EXPERIMENTS IN THE REVIVAL OF DEAD ANIMALS (1940)
Godless
Commie
sadists purport to bring dead animals back to life using
old Victa lawn-mower parts.
THE ICED HOPES OF DR. CALASTEIN
This bizarre cartoon has
odd-ball
Calastein return to his underground laboratory to continue
work on his beloved virus.
WHITE ZOMBIE (1933)
Unique low-budget horror thriller,
starring
Bela Lugosi, about slave army of Zombies at a Carribean
sugar mill and their white master.
THE GOLEM (1920)
Classic jewish legend of "The Body
without a
Soul", created from clay by Rabbi Loew in medieval Prague
to defend
the ghetto. (As usual), things go tragically awry when the
creation
falls for his master's daughter. Cinematography by Karl
("Mad Love" 1935) Freund.
Monday 21st., 8PM
A SPLODGY CHRISTMAS II
PEACE ON EARTH (194 )
A bunch of post-apocalyptic rodents
engage
in a Yultide review of the demise of the Human race.
Magnificent Hugh Harmon MGM cartoon.
THE SNOWMAN (1982)
(Despite being) based on a story by
Raymond
("When the Wind Blows") Briggs, this striking animated film
(rendered
in muted pastels), about a boy and his enchanted snowman,
is chiefly
notable for its hauntingly-exquisite orchestral score.
Produced for channel 4.
A CHRISTMAS GIFT (1980)
Will Vinton's Christmassy
claymation (with
a touch of Dickens) puts this year's Myer Christmas Windows
to shame.
Fab song by Paul (Peter, Paul and Mary) Stookey.
THE GREAT TOY ROBBERY (1964)
Enormously enjoyable,
Avery-esque,
freaky/hipster Chrissy toon. A cross between Flukey Luke
and Dudley Doright!
A CHRISTMAS DREAM (1959)
A magnificent piece of Yuletide
ephemera,
which has to be seen to be believed. A kitschy seasonal
highlight.
CHRISTMAS CRACKER
An amusing portmanteau 'Christmas
Animation' celebration.
THE STORY OF CHRISTMAS (1974)
A delightful medieval
treatment
of the Christmas story using cut-out animation. (Great
stroboscopic ending!)
PLUTO'S CHRISTMAS TREE (1952)
The 2nd. last theatrical
Mickey
Mouse cartoon largely backgrounds the rodent himself, while
Chip
'n' Dale wreak havoc on the mutt.
TOYLAND REVOLT
Marvellous 1950s Czech live-action/ puppet
animation
has a nasty Nazi copping more than he bargained for after
he blunders
into a subversive toy-maker's abandoned workshop.
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1933)
Glorious Technicolor
Disney
"Silly Symphony" about the whole Santa/Toy deal.
"Quickie Theatre" presents:
FELIZ NAVIDAD
Jose Carioca and Panchito show Donald Duck
how Christmas
is celebrated in Mexico in this colourful extract from "The
Three
Caballeros" (1945), Disney's propaganda exercise saluting
Latin
America for Rockefeller's "Good Neighbor Policy".
BIG BUSINESS (1929)
Purported by some to be the funniest
two reels
of film ever shot, this Laurel and Hardy classic involves
Stan and
Ollie a Christmas tree salesmen, attempting to sell James
Findlayson
a tree in July, resulting in a bout of escalating mayhem.
NOVEMBER
AD 1998
Monday, 2nd., 8.00PM
THOSE PERSIAN CATS
ALI BABA ( )
Groovy Ub Iwerks 'Comicolor" cartoon about Ali Baba, his
cave and treasure, and his band of forty thieves.
plus Quickie Theatre presents:
THE FALL OF BABYLON
Magnificently-presented excerpt from classic,
INTOLERANCE (1916), is actually extremely tolerable. This section is
fascinating for its enormous, full-scale sets of the old "Great Whore",
fantastic battle-scenes, millions of extras, amazingly-realistic
reconstructions of the life, habits and customs of the times, as well as a
darn' good story-line.
plus
CAPTAIN SINDBAD (1963)
A rather splendid adventure/ fantasy film-excerpt,
starring Guy (Lost in Space/Zorro) Williams, and with Abraham Sofaer. Rich
with trick effects, full-blooded performances and vivid colour.
