Who Will Win?
The Academy Awards are almost upon us, but what I find frustrating for us anal retentive types is that most of the online predictions only cover the major award categories. I want my Live Action Short and Sound Mixing predictions, dammit! Comprehensive lists are out there if you look hard enough; this guy’s are as good as any, I suppose. Have you entered Kris’s Oscar contest yet? A Twilight sparkly sock monkey playset (infinitely more adorable than Robert Pattinson) can be yours with the right guesses.
Christopher and I are having our own little Oscar party Sunday night. We all should know that the only awards that ever truly mattered can be seen below:
It Blowed Up Real Good
I want to have something different to share today, video-wise. How about Disney animator Ward Kimball’s very un-Disney 1968 short, Escalation?
Special FX (’90s Edition)
Today’s videos are artifacts from the dorky yet lovable early years of Fox’s FX cable channel. These promos date from when the network went under the tagline “TV Made Fresh Daily,” broadcasting a variety of shows from their funky studios in New York City. Although you might recognize a few faces that later went on to better things (Tom Bergeron, Jeff Probst), mostly the channel was a low-key affair staffed by friendly guy- and girl-next-door types. I think Fox meant it to feel like a bunch of your friends got together and put on a show. Sandwiched between reruns of Batman and Mission: Impossible, the channel’s slate of original programs covered a variety of subjects. My own favorite was Personal FX, the antiques and collectibles show. I was a regular viewer despite the fact that it was hosted by a complete airhead (Claire Carter) who knew nothing about antiques and collectibles. At least co-host John Burke brought on the hunk appeal. Burke later hosted on the pre-acronym American Movie Classics, and recently I was surprised to find him in a commercial endorsing some kind of back pain gadget.
Of course, FX is now a powerhouse network with acclaimed series like Damages and Nip/Tuck on their schedule — but guess what? I never watch them. I actually prefer the old, dorky FX. Some things actually work better if they haven’t been mass marketed and focus tested to death.
ABC’s Funshine Saturday
A fun promo film for ABC’s Fall 1974 daytime and Saturday morning lineup includes shows familiar (The Brady Bunch, already a rerun staple mere months after getting cancelled in prime time) and unfamiliar (The Girl in My Life). That animated gumball machine on the ABC Afterschool Special elicits a real deja vu feeling here!
Screen Gems — from Outer Spaaaace
I can’t believe someone made a short film about the traumatizing effects of the animated Screen Gems logo from the ’60s (via The Tin Man). The creepy moog synthesized music really did it for me.
See also: Scrubbles.net: Logos, Logos, Logos.
Think Pink!
Today’s video of Kay Thompson’s “Think Pink” number from Funny Face is cheating a bit, since I already posted this on Facebook two weeks ago… but the whole thing is so fabulous it deserves an encore here. The effects with split screens and such were pretty advanced for 1957, and for pure visual flair you can’t beat model Suzy Parker and her animated toothpaste. While viewing just remember, there isn’t the slightest excuse for plum or puce — or chartreuse.
Hey There, Georgy Girl
Mitzi Gaynor made a splash at the 1967 Academy Awards doing a dazzling, orange and pink-hued production number to “Georgy Girl.” Now that a YouTube user has posted it, we can all delight in its ’60s deliciousness (thanks to Lady Bunny). This number was so popular that it led Mitzi into a series of successful TV specials for the next ten years, covered in her DVD Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years.
See also — Scrubbles.net: The Lady with the Gorgeous Gams.
1939, Via 1987
Today’s video is part one of the “making of Gone with the Wind” installment of ABC’s short-lived newsmagazine, Our World. Man, I loved this show. Anchored by Linda Ellerbee and Ray Gandolf, each episode examined the events of a single year in American history. I recall that the show was critically acclaimed, but ABC gave it a death sentence by scheduling it opposite mega-hit The Cosby Show. It limped along through the 1986-87 season before getting the axe. Stupid ABC.
Somebody on YouTube posted the entire 1939/Gone with the Wind show, so at least we have that to be thankful for.
Binder, Maurice Binder
I’ve been checking out a lot of favorite 1960s movie title sequences lately. Today’s neat discovery: a YouTube user has strung together all of the James Bond franchise title sequences so you can see how they developed over time. The first group below includes titles from Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Goldfinger — all designed by Maurice Binder (not true, actually; see comments). Binder designed the credits on all 007 franchise films released up to his death in 1991. Even the more recent Bond titles owe a huge debt to his seductive imagery.
Miracles from Molecules
Posting our Wednesday video on Thursday (the mind is the first thing to go, doncha know), we have a short film from ClassicThemeParks.com on one of Disneyland’s best-ever attractions — Monsanto’s Adventure Thru Inner Space. This was the ride where, riding in a capsule-shaped buggy, one got shrunk down to explore the molecular structure of a common snowflake. The thrills began in the ride’s queue, with a giant microscope and that super-cool rainbow hued snowflake on the wall (seen at 2:07 in the video). Sadly, the guest shrinkage ceased in 1986 and things were never quite the same in Tomorrowland. Star Tours swallowed up the same space in the park, not a good substitute in my opinion. Pee Wee Herman replacing Paul Frees? Phhhtt.
Return to Joy
A vintage To Tell the Truth segment with silent film actress Leatrice Joy. Although we’re probably the only people on the planet with a framed picture of Miss Joy hanging in our kitchen, this was a tough one to guess. The one I suspected most from the opening remarks ended up being the real Leatrice, however.
Jeez, I miss the old b&w game shows on GSN.
Learning the Facts of Life
Nice: remember the YouTube user that I’ve written about before who did those montages of opening credits from forgotten ’80s/’90s TV shows? The one that was taken off YouTube? He’s back. Better hurry up and watch invaluable stuff like this before it disappears again:
Whitest People You Know
Nino Tempo, April Stevens and a bevy of go-go dancers perform “Land of 1,000 Dances” in a Scopitone clip. I wish the quality was better so we could better appreciate those pastel colors.
Monika, Oh My Darling
Today’s video is a Bollywood treasure — “Piya Tu Ab To Aaja” from the 1971 opus Caravan. Sung by Asha Bhosle and R.D. Burman, danced by the incomparable Helen (no last name). Campy as all get out, but energetic and fun:
