Oddball Films and curator Kat Shuchter present What the F (ilm)?! an evening of some of the most bizarre, hilarious and insane films from our massive 16mm collection. From puppet anger management to rockin' Grandpas, Bergman spoofs, junky dogs and more cine-insanity, this is one night of rare and hilarious head-scratchers you won't want to miss. Grandpa gets bored of the old-age home and signs his soul over to the devil to become a rockin' sex machine in The Old Man and the Devil (1970s). Caninibis: The Junky Dog (1979) is the story of one cartoon dog who loves to get high, even when he's working for the cops. See if you can handle the cliffhanger ending to Pamela Wong's Birthday for Grandma (1977), a quaint yet befuddling look at life in Chicago's chinatown through the eyes of a little girl. Madeline Kahn speaks mock-Swedish in the hilarious academy award nominated Bergman spoof De Düva(1967). Nightmare scenarios play out while you're babysitting and then your attacker becomes your teacher in the over-the-top shock-defense film, Self Defense for Girls (1969). Learn how credit can change your life, or just burden you with crap and debt in the bizarre, hilarious and musical The Good, Good, Good Life (1974). Watch little girls beat their pillows and angry puppets beat each other with baseball bats in Feelings: Don't Stay Mad (1972). The wacky Signal Syntax (1980) will have you watching out for your personal computer, because it might be trying to kill you. It's a night of cine-insanity too weird to pass up!
The Old Man and the Devil (Color, 1970s)
An insanely weird one for the ages, and the aged. Bored by his daily routine at the nursing home, our septegenarian protagonist sets out for a little adventure and runs into a biker version of Satan. Grandpa is all too willing to sign over his soul for ladies, swanky clothes and rock n roll fame. Watch him get a make-over and rock out with his psychedelic band!
Caninabis - The Junky Dog (Color, 1979)
Yes, you read that right: CANINABIS! This head-scratcher from the National Film Board of Canada chronicles the animated exploits of a scruffy street dog, who develops a taste (and smell) for that sticky icky icky, but uses his powers to help the police, where he is rewarded with huge joints for every drug bust. But when the weed starts playing tricks on his mind, the scruffy mutt drops the ball and ends up on the street again, chasing tailpipes for one more high!
Pamela Wong's Birthday for Grandma (Color, 1977)
It's Grandma's birthday, and little Pamela Wong needs to pick up groceries for mom and a cake for Grandma's birthday party. Cute, simple and charming, with an ending that very well may drive you insane! One of A/V Geeks' Skip Elsheimer's favorite educational shorts.
De Düva (Dir. George Coe/Antony Lover, B+W, 1968)
Nominated for an Oscar (Best Short Subject – Live Action) in 1969, this short parodies three of Ingmar Bergman’s films – Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal, and The Silence. It also marked the first film role of Madeline Kahn. Speaking in mock Swedish, with English subtitles, a retired physicist with a hernia recalls, while sitting in an outhouse, a garden party he attended as a youth. In a game of badminton rather than chess, Death loses his intended victim because of a hilarious obstacle – a dirty pigeon. Director George Coe was one of the original cast members on the first three episodes of Saturday Night Live. And scriptwriter Sid Davis, who also plays the role of Death, is perhaps best known as a director/producer of educational safety films; he was also a long-time body double for John Wayne. (Tom Warner)
Signal Syntax (1980) Image
Ridiculous, bizarre low budget short about killer computers that violently do away with their owners. Featuring vintage computer technology, this John Remington film poses is an omen to the grudge against humanity personal computers of the future will hold.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.