Shot in Wonderscope and directed by
Byron (ar of the Worlds) Haskin.
and featuring:
THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1942)
A classic 'Arabian Nights' fantasy, filmed in
Technicolor, starring Conrad Veidt, and Sabu. A tour de force of design and
special effects, and with music by Miklos Rosza.
Direction by Michael Powell, Alexander Korda and William Cameron Invaders from
Mars Menzies (production design, also) et al.
Monday, 16th., 8.00PM
NOVEMBER
MEDIEVAL DAZE
THE RELUCTANT DRAGON ( )
Based on a story by Kenneth ("WIND IN THE
WILLOWS") Grahame, this Disney cartoon tells the story of a dragon and a
quixotic knight who prefer to write poetry and drink tea than to fight, but,
who, for the sake of tradition- and to keep the villagers satisfied- stage a
battle for show.
THE THIEVING MAGPIE (1964)
A grand procession of medieval knights is reduced
to chaos by one insolent black bird who would rather steal crowns than dodge
arrows. Music by Rossini.
AUCASSIN AND NICOLETTE (1975)
Set against a background of castles and
forests, and accompanied by Renaissance -style music, this enchanting tale of
Courtly (not Courtney!) love, by Lotte Reinegger, is presented using the
cut-out silhouette animation technique that she invented and perfected.
THE TENDER TALE OF CINDERELLA PENGUIN (1981)
The story of Cinderella, set in
a Medieval style, has a mistreated romantic penguin in the main role.
SLEEPING BEAUTY (1955)
This classic fairy-tale, also from Lotte Reinegger,
is a truly unforgettable film experience.
and featuring:
LANCELOT DU LAC (1974)
Robert Bresson's gritty treatment of the colourful
spectacle and drama of the Arthurian legend, and the Grail story, contains
lots of blood, sex and swordplay. (In French, with subtitles).
OCTOBER AD 1998
Monday, 19th., 8PM
BUG OFF!
THE METAMORPHOSIS OF MR. SAMSA
Gregor Samsa awakens one morning
to find that he has transformed into a giant bug. A clever animation
in sand by Caroline Leaf, fron the short story by Franz Kafka.
LET IT BEE
A honeybee's picnic is interrupted by a couple's 'al
fresco' lunch. An excerpt from
"Allegro Non Troppo" (1976). Music by Vivaldi.
THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS (1934)
A fable from the pen of French
poet, Jean de la Fontaine, is given the Silly Symphony treatment
in this moralistic but gorgeous Disney cartoon. A parable which
questions the limiting definition of 'industriousness' that we still
have shoved down our throats, even today.
THE LITTERBUG (1961)
A bug of another kind. Here it's Donald Duck
as one of the lowest forms of life- the enviromental menace.
THE MOSQUITO (1916)
Hilarious cartoon from pioneer animator, Winsor
McCay, aboutan implaccably mischievous insect that cannot tell when
it has had too much of a good thing.
THE BUTTERFLY BALL AND THE GRASSHOPPER'S FEAST (1976)
Fantastic
Halas & Batchelor cartoon. A frog and his coterie attend the most
spectacular Ball of the year. Set around one-time "Countdown" song
hit by Roger Glover, featuring well-known rock-stars of the period.
THE BAND CONCERT (1936)
Mickey Mouse and his band doggedly perform
Rossini's "William Tell Overture" despite the interferance of a
pesky bee, Donald Duck playing "Turkey in the Straw", and a full-scale
cyclone. The first Mickey Mouse in (Techni)color.
& featuring:
THEM! (1954)
First-rate ecological/Cold War Sci-Fi classic about
giant mutant ants going berzerk (what else?) in the deserts of the
southwast USA. The only hope is to call in the mobile infantry,
a la "Starship Troopers" (1997). Memorable climax in the L.A. sewers.
Stars James Whitmore and James Arness, but watch for
Fess ("Daniel Boone") Parker, Leonard ("Star Trek") Nimoy (seen
attending a teletype machine), and a very young Natalie Wood, who gets a nasty
insect-scare.