AV Geeks 16mm Lunch 8-11-2025

Hi everybody. I'm Skip Alzheimer. Welcome to the AV Geeks Lunchtime streaming show. And we are not in Raleigh, North Carolina at the uh AV Geeks Archive. We are in San Jose San >> Santa Fe >> Santa Fe, New Mexico. And with me is uh an amazing person. Um amazing for many reasons. Uh this is Megan Pryinger. Say hi everybody. Um >> hi everybody. and uh we just stumbled across her uh in our journeys in Santa Fe and she's a very good pal and uh is also I I'll say this but then I'll let you introduce the other things that you do. Uh is also um one of the founders of the Pringer Library which is an amazing collection of books in uh near Market Street in San San Francisco. uh really one of the best and most fun interesting libraries. Uh people go there just to browse and to research and it's an amazing space. Um but also of the Pringer archives which is a [ __ ] ton of 16 mm and 35 and 8 mm films that you guys are actively scanning. So, um, they are they're on the west coast scanning a bunch of stuff and I'm on the east coast scanning a bunch of stuff. So, we have a lot in common. We run across a lot of common ground and I've been showing some of your scans uh on our channel when I find stuff that's interesting. Um, so Megan, tell us a little bit more about your interests because you are this incredibly faceted, multifaceted person who do does lots and lots and lots of things. So, uh, >> oh, Skip, you're giving away how much I paid you for that introduction. >> That's how I make money here at AV Geeks is, uh, yes. Anyways, >> um, the a foret is pretty much true. Um, I've been, uh, working on the Prilinger Archives film archives for, uh, off and on for a quarter century. But over those years, I've also found time to sometimes be an aerospace historian because I'm an aviation and aerospace fanatic. And yet what I'll talk to you about today is I'm also a naturalist and teach natural history. And I picked something to talk about today um that's in that area just cuz it's convenient because um I wasn't like uh bringing a suitcase of film when I ran into Skip on the uh back alleys of Santa Fe, >> the very well-lit back alleys of Santa Fe. Um but the thing is like you but you still had something which is great. It was like hey let's do a show together and you're like and I was like what do you got? and you're like, I got something and then you still you still had something >> which was amazing. So, I love that. Uh >> something I've used in teaching within the last week. So, it happened to be right at hand. >> Nice. Uh so, give us a setup. What is it that we're about to see? >> The setup is uh take your mind uh partway around the planet to San Francisco Bay from wherever you are. San Francisco Bay is one of the uh seven largest estuary ecosystems in North America. It's one of the top destinations on the Pacific Flyway for migrating birds and of course it's the subject of a good amount of media attention. Um and in the um last century the bay though was subject to mass uh development, dumping, mistreatment, degradation of the environment. And then there were some turnaround points in the midentth century when people realized, hey, we can't dump and fill the bay shoreline forever and have the bay continue to uh be a working ecosystem. And actually, hey, we people uh need the ecosystem too, not just the animals. So, let's try to do something about it. And the campaign to develop public engagement in the health of the shoreline is a project that was uh worked on of course by many hands, but among those hands were a pair of women filmmakers uh Mindy Willis and Laurel Reynolds. And these two were bird watchers. They were connected. They probably had society connections. Um fancy white ladies from the suburbs and yet um had pretty good uh media making instincts and produced a few films that helped turn public sentiment in favor of regulating the abuse of the shoreline. So that's all important context. And uh back at the time they were working with what was called the Ottabon Society. We uh have overthrown um the use of the term Ottabbon Society in favor of an inclusive umbrella of the we are now. And um as a space sciences and science fiction fanatic, I have just always my entire life wanted to be a member of the alliance. And now I am. I'm a member of Golden Gate Bird Alliance. >> Nice. As an instructor and educator within the Golden Gate Bird Alliance, I'm responsible for educating people about the natural history we have today, which follows on more than a half century of uh restoration and environmental rehabilitation efforts that followed on the some of the regulatory successes that the film we're going to look at helped to bring about. Now, this is just one of a few films. Um, but something else to note about it is because it's a historical document, it was made in uh the about 58 years ago in the mid mid just after the mid 1960s. Um it does show the habitat in the process of being destroyed and for that reason has to be presented as a teaching tool with a lot of context to contemporary learners. Um because for people who for whom like the shoreline of the past 10 to 20 years is their frame of reference. It can be uh very upsetting to see in this film the footage of bulldozers uh turning over the shore and converting it um to fill uh which is shown in this film. Um and and and that speaks to the larger context of uh what some archavists term like the