Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street,
San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 - Limited Seating RSVP to programming@oddballfilm.com or 415-558.8117
Admission: $10.00 - Limited Seating RSVP to programming@oddballfilm.com or 415-558.8117
Featuring:
Highway Mania (B&W, 1942)
This short film provides
a look at the countless dangers of the open road. Filmed in a grave noir style,
the short warns the viewer about all the murderous drivers on the road every
day. Learn how to drive safely and avoid what would sure to be a gruesome death
in this dark but goofy educational short.
Brooklyn Goes to
Las Vegas (B&W, 1956)
This short film features
beautiful footage of the Las Vegas cityscape in the late ‘50s, accompanied by
narration from a cantankerous Brooklynite who travels to the West. Every aspect
of Las Vegas is described through the lens of Brooklyn; even if he is on vacation,
all homesick “Brooklyn” can do is obsess over the differences between Sin City
and the borough he calls home.
A Trip Down Market
Street (B&W, 1906)
A Trip Down Market
Street is a different kind of
road trip movie than the others screened in this program. Filmed in 1906 from
the front of a cable car, the film travels from 8th street to the
Embarcadero, during which time we are able to get a glimpse of the frenetic and
bustling city life of San Francisco at the turn of the century. Originally
thought to be filmed in 1905, historians have recently discovered that the film
was actually shot just days before the earthquake that destroyed much of what
we see documented. This short is a valuable document for the history of the Bay
Area, and a true gem.
America for Me (Color, 1952)
What happens when two
women set out on a cross-country trip on a Greyhound bus? Filmed in beautiful
Technicolor, this vacation across the U.S. features trips through national
parks and every kind of American small town imaginable. Not only do the two
young women discover America along the way, but they also discover true love!
This cheesy but charming film was one of many short films produced to advertise
Greyhound buses in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
In Michael Crichton’s
film Westworld, the road trip
extends beyond the highway and into space. In the future, only the
super-wealthy are able to afford trips to amusement park “worlds,” where they
are free of all rules and laws. Yul Brenner stars as a Gunslinger android in
the Old West themed park, which goes haywire and begins to attack the guests.
This short focuses on the production of Westworld, providing a bizarre behind-the-scenes look at
the many amusement parks featured in the film, and mostly importantly,
Brenner’s detachable face.
Not So Easy (Color,
1973)
Starring Peter Fonda and
Evel Knievel, this motorcycle safety film aims to show you that even for the star
of Easy Rider, driving a
motorcycle is “not so easy.” Knievel contributes a few words in support of
safety, and then proceeds to demonstrate his signature tricks. Filled with
plenty of long shots of Fonda riding down the California coast, this short is better
suited to showcasing Fonda’s effortless cool than it is to safety.
+ Vintage Home Movies!
Curator’s
Biography
Hannah
Airriess has been a programmer at Oddball Film+Media archive since 2011. A
graduate of the University of Chicago in Film and East Asian Studies, she has
previously programmed at Doc Films Theater in Chicago, and various art spaces
in the Midwest.