Fright to the Finish (film #3 on Cartoon Explosion, Vol. 2: Foney Fables/Popeye's Greatest Hits DVD (Front Row Entertainment, 2002). Also, film #17 on Cartoon Mania DVD (Front Row Entertainment, 2002). Also, extra on Drive-In Discs, Vol. 2 DVD (Elite Entertainment, 2001). Also, film #132 on Feature Films. Also, film #41 on 50 Cartoon Classics DVD. Also, film #19 on Film Chest Vintage Cartoons. Also, film #6 on Disc #1 of 100 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004). Also, film #6 on Disc #4 of 150 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2006)). [Category: Hollywood]
On Halloween night, Popeye and Bluto take turns scaring Olive Oyl to death, while making her believe it's the other one doing it. This has some funny gags, including "vanishing cream" that does just what you expect it to do in a cartoon, but mostly it's pretty ordinary.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Assignment Tel Aviv (film #11 in the Pre-State section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Hollywood]
Bright, breezy film from the 40s about Tel Aviv and what a modern city it is. A reporter stays with a Jewish family and gives a glowing report of life in the city, likening it to the American way of life, and making it seem much better than life in a nearby Arab-controlled city. This was made right before Israel won its independence, so there is definitely some political motivation to this travelogue, though in other ways, it’s no different than many other city profile films made at the time. I like the section on locally-produced groceries for its scenes of the colorful labels on canned and packaged goods.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
BBC1 Schools Interval from 1975 (film #9 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]
A still title card announces that the next show will be starting soon, while Dixieland jazz plays in the background. This is a realistic example of what educational television stations broadcast between programs at the time, but it’s not very interesting to watch.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
A Communications Primer (film #360 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]
This film was made by Charles and Ray Eames, which makes it more intelligent and visually striking than most educational films. It deals with the semantics of communication, breaking down the concept into a flow chart of choosing, coding, sending, receiving, decoding, and understanding messages. This is applied to modes of communication as simple as “one if by land and two if by sea” and as complex as billions of neurons firing in the human nervous system. Visually, these concepts are portrayed with a collage of animation, film clips, photographs, electronically-generated images, and images from famous works of art. Aurally, they are portrayed with deadpan narration and a haunting music score by Elmer Bernstein. This film is to films like Communications and Our Town, as 2nd-grade social studies is to a graduate-level course in philosophy. But at heart, it’s still an educational film, so it still qualifies as ephemera, though smarter than your average piece of ephemera. The Eames were key players in the modernist design movement, giving this film a great deal of historical value.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Burns & Allen Show #3 (film #3 on Side A of Disc #4 of TV Favorites DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2003)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
More silliness with George Burns and Gracie Allen. This one has the fluffiest of plots involving Harry Morton’s secretary making Blanche jealous, until she finds out he’s a man. Mostly, though, this is gags aplenty, Gracie’s illogical logic, and Bill Goodwin’s bizarre Carnation commercials that are woven into the action. There’s a real vaudeville and radio feel to this one, making it a good example of early TV.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Belair Commercials Compilation #1 (film #159 on UCSF Tobacco Control Archive). [Category: Commercial]
Collection of dorky early-60s commercials for Belair cigarettes, mostly featuring groups of very white people partying by singing Belair jingles, which is at least livelier than the last 3, which feature a white guy talking to the camera. These are not as fun as some of the Raleigh commercials, but they do have the appealing dorkiness from the days before advertisers discovered the concept of cool.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Campus in Jerusalem (film #8 in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]
In this 1960 film, students study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem while the school’s new campus is being built around them. Various research projects are highlighted in such areas as biology, medicine, law and sociology. This is a straightforward film that has historical value in showing the development of the Hebrew University.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Hands of Healing (film #5 in the Health section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: Public Service]
An American doctor tells us how vastly impressed he is by the good works being done by the Hadassah Medical Center in Israel, especially in helping new immigrants. And boy, is he impressed. Still, he has a lot to be impressed with, so the film just barely escapes being hyperbolic, and lands in the typical good-works film category, perhaps made livelier by the emotional narration. Like many of these Hadassah films, this has historical value in documenting healthcare in Israel during the 50s.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (track #1 on Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde (Barrymore) (Sinister Cinema, 1999)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
This 1911 adaptation of the well-known Robert Louis Stevenson story is quite lively and fun, with good performances and great Mr. Hyde makeup. The Jekyll-Hyde transformation is done with a simple jump-cut (no long, drawn-out transformation here), but Mr. Hyde is so lively and so different from the dapper Dr. Jekyll that you hardly care. A surprisingly good adaptation for its time. A 1911 Thanhouser film.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Ahoy! Have Any of You Lot Seen Sinbad? (film #302 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]
Robots with junk bodies and human skull heads dance a robot twist to Elvis’ “Hound Dog”. Proving that even robots dig rock ‘n’ roll. I love robots so I enjoyed this.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
Drew Pearson Reporting on Religion in Israel (film #14 in the General section of the State of Israel section of Stephen Spielberg Jewish Film Archive). [Category: News]
This 50s film features reporter Drew Pearson reporting on religious freedom in Israel. The portrait is quite rosy and optimistic, with Jews, Muslims, and Christians peacefully practicing their faiths together. However, the shadow of potential violence occasionally peeks into the proceedings. This is a historically interesting film that gives us a snapshot of religious practices in Israel during the 50s. It’s too bad such peace and tolerance could not be maintained over the long run.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.