trauma of the archives or uh what happens in contemporary viewers when um archival material is upsetting. even when like the maker may have intended it to promote social change for the good. And uh if we look at the delta of time between the uh depradation that it depicts and the positive change that's happened since um both the maker and presenter might intend uh like a positive viewing experience. Um but that positive viewing experience uh can at times reside only in the eyes of the maker and the eyes of the educator and not in the students um reception of the work. And so it's a interesting and complex uh work uh because it invokes um all three of these and of course uh multiple other perspectives on viewership. of course to it also um shows a profoundly not just uh um like a capital bias of development of the shoreline but a white gays bias that this is who needs to be able to use the shoreline. Um and so it's actually the question of its suitability to contemporary audiences is an unsettled question and I invite anyone looking at it uh today at in this show to uh bear in mind also too it can be upsetting to modern viewers to see the abundance of shore life shore shoreline life aven life that still um even as as the bay was being turned over 60 years ago go to fill. Uh there were more birds then than we always see now. And so again um like there are complications from every perspective as one looks at this um otherwise charming superficially uh lightweight uh cute music, cute graphics um environmental advocacy piece about San Francisco Bay. I bring you the um what's the proper title? >> Oh yeah, >> great question. Yeah. What are we What was it called? >> What's it called again? >> Let me find it real quick. >> Is it It's not the singing sands. No, >> it's the living sands. >> The living Thank you. The living sands of San Francisco Bay, >> which is a provocative title for you. Did you So when you found it >> Oh, it was so Okay. The granddaughters of Laurel Reynolds, one of the filmmakers, brought the film elements to Prillinger Archives last year and said, "By the way, do you think you'd be interested in um these reels made by my grandmother?" And uh she made films for the Golden Gate Ottabon Society. And I say, well, I actually stand for the contemporary articulation of of that organization, the Bird Alliance. And on behalf of Pringer Archives and the Bird Alliance, we'll take them if I can uh scan them and then use them as a teaching tool, which uh like I say, I'm introducing the fact that it seems like a good idea, but um to what extent is it a a good or a not good idea? It's It's never quite so straightforward. >> No, it's great though because it covers some It it ticks some boxes for you. >> Yeah. And that's great. >> Sure. I um I So I value the opportunity to raise complex issues and to surface uh you know what it means to be an educator in the uh we're going into the third second quarter of the 21st century. Um and what is it? um what are some of the problematics as well as the advantages that are invoked in the use of historical materials? >> So basically these old these old educational films still teach >> they do but they teach they teach uh lessons that the maker couldn't have dreamed of. >> Exactly. And that's what we do. This is why we show stuff at at AV Geeks is is that wow these have a value and they go way beyond what even the filmmaker thought because we have this this hindsight. So, here we go everybody. Enjoy the living sands of San Francisco Bay. >> Thanks, Skip. >> Thank you. In the good old days before smog, it was fun to explore the San Francisco Bay marshes. The wild game was never big, but often fascinating. The northern phalopee, one of the world's greatest travelers, migrates from the Arctic tundra to the coast of South America. Strangely, the male does the work of nest building and raising the young, while the female wears the most beautiful plumage. Often, they can be seen performing a unique whirling square dance. The northshore of Bay Farm Island near Alama lures naturalists from over the world. More than 20 varieties of shorebirds have visited this favorable area. Kurus and godwits in the foreground, turns and gulls in the rear. The Caspian turn white with a large red bill and black cap nests in San Francisco Bay. The blackbellyied plver may have just arrived from Tiierra del Fuego to leave in a day or so for the Arctic tundra. The avisets in winter dress of white and black sometimes nest around the bay. A flock of daitchers has just returned from the Arctic. They seem eager to be photographed and crowded in front of the abvisets. Western sandpipers and one bonapart gull all dressed up for spring pining and resting before their northern flight. The Dunland or redbacked sandpiper belongs to the old world as well as the new. It nests in the tundra also a bird island in the bay. solid bird, mostly Dunlands. The tide is not low enough for the birds to feed, but the water is shallow enough for them to stand in. The tidal flats at Bay Farm Island are scheduled to be filled soon. That means no more food for the Dunlands. They look from right to left, from left to right, watching the tide. And now the tide is out. The hungry travelers eat the small organisms in the mud flats, nourished by the plankton of the bay water. During the night, the Dunlands may start the long flight to the Arctic. The middle of September is the time of the