Flood Relief: President Inspects Area and Speeds Aid (available for download on Universal Newsreels).
This 50s newsreel documents flooding in the Northeast, with some striking scenes of disaster and devastation. Also included are stories on war in North Africa, elections in the Saar region of West Germany, a train wreck in Massachusetts, and an anti-tank weapon called “the Thing.” This is pretty standard, though it does have some good disaster footage and a few scenes of interesting-looking German political posters. “The Thing,” sadly, is interesting in name only.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Jiveroo (film #1386 on Prelinger Archive).
This soundie features a slightly strange nightclub floor show, with chorus girls in mini skirts, a geeky-looking Spanish dancer in a bolero jumpsuit, and what looks like an African-American woman in a French maid’s outfit. They all dance to a peppy jazz tune in typical floor show style, except for the Spanish guy, who bends like he’s Gumby. For the most part, though, this is a pretty typical soundie.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Britain’s Roosevelt Memorial at Grosvenor Square (available for download on Universal Newsreels).
Brief British newsreel story about the erecting of a memorial in honor of Franklin D. Roosevelt for his role in helping the Allies win the war. This has historic value, but it’s pretty ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Drive Your Bike (film #459 on Prelinger Archive).
This bicycle safety film from the 50s is incredibly cheaply-made and stilted. In it, some boys are discovered playing in a car. When their dad asks them about it, they tell them that they have been learning at school all about “driving their bikes;” that is, following all the traffic rules so that they will have less to learn when they finally get old enough to learn to drive a car. Then they go over all the standard safety rules with their dad in a very stilted fashion––considering Dad was on his way to work, I’m surprised that he sticks around for this as long as he does. Perhaps his job is even more tedious. Anyway, after hearing all of this, Dad then asks them if they really do it, instead of just talking about it––a sensible question if ever there was one. The boys then proceed to provide not one, but three examples of them avoiding accidents because of “driving their bikes.” Dad finally leaves for work at this point, but the film goes on to show us a bit of the coach’s bicycle safety class. By this time, you have a headache from having all this stuff beaten into it so repeatedly and stiltedly. This film is campy fun in brief snatches, but it hurts to watch the whole thing.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (acquired through trading).
No, this is not an episode of the popular serial that we all remember. This is the first filmed version of Buck Rogers, which was a short that was shown at the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair (which is why it is in the Industrial category). Well, what can I say here? The direction in incredibly stagey, the acting is wooden, and the special effects are laughable. But that’s more than made up for by the incredibly campy costumes and sets, which are over-the-top. The main battle in outer space is done entirely with toy rockets, wires, fireworks, and a hypno-vision effect, all narrated by the scientist character (otherwise it would be impossible to follow). This is as much fun as an Ed Wood film, which means it’s funnier than many so-called comedies. Too bad I can’t tell you where to get a copy––it was on a DVD+R disc with the movie The Reluctant Saint that my husband got in a trade.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****+. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Bellazza (available for download on Bedazzled).
Bobby Rydell sings an Italian love song to his lady love in this Scopitone with an Italian flavor. Well, OK, he pronounces the title word “bell-late-suh.” And his sings to his blonde girlfriend at a ski resort. And there are three annoying female backup singers with no discernible singing or dancing talent, but cool pairs of white go-go boots, who break into the proceedings periodically. And they dance the limbo in a very Caucasian way. OK, I guess this is as Italian as Spaghettios, but that’s what makes it fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
A Fishy Tale (film #3 on Who Built America? (Voyager CD-ROM, 1993).
No, not a silly fish tale, this is documentary footage of New York City's Lower East Side Jewish pushcart fish market. The narration gives an interesting account of the history of the market and its customers. A 1903 Edwin S. Porter film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Amos ‘n’ Andy – Calhoun to the Rescue (available for viewing on You Tube).
This is an episode of the controversial sitcom that’s been edited down to about 10 minutes. In it, the Kingfish masterminds an elaborate scheme to get his nephew to buy a failing antique shop that the owner promised Kingfish a commission if he can find a buyer for it. This has some funny moments and the editing isn’t too awkward, so it does give you some idea of what the sitcom was like. As you might expect, it is broadly comic and somewhat stereotyped, but it’s not as offensive as you might expect, and the twists and turns of the plot are amusing.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Ann-Margaret Canada Dry TV Commercial (available for viewing on Bedazzled. Also available for viewing on You Tube).
Ann-Margaret does a big, mod production number in praise of Canada Dry soft drinks that goes on and on and on. This is very 60s, though in a Madison Avenue sort of way.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Bo Diddley Live at Montreux Jazz Festival 1970 (available for viewing on You Tube).
Bo Diddley sings (what else?) “Bo Diddley” live at the Montreux Jazz Festival. This looked like a great concert, with lots of energy, and you just can’t stop that propulsive beat of his. See? It’s going through your head right now.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Land of the Giants (available for download on Google Video).
Another 30s Department of the Interior film about state parks, this one focuses on the ones being developed in California’s redwood country. The film is long and kind of drags a bit, but it does show beautiful scenery and has lots of historical interest in showing the development of California’s state parks and the activities of the CCC. This film goes out of its way to praise the CCC and sell us on the idea that the program is a great thing for the young men who are its volunteers, as well as the rest of the country.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
It's Murder She Says... (film #26 on The Complete Uncensored Private SNAFU DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999). Also, film #9 on disc #2 of Pearl Harbor: Before and After DVD (Triton, 2001)).
The Anopholes mosquito is portrayed as an aging party girl, who used to live the high life on soldier's blood, until the army wised up and took stringent methods against her. But she still has her way with shirtless, repellentless Private SNAFU. The concept here is fairly clever and unusual, though it could be funnier. This one makes me wonder just how many SNAFUs were about malaria prevention, though––this must have been a major sticking point with the army.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Andy Kaufman – Blue Moon of Kentucky (available for viewing on You Tube).
Andy does a dead on impression of Elvis singing “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” That’s it, really, but it’s not a bad impression.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
5 Nations Seek Balloon Title (available for download on Universal Newsreels).
30s newsreel showing competitors in a balloon race taking off and talking from their balloons by radio. Also included is a story about Major Ernst Udet doing stunt flying in a biplane at an air race. This is pretty ordinary, but it does give us a taste of how flight wowed ‘em back in the 30s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Akron Hulk Salvage (available for download on Universal Newsreels. Also available for viewing on You Tube.)
