AV Geeks 16mm Lunch 11-12-2024

e hi everybody this is Skip Alzheimer welcome to the a Geeks lunchtime streaming show where we watch old 16mm films and so that started with a tour of uh the archive um couple years ago and uh I just wanted to update you on what's happening at the archive right now [Music] um this is that space uh it is uh the walls have been mostly ripped out uh the bathroom has been ripped out um all the films are obviously not there anymore the equipment is not there anymore um so yeah um the renovation is taking place um this is it from another view uh the idea is that this space will be um turned into maybe offices uh or maybe an apartment and then the um archive will be in the basement which will be [Music] um uh basically it'll be climate controlled and we'll be uh moisture controlled and all that stuff so there you go lot of work um and uh but anyways that's why I'm here outside on my deck at my house and we are um doing work uh in the basement uh which is where the streaming show originated during Co um and I think we're going to try to move one of the scanners here um so that maybe I can do some uh streaming and scanning so uh there we go but let's go ahead and start off with some uh we've been doing some work uh with pringer archive to get more of their materials online on our Channel and on they have now their own channel um and so this is a a goodie an oldie but a goodie match your mood uh my mood is not great right now cuz I'm just exhausted um kind of depressed but watching this uh will make my mood better I think enjoy [Music] the [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] he [Music] he [Music] he yeah [Music] a [Music] n [Music] a [Music] n [Music] [Music] Westinghouse the complete refrigerator compare [Music] U that does give me joy it's so hip and it's so exciting and um there's no narration which is also really great it's just using the music to get the point across um so big fan big fan of that uh this one starts with a song uh it's about soil enjoy everybody to build this Lander and Baker and the grer the teacher the preacher the and the saor all work behind the doctor and the in the city while we in the woods all together all work together deliver the good it takes everybody to build this life and we all depend on people we've never even met we depend on all kinds of Specialists we never even see making our clothing building building our houses getting us food that's where I come in see I'm a farmer growing my own food helping to the city nearby FKS think I'm instance other day when I into town wagon of vegetables I met two old friends Tom and Jane they think I'm the most independent man they ever knew Tom they were going to Farmers cuz they wanted to be independent well farming's a good life but I had to explain nobody can be independent these days not even a farmer I'm going to have a farm just like you I'm going to raise my own food and I'll be just as independent as you well now wait a minute just raising your own food isn't enough I'm not independent I depend on lots of people for instance today I'm depending on my shoem maker to fix my shoes well we mean Pioneers like in the olden days yeah I'm going to build my own out of logs and I'm going to make all my own clothes well now look now my grandfather and grandmother came here as pioneers and that isn't the way they told it tell you what you get on the wagon and I'll tell you all about it on the way home come on up you go yes sir you just imagine that you were in this area while it was still dark and Forest my grandfather came here in his covered wagon and believe me he had a sing to keep up his spirits come all you young Fells who have got a mind to rain over this far off country your fortune to change and we'll travel out Westward with our hammer and our ho through the Wild Woods we wander on the Ohio get up Bo get up get up come on you young fell whosoever all Grandpa and Grandma decided to be Pioneers cuz they wanted to be independent too but right from the start they had to depend on other people Grandpa couldn't have cleared the forest with his bare hands somebody had to make an axe for him swing that axe sing it fine chip that trunk down the timber line Grandpa depended on other men far away to dig ir and coal to make it into steel and Forge it into shape dig that IR down the mine pound that steel till the axe blade shine swing that axe swing it fine chip that trunk on the timber line there are a lot of men in the mines and it forges helping Grandpa when he swung that axe well it was only by using tools made by some body else far away that Grandpa could shape the forest into a farm I will build a a cabin for to keep out the rain and I'll carve out a plow share for to Furrow the plane it was hard work but they had to eat a man can do without a lot of things but not without food with my feet in The Farrow and the sweat on my brow and the sun on my shoulder as I follow the plow wasn't much of a plow and every time it hit a stone it broke but it did open the Earth for planting the seed well with Grandpa out getting food grandma could make other things they needed like their clothing and while you go out and ho I will sit at home and sew and spin you out a cief on the Ohio with the bobin at the center and the trle down below I'll spin you out a cief on the Ohio yes Jane Grandma did make their clothing but she also needed tools