great fall migration of shorebirds going south. A few western sandpipers have returned. These small, long-d distanceance travelers have spent the summer in the Yukon Delta. Most of them will leave in a few days for South America. Suddenly, there seems to be an avalanche of sandpipers. Within a few minutes, the sand spit is alive with them. When backs and sides only are visible, they appear to be a mass of dark brown. Breast showing, they are a flowing wave of white. University of California ornithologists estimated 30,000 western sandpipers on the San Francisco Bay sand spit at the height of the season. They rise to form a solid curtain of wings. A plane from nearby Oakland airport has disturbed them. The birds return to their places to await low tide. They begin to act in a most peculiar manner. A living tide of sandpipers ebbing and flowing. This fascinating swirling to and fro is an eager rushing between the best feeding positions as the birds anticipate the eb of the tide. But to us, these are the living sands of San Francisco Bay. The Save San Francisco Bay Association is striving to save these natural areas. It may be too late. A familiar scene, the shoreline of our bay being filled with garbage and covered with a shallow layer of soil. We have a law against burning our refues. Smoke causes smog. So, we fill in the bay. There must be a better way for disposal of urban waste. It won't take many years at our present rate to cover all our tidal flats with rubbish and to destroy the beauty of our shoreline. If all the tidal areas of the bay are covered, these travelers will be lost to us. A priceless heritage ignored and unvalued. [Music] Billy Martin is one of the nicest boys in our town. He's one of the cleanest boys, too. Billy always has been a nice boy, but he hasn't always been so clean. As a matter of fact, for a long time, Billy's parents worried about him. They didn't worry just because Billy got dirt on his hands and face. They knew that a boy is bound to get dirty when he's playing cowboy and runs into a bandit down by the corral. Billy's parents did worry because he was so careless about washing when he should have washed. He had to be reminded almost every time and even then he didn't do a very good job. The trouble was Billy had the wrong idea about being clean. Wash, wash, wash. They just want me to be a [ __ ] But then one night, Billy had a dream. At least I guess it was a dream. >> I bet cowboys don't wash all the time. >> But you're wrong, Billy. It's not [ __ ] to be clean. >> Who said that? Who's there? >> I did. One of your best friends. Let me introduce myself. Soapie is the name, partner. >> Why? You're a living cake of soap. >> Big is life, Billy. And I'm here to help you. I can help you, partner. >> But I don't quite understand. >> That's just the trouble. So many boys and girls don't understand what a good friend I can be. So, I'd like to show you. May I? >> Why, yes, I do. Well, then just lie down and close your eyes. That's right. Now, what do you see? >> Why, I see a cowboy. He's washing up. >> That's right. There's nothing [ __ ] about that cowboy, is there? He's a bronco buster. He rides wild horses. Well, Billy, you and I must tame animals more dangerous than bucking broncos. I help you control animals that could make you sick. Now, close your eyes again and I'll show you. The animals I help you control are called disease germs. They are so tiny you can't see them except with a microscope like this man is using. Disease germs are dangerous because they make you sick if too many of them get inside of you. And they can be on almost anything the children touch or handle, even on things that look clean. If you get disease germs on your hands and then put your hands in your eyes or in your mouth, those disease germs can get inside of you. But you and I can kill most of the germs on your hands. So they can't make you sick if we work as partners. So be a germ fighter with me. Learn good hand habits. Boys and girls should wash their hands often, especially at certain times. Wash your hands before doing anything that has to do with food, before handling food in the kitchen. Before setting the table, before eating at any time, and always remember to wash your hands before brushing your teeth. Wash your hands after doing anything that gets them very dirty. After playing games, after playing with animals, and especially after going to the toilet. You and I can be partners in other clean habits, Billy. We can do a fine job together each time you bathe all over. And of course, you should take a bath or shower each time you've been working or playing hard, not just on Saturday nights. You should wash your hair often. Boys can do it easily. each time they take a bath or shower. Girls should wash their hair at least once every two weeks. You can see, Billy, that I am your partner, but you have other health friends. Every community has a health department just as it has a fire department and a police department. And one of your best friends is the health officer. He's a germ fighter, too. Health officers fight germs in many ways. They know how to look for germs. This health officer is testing a drinking glass from your school cafeteria. And now, a health officer checks the cafeteria windows to be sure that flies can't get in. Flies carry dangerous germs on their feet. Health laws say that food must be clean. Health officers must see that cows are