Brief, silent newsreel story of the wreck of the airship USS Akron being fished from the deep. The images of the wreck are striking and give you an idea why airships never quite became a viable form of travel.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Frigidaire Imperial Line (available for download on Open Video Project. Also available for download on Prelinger Archive).
This bombastic film from 1957, meant to introduce the new “Imperial Line” of Frigidaire appliances, is the ultimate populuxe monstrosity. Appliances are talked about in endlessly bombastic, yet reverent tones while a single, elegantly dressed housewife walks from one to the other to demonstrate them. At times, she caresses the appliances almost ecstatically, yet it is a restrained ecstasy designed not to undercut the reverence. The campiest and weirdest section involves a surrealistic montage of appliance parts that drift past the women, supposedly reprenting “a woman’s dreams.” Monderninity is worshipped here, as everything new, technological, and modernistically designed is portrayed as All Good. The appliances have the spare design of a modern glass-walled skyscraper, while the range control panel resembles the controls of an airplane. All of this is great fodder for post-modern critique, though the film’s reverent tone reduces its camp value somewhat. Still, this is a striking example of 50s populuxe thinking at its apex.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
A Jazz Etude (film #1383 on Prelinger Archive).
A guy in white tie and tails does a tap dance to a peppy jazz tune. This soundie had my toes tappin’.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Ammi Belcacem (available for download on Bedazzled).
This Arabic Scopitone features an attractive female singer in Western dress singing what sounds like the Arabic version of pop music. She has flirty facial expressions, but doesn’t move her body at all, though at one point she shows us her hair, a decidedly non-Muslim thing to do. Her backup singers all sport Western dress and hairstyles, but rather than dancing, they sit politely behind her while singing their parts. This Scopitone provides a fascinating glimpse into the pop music of another culture.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Cheerios (available for viewing on Movieflix).
Early 50s Cheerios commercial that features an early version of the Cheerios Kid and a great 50s Cheerios box. Brief, but captures that 50s tv commercial feel.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Angel Levine Trailer (extra on The Angel Levine DVD (MGM)).
Trailer from the 70s film The Angel Levine, in which Harry Belafonte plays an angel who visits Zero Mostel. Since this is the 70s, rather than the 40s (the heyday of this sort of thing), this is tough and depressing rather than charming and inspirational. It does a fairly good job of making the film look intriguing, though.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Drive and Survive (film #7 on Disc 2 of Hell’s Highway DVD (Kino Video, 2003)).
Gory clip from a 60s driver’s ed film that goes over the possible causes of accidents. This stands out because it doesn’t completely blame the driver, but also talks about unsafe auto design and highway engineering as possible factors. It also gives some good advice about what to do if you find yourself in a zero visibility situation. Of course, the gory visuals of corpses tell a different story.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Blockbuster (available for download on Bedazzled).
In this TV clip, 70s glam-rockers The Sweet sing “Blockbuster.” It’s all long hair and glitter, and the guitarist in the SS uniform and Hitler mustache is guaranteed to offend your parents. I think I know where Spinal Tap got a lot of their ideas.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Formations (available for download on Open Video Project. Also available for download on Prelinger Archive).
This Jam Handy driver safety film from the 30s tells us we should drive as if we are pilots flying in formation, which is just a goofy way to say we should be aware of the other cars on the road. The film goes over basic defensive driving strategies in the imitable Jam Handy style, which is lively and a bit silly. The film also gives us a good idea of what driving was like back in the 30s, an era of signaling turns with hands and fewer traffic laws. Typical Jam Handy fare with historical interest.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
A Fire in a Burlesque Theatre (film #34 on The Art of Cinema Bagins (Video Yesteryear, 1997). Also, film #34 on The Movies Begin, Volume One: The Great Train Robbery and Other Primary Works (Kino Video, 1994)).
Firemen rescue some fancily-clad burlesque dancers from a burning theatre. Lots of uncovered bestockinged legs––hubba, hubba! The version on The Movies Begin is in better shape than the one on The Art of Cinema Begins. A 1904 Biograph film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: **.
Andy Kaufman and Howdy Tell a Tale (available for viewing on You Tube).
Andy Kaufman does possibly the worst ventriloquist act ever, with the help of a tattered Howdy Doody Puppet and a flip-over Little Red Riding Hood/Grandmother/Wolf doll, but because it’s Andy, he makes it work. The story of Little Red Riding Hood is successfully told despite the fact you can’t understand a word the puppets say. A fun clip from Andy’s early days of weirdness.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Blue Streak Rocket (available for viewing from National Archives).
The Blue Streak rocket was a rocket developed by the British in the 50s to be an ICBM. When if failed at that function, it was tested in Britain’s early space program as a possible rocket for satellite launching. This early 60s film shows us the rocket being built and test-launched in Australia, with a very excited and hopeful air. However, the National Archives site tells us the rocket failed tests as a space vehicle and was eventually pulled from production, so that colors the film. The film is pretty ordinary for the most part, but you can’t help but begin to get a pathetic feeling for western Europe’s collaborative space program at this time.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Bonn Hails Ike: Says US Will Stand by Berlin (available for download from Universal Newsreels).
50s newsreel story about a visit by President Eisenhower to West Germany to attend talks about the status of Berlin. This is unsurprising, but it has some historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
The Infantry Blues (film #6 on The Complete Uncensored Private SNAFU DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999). Also, film #7 on Private S.N.A.F.U. (Rhino, 1992)).
Private Snafu sings the blues about all the hardships he suffers in the infantry. He is sure that the other branches of the service have much cushier jobs. Technical Fairy First Class gives him his wish to change services and he learns that every G.I. has it tough. I like Technical Fairy First Class' faux auctioneer patter and the concluding song, sung to the tune of "Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo".Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Freeze-In (available for viewing on A/V Geeks. Also available for download from AV Geeks. Also available for download from Google Video).
