, digging trenches only a few inches deep and then sleeping in them, and getting a buddy to pull his loads while he rides along in back. Needless to say, when he meets the enemy he is woefully unprepared. This is a fun cartoon. I especially like the part where SNAFU, faking illness once again, is duped by the "Honorable Booby Trap Hospital." The ending is racist, but fun nonetheless.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Come Softly to Me (film #30 in the Film section of Bedazzled. Also, film #112 in the Video section of Bedazzled). [Category: Hollywood]
Now this is the 50s! The Delta Rhythm Boys in pink dinner jackets singing “Come Softly to Me.” Smooth-as-silk doo-wop is a necessary addition to anyone’s collection.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Cartoon of TR’s Reception by the Crowned Heads of Europe (film #2 on Theodore Roosevelt). [Category: Early Film & TV]
The Crowned Heads of Europe sit on a stairstep device on a pier. Theodore Roosevelt arrives on a ship carrying, inexplicably, a large carrot. The Crowned Heads wave at him. This plot description is longer than the actual cartoon. Proof that limited animation was not invented for 60s TV. A 1910 film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Black Sunday Trailer (extra on Black Sunday DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999). Also, extra on Long Hair of Death DVD (Sinister Cinema)). [Category: Commercial]
This trailer for the Mario Bava film Black Sunday (here titled The Mask of Satan) is pretty straightforward, though it does have some striking visual imagery, which stimulates interest in the film. And it tells us that the film is distributed by Jolly Films, so how can you go wrong?Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Chimes of Freedom (film #137 in the Video section of Bedazzled). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Clip from the TV show “Shindig” featuring the Byrds singing “Chimes of Freedom” to the screams of teenyboppers. Ed Wynn introduces the clip in his inimitable style, and the lead singer of the band wears cool rectangular granny glasses. Fortunately, the screams of the teeny boppers don’t obliterate the music, though they do rise during close-ups of band members. A charming blast from the 60s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Here Comes the Circus (MST3K Episode #422: The Day the Earth Froze). [Category: Hollywood]
A newsreel featurette about the circus––whoop-de-doo. Even more dreary than a real circus. There are some pretty darn weird scenes of clown acrobats, though ("Oh, no! They're doing it clown style!" shouts Tom Servo). And the msting is great.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: **. Msting: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Motorbikes Stay Back (film #23 in the Public Info. Films section of TVArk). [Category: Public Service]
This British PSA advising motorcyclists to avoid tailgating and to pass widely features a catchy rock ‘n’ roll jingle, which makes it seem far more American than British. An oddity.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Armageddon Factor Rehearsal #1 (film #89 in the Cult section of TVArk). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Brief moment from a rehearsal for “Doctor Who” in which Mary Tamm and Tom Baker suddenly threaten to kiss each other, but it’s all in fun. All right, you two, knock it off!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
FDR Buys First Baby Bond (film #177 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: News]
Brief, mildly amusing newsreel story from 1935 in which President Roosevelt buys the first six small denomination government bonds, one for each of his grandchildren, and one for himself. He pays cash for them and we get to see that he carries hundred-dollar bills in his pocket. A mildly silly blip from the 30s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Attack in the Central Pacific: Makin and Tarawa (film #5 on Side B of Disc #1 of the War in the Pacific section of Combat Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2006)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This documentary covers the invasions of two key Pacific islands, Makin and Tarawa. This is all done pretty straightforwardly, though the section on the battle for Tarawa has lots of gritty combat footage of that very bloody battle. This has historical interest, but few surprises.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Fires Other Cities (film #1398 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
Boy, if you want to see fires, this is your movie. This firefighting film from the 40s features footage from big, spectacular fires all over the world. The footage from China features scenes of bystanders looking agog at the fire, while the scenes from Bombay are the most grisly, featuring widespread destruction and dead bodies. Unlike most of the other films in the Stillman Collection, which feature the heroics of the firefighters, the fires clearly win in all the scenes in this film. The film gives the overall impression that the 40s was one long worldwide inferno. This is the film to mine if you’re looking for footage of things burning up.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
A Day of Thanksgiving (extra on Blood Freak DVD (Something Weird, 2002). Also, film #3 on The Educational Archives, Vol. 5: Patriotism DVD (Fantoma, 2003). Also, film #8 on Lifestyles USA, Vol. 2 (Something Weird, 2000). Also in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #407 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]