clean and healthy so their milk will not have germs. Another health officer, the meat inspector, makes sure that meat is clean and safe. The mark shows that this meat is clean. But health officers can't do everything for you. You must be your own health officer, Billy. Since germs can get inside of you through your mouth, be sure that food is clean before you eat it. Be sure that dishes are clean before you use them for food. Never take a bite from someone else's food. That's right. Break off the piece to share your cookie and keep food covered safe from flies when you eat outside. Remember, flies carry dangerous germs on their feet. When you drink from a glass, be sure that it is clean. It's a good idea to have your own drinking glass. When you drink at a fountain, keep your mouth away from the nozzle. And there's one more important thing, Billy. Your clothes. You know, a cowboy wears working clothes when he's out on the range because he gets dusty and dirty. But when he's ready to go into town after I've helped him wash up, he puts on his clean clothes. Children get dusty and dirty when they play games. You should wear old clothes when you play. But when you're through playing, when you clean up for dinner, you should change to clean clothes. You see, Billy, being clean in every way is an important part of being healthy. And being healthy is an important part of being happy. >> I see that now, Sophie. You are a good friend and partner. >> That's right. Well, so long. So long, partner, and don't forget. >> I won't, Sophie. And Billy didn't forget. He's one of the cleanest boys in our town now. He's one of the healthiest. And certainly he's one of the happiest. [Music] All right. Hi everybody. Uh again uh we are here in Santa San, New Mexico. And uh so I just showed you Soapie the Germ Fighter and that's an important film for me. Not only does it have a a dandy cowboy uh who is a giant piece of soap uh but it's also the film that introduced me to Rick Prowlinger or vice versa like that was the film that you actually called me up on the phone and you wanted to buy. So this is Rick Prowlinger. >> Hi there. I was working at Comedy Channel. This must have been what ' 89? No, no, no, no, no. This was in this was in the No, this is like 92. >> But you sent to maybe then you sent to Comedy Channel. He said, "Hey, we're AV Geeks." >> Yeah. So, I sent it to uh to Best Brains. >> Best Brains? >> Yes. >> Uh which was Mystery Science Theater. And I said, "Hey, you guys show old movies. I have a bunch of old movies. Like, do you want to buy them?" And they sent me a very nice letter that said no. But what I didn't know is that they sent the catalog to this guy. >> Yes. And that was the beginning. >> Yeah. >> Uh amazing. Uh and since then I have uh you know I just want to say that Skip is uh and Age Geeks is the world champion presenter both online and in real time. I think you've done more screenings than anybody. >> Woohoo. And you did it because of you guys. So thank you for for being there for that. I mean, you've just put hundreds of thousands of minutes and thousands of hours of bad ideas out into the world. >> Yes, bad ideas. >> And you've made it a better world for that. >> Well, thank you. That's that that means a great deal. >> Soapie the Germ Fighter was the beginning of kind of a a cleanwashing of bad ideas. Bring them back. Bring them back. >> Yes. Uh, so, um, God, there's so many things that we could talk about, but, uh, I put you on the spot and said like, "All right, pick a film from your collection, uh, that you would love to kind of introduce and talk about just a little bit and then we'll watch it." And it happened to be a film that I have not shown. So, um, let's, uh, What film did you pick? I picked a film called The Last Clear Chance made in 1959. If you've seen it, you may have seen the Mystery Science Theater version of it. One of the most famous riffs, I think, in ephemeral film history. They've really they really turned it into something else. It's a film that's very hard to get out of your mind. Um, you know, I it's a film important in my history because I was introduced to it by Rick Sheckchman, who you some of you may know this name. He was the film coordinator for Letterman late night with David Letterman back in the NBC days and brought countless amazing old clips to the show. He's now no longer with us, but I went up to see him one day and he said, "Hey, look at this film. It's got like footage of everything you could ever need. It's the one stop film for stock footage." And I said, "Well, how can you use it?" He says, "Well, it's public domain. It's PD," he said. And I said, "What's PD?" And he said, "It's public domain." And that's when I learned about copyright through Rick Sheckchman, my copyright mentor. So, moment of silence for Rick. But, uh, this film is a safety film. And one of the things about safety films that has always piqued my imagination is that they kind of self sabotage because the thing about safety films is the du that payoff, the fulfillment is the accident. So, as you watch these safety films, um, really you when's the accident going to happen? Who's it going to get? You know, there's always this kind of guessing game and that's the payoff. And I think that kind of distracts from the mission of the film. What do you think? >> Um, it depends what you're why you're watching it. I mean, I think if you're trying to really educate