Man, the 60s could get weird. This sales training film for freezer salesmen at Sears features Judy Carne and Arte Johnson in a “Laugh-In” version of freezer sales. Mostly, this involves a lot of lame gags featuring Carne as a goofy housewife and Johnson as a hapless freezer salesman. These are punctuated by “Sock It to Me” freezer gags and Johnson saying “verrrry interesting!” This was supposed to encourage the Sears salesmen to pitch their product to young housewives by promising convenience, rather that pitching to farmers and promising cubic foot space, like they had been doing for years. What the salesmen thought of this film remains lost in the mists of time, but today it elicits a huge “Huh?”Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Jack Frost (film #13 on The Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999)). Also available for viewing in the Cartoon section of Movieflix. Also, film #4 on She (Sinister Cinema). Also, film #3 on The Cartoons That Time Forgot, Volume 3: Things That Go Bump in the Night (Kino Video, 1993).).
This cute kid's cartoon features a bear cub that dares to tussle with Old Man Winter instead of hibernate, despite the warnings of Jack Frost and his mother. This is your basic kiddy cartoon plot about a child who does something he shouldn't and lives to regret it. There are a few cute cartoony touches, but for the most part it's pretty ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Army Explorers in Space (available for download from Open Source Movies).
This late-50s army film documents the first successful American satellite, Explorer 1. At last, we had finally caught up with Sputnik! This has a stripped-down feel to it, unlike the high-tech films of NASA to come. Other than that, it’s pretty ordinary, but it does have some historical interest.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Big Flame-Up (film #7 on Cartoon Sing-Along DVD (PC Treasures, 2006)).
A fire department made up of various cartoon animals fights a fire in a fireproof warehouse made up of anthropomorphic cartoon flames. The flames generally prevail, getting strong enough to lead the audience in a rousing chorus of “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight.” I like singing and dancing inanimate objects a lot, and these flames are particularly anarchic. The song is a lot of fun, of course, and the animal firefighters are appealingly goofy. This is not a great cartoon on say, the Warner Bros. level, but there’s lots to enjoy here.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Door to Heaven (film #1 on The Educational Archives, Vol. 6: Religion DVD (Fantoma, 2003). Also available for download from Open Video Project. Also available for download from Prelinger Archive).
This 40s religious film takes abstract spiritual concepts and makes them concrete through a host of visual aids. Salvation is portrayed as a literal Door to Heaven. Mistaken routes to heaven, such as Good Works, Church Attendance, and (my favorite) Self-Righteousness are also portrayed as doors marked with the proper signs to identify them. Qualities that must be let go of on entrance to heaven are portrayed as actual objects, my favorite being a huge brown-wrapped package labeled “SIN” (wonder what’s in it?). Although amusingly simplistic, this film is utterly charming in its sincerity and kooky-looking props, so I’m not going to be too hard on it. Its religious message is reasonably sound for the believers and would-be believers it was made for, so why not let the prop department have a little fun?Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Chauncey Depew, Senator Perkins, and Governor Whitman of New York at GOP Convention, 1916, Chicago, Ill. (available for download from Theodore Roosevelt).
Early newsreel showing delegates to the Republican National Convention in 1916 in Chicago, and the coliseum where it was held. This is well preserved and has historical value as a record of the political machinations of the time, as well as being a good example of an early newsreel. A 1916 Pathe film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Andy Griffith for Post Cereal (available for viewing on You Tube).
Andy Griffith shows us a pop art tie that somebody sent him, then tells us that he deals with 60s confusion by eating Post Toasties, an “old reliable”. A blast from the Silent Majority (remember them?) of the 60s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Beatles Around the World (Treasure Box Collection)).
This dollar store DVD features TV news footage and newsreels of some of the Beatles’ travels. Mainly, these are travels to Australia, though the last segment features their return to England after their first US tour. Hordes of screaming fans predominate this footage, giving you an idea of the sheer intensity of Beatlemania at its height. The footage is well preserved, and though the DVD is short, it has a place in the collections of ephemera lovers and Beatles fans.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Fire! (film #38 on The Movies Begin, Volume Two: The European Pioneers (Kino Video, 1994)).
A policeman discovers a house fire and calls out the fire brigade. The brave chaps rush to the fire and do their duty admirably, saving the residents of the house in the process. This is an interesting snapshot of how fires were put out back in the days of horse-drawn fire wagons. It also includes most of the cliches we've come to expect in fire scenes, including a fireman saving trapped man who had despaired that all was lost, and the fireman spreading out a rug for another trapped resident to jump into. A 1901 James A. Williamson film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Dead Right (available for viewing on You Tube).
This Sid Davis pedestrian safety film from the 70s is aimed at adults for a change. It’s pretty straightforward, and not as full of scare tactics as you would expect from Davis, though he does show us a guy with a spinal cord injury he sustained after being hit by a car when he thought he had the right of way. The basic message of the film is that even if you legally have the right of way, you could still get slammed by a car if you don’t pay attention and use good judgment crossing the street, and if you get injured or killed, the fact that you were “right” will be small consolation. This is a sensible message for the most part, making this film less campy than the usual Davis fare, though the scene of the drunk pedestrian is mildly campy and the clothes, hairstyles, cars, and general depressing look of the film just screams 70s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Adventure of the Dumbfounded Detective (extra on The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes DVD (MGM, 2003)).
This is a vignette that was scripted but deleted from the film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. In it, Holmes recounts a story from his youth about an experience that led him to distrust women and romance. There is little of the filmed scene, and the empty spaces are filled with pages from the printed script and photographs. Still, you get a pretty good idea of the story. I felt the vignette was pretty obvious, but maybe it worked better within the context of the full film. Holmes fans may enjoy this glimpse into the famous detective’s youth.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
First US Satellite Launched (available for download from Universal Newsreels).
50s newsreel documenting the successful launch of Explorer I, the first US satellite. It was well behind the Soviets, but that wasn’t mentioned. Also included is a story on Egypt and Syria merging to form the United Arab Republic. This is a fairly standard 50s newsreel with some historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Blue and Gray at 75th Anniversary of Great Battle (available for download from Universal Newsreels).
30s newsreel of the unveiling of a Civil War monument at Gettysburg by President Roosevelt. Civil War veterans of both north and south shake hands over a dividing line. This was back when there were still living Civil War veterans, which gives this some historical interest. Unfortunately, the sound is only intermittent and the visuals are dark and murky, which reduces its value somewhat.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Freedom and Power (available for download from Open Video Project. Also available for download from Prelinger Archive).
