Oddball Films presents Technicolor Dreams and Kodachrome Fantasies: The Mid-Century in Full Color, a gorgeous time capsule of 16mm ephemeral films showcasing the long-lasting beauty of two obsolete film stocks that allow us a full color glimpse into the world of yesteryear. With Hawaiian Tiki vacations, campy promotional films, beauty pageants, fashion shows, Chevy cars, and even a bird circus - all from the late 1940s-1950s in unblemished color - it's a vibrant cinematic trip back in time. A soldier stalks his lady love across the country and breaks out in song in the camptastic Greyhound promotional film The Shortest Way Home (1948). Set out for exotic ports of call in the vintage cheeky travelogue Polynesian Holiday (1955). Behold the marvelous spectacle of parakeets riding bicycles and tightrope walking in the jaw-dropping Bird Circus (1950s). Tony Curtis hosts a poolside party for the winners of Miss Universe 1955. See one girl's dream fashion classes and an incredible array of mid-century casual fashions in Jantzen: Completely You (1954). Behold the beauty of the "newest" line of Chevy sedans in the stylish promotional film The Rainbow is Yours (1951) from Jam Handy. Plus, snippets of Kodachrome Smut, Home Movies, and more!
Web: http://oddballfilms.blogspot.com
Featuring:
The Shortest Way Home (Color, 1948)
A campy and beautiful Greyhound promotional film that's a great companion piece to Oddball favorite "America for Me". This long-form commercial (or short romantic comedy) focuses on a pair of war-crossed lovers who met overseas as nurse and patient and now appear to be bussing around the country in search of each other while gaining a lot of knowledge about the history of America all thanks to Greyhound! It's a Technicolor schmaltzfest that ends with the entire bus breaking out in song!
Bird Circus (Color, 1950s)
Miss Universe 1955 (Color, 1955)
Film star Tony Curtis narrates this Technicolor gem and politically incorrect display of cultural stereotypes. Wild lounge band sounds and some truly eye-popping moments!
Jantzen: Completely You (Color, 1954)
A beyond stunning Kodachrome campy promotional film for Jantzen clothing. A stylish young woman walks through town and onto a college campus where she falls asleep and dreams that she is attending various classes about the Jantzen clothing; discussing color choices and correct color combinations, as well as fabrics, designs, and body shapes. Throughout the film, she is admired by a young blonde man who finally meets her on a bench as she awakens from her fashionable dream. Directed By: Erven Jourdan and starring, Lita Blott, Dave Smith, James Lewis, Elenora Peterson, Irving Lerner, Adrian Money, and Dave Sohr. Vintage fashionistas won’t want to miss this- looks like it was filmed yesterday!
Behold all the stunning colors of the newest line of shiny new Chevys in this kitschy promotional film made by industrial film giants Jam Handy.
For the Early Birds:
Training You to Train Your Dog (Color, 1952)
Image
The narrator gleefully intones at the start of the film "Pay attention and practice what we preach and you'll end up as smart as your dog". Watch genuinely useful advice and examples in glorious (and now defunct) 1950s Kodachrome as we learn how to choose a pooch, train a poodle to fetch a purse, learn doggie do's and don'ts and watch dogs dressed up for a tea party- just like people! This 1952 film is based on the groundbreaking book of the same name by Blanche Saunders. Almost all dog training is based on the methods she discovered and developed.
Curator’s Biography
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. She has programmed over 200 shows at Oddball on everything from puberty primers to experimental animation.
About Oddball Films
Oddball films is a stock footage company providing offbeat and unusual film footage for feature films like Milk, documentaries like The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, Silicon Valley, Kurt Cobain: The Montage of Heck, television programs like Mythbusters, clips for Boing Boing and web projects around the world.
Our screenings 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.
Training You to Train Your Dog (Color, 1952) The narrator gleefully intones at the start of the film "Pay attention and practice what we preach and you'll end up as smart as your dog". Watch genuinely useful advice and examples in glorious (and now defunct) 1950s Kodachrome as we learn how to choose a pooch, train a poodle to fetch a purse, learn doggie do's and don'ts and watch dogs dressed up for a tea party- just like people! This 1952 film is based on the groundbreaking book of the same name by Blanche Saunders. Almost all dog training is based on the methods she discovered and developed. Image
Curator’s Biography
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. She has programmed over 200 shows at Oddball on everything from puberty primers to experimental animation.
About Oddball Films
Oddball films is a stock footage company providing offbeat and unusual film footage for feature films like Milk, documentaries like The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, Silicon Valley, Kurt Cobain: The Montage of Heck, television programs like Mythbusters, clips for Boing Boing and web projects around the world.
Our screenings 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.