Subliminal Coffee
An animated television commercial for Instant Butternut Coffee from 1967 with “subliminal” messaging.
MORE ...El Cortez Hotel Glass Elevator
In this newsreel from 1956, the great newsreader Ed Herlihy describes the futuristic glass elevator recently installed in the El Cortez Hotel in San Diego, California. Believe it or not, this will be the future … of soon-to-be developed tract buildings everywhere.
MORE ...Betty Boop and the Little King
Is it any wonder that the first alternative comic book artists like R. Crumb and Kim Deitch give immense credit to Max Fleischer, animator of Betty Boop, Koko the Clown, Bimbo the Dog, Popeye, and Superman? Fleischer’s cartoons definitely have a surreal feel about them, lending themselves to psychedelic inspiration.
MORE ...Marihuana
Dwain Esper’s 1936 scare film Marihuana, written by his wife Hildagarde Stadie, an obvious expert on the subject.
MORE ...Trailer: Bug-o-rama
This is a humorous gag trailer for a horror movie night that a local US theater ran in the 1950’s, Bug-O-Rama … “Your skin will crawl, your flesh will creep, after you’ve seen our Bug-O-Rama. It’s the show to recommend to your enemies. The unbearable terror may drive them MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD. A licensed […]
MORE ...Whistler’s Jug Band: Foldin’ Bed
Whistler & His Jug Band came up out of Louisville, Kentucky, and became the first recorded jug band, according to R Crumb’s Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country. They recorded at least twenty-one songs between 1924 and 1931. The names of the musicians remain unknown.
MORE ...Coney Island
Coney Island, “the place where merriment is king!” Take a trip 75 years back in time. SEE masses of New Yorkers beat the heat by hitting the beach. SEE Side Shows! SEE Carnies! SEE Freaks! SEE Thrill rides! Includes the original Coney Island Hot Dog, the Bathing Girl Review, and people enjoying the frantic amusement rides of the day. […]
MORE ...RCA-Victor Magic of Music
Take any home. Your home! Set it aglow with the magic of music. Then watch as it opens a new world of fun and enjoyment for you and your family. It’s RCA Victor’s brilliant new best of ’57 albums including the artistry of Frankie Carle … Lena Horne … Harry Belafonte … Free and easy […]
MORE ...Fleischer Brothers: In My Merry Oldsmobile
For an Oldsmobile commercial, the Fleischer Bros. created this extremely bawdy cartoon. No, they don’t make ’em like they used to.
MORE ...A Jazz Etude
In this serendipitously surreal short “A Jazz Etude,” tap dance extraordinaire Billy Burt dances up a storm in top hat, tuxedo tail and cane. Is he floating? And that screwy soundtrack … a mishmash of ‘Flight of the Bumblebee,’ ragtime fills, and 1930’s jazz cliches, is remeniscent of Carl Stalling or Raymond Scott. Still, I […]
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