and you weave me out a blanket on the Ohio they couldn't have kept alive without any tools but with tools Grandpa and Grandma but carve a farm out of the Wilderness and make things grow a man needs a roof for a shelter and a shirt for to keep him warm but most of all a man needs food from the day he's born so it's time for a shuing of the Corn it's time for a shuing of the Corn it's time for shuing of the Corn man needs food from the day he's born so it's time for a shuing of the corn with their tools they could grow not just enough but even more than they needed for themselves and that's when they began to depend on even more people you see the work was hard because the tools were clumsy reaping wasn't easy with a shandle sickle one of the other farmers in the valley knew how to do good blacksmith work so Grandpa took some of the food he had left over to trade for a better tool just down the road There lives the man a farmer with a black Smith shop he'll make a tool to speed my hand and help me raise a better corop this part-time blacksmith promised to make Grandpa a long handle size for some corn by trading that way Grandpa could spend more time at farming cuz he didn't have to make his own tools now the part-time blacksmith made good tools because he didn't have to spend so much time at farming by depending on each other they could grow more food and make better tools with less work there's plenty more than we can eat we'll share our crop with other Farms I'll trade the corn and sell the wheat and get a scythe to speed my arm with the new sidethe Grandpa could swing wider and stronger when cutting down his grain the better the tool the more we can do and the better we can do it well before long so many neighbors were trading with the part-time blacksmith that he could spend all his time at the forge he became a specialist for your cabbage Corner cow he will trade a cther plow the blacksmith is the man who does it all in instead of the wooden plow that always broke he made them a plow of iron the furrows became deeper and wider well the work was still hard but they were able to plow much larger fields and get more out of the soil well better tools meant bigger crops so some people could eat without growing their own food they could do other things that made it easier for for the people who were still farming for instance they knew that other Specialists were busy making shoes for them for the cobbler is the man the cobbler is the man summer who into to Spring and fall though your boots May Crack and wear he will keep them in repair the cobbler is the man who shoes them all though your boots May Crack and wear he will keep them in repair the cobbler is is the man who shoes them all they knew that other Specialists were making houses for them good shingles for their roof with the Mallet in his hand and the shingle on the stand the carpenter is the man who builds it all yes The Carpenter's The Man The Carpenter's The Man summer winter spring and fall for a sack of wheat or more he will make a roof or door the Carpenters the who builds it all and so Grandpa and the other farmers and the cobbler and the blacksmith got better houses and better shoes because a specialist does a better job the people who specialized live near each other by the banks of the river where the water wheel could give power for machines a small town grew up if you think about it you'll see that's what towns and cities are places where Specialists work and trade yes people who trade with each other depend on each other the cobbler made his own shoes the carpenter built his own house but each did only a part of getting his own food clothing or shelter well the town grew bigger and bigger and bigger it's like a tree growing that starts from The Roots like we started from the soil the farmer tilled as the Earth gave more we were able to grow away from the soil just the way A Tree Grows away from the roots the way that the tree grows out of the ground is the way that the city grows out of the town the men at the machine the workers with the skill there're are building up the city round the factory and Mill now the chimneys are smoking to give us all a sign a million men are working on the factory line they come from the plains from the mountains and the woods and they all work together to deliver the goods millions of Specialists living side by side and none of them gets his own food or clothing or shelter all by himself yes we've been able to grow farther and farther from the soil but as I keep saying a man always has to eat a man needs a roof or a shelter and a shirt for to keep him warm and a man needs a meal at the tabletop and Our Roots still need the soil it's only because we have powerful tools like my tractor that we farmers can grow enough food for all those millions of City [Music] Specialists the farmer is the man the farmer is the man summer winter spring and fall when the springtime comes around he goes plowing up the ground the farmer is the man who feeds them all [Music] in the springtime and the fall when the corn is growing tall the farmer is the man who feeds them all yes the farmer is the man the farmer is the man summer winter spring and fall he comes a riding into town with his wagon loaded down the farmer is the man who feeds them all he comes riding into town with his wagon loaded down the farmer is the man who feeds them all we Farmers Supply the