Oddball Films and curator Kat Shuchter present Learn Your Lesson...On Dating - A Romantic Shockucation, the twelfth in a series of programs highlighting the most ridiculous, insane and camptastic educational films, mental hygiene primers and TV specials of the collection. This month, spend your Valentine's night learning all about the trials and tribulations of dating in yesteryear that still hold true (if not hilarious) today. Dating Do's and Don'ts (1949) will teach you how to pick the right girl for your teen carnival and how to have the squeaky-clean time of your teenaged life. And girls can learn how now to be sluts, but still treat a boy to a real nice time in Are You Popular? (1947) The SNL sketch Doubletalk (1975) lets you in on what everyone is really thinking when a boy has to meet his date's parents. The Mormons want you to know that nice guys can finish first if they take karate and build self-confidence in The Phone Call (1977). Everybody needs a date to the dance, and they're going to sing about it in an excerpt from the pubescent musicalamity Junior High School (1978). Comedian Dayton Allen chimes in with witty quips about your dating life in a segment from The Dayton Allen Show (1960). Dates can turn ugly, so watch out for A Night Out (1981) with Tom, he may be deaf but he should still understand "no". Plus, the opening credits to Sweet Sixteen and Pregnant (c. 1980) with Sally Kellerman, a scandalous excerpt of the classic VD shock film The Innocent Party (1959) and the awkward mixed signals of great sexpectations in The Date (1977) for the early birds, it's a great Valentine's Day to Learn Your Lesson!
Date: Friday, February 14th, 2014 at 8:00pm
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street San Francisco
Web: http://oddballfilms.blogspot.com
Featuring:
Dating Do’s and Don’ts (Color, 1949)
Long recognized as one of the campiest educational films ever made, this fun how-do guide follows clueless Woody’s quest to ask fun girl Ann (pronounced here as “Ay-yun”) out on a date. The narrator guides him through choosing a girl, how to ask her out, and proper etiquette at the Hi-Teen carnival. There’s a lot to be learned in this short film, namely, you don’t need to send flowers unless it’s a ritzy occasion, and never kiss on a first date!
Hilarious short! A boy picks up his date at her home and meets the parents- and we hear what everyone is really thinking over the niceties and conversation. Originally broadcast on Saturday Night Live, this forgotten gem plays like a distilled Meet The Parents and is also notable as the film debut of Robert Picardo (Star Trek: Voyager).
Dayton Allen on Dating (B+W, c. 1960)
Dayton Allen was a regular on the Steve Allen show, conducting his "man on the street" interviews. The comedian briefly got his own show to pontificate humorously on different subjects. In this bit, he's got a lot of great advice for young people looking to date like "Clothes are very important for young ones on a date, so be sure to wear some."
The Phone Call (Color, 1977)
Dating tips from the Mormons! This BYU-sponsored "comedy" follows an awkward teenage boy with Art Garfunkle's hairstylist and a penchant for karate and bassoons as he works up the courage to ask his crush for a date. The Mormons want you to know that nice guys can finish first!
A Night Out (1981, Color)
Julie and Tom are both young, freewheeling students at a deaf school. When Tom, a “nice guy,” asks Julie out for a date, Tom’s friends goad him into taking advantage of the “foxy lady.” After all, he reasons, she does owe him for the dinner and movie. Talk about a bad education.
Junior High School (Color, 1978, excerpt)
As if Junior High wasn't awful enough, imagine adding song and dance numbers about the most awkward aspects of your life and changing body! This musicalamity revolves loosely around a party, planned by Sherry, played by none other than 16 year-old Paula Abdul. Everybody's gotta be there, and lots of singles still need a date, which leads to triangles and hilarity. It's an epic camp musical masterpiece!
Are You Popular? (B+W, 1947)
Watch misplaced gender roles in this all-time favorite “mental hygiene” howler. Women (who are portrayed as princesses or sluts) must "repay" boys for entertaining them with milk and cookies, and are complimented on their observance of social graces. "Look at you, all ready and right on time too; that's a good deal," says Wally to Caroline.
The Innocent Party (Color, 1959, excerpt)
Two happy-go lucky boys get really lucky downtown at the movie theatre. The next week, one of the boys, Billy, and his steady girl, Betty, go too far in the car and he discovers a sore 'down there'. Betty looks absolutely miserable after the deed, and shame sets in like the bubonic plague. Billy gets worried and goes to see the doctor who explains the necessity of dragging Betty in for a physical as well. The Doc scares the hell out of Billy with graphic photos, and starts taking names. Naturally, it is some 'loose, downtown girls' who are responsible.
For the Early (Love) Birds:
The Date (Color, 1970s)"Let's have fun tonight... You know; FUN"Boys and girls are so different, or are they? Laurie and Rob are out on a date and he's got the keys to a hotel room. Laurie's not sure she's ready, but Rob's got a lot to prove, especially to his super creepy friend who plies him for information at the pizza joint. Will tonight be the night or will they both decide to wait?
Kat Shuchter is a graduate of UC Berkeley in Film Studies. She is a filmmaker, artist and esoteric film hoarder. She has helped program shows at the PFA, The Nuart and Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theater and was crowned “Found Footage Queen” of Los Angeles, 2009.
About Oddball Films
Oddball films is the film component of Oddball Film+Video, a stock footage company providing offbeat and unusual film footage for feature films like Milk, documentaries like The Summer of Love, television programs like Mythbusters, clips for Boing Boing and web projects around the world.
Our films are almost exclusively drawn from our collection of over 50,000 16mm prints of animation, commercials, educational films, feature films, movie trailers, medical, industrial military, news out-takes and every genre in between. We’re actively working to present rarely screened genres of cinema as well as avant-garde and ethno-cultural documentaries, which expand the boundaries of cinema. Oddball Films is the largest film archive in Northern California and one of the most unusual private collections in the US. We invite you to join us in our weekly offerings of offbeat cinema.
