Oddball Films Media
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Feb 13, 2014
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Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 Limited Seating RSVP to RSVP@oddballfilm.com or (415) 558-8117
You Got WHAT? (Color, 1970)
This quirky film, punctuated by bell bottoms, tarot cards and kooky improv vignettes
takes a lighthearted approach to the “VD epidemic”. Mixing actors and real –life medical personnel the film beams with graphics and quirky 60s social relevance.
The Innocent Party (Color, 1959)
The guilt-tripped noir-like shocker about a “dirty” girl and her hidden secret- VD! See what happens when she “gifts” her boyfriend with it! A cool beatnik-jazz soundtrack highlights highlights this sordid tale produced by the Kansas State Board of Health!
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“Yes, it’s true. Walt D*sney Productions has made a significant contribution to the war against VD. “VD Attack Plan” – A fully animated Walt D*sney 16mm motion picture.” states the brochure accompanying this 16mm educational film. This frequently hilarious animated film had some forward thinking and enlightening approaches (not just for D*sney but everyone else producing this type of film in 1973) to the subject of sexually transmitted diseases. These include promotion of condoms (instead of abstinence) and the fact that VD can be spread through same sex couplings. This "war against disease", narrated by veteran actor Keenan Wynn features him as a syphilitic army sergeant directing his VD troops into battle against stupid humans. This film doesn’t miss a beat-even showcasing some of the graphic (!) effects of the disease in action. In brilliant Technicolor, just like you’d want it to be.
One a Minute (B+W, 1944)
A poker game provides the metaphor for US Navy sailor-saps on shore as they “take a chance” with the VD-infected hostesses at the Kit Kat Club. “The only way to cover that sucker bet is to use provalactics” spouts the doctor. Don’t miss the pretty girls do their “perp walk” as their std tests are announced. The shame!
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A father sets out to explain the facts of life to his son, but becomes increasingly embarrassed to the point where his explanations are so vague as to be incomprehensible. Inspired by Gerard Hoffnung's 1960 book of the same name, this is a delightful and all too familiar study of the embarrassed middle-aged British male, as a father attempts to explain the facts of life to his son but ends up delivering a monologue so packed with euphemisms about birds, bees and butterflies that it ends up being totally incoherent. Produced by the esteemed Halas & Batchelor Animation Studio, the visual style (inspired directly by Hoffnung's drawings) is simple in the extreme - for much of the film, we just watch the father squirming and blushing in his chair, which focuses our attention both on Peter Sellers' monologue and director John Halas' subtle visual characterization, all nervous tics and fidgeting.
Herpes: The New Sexual Epidemic (Color, 1981 excerpt)
“Oh no, Kathy! Did you tell David?” Join three people on their painful, and itchy journeys with the simplex. One is a young woman in the thralls of love, but a prison of shame. One is an expectant mother, ready to give the gift of life, not herpes. And the last is a sailor, infected from exotic ports of call, but hoping to dock in his beloved's harbor. Feel the pain, then, learn the facts.
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Produced by The US Army Signal Corps in Collaboration with the Surgeon General and directed by Hollywood icon John Fordthis densely packed panorama of propaganda postulates that military men can obtain a higher physical aptitude by abstaining from sex. Several servicemen relax by playing pool, but one of them goes off to spend time with a prostitute. Later, he discovers he has contracted a venereal disease. A graphic and frank presentation of the types and treatment of venereal disease follows.
The nearly one hour film (don’t worry we won’t be watching it all!) showcases doctors, charts, VD under a microscope and those dreaded sores that plague our men in uniform.
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The infamous animated short featuring Lenny Bruce!
Thank You Mask Man (Color, 1968)
Before George Carlin, Richard Prior and Redd Fox there was Lenny Bruce.
This legendary animated short by the infamous comedian and satirist Lenny Bruce is a vivid send up on race, class and sexuality. Watch as Tonto and the Lone Ranger’s let it all hang out. Like crazy man.
Also! Sex related commercials such as “VD is for Everyone!”
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.