AV Geeks 16mm Lunch 7-2-2025

Hello everybody. This is Skip Alzheimer. Welcome to the AV Geeks Lunchtime streaming show where sometimes I forget to look at the clock and I am like, "Oops, I got to do this." Um, so here we are. Uh, it's kind of gross outside. It's rainy. in humid dank. But we're inside and we're watching some old 16 millimeter films. So, I'm happy you're here to join us. Uh the first film is called Growing Growing. And this is part of We've been slowly moving films offsite back into our new film vault space. And uh so we've been pulling films and scanning them. Some of them, not all of them, because there is lots. There's thousands. But here we go. Growing. Growing. Enjoy. [Music] [Music] Trees and flowers but a merry song. [Music] want to know what makes them grow. First of all, they start out with seeds and then they grow up bigger and bigger and things um that's happen like if they were you first water them. Yeah, you first you plant them. You do and then seeds and then put a door dirt over it. And you do watering and then you and they just start growing. You keep on watering them every day for about give them lots of water. And I can't even tell they're in there cuz my fingers are so dirty. How do you spell seed? C E D. No. It turns all crumbly and it's not green anymore. It's turned brown. Okay. It's not always. Yeah, I know. Sometimes, but I'll wait a little while. Why don't you just put the water? We're trying a spare. We We've got to get off something. Experiment. We're ready for watering. Morgan, is that ready for water? No. Water. Okay. Give me the water. I'll water it. Water. Cuz I put the water in. I'll be the water and you be the platter. [Music] Growing in the fields and in the grow. I want to know. You know why? Cuz I'm wondering where we're going to put it. Because this seems good. Gigantic. Sometimes plants are tricky. They grow tall. This is going to be a beantock. So, it's growing taller and it's then all of a sudden it took a big jump up to here because it got taller over the s Thanksgiving week. Pour it on. Pour it on. Pour it on. Bring on the sunshine. Bring it on. Bring it on. Bring it on. Bring on the sunshine. Bring it on. Bring it on. Bring it on. We need to do then if they happen in the We need to put them in the sunshine. How do you spell seed? C E D No. How does it know this little seed if it is if it is to grow to a flower or a weed? If it is to be a vine or a chute or grow to a tree with a long deep root. A seed is so small. Where do you suppose it stores up all of the things it knows? There's a lot sprouting. I know. Especially this. Wow. This really sprouted. See, there's one here, one here, and this sprouted a lot. Wow. Hey, there's um the beantock. Beans. What a corny joke. I got the bean and the corny carrot. growing trees and flowers and growing in the fields and in the forest. I want to know what I want to know. [Music] Well, you see, it's what he was doing is he measured how long these plants were and then he put them down for the paper. Hey, genius. What a genius. I have an idea. Why don't we put all these roots together and then we'll compare them after a while. Want me to show you the water route? Show the water. Oh, that's a funny face. Look at that. That's made out of an eggshell. Alice was so amazed that she couldn't speak for a minute. Finally, she spoke again in a timid voice, almost in a whisper. And can all the flowers talk? As well as you can, said the tiger belly and great deal louder. [Music] Green is like a meadow of grass, banana peels that are not ripe, and broccoli. And these guys gave the some seeds. man. Yeah. An old man gave him some seeds to in exchange for the cow. And when he got home and he said it was magic seeds. He got home this his mom threw them out the window and says they're no good. He had to go to bed. Yeah. Nothing but a big stain. Nothing but a big I'll plant in there. The sun will shine. The rain will fall. Then my garden will blossom and grow straight and tall. [Music] What a lot of tiny little legs he has. And I can see his eyes small and black and shiny. I think I know how it feels to be so tiny. I think it's pretty good, too. Yeah. Hey, look at those guys over there. Hey you guys, what are you doing? We're making a movie. Want to be in it? Wasn't that funny? [Music] I know. That was good. [Music] seed. S E E D. That's right. Now, how do you spell autumn? Falling. Falling. Red and yellow and orange. Falling. Falling from the trees and from the bushes. I want to know where do they go. [Music] Falling. Falling. Red and yellow. Brown and orange. Falling. falling from the trees and from the bushes. I want to know where do they go. [Music] I guess I'll wait for spring. [Music] Wait for spring. [Music] Wait for spring. [Music] So, I don't know why, but my brain