food for the City Markets Grandpa supplied food for the cobbler so he could spend all his time making shoes the cobbler made the whole shoe the form the soul and the upper and he knew the man who wore it but it's different now today our cobblers work in factories and they are a different kind of specialist each of them makes only part of a shoe and it takes hundreds of people just to make one shoe but these hundreds can make more in a day than the cobbler could make in a lifetime that means I'm depending on hundreds of cobblers for just one pair of shoes yet these Factory Specialists make all these shoes for people they never even see people I depend on people in all walks of life for instance the fishermen bringing in their catch they're scaly gold our ships are in the fish are caught the car goes on the shore we'll dump our catch upon the docks and then sail back for more with a blowy winds in the morning and blow boy winds High ho fill the hole with scaly gold and blow blow blow it's first unload the fish we sto that one swam down below and when they're stored we'll climb aboard and back to Sea will'll go with a blowy winds in the morning blowy winds High ho fill the hole with scaly gold and blow blow blow I couldn't be bringing in the crops if they weren't bringing in the fish supplying not only me but the other workers I depend on like the workers in the clothing Factory turning out clothes workers whose job is divided among Specialists the way the Cobblers is today instead of Grandma making a dress by herself thousands are working at making dresses suits and clothes working on the clothing working all the day cutting and a shaping and a scissor in the way put them on the presses and you press them carefully working in the clothing Factory dress his coats and trousers make them carefully working in the clothing [Music] Factory and for the buildings we have nowadays you can't just call in a carpenter like Grandpa did we need thousands of Specialists just to cut the Timber and get it to The Sawmill Timber Timber man that Timber's going to roll timber timber man that Timber's going to roll it takes a py hook in a redwood and a 10 lb chain on a pine and a sawmill down by the river just to get that Timber down the line calling timber timber man that Timber's going to roll timber timber man that Timber's going to roll now you take a lumber yard in the city and a pulley spinning up on high and a good stron hle up a red brick wall just a heist that Timber to the sky why I'm even depending on other Farmers Far Far Away harvesting wheat on the Kansas Plains to feed the people I depend on Miners and workers in the Machine Factory and lots of others you see Tommy with the tools we have today Farmers all over the country can produce great surpluses these tools get their strength not only from the arms of a man but from coal and gasoline and electricity and thousands of men have to spend their time making the tool where only a few made Grandpa's axe or his side for a tool like my tractor you need miners who spend all day digging out tons of coal and iron we need Factory workers who mold that iron into shape and put it together to build tractors for Farmers all over the country working on the tractor working all the day turning out the motors to gather up the hay you Bolt the frame together and you Heist it carefully working in a tractor factory set them on the axle careful with the wheel rubber bolts and copper wire ir and steel rivets chain hardwood heavy as can be we're all working in a tractor Factory turning out a tractor just for me so you see all these powerful tools help me to produce more food so I can feed the people who make them whoa whoa boy Whoa he you're home right now oh we go in other words it doesn't matter what job I have everybody's depending on me that's right and you'll be depending on all those other people just to keep doing your job Jo when we work we're all Building Together it takes a lot of people to build this land and everyone is landing a helping hand the man who owns the mill and the man who runs the train they're working with the farmer on the Kansas plane in every city the worker at the wheel is cutting out the clothing and a stamping out the steel they're working in the city while we're working in the woods and we all all work together to deliver the goods we'll all work together to deliver the [Music] goods wow that falls into that category of you're welcome and I'm sorry uh so the name of the folk singer was Oscar brand and uh uh Wikipedia has quite a interesting kind of take on him he was Canadian but performed in the United States he moved to Minneapolis Chicago and then was in New York City uh he had a radio show um although bran was an anti-stalinist and was never a member of any Communist Party the house committee for on American activities referred to his show as a pipeline of communism because of his belief in the rights under the first amendment of uh blacklisted artist who to perform to reach the public brand was uh named in the Premier issue of red channels as a communist sympathizer uh while bran was not wellknown or radical and activist uh as some to his contemporar he was a long-standing supporter of civil rights uh he told stories of buying food for Leadbelly uh when the two traveled together in segregated areas uh he was one of the original organizers of the Newport film Folk Festival which started 