Hidden Grievance (film #11 on The Educational Archives, Volume Four: On the Job DVD (Fantoma, 2002)). [Category: Industrial]

This is another "discussion film," like The Grapevine. Jake, a machinist with a Canadian accent, has a lot of complaints––the light's too dim, his feet hurt, etc. His foreman tries to be accomodating, but no dice. Jake finally tells him his real beef––he thinks he's being given all the tough jobs and none of the easy ones. The foreman tries to tell him that the jobs he's been assigned are no tougher than what anyone else has to do, but Jake doesn't believe him. So he goes and files a complaint with the union that he's being discriminated against, for being Canadian, I guess. What's the poor foreman to do? Again, this has a "What do you think?" ending. This seems a little more fair than The Grapevine. Neither Jake nor the foreman is made out to be a total bad guy––it seems like the problem is more a result of a misunderstanding. I'm not sure how I would handle it, frankly.

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

Circus (film #22 on The Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 DVD (Image Entertainment, 1999)). [Category: Hollywood]

Flip the Frog runs a hot dog stand at the circus in this one, complete with anthropomorphic hot dogs. OK, folks, you know how I feel about walking and talking food, so we'll move on. Flip valiantly agrees to chase down a pickpocket, resulting in a ridiculous chase scene. Another cute and fun Flip the Frog cartoon, with extra points for the hot dogs.

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

BBC1 Schools #3 (film #6 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]

This counter is another mesmerizing one. Dots that make up a circle slowly count down, while unintelligible symbols gradually turn into letters that spell out “SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES.” I bet this killed a lot of time for students.

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

The Bewitched Traveller (film #15 on The Origins of Cinema, Volume 6: Rare Films (Video Yesteryear, 1997)). [Category: Early Film & TV]

Ever have one of those days? You settle into a nice chair only to have it disappear on you? You sit down to a nice breakfast only to have the table suddenly shift to behind you? You get on a bus only to have it disappear entirely, leaving you rolling down the street? Apparently Hepworth was enamored of the dissolve effect for awhile and used it to ruin the day of some poor shmoe. It ends like you would expect it to. A 1904 Hepworth film.

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

The Flying Saucer Mystery Extras (on The Flying Saucer Mystery (Sinister Cinema)). [Category: Commercial]

Since The Flying Saucer Mystery is such a short film, Sinister Cinema added some trailers to the tape. All of them are from 50s sci-fi movies with an alien invasion theme, which is a pretty fun subject for a collection of trailers. A nice extra bonus which rounds out the film well.

Highlights:

• Gimmick Alert! The trailer for It Came from Outer Space features a fun explanation of the 3-D process, complete with animated stuff flying out of the movie screen.
  
• The trailer for Killers from Space features the incredibly campy bug-eyed aliens of that film.
  
• In the trailer for 20 Million Miles to Earth, a dumbfounded reporter, on being informed that the monster of this movie comes from Venus, says, "You mean the planet Venus?"
  
• Msties, take note: Contains the trailers for This Island Earth, The Astounding She-Monster, and It Conquered the World.
  

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

The Dynamic American City (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #467 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]

According to this film, cities remain dynamic by tearing down “obsolescence”, i.e. old buildings. That’s right, folks, no matter how beautiful or how historically important a building may be, down it must come, in order to make room for more parking garages! And all the stores moving out to the suburbs don’t affect the city one bit––it’s still as dynamic as ever! Why just look at all the wrecking balls and rubble! Actually, I’m making this piece of urban renewal propaganda sound a lot more interesting than it is––it drags on and on, with a droning narrator the only thing on the soundtrack. That is, if you can get to the actual film before falling asleep––the opening is the most tedious I’ve ever seen, featuring three guys from the United States Chamber of Commerce having the most boring conversation imaginable about how they made this film about cities and are selling a book to go with it. Perhaps the makers of the film attended too many tedious Chamber of Commerce dinners. Just wait until their headquarters gets torn down to create more parking.

