Oddball Films Media
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Jul 12, 2015
Busby Berkeley choreographs a dizzying display of hundreds of clones in a dazzling excerpt from Dames (1933) with other classic Hollywood musical numbers from Fred and Ginger dance into your heart in Top Hat (1935) and Alice Faye sings "Oh You Nasty Man" from George White's Scandals (1934). Make an ass of yourself, playing Donkey Baseball (1935) and bundle up with Duke Ellington in Bundle of Blues (1933).
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When Thelma Todd and Zazu Pitts go to a Turkish bath to get rid of their colds they are subjected to undressing, strange mechanical devices, an enormous treadmill, and one of the least relaxing massages ever depicted on screen. Zazu wants to leave but can’t find her clothes so she steals a men’s suit and walks through the women’s baths. Chaos ensues.
St. Louis Blues (1929, Dudley Murphy, B+W, 16 minutes)The only existing footage of Bessie Smith! W.C. Handy conceived and produced this gritty melodrama based on his 12 bar blues ballad of betrayal. Luckily for posterity, he had the foresight to ask Miss Smith to reprise her “role” as the ill-used love from her 1925 hit. An ambitious early sound film, Murphy pushed the technology of the day to its limits with surprisingly lush results. The Hall Johnson Choir do double duty as the singing speakeasy patrons and Jimmy Mordecai takes a turn as the tap dancing ne’er-do-well pimp.
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A charming excerpt from director Ray Enright's Dames. During the spectacular musical number I Only Have Eyes for You, Ruby Keeler is the only girl in the world, but there are hundreds of her in this dreamy landscape. And from those hundreds, one face emerges, and when Miss Keeler pops out of a giant eye there can be little doubt that notorious dance director Busby Berkeley was something of a Hollywood branch of the Surrealist movement.
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George Pal, master of the “Puppetoon” and special effects innovator created this jazzy, snazzy animated, (with racist caricatures) gem. Philips was one of the first companies to commission Pal's films for advertising. Radio was the "TV" of the time, and Philips wanted to communicate the world-opening wonders of radio to people at theaters. Different kinds of music from around the world provided a perfect backdrop for Pal's animation, which works wonderfully when set to music. As with other animated musical cartoons, the animation in this high-energy puppetoon was "scored" to perfectly match the music, beat for beat.
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Clip from the great Busby Berkeley musical Footlight Parade- Human kitties sing, dance and frolic to the Tin Pan Alley
Movie Sideshow (B+W, 1935)
Insane feats of daring and stupidity- a man is sealed into a block of ice for 20 minutes, a "human fire extinguisher" drinks water, then takes a mouthful of kerosene and both starts a fire and puts it out, "Strangest Wives in Captivity," stunts involving husband- wife teams with a whip and then a rifle, a man uses the Goodyear blimp to tow his bathtub in which he takes a bath and more Jazz Age nutters!
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Learn the rules of a great-ass pastime! This classic piece is narrated and directed by Pete Smith, who was awarded an honorary Oscar (in 1954)--for "pungent observations of the American scene," which can be found throughout his so-called 'Specialty' series for MGM.
A Bundle of Blues (B+W, 1933)
The natty Duke Ellington Orchestra swing in this stylish soundie gem, performing "Lightnin'" & "Rockin' in Rhythm" before easing into the centerpiece: Ivie Anderson`s bluesy and possibly most moving rendition rendition of "Stormy
Weather" ever recorded. Moods shift rapidly in these miniature musical films as Florence Hill & Bessey Dudley dizzying tap routine to "Bugle Call Rag" perfectly demonstrates.
This is War? (B+W, 1933)
In these slapsticky excerpts from Duck Soup, all four Marx Brothers sing out a war cry for Freedonia, then proceed to wage a musical war, complete with a dozen or so costume changes from all the wartime periods of history.
In these slapsticky excerpts from Duck Soup, all four Marx Brothers sing out a war cry for Freedonia, then proceed to wage a musical war, complete with a dozen or so costume changes from all the wartime periods of history.
Buddy’s Theatre (1935, b&w)
The forgotten star of Warner Bros. cartoons! Buddy starred in cartoons from 1933 till 1935. This time out, Buddy is the one-man staff of the local movie house. The news reel spoofs will delight fans of both 30’s movies and general kookiness. When his darling Cookie, Warner’s answer to Betty Boop, gets in a
spot of trouble, Buddy makes the leap into the silver screen.
Our World in Review: Arctic Exploration (B&W, 1935)
New worlds continue to emerge on earth, as explorers move deeper into the sea, rainforests, and snowy terrains. This newsreel from the 1930s focuses on the importance of dogs in arctic exploration, as well as the fascination with new frontiers and attempts to conquer these emerging worlds.