1959 bran also served during the 1960s as a board member of the children's television workshop and participated in development of Sesame Street I just want to make sure my mic is live uh um because of some disagreements that occur between bran and the board members regarding the appropriate setting of the show it has been reputed that as a playful joke the character of Oscar the Grouch was named after him although there are no although there are dueling tales as opposed to the origin of the character so maybe we saw Oscar the [Laughter] Grouch um yikes that was something else and the thing is like uh during that time period uh celebrating work and workers is was not you know it's talking about the industries but it's talking about the workers too and all the people so that's not uh that doesn't run a foul of uh kind of leftist ideologies in my mind but there you go uh all right so this film is a sid Davis film but it uh really was made by somebody else for Sid Davis someone who made films for them and this is actually one of those films that have a heart and aren't just a bunch of screaming headlines uh and cautionary tales about strangers this is called gang boy enjoy [Music] [Music] the gang boy is a phenomenon of Youth let's get out of here he belongs to every race every Creed and every color he is a symptom of a sickness in society we'll get him tonight this pepper Tre gang now has 15 shotguns three hand grenades a keg of black powder and 60 sticks of D this morning they blew the top off a palm tree on Palam Road that's the picture and it's not pretty these kids are about to get into a gang war that will ruin every one of their lives and we're going to do everything in our power to prevent it place all extra patrols that we have on duty Captain keep these groups from gathering at any location in the city and cast see if you can get the leaders together here at the station maybe we can talk this thing out they're coming tonight Danny they're going to break up the dance hey Danny can I have a word with you don't listen to him Danny too late now tell him to see the pepper trees shut up okay Lieutenant I'll listen it wasn't do no good I know a truce won't S solve the problem but it will delay the fighting what do you say I'll think it over I walked around for hours and then some inner Force drew me up here to the dam in a small dark corner my mind had remembered something something that would help me to decide but I couldn't get at it I tried to think back to figure how and why I became a gang boy but all I could think of was that my gang began with poor but healthy kids and that we seem to come together because of a battle that each of us was fighting within himself and with the angry world around him get him Dy get my shooter get him [Applause] it was a battle I could feel myself losing even when I was winning a fight come on knock this off leave me alone now wait a minute I only want to help you I don't need no help leave me alone but how could I accept help from him when all the time I thought he too was part of the Angry World I was fighting you no at this age you couldn't call us a gang we were just a bunch of kids playing together but whenever a kid's real world is a wyard when it brings him unhappiness he has a wonderful escape hatch his imagination and if you step into his world with his mind you will see it quickly change into a beautiful exciting world of fantasy all once the wreck yard is said he an African jungle crawling with big game and every kid becomes his own favorite animal in that disguise he can as he wishes growl back at the world or hide from it playing in places like this got us into trouble and this conflict made us p in a NeverEnding battle with a big powerful adult Authority in such a state of mind we got many false ideas about the world from the things we saw in some movies and comic books you got any money when nobody can afford to buy you toys what can a kid do plenty we explored the large world around us and we found a million no noisy moving colorful objects hey look here sparkling and flashing to Fascinate our searching eyes and to entice our Nimble fingers but to us then stealing was not a crime it was both a game that one there this one let's go come on come on gang our first small way of stri back and we had great fun putting things over on the big stupid adults to protect us from an unfriendly world we had a secret hideout to us it was a fortress and a castle me next to bring us still closer together there was the tattoo of the saber-tooth tiger it made us blood brothers gave us a name The Angry World made us special in one way our tattoo made us special in another gave us a new identity a feeling of belonging somewhere oh take it easy now that we had a little world all our own the contest began for its leadership it was usually between me and Johnny until he chickened out and stepped back from the train although the others came forward I've moved still closer there was something pushing me out in front I want in a breeze for Johnny was scared stiff and I remember how we all had a good laugh at him kicken they direction we were moving was clear now without wanting it without even knowing it we were becoming a gang and I its leader at first I liked it I thought I was becoming a brave man like my father who still lived in the heart of my mother I did not know then that it was not a real bravery a