immediately went to Wicker Man, the original one, and all the songs about um about the harvest and about planting and uh all that wonderful paganism from that film. I don't know why I just that's my brain, but and that's my problem. And ultimately, this film is about man's problem. What do you think it is? What is man's problem? Before we watch it, what what would you guess man's problem is? Um, I don't know. Uh, let's find out together. Enjoy. [Music] Man need incredible amount of water. Hallelujah. Yes, man needs an incredible amount of water, even for the making of artificial ice. But water created a problem because this natural system was not devised for man's special benefit. And nature does not always deliver the water at the time and the place where he most needs it. The people who live in the city could be told something about the importance of water by the people who live in the country. They could be told that it took 5,000 lb of water to raise the hay and alalfa that went into a single pound of steak. And they could be told that it took almost 5,000 lb of water to produce a single loaf of bread. Yes, man uses an incredible amount of water and we shall see some of the problems that are faced in the use of this water and what steps man may take to solve them. For example, the city of Los Angeles was once supplied with water from the Los Angeles River, which carried enough to meet the community's needs. But the city grew and each new house and factory took its added share of the dwindling supply. Today, the entire flow goes into the pipes of the city's water system. This dry channel is all that is left. But there is another hidden supply of water flowing through the soil. This water is part of the great underground river moving from the waterheds on the hills back again to the ocean and thousands of wells were dug to draw up this water. And for many years they were able to supply the growing demand until their increasing numbers drew up more water than the earth could supply. The water in the ground began to fall farther below the surface. Some shallow wells went dry and some land owners began to drill their wells deeper to reach the sinking water. But each man who did this drew off water from under the land of his neighbor. And now the neighbor must in turn go deeper until at last the cost of reaching water became more than some could bear. This farm is bankrupt simply because other farms around it have drawn off more water than the land could supply. As the water level continued to drop, the farms and factories and homes that had depended on it must find new sources of supply. And so the city spent many million dollars building an aqueduct into the mountains to draw water from the distant Owens River. And still the demand grew. But beyond the mountains lay the Mojave Desert with no water at all. And now the nearest new source was the Colorado River more than 200 m away. Summer. This river's flow more than 600,000 gallons of water each second. enough to supply the entire daily needs of the city of Los Angeles in 10 minutes. In the winter, when the snows are frozen, the flow may drop to 120th of that amount, and the river's value is thus reduced to its smallest dependable flow. But the cities and towns depend on the river the whole year round. Therefore, to give this water its true value, it had to be stored in huge reservoirs that could hold the surplus flow till it was needed. But this water was owned by all the seven states that border on the river. And together, their claims totaled more than the entire yearly flow of the river. No dam could be built to supply California until the states on the river above would agree to let enough water flow down to fill the reservoir. At last, an agreement was reached among the states reducing their claims to allow a share for all. And so the Hoover Dam was built, the first in a system to be built for control of the water along with an aqueduct that could carry a billion gallons every day across the desert into California. In this way, the engineers were able to multiply the value of the river, storing its water and carrying it where it can be useful as needed. And so the water came to Los Angeles. And the building of a dam helped the city to grow and prosper. But the building of a dam sometimes creates problems. This is a fish ladder built to carry fish over the Bunnyville Dam. The salmon can swim up its steps with little trouble to lay their spawn in the streams above. But when the young salmon journey back to the sea, many of them are killed by their passage through the turbines. It is estimated that the dam kills nearly 17th of all the young salmon that go through it. When many other dams are built on the Colombia River, this may wipe out the $17 million salmon industry and the hundreds of jobs that it