people that sometimes that that payoff is important, but I don't know. I mean, it kind of it I think it depends. I think that some people feel cheated, but if it's >> it depends on your audience and like the age of your audience and is is it male or female or is it a a specific niche uh organization? You know, I think that workingass people like to see bad things happen. I think that law enforcement people like to see bad things happen uh based on on the films that I've I've watched. Um but mothers maybe not so much. >> Interesting. Uh I've run into varying uh you know I won't get into the stories but I've run into varying reactions. I will say that there was a study at one point where one city put up at dangerous intersections billboards of wrecks and that actually increased the accident rate. >> Oh boy. >> So you know whether it's the distraction or engagement what but this is one of my favorite films. It really has everything. It's a beautifully shot film that takes place in Idaho in 1959. It's made by the Union Pacific Railroad and it it it tries to tell drivers that trains can't stop but they can. But it's also about so many other things. It's about teenagers feeling invulnerable. It's about the thrill of driving in the country with a top down about that sense of you know freedom when you get your driver's license, your freedom card. It's about the the urban west, the the rural west and how, you know, empty long landscapes. It's about the boredom of farm life and about the highway patrolman as an authority figure. And also, although they would never say this, it's about how the railroad um is economic. Uh it it it keeps the farmer alive. The railroad is the way that the uh farmer ships their produce to the market, but at the same time, it's a potential killer. Yeah. So, it's a really really great and deep film. It's about a a young boy who gets his driver's license. He's sitting around with his family and a friendly uh the highway patrolman comes by and says, "Oh, you got your license." And starts to kind of narrate a story about safety about why you should stop at railroad crossings and so on. Um, uh, the the his family's played by a real farm family in Idaho. And actually, the guy who plays his younger brother became a famous corporate executive, Bill Ag, head of Bandex, who lost his job because he was having an affair with his subordinate, Mary Cunningham. Scandal, this rocked corporate America in the in the 1980s. Um, and then, you know, there's life after being an actor in an industrial film. Anyway, uh he after about 20 minutes of explanation about how to drive safely, he says, "Hey, mom and dad, can I borrow the car?" And he goes for a ride. And his brother and his brother's girlfriend follow him. Uh and um the rest will be revealed. >> Nice. Excellent. Um yeah, let's uh let's watch it and then we'll come back. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] I suppose I should have gone in for a few minutes, but I just couldn't. Burying someone from a family Someone cut down in the prime of life. Well, it's hard to take. I could say goodbye from here. Besides, I could do more good out on the road. I could keep trying to prevent other people from killing themselves in their cars and bringing to other families like the Dixons in there that heartbreak that never quite heals. It was hard to believe that just a few days before the Dixon family had been as happy and contented a group of people as you'd find anywhere. Frank Junior had just come home from college to give his dad a little help on the farm for the summer. He was a chip off the old block studying scientific agriculture at school and getting ready to follow in his dad's footsteps. Frank's girl, Betty Hutchkins, had been waiting for him. Of course, everyone knew they'd be getting married before too long. Mr. Dixon's new tractor had just arrived down at the Union Pacific Freight Station, and they all went down to inspect it. Frank's kid brother, Allan, had just taken his driving test a week before. Allan sure wanted to drive his dad's new tractor. But until he actually received the license, Dad Dixon wasn't letting him on the highway. Not even on a tractor. [Music] The UP station agent had reminded Frank that the 411 Streamliner was due any minute. And of course, with Betty there, he wasn't taking chances anyway. If everyone was that careful all the time, well, a lot of people in the cemeteries would be alive today. It was the next Monday that Alan Dixon's first driver's license arrived in a noon mail delivery. Boy, was he proud of that license. He couldn't wait to show it to his brother. After all, your first license is sort of a milestone. It means all the roads are now open to you. He was proud of the license naturally and just as naturally wanted to make use of it on any errand that his dad or his mother or his grandfather could think of. The only trouble was I had to choose that moment to drive in and spoil things. Of course, when you've known a family as long as I'd known the Dixers, they don't treat you as a cop, but as a friend. Looks like you're going to have another Dixon to worry about. Helen got his driver's license. >> Oh, is that right? >> Well, let me see it, would you? >> You bet. >> Well, I guess that makes it official. When'd you get it? >> Just came today. >> Oh, just today, huh? Why'd I see you out driving on Highway 30 yesterday morning? >> This is my fault. I let him take