If you're like me, and are fascinated by the old Universal Newsreels from the old days, then my new show is for you.
I've begun to download scores of old Newsreels, starting in 1936, from a great website called the Internet Archive ( http://www.archive.org/ ) where you can get a great array of cool films, from historical to the incredibly obscure. I thought that there might be some others out there who find these gems as interesting as I do, so I've begun to convert them to a pleasantly viewable format, as well as clean up the audio considerably.
These newsreels are all now Public Domain. I've kept them pretty much as is, except I let the viewer know the release date of each one, and if there is sound missing I put an on-screen notice of that as well. The first features 1936, and includes, to my delight, footage of the FIRST landing of the Hindenburg in New Jersey (featuring the pilot saying he is assured that all the trips will go very well), a nutty report about airline stewardess training, a German newsreel of what looks to be the first all-wheel drive car, great flood footage, and a whimsical look at "young fascist boys" training for chemical warfare. (In 1936 Fascism was evidently just a hip new philosphy, judging by the narrator's tone)
I'm going to attempt to keep these coming, each one a half-hour or so devoted to one year's samples, since I find it so fun to watch these. PLEASE let me know what you think about the show, or how it could be improved. And check out the theme music, created by my son Cal!!
The scheduled showings for this week on BCTV channel 8 are:
Tuesday the 10th at 4pm
Friday the 13th at 9 pm
Saturday the 14th at 7:30 pm and
Sunday the 15th at 6 pm