Baghdad Pact: Unified Military Command Foreseen (film #82 on Universal Newsreels). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
50s newsreel story about peace talks in the Middle East that were rudely preceded by a bombing at the American embassy. Also included is a story about a large camera designed to track missiles. This is straightforward and unsurprising.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Exclusively Yours (film #487 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Industrial]
This 50s film for Texaco dealers introduces the new improved Sky Chief gasoline with Petrox, a new additive that sounds like it was made from oxtails, but was actually made from petroleum. Several white men lecture at us about it, the best of which is Phil Foster, a master of maniacal facial expressions. The concluding message from C. B. Barrett includes mention of several other must-have ephemeral films that Texaco made at the time, including one about gas station restrooms which sounds like a must-have. There’s also some great visuals of cutaway engines, gasoline additives in unmarked beakers, and Texaco print ads and billboards. Overall, this film is pretty ordinary, but it has some great individual moments in it.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Draftee Daffy (film #2 on Bugs & Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons (MGM/UA Home Video, 1989)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]
Daffy, upon hearing of a "smashing frontal attack on enemy rear", breaks into enthusiastic patriotic revelry...until he gets a call from the little man from the draft board. He spends the rest of the cartoon trying desperately to hide from the Droopy-like man from the draft board, who finds him wherever he goes. Lots of fun.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ****.
Assault and Flattery (film #7 on Cartoon Explosion, Vol. 2: Funny Fiesta/Popeye’s Greatest Hits DVD (Front Row Entertainment, 2002). Also, film #21 on Cartoon Mania DVD (Front Row Entertainment, 2002). Also, film #40 on 50 Cartoon Classics DVD. Also, film #5 on Disc #1 of 100 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2004). Also, film #5 on Disc #4 of 150 Cartoon Classics DVD Megapack (Mill Creek Entertainment, 2005)). [Category: Hollywood]
This is one of those Popeye cartoons that is made up of clips from other Popeye cartoons. Bluto takes Popeye to court, charging him with assault and battery. This is a funny premise, and Wimpy does an amusing turn as the judge, but much more could have been done with this that wasn’t. Basically, this is a rerun toon.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.
For the Birds (Audio Commentary) (extra on Monsters, Inc. DVD (Disney-Pixar, 2002)). [Category: Hollywood]
Commentary is provided by Jim Eggleston, the director of the short. He gives us a few interesting tidbits about the short's production, but there's not enough time for him to say much.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: **.
Burns & Allen Show #2 (film #2 on Side A of Disc #4 of TV Favorites DVD Megapack (Treeline Films, 2003)). [Category: Early Film & TV]
More fun with George Burns and Gracie Allen, with the usual collection of great gags, surrealism, witty asides, Carnation commercials seamlessly worked into the action, and a plot that’s “more than a variety show, but less than professional wrestling.” After thoroughly bamboozling the tax assessor, Gracie gets a dent in the car and tries to cover it up by having Bill Goddwin borrow it. This may be early TV, but it holds up well today.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.
Belair & Raleigh Commercials Compilation #2 (film #163 on UCSF Tobacco Control Archive). [Category: Commerical]
Three more commercials for Belair and Raleigh cigarettes. These are especially dorky, featuring minimalist sets and announcers that magically make a couples’ Raleigh premiums disappear, until they say, “But we do smoke Raleighs!” Fortunately, they bear no negative consequences from having things like stepladders or chairs disappear out from under them––their weight continues to be supported by thin air. Would that the health consequences of smoking be so ephemeral.Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.
Communications and Our Town (film #359 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]
A telephone lineman rescues a model plane from some telephone wires and returns it to the two boys who threw it there, one of whom is Jerry Mathers as the Beaver, while overly-dramatic music plays on the soundtrack. Rather than bawling them out, the lineman takes a large chunk out of his workday to talk with them about the various forms of communication in their community, including the telephone, mail, and radio. The Beave points out that an obvious form of communication is “just talking to people,” but the lineman, although agreeing with this, never lets the boys talk for themselves, but insists upon narrating the entire film in voice-over. He then creates an elaborate, though primitive, model of their town on the sidewalk, using rolls of tape, a pocketknife, and other lineman stuff, and connects everything together, including the “church,” with short lengths of telephone wire, which coincidentally form a pentagram. Just when you’re beginning to wonder about the wholesomeness of this lineman’s influence on young minds, he decides to get back to work, after giving the boys the “fun” assignment of making a list of all the different kinds of communication they can find in their town, the better to spread his Satanic philosoph––no, no, forget I said that. That pentagram means nothing, actually. Granted, Eddie Haskell did grow up to be Alice Coop––no, no, it’s just a coincidence, folks. Move along, now. Nothing to see here.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 ...