provides. Here is the beginning of the Hungry Horse Dam. When it is finished, the reservoir behind it will cover 20,000 acres of this cleared land that was once covered by a rich forest. The watershed above it bears millions of acres of forest which can be reached by a level road along the river. This road will soon be covered by the reservoir. Then these forests can be reached only by long and difficult roads through the mountains. This will raise the cost of bringing out the timber for all the years to come. Yes, dams present many problems. Here is the coolage dam in Arizona built to store the huge San Carlos reservoir. Today it stands nearly empty. It was built without sufficient study only to find later that there was not enough water to keep it filled. But farms and cities in the desert depend on these dams for their life. When the water fails, they must go back to the desert like this abandoned farm. So we see that the building of a dam entails grave responsibility. For the reservoir may hold the power of life and death over vast areas of land that become dependent on it. And the life of the reservoir in its turn depends upon the health of the land that supplies its water. A river can tell us many things about the land it comes from. This muddy water tells us that it is filled with the good soil which was once nature's reservoir in the earth. This boiling flood tells us that nature's reservoir has been damaged and lost its power to store the water. Let us go back into the hills where this water started and look for the causes of the flood. One of the most important causes lies in too heavy grazing by sheep and cattle. For when the animals eat off too much grass, leaving the surface bare and exposed like this, the soil loses its protection against the hammering raindrops. When the heavy-footed animals compress nature sponge like this, the soil loses its power to absorb the rain. Now the water runs off, tearing great wounds in the earth that show us where the water was once stored. But the greatest danger to the watersheds lies in forest fires that destroy the forests and the smaller plants, leaving the ground exposed and vulnerable. The rain which once helped to fill the soil now tears it away. Nature's reservoir has been entirely destroyed. On this bare rock, there is nothing left to hold the moisture. As this snow melts, its water should be stored in the soil. But now its reservoir is gone. The water runs off, leaving no provision for the future. And the process of destruction may be repeated on the farmlands. For when a plow improperly and thoughtlessly used breaks the poorest sod, this land too loses its power to absorb the rain in the dry areas. The runoff from the fields joins the water from the hills. Each new addition gives it greater power to destroy. destroying crops, flooding highways, destroying homes and farms, carrying away the soil that should have stored the water, dropping the soil to destroy the reservoirs built by man. This was once a reservoir filled with water. The red earth that fills it now was once a part of nature's reservoir on the hills above, carried down by flowing water to bury two reservoirs in a single grave. But these dead reservoirs are merely symptoms of the real disease. Here is where that red soil came from. This sick land was once covered by a protecting forest, but the forest was destroyed by man. The dying earth has lost its power to absorb the water. So the river tells us the story of the land it comes from. First with floods and then with drought. The land is losing its power to support life. This damage could have been prevented and much can still be repaired by wise management that will protect the soil and restore its power to absorb water. This wise farmer is harrowing the stubble from his wheat crop back into the surface. This will anchor the soil in place and make the surface porous to absorb the rain. The good farmer draws his furrows along the level contours of the slopes. So creating a thousand new reservoirs to replace the old ones broken by the plow. No runoff here. Even on the mountains, man may sometimes repair the damaged earth. This land was once destroyed by grazing sheep. But at last, the animals were removed, and engineers covered the slopes with level trenches that act like miniature reservoirs to hold the water. In this way, at tremendous cost, the farms and towns below are protected from floods until you can rebuild the natural cover on the slopes. And in the valley, slopes that have been ruined by fire or grazing, walls may be built like these to check the flow of the flood water and let it sink into its proper place in the soil. And so it lies within man's power to preserve the natural reservoirs from destruction even while he uses the earth. But another danger to the water supply lies in