the car to go and see his girl. I'm sorry. >> Oh, he shouldn't have. >> Fine way to be starting your driving career. Violation already. >> I'm sorry. >> Well, it's only a technical violation. I didn't come here to arrest you, Alan. I knew you'd be getting that license any day now, and I thought this would be a good time to come by and tell you a few of the facts of life about driving before you get started. Now, these are accident reports from my headquarters. Each figure represents someone injured or killed in the state on city streets, farm roads, highways, and railroad crossings. All the facts and figures are here. Well, some of them you've read about in the papers. big spectacular crashes caused by terrific speed or drunk driving or some other form of what I call near insanity. But most people only squeeze the law a little at stop signs in restricted speed zones and the like. Little violations that most people get away with time after time, maybe getting a ticket or a warning like Frank Jr. did, but without getting hurt. But those little violations, those little chances you take day by day, that's where you start playing roulette with your life. You're taking a big gamble with your life when you violate a no passing line on the road. You're taking a big chance in the car in front when you follow too closely at highway speeds. Maybe a man will do these things a h 100 times in perfect safety. Squeeze the law and nothing happens. But don't forget that other law, the law of average. Sooner or later, it catches up with you. Now, this accident was number one for the driver involved. First one he'd ever had. But it was his last one, too. He took one little chance too many. >> Frank is taking too many chances in his car. >> Oh, he'll be all right, won't he, Al? >> He'll be all right if he takes to heart what I told him about signs. Signs of life. That's what stop signs and all the other road signs really are. and missing one of them as you drive along or just ignoring it. Well, that's one of those little things that kills people. >> Wherever there's a hazard on a road, there's usually a sign to tell you about it. Like a curve warning for right of way sign, narrow bridge, signals ahead, do not enter, no pass, and many others. But for too many drivers, a stop sign like this, for example, has no importance unless they can see cars crossing the road ahead right now. A school crossing sign for some drivers seems to mean little or nothing, unless there are children actually crossing the street at that moment. As for railroad crossings, some drivers act as if the warning signs and tracks don't even exist. Unless there's a streamliner passing by right in front of them. And even then, hard as it is to believe, there are many accidents where the driver ran past three warning signs and straight into the side of a moving train. It has happened in broad daylight. But it happens even more often at night. That's when the warning sign, the signal, the crossbuck are really your signs of life. Yes, the sign is still there, but you have to be twice as alert to see it. If you hadn't seen the signs, this train might come as a surprise to you. [Music] Traffic signs and signals that are so easy to see in the daylight become easier to miss as the sun goes down. Twilight is a dangerous time of day when things are half visible, half in deepening shadow. Main Street at night becomes a maze of lights and neon signs, all competing with one another to catch your eye. But where's the traffic signal? Oh, there it is. Almost lost against the other lights beyond. Even the blinking red light of the railroad wigwag is hard to pick out sometimes. But night or day, these are your signs of life whose purpose is to keep you alive. It's a strange thing, but some people actually resent traffic signs and traffic laws. >> How come? >> Cramps their style. They figure rules are for the other fellow, not for good drivers like themselves. Here's one like that. Robert Bainbridge. >> Bainbridge from Meridian High. >> Yeah. >> Oh, I know him. I run against him on the track team. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] I knew him. I'm sorry, dear. Robert Bainbridge, age 17. Occupation, student. Place of accident, Lone Tree Road near Meridian. Date June 2nd. Time 417. Weather clear and dry. [Music] I gave him the light and siren on Highway 41, but he was doing about 70. His first mistake was speeding. His second mistake is when he tried to outrun me. [Music] Then he turned off into Lone Tree Road. That was his third mistake. I didn't chase him on that gravel road. I didn't want him to keep up that speed on such a treacherous footing. I just followed along without the flash or siren, hoping he'd realize what he was doing before it was too late. I lost sight of them around a turn. He took it way too fast for gravel. [Applause] When I rounded the turn, the road ahead was empty. I knew what had happened even before I found the car. Of course, the boy had tried to stop when he felt his car going out of control, but he never had a chance. [Music] [Laughter] [Music] I can't understand it. Why did he do it? >> You tell me. That's one thing the reports don't show. Why people do things with a car that make no sense at all. Well, I guess a young fellow in a car figures he's quick enough to save himself. >> Quick enough. If a human body could match a machine, you get to be my age, you slowed down. >> Well, you can