This 50s film, sponsored by General Electric, is the quintessential industrial capitalist propaganda film. It tries very hard to sell the idea that what’s good for General Electric is good for the nation. It starts with a brief history of the American Revolution and manifest destiny, then goes on to the history of electrical technology, calling invention “another kind of pioneering.” Then we get to see the world of the 1950s “electrical age,” and how electricity has given us more freedom and power. Then the life of an old man is profiled, as it shows how electricity has changed American life in his lifetime. Then, of course, it goes on to show us the electrical future, including a wonderful profile of an all-electric “Home of the Future.” We just get to the glories of atomic energy, when suddenly the film casts a Cold War shadow on all these rosy proceedings, and starts emphasizing how we must diligently protect our freedoms against the godless Commies. It ends bombastically, with the future of America involving endless industrial growth, with no downside to such growth presented whatsoever. This is a great film for showing us what corporate America wanted the American people to think during the 50s. It’s all here: endless growth, technology as the answer to all human problems, red-baiting, and visions of the World of Tomorrow. A great piece of history, as well as a film that is ripe for parody and msting.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Infant and Child Care (film #8 on Atomic Scare Films, Vol. 2 (Something Weird, 2000)).
Infant and child care under "disaster," i.e. bomb shelter, conditions is the topic here. Although in color, this film is stark and bleak. Somehow, seeing kids languidly tossing a baseball back and forth in a bomb shelter gives immediate meaning to the phrase "the living will envy the dead," especially if you imagine them having to stay in the shelter for more than a few days. Even teens are touched upon, and that opens up a whole new can of worms in your mind. One of the better arguments against nuclear war.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Baseball Bugs (available for download from Google Video).
Bugs Bunny’s big mouth gets him into a single-handed baseball game against the Gas House Gorillas, a real bunch of hoodlums. This classic Bugs toon features all the great Warner Bros. baseball gags you remember, including the screaming fly ball, Bugs pulling a reversal in the “safe/out” argument, and the “he got it” gag. A necessary piece of pop culture.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Jack and the Beanstalk (film #24 on The Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 1 DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999)).
This cartoon retelling of the traditional fairy tale has lots of wonderful cartoony touches, such as anthropomorphic magic beans and a doorbell on the giant's castle that plays the upper towers like a calliope. Cute and lots of fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
Charleston Chain Gang (available for download from America at Work, America at Leisure. Also available for download in the Historical section of Open Video Project).
A chain gang is marched out for work, complete with chains, striped suits and all. Most of the prisoners are African-American. A bit of American prison history, as well as a source of stereotypes. A 1902 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Alka-Seltzer (available for viewing in the Buster Keaton on TV section of TVParty).
Buster Keaton plays a mountie in trouble who is helped by Speedy Alka-Seltzer to relieve his headache and indigestion and, oh yeah, get his man as well. This is a fun commercial with Keaton providing a not-embarrassing celebrity appearance and Speedy providing a cute Mr. Product character.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Alan Freed’s Big Beat Dance Party Dancers (available for viewing on Oldies Television).
We see a bunch of 50s teenagers dancing to a doo-wop song on “Alan Freed’s Big Beat Dance Party.” Then we see some brief clips of Freed answering to payola charges, and then a clip from the show after the host was replaced. This is definitely a piece of rock and roll history that needs to be preserved.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Land of Ten Thousand Lakes (available for download from Google Video).
This 30s Department of the Interior film shows us scenes from several of Minnesota’s state parks. But unlike most of the films in this series, there’s no mention of history, park improvements, or the Civilian Conservation Corps. Instead, the focus is on the people who visit the parks for recreational purposes. Scenes of people camping, hiking, fishing, and picnicking in beautiful surroundings are shown with a minimum of narration. This gives the film a lot of historical value in showing us what outdoor recreation was like in the 30s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Alan North Audition (extra on Police Squad! DVD (CBS Paramount, 2006)).
Several audition tests for Alan North, the actor who played Frank Drebbin’s boss on “Police Squad!” These are pretty stark, but they do show that North had the character of Ed Hocken down pat, and that the scripts were pretty strong.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Don’t Touch (available for viewing on A/V Geeks. Also available for download on AV Geeks. Also available for download on Google Video).
This is another film about the dangers of blasting caps, this time targeting teens and taking place during the 70s. A kid finds a blasting cap, and even though he doesn’t know what it is, he thinks it would be a good idea to hook it up to the radio he’s building (where’s Dick York when you need him?). Fortunately, he has a friend who remembers seeing a poster warning about blasting caps at school. The friend calls the police, who send out a guy in a red car, labeled “EXPLOSIVES,” who verrry carefully puts the blasting cap in a metal strongbox and then shows the kids a video about the dangers of blasting caps from the tv he just happens to have in the back of his car. The highlight of this is a bizarre-looking mannequin that is used to show what would happen to a person in the vicinity of an exploding blasting cap. This film isn’t nearly as much fun as Blasting Cap Danger, but it does make its point quickly, without wearing out its welcome.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
First Self-Treatment by Haemodialysis (available for viewing on Open Source Movies).
British newsreel clip from 1963 featuring a man with kidney disease who was able to hook himself up to a dialysis machine, and thus live an “almost normal life.” This fails to convey the fatiguing aspects of dialysis experienced by most patients, but it does have some historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Bloody Iwo (film #1 on Side B of Disc #2 of the War in the Pacific section of Combat Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2006)).
This documentary shows us the very bloody battle to take the island of Iwo Jima in great detail from a soldier’s perspective. There are few surprises here, but the story is well told and many of the visuals are quite striking, especially the night combat footage. You really get a feel for the grit of combat from this film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Adventures of Chip and Dip (available for viewing on You Tube).