the destruction of water itself. For a river's true value lies not in the number of gallons it carries, but in the number of times it can be used. Here is a great city, and beside it run two rivers. But for the needs of this city, the rivers are not water. They are poison. The water's usefulness has been destroyed by the acts of other cities on the watersheds above. Along the river's banks are many cities, each discharging into the water its share of sewage and of poisons from the mills. Nature can partly remedy this pollution, diluting the poisoned water and letting the filth settle to the bottom. Bacteria in the water helps to destroy the sewage, using great quantities of oxygen in the process. Plants growing in the water use the sewage for fertilizer and add fresh oxygen for the bacteria to use. Fish and other animals eat the plants and sewage. But when the pollution becomes too deadly, killing the cleansing bacteria, the fish and the plants, the water loses the power to clean itself. Now man must clean it for his own preservation. For this foul water must be used for drinking by the cities farther down the stream. This is the water in a typical Midwestern river. It is fed by the discharges from city sewers like this. In the winter when the flow of the river is low and there is little oxygen under the ice, this flow may be as much as 1/2 straight sewage. Here the foul water of that river is entering the water system of a city to be cleaned and used for drinking. At first chemicals are added to it which cause the dirt to settle. Then chlorine gas is pumped into it through this glass gauge to kill the bacteria. Now it is filtered through charcoal and at last with the sewage removed it comes out looking and tasting like the pure drinking water we know. Now it will be used in the homes and caneries and factories and then returned again to the sewers and back into the river to be cleaned and used again by the next city downstream. Such rivers are a disgrace to the cities and factories that pollute them and a menace to the others which must now use the dirty water. It must be the responsibility of every user of the river to return its water clean and fit for further use. Yes, there is a water problem, but it is man's problem. And if you and your neighbors and your fellow citizens refuse to face it, all the dams built at tremendous cost to you and your government will be of little use someday in the future if the watersheds are neglected and destroyed. By thinking ahead, by planning, by preserving nature's resources, by combining scientific techniques with common sense, by working together with engineers and conservationists and ordinary citizens, by taking care of the forests and land and rivers that make up these watersheds, man can assure himself that he will have water where he wants. wants it when he wants it for himself and the generations of Americans yet to come. [Music] The water problem can be solved with nature's help. [Music] But only you working with nature can solve it. [Music] It was like it was run through a Wawwa pedal because he loved saying pawwa reservoir. Um wada. Um wow. That was fascinating. And he said reservoir a lot in that. So there you go. Man's problem is our mismanagement of our water. And we've certainly learned from them, haven't we? Boy. All right. Uh, so this last film is uh I don't think we've shown this. I I'm not sure. Let me look real quick. I uh it's um it was made for Parents Magazine, which is weird given what the the subject matter is. Um looking real quick to see. I don't think we've shown it. Um, and it's not it's just one of these films that I was like, "Oh, we should scan this." As we've been shuffling films back and forth. It has nothing to do with uh the season at all, but it just seems right. So, here is Winter of the Witch brought to you by Parents Magazine. Enjoy. [Music] One day, Nikki and his mother decided to leave the big noisy city and go to live in the country where the air is fresh and life is more peaceful. Early in the morning, as the city was waking up, they packed their small car and prepared to leave. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. After driving all morning, Nikki and his mother finally stopped in a small village. There they visited a man who sold houses. Madam, you have come to the right place. I have all kinds of houses, all kinds of prices. Small, medium, large, extra large, red, white or blue, old or new, you name it. Dudley Point Dexter will come through. Now, uh, just what kind of a place did you have in mind? Well, something comfortable. Small, comfortable. Um, with a fireplace and, uh, bright rooms. H, I have just the thing for you. 20 rooms, five bedrooms, three chimneys, and two kitchens. Oh, I'm afraid that's going to be a bit beyond our budget. I may be out of my mind. I may be crazy, but I am going to make a deal for you. Madam, the place is yours for uh $500. A whole house for five? How about 400? We'll take it. Lovely sign right here. About a mile and a half down the road. Bye. Bye. Bye. Basel. Basel. Basel. Basel. Wake up. Wake up. Basel. Come on. Wake up. Basel. Listen to me. Listen to me. You know that old haunted house way out on the edge of town? Well, I finally sold it. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] What a mess. How are we ever going to clean this place up? It's cold. Mommy, can I make a fire? Yes. Think we can use some heat. What was that? [Music] And what are you doing in my house? Who are you? I'm a witch. That's who I am. And this is my house. This is our house because we bought it. Your house? Woolw weeds. I've lived here for 300 years. Maybe she is the witch. Maybe indeed. Listen, I don't know who you are or what you are, but we've had a lot of troubles lately. Oh, you all have our problems. No need to be cranky. Cranky? This house is not big enough for three of us. So, two of us will have to go. We are not leaving our new house. And I'm not leaving my old house. Besides, where would I go? There aren't many broken down houses left nowadays. Listen, if you want to do something useful, why don't you help us clean up this house? Clean up this house? Oh, impossible. This house has to have cobwebs in every corner, black curtains at the window, and wallto-wall dust on the floors. Let's let her stay up in the attic for a while. You sure? All right. I don't know what I'm going to do with you, but for the time being, you can have the room up in the attic. The old witch was not at all pleased with her new company. But there didn't seem to be much else for her to do but retire to the attic, which she had to share with three bats, a mouse, and her big black pot. [Applause] I wonder if she's a good witch or a bad witch. We didn't have enough problems already. Is she going to be a problem? I don't know. I never lived with a witch before. Can she stay? We'll see. I hope she's a good witch. [Applause] It's time for bed, Nick. We'll talk about it in a moment. [Applause] I'm glad we bought this house. [Applause] I'm unhappy. So unhappy. All I can see the one I love. For the next two weeks, the witch never left her room. Every night, she played old music on an old photograph. And every day, she would sit in bed reading the newspapers, which Nikki brought to her. The old witch became gloomy and depressed. The news was always bad, and none of the want ads ever seemed to want an old witch. [Music] Meanwhile, Nikki and his mother worked hard cleaning the house and decorating all the rooms. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] The old witch did some decorating of her own. She spun cobwebs all over her room. [Music] One single day I keep saying always goodbye and I see how [Music] Why are you so gloomy witch? I'm old and unwanted. The world's so full of evil nowadays that people don't need witches anymore. Why don't you stop being a witch? Stop being a witch? Impossible. Could you stop being a little boy or a chair? Stop being a chair or a mouse. Stop being a mouse. Been a witch for 300 years. That's all I can be. Do all witches die? No, they just fade away. Little by little, we lose our powers. Can you wiggle your ears? No. Neither can I. Can you fly? Yes. I used to fly that broomstick over there, but it's an old model. They don't make the parts anymore. Oh, what wouldn't I give to be back in the good old days? What did you do in the good old days? Well, in the good old days, this house was full of witches. And I used to cook for them. What did you cook? Everything that witches like mostly magic foods. Would you cook for us? Cook for you? What? Did you hear that? Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Why didn't I think of that before? That's the answer. We'll show them what an old witch can do. Boy, we accept your offer tonight. We begin to cook. [Music] [Laughter] And so all that night, the old witch worked hard cooking up a strange brew in her big black pot. Can I taste? What? Can I taste? What? Now, but when I'm finished, you can have as much as you like. [Music] Wake up. Wake up, boy. Huh? I finished. I've made my magic specialty. Great. What is it? Pancakes. Blueberry pancakes. But all that work for pancakes. They're not just pancakes. They're the final solution to the unhappiness problem. Go on. Go on. Try some. Wow. And they get pancakes. They make people happy. What's going on here? Pancakes, mommy. Magic pancakes. What? I've been cooking. Making a mess is more like it. You throw some little do you good? I've never tasted anything so good. Suddenly I feel quite happy. What did you put in them? That my good woman must remain my secret. But they are happiness