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

Uncle Tom and Little Eva (film #13 on Cartoon Scandals (Goodtimes, 1987)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

Lots of stereotyped black characters who look suspiciously like mice frolic and chase each other across ice in this 30s cartoon, very loosely based on Uncle Tom's Cabin. Very confusing.

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

Johnny Carson: His Favorite Moments from "The Tonight Show": 80s & 90s: The King of Late Night (Buena Vista, 1994). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

This tape is a lot funnier than I expected it to be, but then it occurred to me that a tape of highlights is the ideal way to experience something like "The Tonight Show". The tape covers highlights from the 80s and 90s (there are two other tapes in the series which cover the 60s and 70s) and there's a wide assortment of clips, including bloopers, silly ad-libs, interviews gone strange, kids and animals upstaging Johnny, and early appearances by well-known comedians. My favorites are the weird guests they would get occasionally, such as the female accordionist who describes sitting on the toilet and playing new song ideas to her husband while he takes a bath ("Any marriage that can survive that is a strong union!" asserts Johnny), or the lady who sees faces in potato chips and brings her collection of chips to the show (Johnny plays a hilarious prank on her which I won't give away here). The end of the tape gets all sentimental as we see some of Johnny's last guests commenting on his retirement (including a jubilant Ted Koppel), but it fortunately doesn't get too weepy. A good record of the last years of the ultimate tv institution. Watch for the great surreal moment when Charles Grodin gets Johnny to admit the gut-level honest truth about his job as a talk show host.

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

Brazil Gets the News (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #243 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Ho-hum, another boring film about Brazil…wait a minute. This film is full of gentle surprises, mostly from the narrator, who narrates in a breezy, sly style, throwing in little jokes when you least suspect them, and generally not taking the proceedings too seriously. The film is about newspaper production in Sao Paulo (‘the Detroit of Brazil,” the opening title card tells us, “or is Detroit really the Sao Paulo of the United States?”) and it is actually one of the clearest and best-made factory tours I’ve ever seen. This really gives you a good idea of what newspaper publishing was like back in the 40s, and it probably was pretty much the same in the U.S., since the film tells us that several times. The propaganda point was that free countries have a free press, unlike some Axis countries we could name. And also probably to build up good will for our Brazilian allies. But it’s the narration that really makes this one––that guy sounded like he was having way too much fun with this project.

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

Gypsies for a Day (film #8 on Blood of Floor Sweepings (LSVideo)). [Category:Industrial]

This 1930s silent film documents a big cross-country motorcycle race held in Keene, NH, and sponsored by Goodyear. Keene must have been the 30s version of Sturgis. The weirdest moment in the film is nighttime footage of a bizarre line dance done around the campfire by the participants in the race. It's also somewhat weird to experience motorcycles, normally such noisy machines, in total silence. Otherwise, this film is pretty ordinary.

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

Chinook's Children (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #538 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Hollywood]

This silent featurette shows the training of the puppies of Chinook, Admiral Richard Byrd's lead sled dog. As you would expect, the puppies are incredibly cute and will probably steal your heart. I was happy to hear they were trained without whips or chokes. The rest of the film is fairly dull, especially the race footage at the end. Dog fans will probably like this, though.

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

BBC1 Schools #2 (film #4 in the Schools section of TVArk). [Category: Educational]

Very brief clip of another educational television counter, this one featuring a clock, and a clipped British announcer. This one probably wasn’t very interesting to watch.

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

Before Hollywood, There Was Fort Lee, New Jersey (Image Entertainment, 2003). [Category: Early Film & TV]

Fort Lee, New Jersey was basically the Hollywood before there was Hollywood. Edison started making movies there in his Black Maria and it's where most of the big names in silent films, including studios, directors, and stars, got their start. This documentary tells us all about the major Fort Lee studios and their films in a somewhat dry way, though it does include a few complete short films from the period, presented with a bit of helpful, nonintrusive narration. The story of Fort Lee is an important, yet usually forgotten, piece of film history, so I'll give this DVD extra points for dredging it up.