Another great industrial film touting processed foods, this film was sponsored by the Potato Chip Institute, an organization loved by couch potatoes everywhere, I’m sure. Chip and Dip are two incredibly lame animated leprechauns who comment about the proceedings, while chips and dip are foodstuffs that are featured in the many recipes in the film. Yes, this film has all the industrial film necessities, including supernatural visitors (OK, pretty lame ones, but they are there), endless and increasingly unlikely recipes using the product in question, factory tour footage, and questionable nutrition information. Potato chips are touted as “real food,” containing “93% energy” (read: empty calories) and being a “natural source of salt.” Let’s see, calories, salt and fat, three of the main ingredients that bring on the disapproval of the food police, as well as making something taste real good. All that’s missing is sugar, but fortunately that is an added ingredient in many of the potato chip recipes featured (you read that right––one atrocious casserole is even topped with sugared grapes!). An easy 5 stars for this one. By the way, I’m hungry!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
Base Brawl (film #5 on Cartoon Sing-Along DVD (PC Treasures, 2006)).
At the zoo animals’ baseball game, the elephant team is pulverizing a team made up of cute little forest creatures. During the 7th inning stretch, we are invited to sing along to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” following the bouncing baseball. This little sing-along toon is rather ordinary, but charming.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Are You Popular? (available for viewing on You Tube.
This 1958 remake of the 40s social guidance classic shows a bit of wear and tear around the edges. The acting is uniformly terrible––the kids look and sound like they were recruited from Centron. The script is basically the same, though this time Ginny is ostracized for dating all the boys at the lunch table, Carolyn has a conversation with a friend about the dangers of going steady (so you can’t date lots of boys and you can’t go steady; what’s a girl to do?), the slightly more sophisticated 50s Carolyn agrees to go to the movies at the Strand rather than a skating party and weenie roast (and there’s no mention of “Teen Town”; the town council must have closed it down after the JD’s took over), and the couple drives away in a big 50s car with tail fins, rather than running down the street throwing snowballs at each other, illustrating the rising standard of living in the 50s. And though the house is different (smaller and poorer-looking, actually), the doorbell chimes in exactly the same way as in the older film. This is not quite as much fun as the older film, losing some of its dorky charm in the updating, but it is worth seeing for the bad acting.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Buy a New Car (available for viewing in The Goldbergs section of TVParty).
Clip from “Molly,” the syndicated version of the early TV classic “The Goldbergs.” In it, Molly and Jake argue over the purchase of a new car. This gives you a feel for what the sitcom was like, but it’s a little hard to make sense of out of context.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Fine Feathers Make Fine Birds (film #20 on The Origins of Cinema, Volume 6: Rare Films (Video Yesteryear, 1997)).
Some rogues steal a car and go out on a joy ride. Police make bungling efforts to stop them, but fail until the joyriders stupidly drive the car into a pond. This allows the cops to make a wet, splashy capture of the ringleader. A rather silly film, all told. A 1905 British film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
After the Thin Man Trailer (extra on After the Thin Man DVD (Warner Bros., 2005). Also an extra on The Thin Man DVD (Warner Bros., 2005)).
Trailer for the first sequel to The Thin Man, the film that introduced the witty detective couple Nick and Nora Charles. This has few surprises, but it does have titles in a wonderful Art Deco font and that forgotten sense of style from Hollywood’s golden age.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Anarchy USA.
This film, made by the John Birch Society in 1965, purports to show us that the civil rights movement going on at that time was just a front for the Communist blueprint for takeover of the US. It does this by comparing various events in the civil rights movement to events that precipitated Communist takeover in China, Cuba, and Algeria, as well as strategies outlined in Communist writings. The problem is, just because events have some similarities doesn’t necessarily mean they are linked in any way, and like most conspiracy theories, the charges are framed in such a way that they are impossible to refute. For example, Martin Luther King is charged with being a Communist because he denies being one, like many Communist leaders did before their respective revolutions. Although very limited lip service is paid to the real need for civil rights reform, no political action to attain such reform is portrayed as anything other than Communist-inspired. The real motivations of the filmmakers are revealed when they characterize the recently passed Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts as somehow steps toward tyranny. The idea that giving African Americans voting rights is tyrannical is baffling, unless, of course, you think of “rights” in terms of the right to oppress others. The film comes off as a piece of propaganda that is just as distorted as the Communist propaganda it criticizes. It’s pretty interesting to watch from today’s standpoint, though, as it has lots of great news footage of civil rights demonstrations and events, as well as giving a clear picture of one way in which civil rights were opposed at the time.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Industrial Mobilization (film #5 on Industrial Incentive Films (Vintage Video)).
It's the late 40's and peace has finally come. But just because we've nixed the Nazis and slapped the Japs doesn't mean we can sit on our butts and relax! We've got to prepare for the next war! If you've ever seen the movie Invasion U.S.A., you know how it implies that peace is only the space between wars. This is the documentary version of that sentiment. It seems fairly straightforward on the surface, but just below the surface are some pretty appalling implications. Such as the assertion that women, older people, and disabled people were used extensively in war production in the last war, but that with proper planning we can prevent that in the next. Or that in the last war, working in defense plants was totally voluntary, but that's another thing that can be corrected in the next. Or that preparedness will be achieved primarily through more government bureaucracy. Another appalling Cold War relic.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ***.
Insects as Carriers of Disease (available on A/V Geeks. Also available for download from Google Video).
This Disney film is in the same vein as Cleanliness Brings Health, explaining to poor rural people how disease is spread by insects and how such spread can be prevented by proper sanitary practices. Mr. Careless practices very poor hygiene and sanitation in his home, and thus has a lot of insect pests sharing it. He thinks those pests are harmless until the godlike narrator/animator shrinks him to insect size and shows him exactly how flies, mosquitoes and lice spread disease. The film is amusing and effective is conveying its message, using a light touch to soften the usual scare tactics involved in teaching hygiene and sanitation. Fun and charming, in the true Disney fashion.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Introduction to Haiti (available for download from Open Video Project. Also, available for download from Prelinger Archive).
Standard-issue color travelogue of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with a focus their history of democracy. There is some subtle racism here, as the narrator seems to be amazed that the “negroes” can govern themselves, and seems thoroughly baffled by their culture. But mostly, this is ordinary, with some nice color footage of the island and its people in the 40s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Anatine (available on Brickfilms. Also available on You Tube).
Uhh, I won’t describe the plot of this very short brickfilm because it would give it all away. Suffice to say that it defines its title through the use of plasticene, and this has consequences.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
First Pictures: Soviets Hail Space Hero (downloaded from Universal Newsreels).