pancakes guaranteed to make people happy. Even the meanest unhappiest people. One bite and they're not unhappy anymore. I just I just reversed an old recipe. Who in the world could that be? Good morning, my dear. I'm Mrs. Butterweight. And I'm Mrs. Mama. We're from the lady's auxiliary. The lady's auxiliary of what? Everything. You name it, we're the auxiliary. We just popped in to welcome you. They see you fixed the old house up. Get a bit dusty, isn't it? Shame it's such a bad neighborhood. No one ever stays here long. You say this house is haunted. Witches. The last family that lived here disappeared one day. Like that. You'll be sorry, my dear. When it's too late. Oh, don't tell me you believe in witches. Oh, I've never seen one, mind you. But we all know they do wretched things. They're all evil, and they come from the very worst families. Oh, we've been eating. Would you care to join us? Oh, I don't mind if we do. What are these? Pancake. Blueberry pancakes. [Music] Not bad. Rather good. Very good. Marvelous. Extraordinary. Ambrosia. Best food I've ever eaten. Are you happy? Happy? I've never felt better in my life. You're a very talented cook, my dear. You must give me the recipe. Oh. Uh, I'm afraid that must remain a secret. The recipe may be secret, but you can't keep these pancakes a secret. We don't intend to. We plan to open. That's make a lot of people happy. My dear, it's been a lovely visit and I wish you the best of luck. And if you need any help, don't hesitate to call on us. I won't. Nikki, we are going into the happiness. [Music] The next day, Nikki and his mother began turning their living room into a pancake parlor. And in a very short time, they were ready to open for business. On the first day, they invited all the neighbors to come to a gala pancake party. Soon word got around and people came from miles and miles just to taste the witch's delicious dish. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] The pancakes were a huge success and Nikki and the old witch became the best of friends. He helped her in the kitchen and every day they took long walks together in the country. [Music] Before we met you, were you a good witch or a bad witch? Bad witch. Very bad. Ah, but that's very good for a witch. See, in those days, people needed a little scaring now and then. But times have changed. People are already scared. They need something they can believe in. And I've given them something to believe in. The goodness of the pancake. Watch. Watch how people are eating my pancake. They're all happy. Some of them are happy for the first time in their lives. But you're happy. Your mother's happy. The house is happy. And when people are happy and they want to make other people happy someday and everyone is happy, then I'm going to start scaring them again. Heat. Heat. [Music] the magic of pancakes. That's what it's all about. This is the hidden message of this film is that we need to bring pancakes back into our lives. Uh IHOP is flagging. They're not doing very well because our culture has turned our back on our backs on the magic of pancakes. Come on. What is wrong with us? What is wrong with us? Pancakes are awesome. So, if there's nothing else that you have learned today, learn that pancakes are awesome. And what is really great is I'm discovering other cultures have pancakes. They're not necessarily sweet and syrupy, but they all have pancakes. Ethiopia has pancakes. It's awesome. So, go out into the world and learn about the magic and the international appeal of pancakes. That's all I got. All right. Thank you so much, Nathan. Thank you so much, uh, Gabriel. You both donated and I appreciate that. Um, maybe I will make pancakes this holiday, uh, weekend. I'll have people from out of town, family and friends visiting, and maybe we should make make some pancakes. Maybe. That's what I'm feeling. Um, yeah, what a great weird film. And I'm sure it's based on a great weird book that um Parents Magazine put out. Pancakes. Man's problem. Not enough pancakes. Um yeah. All right. That's all we got today. But uh I do appreciate you guys tuning in and watching and experiencing these films. Uh many of them we're showing for the first time. Sometimes we show a repeat that in there, but uh I appreciate you being there for that. Um and uh we'll be back again tomorrow. Everybody have a great rest of your day. If you like what you saw, you could hit the thumbs up button, hit the like button. You can explore other films that we've uploaded, of which we have nearly 11,000. We are slowly making our way towards 11,000. Um so yeah, join us. Um, and you can also contribute via kofi.com/avgeeks or patreon.com/avgeeks or subscribe all that stuff. But just showing up, we appreciate it. We see you and we appreciate you. See you guys tomorrow. Love you. Pancakes.