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: ***.