Newsreel showing Russian TV news footage of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, being officially honored in Moscow in front of cheering crowds. This is interesting because it shows Russian TV news footage, which was hard to see outside of the Soviet Union at the time. Also included is a story of President Eisenhower returning to his farm in Pennsylvania. This is pretty ordinary, but it has historical interest.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Behind These Scenes (downloaded from Google Video).
This Department of the Interior film from 1950 highlights the importance of raw material and energy production in fighting the Cold War. Lots of industrial footage is shown of such things as iron foundries, coal mines, and hydroelectric dams, while the narrator repeatedly emphasizes how increasing production of these things is vital to our national defense. The impact on the environment of all this increasing production is not mentioned, but you wouldn’t really expect it would be, apart from the fact that the Department of the Interior is also supposed to be concerned with conservation, a theme that appears in many early DOI films, but not at all here. No surprises, really, but this has some historical interest.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
A Fortune in Two Old Trunks (available for download from Open Video Project. Also available for download from Prelinger Archive).
This film tells you way more than you want to know about prunes. About half of it tells the story of Louis Pellier, a Frenchman who brought the first cuttings of French prune trees to California and started the prune industry there. This is told very dramatically with actors, but with no dialogue, just narration and dramatic music, which, of course, provides ample opportunity for the viewer to supply his or her own dialogue in the form of msting. The other half of the film is the standard growing, harvesting, and packaging of produce film, featuring Sunsweet employees wearing uniforms that make them look like nurses. Near the end, we are treated to a number of tasty dishes that can be made with prunes––NOT! These are truly disgusting-looking, folks. All in all, this is your typical grower’s film, though on a subject that automatically increases its camp value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Don’t Talk to Strangers (film #453 on Prelinger Archive).
A little girl named Earline encounters a man on her way home from school who tries to lure her into his car. Obviously, she’s watched plenty of Sid Davis films at school, because she immediately turns him down and writes down the license number of the car. Then she takes this information home to her mother, who, amazingly, blows it off. So the next day, the man manages to successfully pick up a classmate of hers who must have been home sick during the showing of The Dangerous Stranger. When her mother calls the school to inform them that her daughter didn’t make it home, the principal conducts a search of the playground, asking every kid there whether or not they saw the missing girl. None of them did, except for one plucky little boy who saw the girl get into the man’s car. At this point, the police are called, and they go through an excruciatingly long process of calling in detectives (including a female detective with cat’s eye glasses that have to be seen to be believed), questioning all the children again, sending out an APB, and patrolling the streets at about 15 miles an hour. Fortunately, the child molester turns out to be too neurotic to work quickly, so by the time a police officer spots his car and picks him up, the girl is unharmed. (In real life, she would have been raped, dead, and buried in a field somewhere by that time, hence the Amber Alert.) All this is told through narration, with overly-dramatic music on the soundtrack. Then the movie focuses on prevention, which amounts to stating that this never happens to nice families who have regular bedtimes for the children. The narrator tells us that Earline’s mom feels guilty for ignoring her child’s report of the strange man, but this is said over footage of her blithely reading a magazine, looking like she hasn’t a care in the world. In this film, the only smart people appear to be the kids. Watch for the cheesy title cards made with plastic letters and the scary drawing Earline made to go with her theme on dental care.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Ce Garcon (downloaded from Bedazzled).
In this French Scopitone, a black pop group sings a catchy song that has a sort of a French Motown feel. Except they dance like white people, so go figure. It’s just this sort of weirdness I like to see in these Scopitones, though. And the song is a real toe-tapper.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Amos Sensitively Interprets the Literal Meaning of the Lord’s Prayer (available in the Xma TV: How Sitcoms Spent the Holidays in the 1960s and 1970s section of TVParty).
This excerpt from a Christmas episode of “The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show” features Amos explaining the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer to his daughter, line by line. This interpretation of the prayer is neither dogmatic nor maudlin, but expresses genuine human values, ones that most of us would find meaningful even if we’re not particularly religious. It’s great that this was preserved, for it’s one of the most touching religious messages I’ve seen in a TV program.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
ABC’s Thursday Night Lineup in 1965 (available on the Classic TV Blog of TVParty).
This isn’t a Thursday night lineup! It’s a Saturday night lineup! Nevertheless, it does feature old fogey variety shows as promised: “The King Family,” “The Lawrence Welk Show,” and “The Hollywood Palace.” All the shows your parents wanted to watch instead of the shows you wanted to watch, except maybe “The Hollywood Palace,” which occasionally had some cool guests, but was on past your bedtime. No wonder we children of the 60s need sites like Bedazzled!Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
A Beatles Medley (downloaded from Bedazzled).
This montage of ordinary British folk singing Beatles tunes was put together for a Paul McCartney TV special. It’s utterly charming, as the people in it look like they’re really having fun. Although they obviously sang the songs a capella during the filming, a backing orchestra lamely tries to play along with them, and this just adds to the humor. A fun little blip of Beatles ephemera.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
How to Catch a Cold (available on A/V Geeks. Also available for download from Google Video). [Category: Public Service]
This Disney film, sponsored by Kleenex, features the Common Man and his little sprite conscience, Common Sense. Common Sense confronts the sick Common Man with all the forms of poor self-care he engaged in that made him vulnerable to catching a cold and all the ways he has spread the cold to others. He finally gets the dolt to stay home from work when he threatens him with worse diseases he could come down with while his immune system is busy battling the cold. The film has the fun elements of a sprite character and Disney animation, though I found myself wishing it was a bit livelier and wackier. Perhaps the filmmakers were battling a cold when they made this.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Disorder in the Court (film #1 on Side B of Disc #4 of Famliy Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004). Also, availble for download on Feature Films. Also available on You Tube).
This is one of the funnier of the Three Stooges shorts. Larry, Moe and Curly are brought in to testify in the defense of a nightclub dancer accused of murdering her boyfriend. A courtroom is definitely not the place for the Stooges, and the resulting lawlessness is quite funny, at times getting close to the brilliance of the Marx Brothers. Highlights include Moe and Larry playing tic tac toe on the back of the defense attorney’s jacket, Moe swallowing a harmonica and being turned into a calliope by Larry, Curly attempting to swear in and not being able to do two things simultaneously, and Curly struggling with a gun (something that should never be given to one of the Stooges). The Stooges’ humor usually falls flat with me, but I found myself laughing out loud at this one.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.