kind of sickness that was always pushing me out in front eyes I'll meet you in the water and daring others to follow me come on Johnny Jump that water is real warm Johnny come down with us that's C down [Music] [Applause] when he find him Johnny will be dead won't he quiet Robert wony yes now keep quiet my son my son my son 3 days later they found the body [Music] [Music] [Music] all as I watched the father perform the mass at Johnny's funeral a horrible sense of dryed guilt came over me I felt everyone's eyes were on me and my tears would not come yes I had killed Johnny Garcia as surely as if I had strangled him N9 years seem a long time when they come between the age of 10 and 19 in that time most kids become young men we were weakened by our struggle with the world we never grew up instead we merged ourselves like animals into a herd and became a gang but like kids we still did whatever we felt like at the moment we picked in the Orange Groves made a little money but we gambled that away some boys began to drink beer and whiskey a few began to smoke Mar one some even drifted into serious crime know people couldn't understand us now the things we did why we did them because the reasons were hidden away in those nine years of growing up in an Angry [Music] World and we lived under the constant threat of punishment punishment from the same Authority that would not recognize and accept us as human beings I lived in fear too but I had to put on a brave mask and keep proving to myself and to the gang again and again that I was not afraid caught in the circle of fear and hatred violence see my only way out then I got a glimpse of another way with rosali for the first time in my life I began to feel What happiness love might bring this way seemed to hold hope for a better future for more real satisfaction and I guess I wasn't the first or the only young guy in the world to fly forward in his dreams to a a family and kids the pepper tree gang every time I looked at their faces I always saw the angry homes they must have grown up in they were not so different from us as they thought unable to strike at their own Angry World they tried to let it out on us this time we took it because if you want something better out of life than a gang You' got to make a start somewhere so with the help of an older man we formed a club here we began the first small attempts at becoming better members of the community and we decided to hold a dance but two days before the dance the thing I knew was bound to happen sooner or later happened Ernie was walking down the street when he ran into three members of the pepper Tre gang as usual they decided to have a little fun with him nothing serious they thought hello Jose what are you doing in this neck of the woods my name's Ernie I want you to meet a couple friends of mine but I know I'm bold you want to shake hands sure come see us again Jose we like you I will forget it Ernie we took a vote we don't want any trouble before the dance you getting yellow Danny if you want to do something about this we will let's go a little handshake The Vicious Circle was started all over again the law of the Jungle is the law of the gang an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth that's him hold this it's an ugly law they challenge we must answer hi Scott meet a couple of friends of mine we Challenge and they must answer let's get them look SC again they're after us there's at least five of them they turned right turn here an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth there they go a jungle law law of retaliation Revenge nobody can live under it not even a Savage not for long [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and there was Lieutenant kassen fighting as usual his old losing battle okay boys what's the be he never gave come on boys let's get it straightened out now well Arc it was no use if pepper trees would not let it lie I knew exactly what they would do go to the drive-in and pick up some of the gang there come on we're going into Mex town okay we're with you man then to the dungeon report to Chuck he'd take out the plan of attack we'll get them only we'd all be ready for them I didn't want this war and I had an idea which I thought might work Chuck and his gang would come driving into our neighborhood with cars armed like tanks he in the lead here they come here they come instead of lying and wait for them I told my boys to get their weapons and line up on both sides of the street right out in the open once they saw how strong we were they would keep moving as they came down this street I had a feeling my plan would work but when your gang is so hopped up for a fight you you lose control let him make the first move [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] in such a fight there are no Heroes and brave men there is only blind striking out at something you know not what or why [Applause] so we met their challenge but a terrible cost to both sides besides we throw them [Applause] away they would challenge again and what would my answer be what good was a truce if nothing could be done to change things then something clicked in my brain the darken memory of Johnny Garcia had brought me to the dam and had showed me the thread running between him and the fighting if I was right if the reasons for the gang fighting were hidden away in N9 years of a kid's growing up in an Angry