A working class family has trouble making ends meet, and so the parents have to break the news to the kids that there will be no turkey for Thanksgiving this year. When the kids act like this is the End of the World, Dad changes their mind by having everybody in the family make a list of what they are thankful for. Mostly they are thankful for living in the good ol' U.S. of A., even if they are poor. This film would be laughable, except it's a Centron production, and the gritty Kansas feel gives it a certain poignancy. The kids' lists of what they are thankful for sound like genuine school compositions on the subject. And little Tommy has such a delightful Kansas twang, especially when he asserts, "We could make a list a mile long!" Some of the scenes are jarring, as when Mom says she is thankful for modern technology while we see her struggle to operate a wringer washing machine, or when she casually includes "a bill collector" into the list of nice people who might be at the door. These people are so sincere, and trying so hard to be brave, that you can't make fun of them. And that gives the message of this film a certain degree of believability, whereas it probably would have been so much hokey shmaltz in the hands of another production company.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Circus Capers (film #47 on 50 Cartoon Classics DVD. Also, film #5 on Disc #7 of 100 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004). Also, film #14 on Disc #1 of 150 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2005)). [Category: Hollywood]
This 30s toon starts out as a standard silly circus toon, with conventional gags, belly-dancing elephants, and lame ripoffs of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. However, it gets weirder as it develops a plot concerning a romantic triangle between fake Mickey, fake Minnie, and the Master of Ceremonies. This culminates in a truly bizarre rendition by Fake Mickey of “Laugh, Clown, Laugh.” After he spurns fake Minnie in the end, his face suddenly goes into extreme closeup. Once his black nose fills the screen, we’re suddenly in a different toon involving a duckling who has to visit the little duck’s room. Huh??Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Carriers Leaving Building, U.S.P.O., Version 2 (film #31 on America at Work, America at Leisure. Also in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Category: Early Film & TV]
Like Version 1, but with lots more mailmen. This makes it slightly better than Version 1. A 1903 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Black Dragons Trailer (extra on Mysterious Mr. Wong DVD (Sinister Cinema). [Category: Commercial]
Fairly standard trailer for the Bela Lugosi horror-mystery Black Dragons. No surprises here, but Lugosi fans should enjoy this.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Bunny Yeager’s Nude Las Vegas Trailer (film #53 in the Film section of Bedazzled. Also, film #164 in the Video section of Bedazzled). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Trailer for a very cheap 60s nudie. In this film, “nude” seems to consist of topless, but wearing bikini bottoms. Campiest is the badly-acted scene of the painter convincing two models to pose for him (or so the narrator says––there are no sound clips here). Pretty much what you’d expect, though it is fairly campy.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Modern Guide to Health (film #6 on National Archives). [Category: Public Service]
Delightful British animated film from the 40s designed to teach basic health concepts, such as good posture, the value of exercise, and how to get a good night’s sleep. They make full use of animation here to illustrate and personify good and bad habits. I especially like the hallucinations the woman who can’t sleep has. I love this kind of cute public service film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Ex-Convict (film #19 on The Origins of Cinema, Volume One: The Films of Thomas Edison (Video Yesteryear, 1995)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A sentimental tale, told in eight installments, of an ex-con who can't find a job but who is really a nice guy at heart, as evidenced by his selfless rescue of a little girl from being run over by a car. Finally, desperate to get some money to support his wife and sick little girl (tears jerked yet?), he resorts to burglary. By an incredible coincidence, he breaks into the house of the little girl he saved from being run down, and before the man of the house can shoot the ex-con, the little girl recognizes him as the man who saved her life. Virtue is rewarded, and the little girl's family shows up at the ex-con's house with money for the sick girl's medical treatment. This is the kind of silent melodrama that created the stereotypes of same. A 1904 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Argument Miss Mary Ann Gets Into with One of the Kids About Guns (film #4 in the Romper Room section of TVParty). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Priceless clip from a 70s episode of “Romper Room” in which one of the little kids asserts that he’s not afraid of anything as long as he’s carrying a gun. Miss Mary Ann, the host, is shocked by this and starts arguing with him about gun safety. This is memorable, to say the least, and just shows the sort of unscripted weirdness you sometimes find on live TV. Considering that few “Romper Room” episodes were preserved at all, this is a real find.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Farmers Aim to Break Picket Line (film #183 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: News]
Newsreel story from the 30s about farmers in Iowa striking for higher prices, while an anti-strike group breaks their picket line to send farm products to market, and rail lines and bridges that were destroyed by the strikers are repaired. Another example of frightening social unrest during the 30s. Lots of historical value here.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
At Japan’s Doorstep: Okinawa (film #2 on Side B of Disc #2 of the War in the Pacific section of Combat Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2006)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