The Andy Griffith Show (available in the Xmas TV: How Sitcoms Spent the Holidays in the 1960s and 1970s section of TVParty).
This clip from “The Andy Griffith Show” shows how Christmas was celebrated at the Mayberry courthouse in 1960. It features Andy and Elinor Donahue singing a charming duet of “Away in a Manger,” the obligatory conversion of the local Scrooge, and Barney playing a scary Santa. This is as charming as you’d expect and a fun clip to watch during the holiday season.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The First Man to Walk on the Lunar Surface (downloaded from the Apollo 11 section of WPA Film Library).
British newsreel footage of the TV footage of the landing of the Apollo 11 lunar module and Neil Armstrong’s first moonwalk. It’s bizarre seeing this as a newsreel, because I remember watching it as it happened on TV. Again, this showed why newsreels died. Still, this is important footage of a historic moment.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Battle of Iwo Jima (downloaded from the Featured Clip Archive of WPA Film Library).
A veteran of the battle of Iwo Jima narrates newsreel footage of the battle. This is pretty much what you’d expect, though it does have some striking images of the battle, some of them grisly, and it ends with the flag-raising we all have etched into our brains.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Forestry and Forest Industries (available for download from Open Video Project. Also available for download from Prelinger Archive).
Another film in the “Your Life’s Work” series, this one goes over careers in forestry, covering both conservation work and the lumber industry. I’m sure I’ve seen some of this footage before, perhaps in Felling Forest Giants or some of the Department of the Interior films I’ve seen recently. At any rate, this is a pretty ordinary film, though it does have some striking images of forests and lumbering at a few points.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
I Don't Want to Change the Subject (film #10 on WWII V for Victory War Bonds & Rallies Show (Something Weird, 1996)).
Hey folks! Just 'cause the war's over doesn't mean you can shirk your duty to buy War Bonds! And while you're waiting to buy, sing along with this cute little ditty. A prime piece of post-WWII ephemera.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Cara-Lin (downloaded from Bedazzled).
Les 5 Gentlemen play the song “Cara-Lin”, while fans dance at what must have been one of the first raves in this French Scopitone from the 60s. These guys really rock, so much so that I found myself going back to the Bedazzled site to find out who exactly they were. There’s a definite Beatles influence here, but it’s just an influence, not a rip-off––they definitely have their own sound. This song could have been a hit in the US if the lyrics hadn’t been in French.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Insultin' the Sultan (film #17 on The Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 1 DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999)).
This cartoon is not exactly, shall we say, culturally enlightened. Willie Whopper goes to Arabia, where his girlfriend is accidentally sold into a sultan's harem, requiring him to fight the sultan and rescue her. All of the darker-skinned Arabs are portrayed as thick-lipped Sambos and the usual repetoire of racist gags are made about them. The final fate of the sultan, though, is hilariously weird and made me laugh out loud (I won't give it away). One of the weirder Willie Whoppers.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Amos and Andy (available in the What Happened to What’s Happening section of TVParty).
Clip from “Amos ‘n’ Andy” that shows Andy ducking out of his wedding to Madame Queen after he finds out she signed a singing contract with someone other than him. This gives you an idea of the typical level of humor on the show, which was basically typical sitcom fare.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Armour Franks Intermission Trailer (available on Vintage Ads. Also available on You Tube).
Snack bar promo from the 50s featuring a bouncy, catchy jingle for Armour Franks that asserts, among other things, that they are “fun to eat when dating.” I’m sure the 14-year-old boy in all of us is having fun with the implications of that line. This is just the kind of silly fun I love to see in these drive-in snack bar promos.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Abby Trailer (extra on Abby DVD (Substance)).
I guess it was inevitable during the 70s that they would make a black version of The Exorcist. This is the trailer for it, and as trailers go, it’s pretty impressive, since it makes the film look pretty good, when all sources have told me it’s actually very bad. The scene with the black exorcist actually reminds me a little bit of religious scenes in many of the old all-black cast films. And the trailer moves, and doesn’t waste its time. I guess it just goes to show that you can’t always believe what you see in a trailer.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Heart of the Confederacy (downloaded from Google Video).
This Department of the Interior film from the 30s can’t seem to decide if it wants to be a conventional CCC-in-the-state-parks film or a silly newsreel featurette. It has the usual stuff about two different state parks in the Montgomery, Alabama area, and the CCC working on improvements in them, but it keeps getting sidetracked by things like a dog who was trained by its owner to answer the telephone and ride a tricycle, or Southern belles in clean overalls posing with baby chicks, when you know that their aristocratic lil’ Southern hands usually never dirtied themselves with such things, as they had folks of another skin color to handle them. They’re called “farmerettes” here, and their only purpose seemed to be to look pretty in front of the camera. Silly-sounding music accompanies these lighter scenes, and somehow this all highlights, although in a clueless fashion, the racism of that time and place, since the silly scenes, as well as the scenes of people frolicking in the state parks, all involve white people, while black people are only shown in scenes that show hard labor. One of the sillier, and yet more historically interesting, of the Department of the Interior state park films.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet: Busy Christmas (film #2 on Classic TV Christmas DVD (Allegro, 2006)).
In this 1956 Christmas episode of the bland sitcom, Ozzie agrees to go caroling with a group of friends, and before you know it, he’s been roped into playing Scrooge in the men’s club’s Christmas play and playing Santa at the local orphanage’s Christmas party, as well as having the usual responsibilities of putting up Christmas lights and buying the Christmas tree. This was back in the good old days when preparations for Christmas began a couple of weeks before the holiday, rather than in mid-October like they do today. This episode is warm-hearted and mildly amusing, in true “Ozzie & Harriet” fashion, which seems particularly appropriate for a Christmas show. The copy on this DVD is actually a 1964 rebroadcast, complete with a brief intro and outro by the cast and commercials for your local gas company and Colgate toothpaste. I love it when they include these old commercials––it’s like getting an ephemera bonus. The first commercial I particularly enjoyed, as it is about the 1964 New York World’s Fair and its Gas Pavilion. This was back in the days When Stars Did the Commercials, so we get to see Ozzie & Harriet make plans to go to the fair. All in all, this is a fun bit of ephemera with some nice bonuses.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Don’t Get Angry (downloaded from Prelinger Archive).