remember the old days, can't you, Mr. Dixon? >> Yep. >> When a tandem bicycle wasn't just a showpiece for an old-timer's day celebration, but a real honest to goodness means of transportation. Sometimes we forget that there are plenty of people in our highways today who grew up in that horse and buggy age. Those narrow two-lane country roads that used to be so quick and peaceful are now several lanes of high-speed traffic. The roads that used to wind gently around the hills now slice through mountains with nothing to slow you down. And many a rail crossing that stopped you in the old days is now a high-speed underpass or overpass. Everything in the world of transportation has improved. Everything except the drivers. We still have to use the same old equipment. Our eyes and ears and reflexes. They haven't improved a bit. >> No, they haven't. When I was a kid, I run 100 yards in 11 seconds. >> Yeah. I used to run me down in about three jumps. No gas 115. That's faster than I ever run it in. >> Well, the point is, Alan, you have to face a much greater danger on the road than your grandfather did with no better equipment. No better personal equipment. That is the highways and the cars are better and faster, of course. And that's where the danger is. Yes, danger. Even with sensible, safe driving people on a highway as smooth as silk with no traffic lights and no intersections to worry about. You might wonder where is the danger we keep talking about? Well, here's one danger. Fatigue. On long trips, fatigue is a big hazard. You should stop at least once every hour. Get out, stretch your legs, get those cobwebs out of your head. Weariness slows down your reactions. And at 60 m an hour or better, you can't afford it. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] And here is still another danger. Lack of attention to the road. Sure, it's an open highway. Maybe there aren't many cars, but it only takes two to tangle. 40% of all expressway accidents involve a car that is already stopped on the road, partway on, or not far enough off. This is an invitation to disaster. [Music] Here is another hazard of our superighways that we patrolman see all too often. Every time you have to hit your brakes hard. Ask yourself why weren't you ready for the danger that suddenly developed? The parked car that suddenly pulls out without looking is always sudden, of course, and always surprising. The man who decides at the last moment to make a turn. The entering car that fails to yield the right of way. Well, sure, the other fell is often wrong, and if he causes a crash, it's all his fault. But you may be dead just the same. In a lot of accidents, it's pretty hard to tell just who is to blame, isn't it, Hal? >> Impossible to tell sometimes. But there's one kind of accident where there's never a single doubt. >> What's that? >> At a railroad crossing. >> Yeah, the train sure has a rideway. >> You know, the railroad's been here for almost four generations. Every farm family in these parts uses the railroad to ship their crops. We all like to ride the trains. But why is it so many people don't see the trains at the crossings? >> It seems impossible that anyone could fail to see or hear a train in motion. A locomotive is certainly big enough, and the train of cars behind it may be as much as a mile long. And yet, many people who have lived through a crossing accident will say, "Where did the train come from? I never saw it until it was right on top of me." Where did it come from? Well, it came on the rails. It couldn't come from anywhere else. But if you paid no attention to the signs, didn't look, and didn't listen, then to you, it came out of nowhere. An approaching train starts the signal while it is still some distance away. Never try to guess how far away. Don't guess at all. And don't be impatient because the train's coming and it can't stop. [Music] Any signal in action means that a condition of fatal danger exists at this moment at this crossing. Maybe the last train you waited for was a slow freight that took several minutes to cross, but the next one may be a fast freight highballing to the coast on a tight schedule. [Music] Remember that many freight trains today are faster than passenger trains of 15 years ago. Many crossings have more than one set of tracks. Each one a separate hazard. When you cross, make sure all tracks are clear. Yes. Don't let a double track double cross you. Stop, look, and listen, the crossbuck says. All right, let's listen. As this train approaches, let's see how close it comes before we hear it. Now, where did that train come from? Where does any train come from? Comes in the rails, of course. And who gets killed at the crossing? Someone who's crossed that same track at the same place a thousand times before. For just one time, he didn't look. One time is all it takes. >> Please speak to Frank about his driving. It worries me. >> Okay, I will. I'll do it tonight. I surrender, Hal. I give up. What's the charge today? >> No charge, Frank. I'm just giving Alan some free advice now that he's a licensed driver. >> Boy, I remember that advice you gave me the other day at the stop sign. >> Well, you keep it in mind. >> I will. >> Dad. Dad, can I take the car into town now? >> Okay, Alan, go ahead. But take it easy. >> Well, I I'll be real careful. Bye-bye. >> He'll be all right. I'll let the guy go. Hey, maybe we better go along with him. Make sure he gets there. All right. >> Okay. buy me soda. >> Okay, fine. Goodbye, everybody. >> Bye. [Music] >> So, there went Allan with his new driver's license and Frank and Betty right behind on as nice a summer day as you could wish for. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Why don't they look Ralph and tell [Music] Why don't they look? >> No, I didn't go in. Burying someone like young Frank Dixon is too hard to take. My place was out on the road. Out on the road, I could at least try to keep other people from killing themselves in their cars. So, if the next car I stop happens to be yours, don't tell me you were only speeding a little, only breaking the law a little, only doing something a little bit wrong. Save that for somebody else, brother, because I see too many little follyies that end up with someone a little bit dead. [Music] Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. [Music] I don't So, we're back with the Prelangers, uh, a power couple in the ephemeral film world. So, some people say that you coined the phrase ephemeral film. Is that true? >> I did. I kind of traded it in for useful cinema, which is even better. Films that were made to do a job. >> Nice. Nice. And uh you know everybody who is out there uh either due to Mystery Science Theater or due to the Internet Archive or the hundreds if not thousands of people who have used your footage in uh crappy music videos uh in good music videos. >> We don't we don't diss our free downloaders. >> Yeah. >> And we sure don't diss our commercial clients. >> Yeah. Of course not. >> We love you. >> Yes. Um, but you guys are still at it. You're still scanning. You have two scanners and you have a you've amassed a team. >> And so talk a little bit about that. Like that's that's amazing. You're still doing it. Like you could have just rested on your laurels, but no, you were itching to scan more stuff and you did it and are doing it. We got a grant and we've got a lot of film. >> And just uh props up front to Internet Archive that actually owns when you re refer to our two scanners. One of those is an internet archive scanner scanning machine laser graphics scan mach scan station that uh internet archive uh generously shares with us. >> But we we put in a brain transplant. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Um and then we got a were the beneficiaries really based on the historic significance of the holdings beneficiaries of a very generous foundation grant that purchased a second laser graphic scan station for Prilinger Archives. >> And we uh we send props to the Filecoin Foundation for the decentralized web who is interested in building greater space on the decentralized web for history and culture. and they said, "Scan some films." And so, so far we've scanned around 13,000 8,000 reels, a lot of home movies, other people's home movies, and a great many industrial, educational, documentary, advertising films, and outtakes. Megan is an outtake specialist and has taken outtakes to an to heaven. Really? >> No, it's amazing. So, a lot of them were the Calvin, right? >> Yes. the Calvin uh company which was based in Kansas City Kansas City, Missouri in a room filled with pigeon poop. There were 3,000 cartons of materials and they have been sitting for over 40 years and we've started to scan them and put them online and they're a lot of fun. >> Nice. And so how can people find this new stuff, this exciting new stuff that you've been putting out? >> If you go to archive.org or and look for the preliminger collection and sort it by date archived. Then all the new stuff will come up first. >> Yep. And you also have an finally after what 30 years, 20 years, you finally have a you an official YouTube channel. >> Pringer Archives official on YouTube. >> Authentic. >> Authentic original Frank's pizza. Uh Rick's Pizza uh >> authorized >> authorized. And it's a great place. And you have over a thousand films there as well. >> That's right. Increasing every week. >> Yeah. And so can we call out Can we call out the people that make this possible? Kristen Lipka, >> Adrien Finelli, Jen Mo, Kate Dolan Meyer, Megan Needles, Emily Chow. >> Nice. >> Autumn Armstrong. >> Nice. Yeah, I've had beers with almost all of those people. >> Ashley Rose Terara. >> Nice. Yeah. So, it takes >> Brian Edard. They have a whole army of people. >> Uh, you know, I've got I've got a couple of people, but you guys have a whole army. So, >> uh, yeah, creative consortium. >> Yes. There we go. Creative consortium. Well, um, I know everybody's excited to finally meet you guys. Uh, and so, thank you for for showing up. >> It's so great to run into you in that alley here in Santa Fe and it's a privilege to be on what is this show number 2020 or something? >> No, we're not that far in. We're probably close to 1450. >> 1450. Okay. This show is for the ages and >> we love you all and we want to see you do amazing things with our film. Please download >> keep watching >> our beautiful 4K and 5K and have a great time. >> Keep using >> keep using keep watching. Uh that's what we what we talk about here at uh AV Geeks. And thank you guys so much. Um, and yes, I'll this so this is a pre-recorded show uh on Monday and uh I will be back live at the archive on Tuesday. >> Thank you, Skip. >> Thank you guys. All right, take care everybody. Uh, we love you and I have to now find the outro. Where is it? It's down here. It's hot here in uh, New Mexico.