World then it was clear now what I had to say to Lieutenant gassen hey Danny okay Lieutenant I'll play ball for one reason because of him look at him this kid Freddy is just as good as any other kid in the world right now but give him 9year dose of the medicine I got and you'll get another gang boy how well I know he needs a lot of things material things he needs something else a chance to develop a new outlook here go on a long time ago I told you to leave me alone remember in grammar school I was wrong then that's hard to say Danny don't leave this one all alone not yet don't let him grow up trying to find his own way in an angry world he didn't make don't let him grow up feeling inferior and unloved help him to become recognized and accepted by the community a real part of it will you help too what do you mean I mean if you boys are willing to help the younger ones are willing to put all the energy that goes into fighting each other into trying to change the angry world around you maybe this boy will get his chance in a way it may be your chance too Danny what do you say let's see what happens at the truce meeting tonight if you guys won't try to settle things in a democratic way well it looks pretty clear to me just who it is that's causing all the trouble if someone gets killed it's going to go Mighty hard with you okay we'll come but it won't do any good Fellas we didn't ask here this evening to criticize you for the things that you've done rather we're going to ask you to cooperate with us by discussing your misunderstandings in a democratic way and arriving at a solution without further violence all right boys this is your meeting and you're going to have it all to yourselves all we're going to do is see to it anybody who's got a beef is hurt and that everybody gets a fair shake well Danny you heard the beefs we didn't ask for this and I only got one thing to say we don't want trouble but we're not going to run away from it we're willing to have a truce if they will guarantee that nothing will happen at our dance tonight well what do you say Chuck it's okay by me but there's too many in it there's not enough time to get in touch with all of them I won't guarantee nothing I see well how would it be if Danny here invited you and a couple of your boys to the dance then if any of the other gang showed up you'd be there and you could tell him about the truth okay with you Danny okay well Chuck okay [Music] la [Music] how about us having a club and holding dances I'll be glad to help you okay somebody's out [Music] there I suppose you'd like to dance Too as I watched Freddy that night I could hear a voice praying inside me and the prayer words were simply don't let him grow up all alone feeling inferior and unloved in an Angry World this was a true story based on an incident in the City of Pomona since that truth day there has not been one outbreak of group violence and the boys clubs by themselves have built a ballpark for all the younger children in the community they have donated their time energy and money to the March of Dimes the City of Hope and other welfare [Music] organizations at Christmas time they held an open dance collected food as part of the admission price and then together with the young children distributed this food to the needy families here is the evidence of a small beginning perhaps but it is at least a beautiful straw in the breath of a prayer that is gradually being [Music] fulfilled I still have some food food in my mouth um sorry about that kind of snuck up on me wow yeah I mean it was directed by uh was it sord LOF I can't remember the last name um but it definitely had some Civ to Davis scenes the kid tumbling to his death down a cliff that's total Sid Davis also the uh budget of not having um synced sound so any of the narration was added in post uh that is classic Sid Davis U because it was too expensive too much of a pain um so yeah so great and it it does have a heart when you compare to other Sid Davis films um there is a happy message there and uh somebody noticed all the classic hot rods in there there's another film that's uh was made by Sid Davis's uh film company that was about uh illegal hot roding and how they kind of also come to a understanding and then have like they formalize and actually create a club excuse me so uh thank you uh rich and thank you wait is it rich or Rick fton let's see I apologize Rich uh thank you and Jeremy thank you for donating via the super thanks button that's a great way to support us uh also hitting the like the Subscribe uh those are other ways uh to help us um and also go to ko-fi.com or uh avgeek avgeeks or patreon.com /ve Geeks those are all going to pay for storage units right now um so because we got a lot of storage units and yesterday I didn't make the show cuz I was helping move films out of the archive uh I basically donated a bunch of feature films which is something that I don't really collect because you can get feature films anywhere better quality than what's on 16 um I donated them to a nonprofit film archive in Portland Maine called uh canonic and um so I was happy to do that I was sad to give films away but I freed up some shelving units so I'm going to immediately pile stuff on there um but yeah anyways uh join us tomorrow Wednesday and we'll watch some more films um maybe some more folk singing enjoy have a great rest of your today bye for