This mental hygiene film tells kids they should find some non-harmful way to let their anger out, so that it doesn’t get bottled up and result in destructive behavior. Unlike Don’t Be Afraid, it makes its case fairly plausibly, assuming you’re dealing with kids who basically have good self-control most of the time. The “pressure cooker” theory of anger management has since been discredited with people who have serious problems with destructive or abusive behavior, but back in the 50s, you could buy this. The child actors could be better, giving this some camp value, but they could be worse, too. The graphics are great, especially the boiling teakettle image superimposed over the kids’ faces. So are the scenes of using art to express anger––I bet Eddie grew up to be a political cartoonist.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
An Amazing Race (downloaded from the Featured Clip Archive of WPA Film Library).
Newsreel story about the 1938 horse racing win of Seabiscuit over War Admiral. This is pretty standard race footage, though the race was close. Still, this shows the superiority of televised sports, where you can watch it as it happens, over seeing a newsreel about it a couple of weeks later.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Feeding the Doves (film #8 on The Art of Cinema Begins (Video Yesteryear, 1997). Also available for download on Edison Film Archive. Also, film #8 on The Movies Begin, Volume One: The Great Train Robbery and Other Primary Works (Kino Video, 1994)).
Chickens is more like it, though some doves do land in the chicken yard to share the feast. An 1896 Edison film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Ballad of the Green Berets (downloaded from Bedazzled).
While the 60s are mainly remembered for its doves, there were also plenty of hawks out there, and they made this song, sung by Sgt. Barry Sadler, a hit. It’s the musical equivalent of the movie Starfighters, which means about all you can say for it is that it’s patriotic and makes the military look good. But boy, is it ever bland. This clip of Sadler singing his hit song on “The Hollywood Palace” deserves preserving, though, for showing us the other side of the 60s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Foreign Fire Depts. (downloaded from Prelinger Archive).
This 30s firefighting film shows us firefighting practices in Japan and Paris. The Japanese footage is most interesting, as it shows us some unusual cultural things, such as the medal-giving ceremony, the decidedly Asian-looking asbestos suits, and effigies of Matoi, the fire god that were believed to protect homes from fire. The Paris footage is pretty standard, featuring demonstrations of various firefighting practices. As with most Stillman films, this has limited entertainment value, but lots of historical interest.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Candlemaker (film #12 on Santa’s Holiday Collection DVD (Allegro, 2006)).
This religious cartoon tells the gentle tale of a candlemaker’s young son who is given the task of making one of the altar candles for the church’s Christmas Eve service, and who is ashamed when, after doing a slipshod job at the last minute, the candle doesn’t light. He redeems himself by remaking the candle, just as Jesus can remake a soul. I’m usually pretty hard on religious stuff, as I can’t stomach the usual self-righteousness and treacly sentimentality one finds in such things. But I found it impossible to fault this cartoon in any way. It is never preachy, nor does it ever get sappy. It’s religious message is a reassuring one of forgiveness, which I find refreshing, and it does it all with the lightest and gentlest of touches. This is genuinely recommended for Christmas viewing, though it might be a little slow-moving and subtle for children.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
The House in the Middle (available for download from Open Video Project. Also available for download from Prelinger Archive. Also, film #4 on You Can Beat the A-Bomb (Video Yesteryear)).
Did you know that good housekeeping can keep you safe from the atomic bomb? Houses are set up near bomb tests, some neat, some sloppy. The sloppy homes are described with barely concealed derision. "You have all seen homes like this," the narrator says, and we expect him to continue with something like, "...the homes of those weird, non-white people on the wrong side of the tracks." Needless to say, the neat homes survive the bomb lots better than the sloppy homes. "This proves that there is something you can do right now to protect yourself," the narrator continues. The fact that any people in the neat or sloppy homes would be toast is not acknowledged in any way. Appalling.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Crash Bang Boom (available on A/V Geeks. Also available for download from Google Video. Also available on You Tube).
Imagine, if you will, that ERPI made a film about percussion instruments. Only imagine it was made in color and in 1970. And it was a musical, with the dry ERPI narration sung instead of spoken. That gives you some idea about what this film is like. Actually, it’s pretty well done visually, with all kinds of percussion instruments filmed and edited in a somewhat wacky style. But then they go and ruin it with a choral group singing incredibly obvious lines like, “This is a bass drum.” They’re not even songs, really, just lame tone poems. Still, this film gets a somewhat higher rating than you might think based on sheer weirdness alone.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (available in the Xmas TV: How Sitcoms Spent the Holidays in the 1960s and 1970s section of TVParty).
Opening sequence from a Christmas episode of “Ozzie & Harriet.” Ozzie announces that the episode is going to be rebroadcast because it shows “the true meaning of Christmas.” Then we see the opening credits, complete with Aunt Jemima pancake mix plug and family introductions. Reruns as the True Meaning of Christmas? I guess there’s some truth to that, when you consider how many times you’ve seen your TV Christmas favorites over and over again.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Action Jackson TV Commercials (available on Bedazzled. Also available on Vintage Ads. Also available on You Tube).
Two 70s TV commercials for Action Jackson, an action figure that can go on all kinds of adventures, provided that you buy all the gear that he needs, which is all “sold separately.” How is this different from Barbie, fundamentally, guys? Very 70s, and will probably bring back lots of memories in those who played with action figures during that decade.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
The Association on the Andy Williams Show (downloaded from Bedazzled).
The Association sings their hit favored by swing choirs everywhere, “Cherish.” Then they give wacky introductions, which make them come off as far stranger than I had ever anticipated. Then Andy sings one of their lesser hits with them, and then they do another song by themselves. The only explanation for this sort of weird blandness is the 60s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Impatient Patient (film #4 on Cartoon Crazys: Sci-Fi (WinStar Home Entertainment, 1999). Also, film #23 on 150 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2005)).
Daffy Duck consults Dr. Jerkyll to cure his hiccups. Of course, Dr. Jerkyll soon turns into Chloe (i.e. Mr. Hyde) and comedy ensues. This is a pretty average Daffy Duck cartoon.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 ...