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

Extra (film #7 on Ephemeral Films CD-ROM (Voyager). Also, film #7 on Lifestyles USA, Vol. 1 (Something Weird, 2000). Also, in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #490 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Commercial]

Here's something new I learned from Rick Prelinger's excellent Ephemeral Films CD-ROM: the 60-second spot was not born on television, or even radio. Movie theaters ran "Minute Movies", such as Extra, as another way to increase profits. It was assumed that audiences had little tolerance for viewing advertising, so a 60-second limit was placed on these films. This ad for Esso service stations starts out pretty standard, but gets weird at the end when the gas jockeys suddenly break into a jingle and the Esso sign mutates into a grinning face.

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

Twist Craze (film #25 on Teenage UFO Rock 'n' Roll Monster Show (Something Weird)). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

A rock & roll band and some twist dancers put on a show at a fancy nightclub. The band plays that kind of generic rock & roll that Joel and the bots tuned in on the all-teen dance radio station and the dancers are all straight out of The Horror of Party Beach. But even this watered-down rock & roll is a lot for the incredibly L7 audience to take. Eventually, though, they all get into the groove and start twistin' themselves, including a 300-pound woman, elderly folks, and a woman whose hips seem fused to her torso. My favorite, though, is a smoking guy in the back who they keep cutting back to, showing us how he's grooving to the music by snapping his fingers offbeat. If this doesn't get you on the dance floor, you're probably fortunate.

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

I've Got a Secret (track #1 on TV Game Shows, Vol. 1 (Hollywood's Attic, 1996)). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

This mid-60s game show features a celebrity panel trying to guess the secrets of contestants with unusual achievements or qualities. This episode features a man who was once spanked by Lyndon Johnson (unfortunately, this is a lot less interesting than it sounds), a young man who won a prize for baking the world's largest cookie, and Jose Frerer with a quiz about animal sounds in other languages. The celebrity panel is mildly amusing in the way that only game show celebrity panels can be. The beginning was cut off of this show, so we only get to see the final moments of the first segment. Too bad, I really would have liked to see the panel struggle with that one.

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

Act One (film #15 in The Carol Burnett Shows section of TVParty). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

This is a clip from act one of Carol Burnett’s special, “Eunice,” which portrays the history of a silly Southern family that had been featured in a popular series of sketches on Burnett’s variety show. In the clip, Phillip is leaving for New York to become a playwright, while Eunice obliviously talks about her unrealistic plans to become a movie star, and Mama tries in vain to get their father to come out of the bathroom. I remember those skits as being funny and fascinating, so it’s nice to see the little-known special archived here. This clip gives you an idea of the ridiculousness of this family and some of its appeal, as well.

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

Anti-AIDS Rant (film #2 in the TV Terrorists section of TVParty). [Category: News]

This very brief clip shows a group of AIDS activists who managed to get some of their chanting on the air during the opening of the “CBS Evening News.” Dan Rather stays cool and immediately goes to a commercial. It’s this kind of unscripted stuff I love to see, so kudos to TVParty for the whole TV Terrorists section.

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

Branding Calves (film #1 on Buckaroos in Paradise). [Category: Industrial]

This short film is part of a series made in the 1960s by a Nevada cattle rancher to document the ranching practices of the time. In this film, we see how calves are branded. It’s not nearly as upsetting as you might think, and it provides an interesting historical view of cattle ranching, ending with the wife bringing down a big meal for all the hands to eat.

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

The Astor Tramp (film #21 on Edison Film Archive). [Category: Early Film & TV]

A tramp hangs out in a rich lady’s bedroom until the lady comes home and gets a nasty surprise. After he is kicked out, he steals a newspaper from a paper boy. Jerk. He reads with delight a newspaper story about his antics, presaging the fondness of 20th-century criminals for courting the media. A slightly silly early comedy. An 1899 Edison film.

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