This documentary goes over the US invasion and takeover of the island of Okinawa during 1945. Lots of gritty combat footage is featured. Also covered are the death of President Roosevelt, and the Japanese kamikaze attacks on US ships. There are no real surprises here, but there’s lots of interesting archival footage to look at, giving the film historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Fires Miscellaneous 2 (film #1397 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This 40s firefighting film features footage of an assortment of fires, mostly in tenements, revealing what firetraps those were. One fire shown was at the Pleasant Waste Materials Company, a memorable name if ever there was one. Other than that, this is typical firefighting stuff, ending inexplicably with footage of fire burning in a rectangular pan.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Going Home (film #13 on The Complete Uncensored Private SNAFU DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Private SNAFU goes home on leave and blabs confidential information about his outfit to everybody who will listen, resulting in his outfit being wiped out. This is a really cleverly-done cartoon. Every time SNAFU shoots his mouth off, his words are transformed from private conversation into some form of public broadcasting. For example, his conversation in a movie theater about a secret weapon turns into on-screen newsreel footage of the weapon in all its particulars, a conversation with his girl behind the bushes in the park gets flashed on a neon sign, and a conversation in a barber shop is skywritten with an airplane. I love this concept, especially the newsreel footage (fake ephemera-within-ephemera?) and the neon sign. Ironically enough, this cartoon was never released because the "secret weapon" portrayed was too similar to the atomic bomb, a real secret weapon at the time.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Chick and Double Chick (film #11 on Disc #3 of TV Cartoon Classics DVD Boxed Set (Platinum Disc, 2005)). [Category: Hollywood]
Little Lulu and her dog must protect a bunch of chicks from a hungry cat, lest her father get rid of the dog. This is really a very ordinary cartoon, which doesn’t even make much use of the character and usual antics of Little Lulu. It’s an example of what happens when a particular cartoon franchise winds down, resulting in cartoons that are generic.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Carriers Leaving Building, U.S.P.O., Version 1 (film #30 on America at Work, America at Leisure. Also in the Historical section of Open Video Project). [Category: Early Film & TV]
A whole bunch of mailmen dressed in suits leave the post office. A few get on bicycles, but most are on foot. This has historical interest, but it’s not much. A 1903 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
The Black Devil Trailer (extra on Starman, Vol. 1 DVD (Something Weird, 2002)). [Category: Commercial]
This trailer is basically for a dubbed Zorro ripoff. A masked swordsman beats off enemies, while we hear hyperbolic narration on the soundtrack. This is mildly campy because of its cheesiness, but mostly it’s pretty much what you’d expect.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Brain on Drugs (film #3 in the Hippies section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
Op-art animations attempt to simulate a hallucinogenic drug trip. This is mildly trippy, but I’ve seen better. Also, it’s silent footage––some psychedelic music on the soundtrack would have really added to it.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Mr. Finley’s Feelings (film #7 on Angry Night DVD (A/V Geeks). Also, film #29 on AV Geeks). [Category: Public Service]
Mr. Finley has an anger-management problem. He gets ticked off at his boss after being given a last-minute assignment to be completed at home. He gets even more steamed when he realizes he’ll have to miss his poker game to get it done. At home, he builds towards the boiling point when family members disturb his work. Finally, he storms off in a paranoid rampage, believing everybody’s against him, and ends up in jail on a reckless driving charge. His friend George visits him and helps him to see that he has a distorted view of other people, interpreting innocuous statements and acts as signs that people are against him. He is surprised to find out that most people think well of him, and are not even angry at him for the drunk driving charge, just concerned. This starts him on the road of change. This animated mental hygiene film is one of the more realistic and sympathetic I’ve seen. The ending is somewhat pat, but at least there is some acknowledgement that change will take time and effort. And the visuals are wonderfully creative, especially the scene of Mr. Finley’s driving rampage, which is a surreal 3-D montage of city streets, signs, and traffic lights. This is one of the more impressive films of the mental hygiene genre.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Arena (film #3 in the Miscellaneous section of TVArk). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Opening credits of a 1975 British documentary show, featuring a bottle floating in water and soundtrack music from Brian Eno’s Another Green World. Mildly weird, but mostly leaves you scratching your head.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Health Wheel (film #3 in the Makeovers, Diets & Fitness section of WPA Film Library). [Category: Hollywood]
Forget Pilates––check out the latest exercise fad of the 20s: the Health Wheel! This footage from a British newsreel shows us crazy folks from “the continent” rolling around inside of giant wheels that look like they’re made of tubular metal. Actually, this footage is quite striking, and when you consider that Futurism was also all the rage in Europe during the 20s, you almost feel as if people have finally become machine parts. It does look like fun, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
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Better Reading
Better Reading . Teenager Harold Wilson has a problem—he can’t read for (expletive deleted). So he has to spend all his free time studying ...
