Title - 'The rain is green. Irish defy weatherman'.
High angle LS of the St Patrick's Day parade. LS policeman on horseback. MS two girls with Irish style hats on. LS parade of girls dressed in white dresses playing flutes. Various shots crowd of people wearing Irish style hats.
MS as parade comes towards and past camera, showing Irish bagpipe band. High angle MS of St Patrick's Cathedral. MS Cardinal outside the Cathedral. Various shots of the parade showing drum majorettes and policemen marching along, with cut-ins of spectators.
A short silent film clip of a teenage Freddie Mercury (or Farrokh Bulsara by his real name) has surfaced online. The footage was filmed by one of his friends at Isleworth Polytechnic College in West London during Freddie’s first semester there in 1964 – the year his family migrated to England from Zanzibar. It would be just 6 years before he changed his name, met Brian May, and joined a band called Queen.
In 1986, organizers with United Way of Cleveland thought they had the perfect idea to generate a little publicity and create a beautiful spectacle in the process. With a crowd of volunteers working all hours, they filled 1.5 million helium balloons, and released them all at once. Unfortunately, they had no idea the terrible consequences they would unleash by doing so, and their tragic mistake led to the deaths of two people and millions of dollars in damages through lawsuits.
It all began with the awesome, but fundamentally disastrous, goal of setting the world record for the most balloons launched at once. Anaheim, which released 1.2 million balloons the year before, was the previous champion.
On Sept. 27, thousands of volunteers worked for hours filling balloons with helium under a huge tent near Cleveland's Public Square. After 1.5 million balloons were inflated, the net was released and a surreal-looking balloon cloud started to rise over downtown, as seen in this footage.
Photos of Balloonfest '86 were pretty incredible — reds, blues and yellows framed the sky like large-scale confetti. But what was intended to be a harmless fundraising stunt, ultimately led to two deaths, multiple lawsuits and general chaos.
Just after the balloons were released at around 1:50 p.m., a storm began to move in from the Great Lakes. Strong winds pushed the balloons down over the city and to the ground, creating chaos on roadways and shutting down the runway at a local airport.
As the balloons touched down on a pasture in Medina County, several prize-winning horses were spooked and permanently injured. The owner later sued for $100,000.
The Coast Guard said the "asteroid field" of balloons also clogged the skies that day, stalling a helicopter search for two missing boaters. Tragically, the men died when searchers were unable to reach their overturned boat, Cleveland.com reports. When the Coast Guard crew finally could lift off, they said they had trouble differentiating the balloons covering the surface of the water from the missing men.
In the days that followed, even Canadians reported impacts from the event, as deflated (and apparently biodegradable) balloons washed up on the Canadian side of Lake Erie.
While the sight of 1.5 million balloons being released must have been amazing to see, the outcome was far from pleasant. Weather.com meteorologist Nick Wiltgen said a mistake like this probably wouldn't happen today, especially with weather data on smartphones and a much better understanding of the atmosphere's behavior.
In these newly preserved tests, made in 1922 at the Paragon Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey, actress Mae Murray appears almost translucent, her flesh a pale white that is reminiscent of perfectly sculpted marble, enhanced with touches of color to her lips, eyes, and hair. She is joined by actress Hope Hampton modeling costumes from The Light in the Dark (1922), which contained the first commercial use of Two-Color Kodachrome in a feature film. Ziegfeld Follies actress Mary Eaton and an unidentified woman and child also appear.
George Eastman House is the repository for many of the early tests made by the Eastman Kodak Company of their various motion picture film stocks and color processes. The Two-Color Kodachrome Process was an attempt to bring natural lifelike colors to the screen through the photochemical method in a subtractive color system.
First tests on the Two-Color Kodachrome Process were begun in late 1914. Shot with a dual-lens camera, the process recorded filtered images on black/white negative stock, then made black/white separation positives. The final prints were actually produced by bleaching and tanning a double-coated duplicate negative (made from the positive separations), then dyeing the emulsion green/blue on one side and red on the other. Combined they created a rather ethereal palette of hues.
Love works in mysterious ways, and sometimes rather cruel ones, too. Poor Miss Pimple thinks Cupid has finally taken notice of her when she receives an envelope on February 14th, but the lonely spinster is in for another of life's little disappointments. The burgeoning Victorian Valentine's industry has a lot to answer for.
British film pioneer George Albert Smith cast his own wife Laura Bayley, who wrings every ounce of pathos from this brief appearance.
A mash-up video cut together by YouTube user Nerd Fest UK incorporates footage from 66 films from the Golden Age of cinema and sets them to Bruno Mars‘ infectiously catchy “Uptown Funk.”
From Shirley Temple, to Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, this insanely clever creation uses 66 vintage moves and a modern pop hit to weld something of perfection. The video shows how timeless the tune is even when it comes to dance moves from the 1940s and ’50s.
Get ready to get your groove on in the video below.
This early 1951 short footage features Sheree North--long before she became famous--dancing in a one-piece swimsuit and a pair of cat's ears. She then leaps out of camera range and reappears wearing a two-piece swimsuit, this time with no cat's ears. She dances some more...
The image of the flapper had given way to much more sophisticated styles in women's dresses and hats, including the famous cloche hat. Women featured here are Corliss Palmer, Rachel Torres, Laura la Plante and Ruth Elder.
This stunning color footage from circa 1928 discovered by film archivist Murray Glass.
It’s been said before: The future isn’t what it used to be. In this period newsreel, we get a sneak preview of the exciting new cars of the future for 1948.
Popular Science produced short films in the 1940s and ’50s that showcased technology of the near and distant future. This short was released theatrically on May 21, 1948 and featured “Streamlined Marvels on Wheels.” The first car is the Davis three-wheeler that employs the “tri-cycle landing gear principle.” It also features built in jacks to make tire changing an “exhilarating experience.”
The second car is identified only as, “If you’re looking for a 1960 model, this may well be it!” Or not.
In the third car featured you get to go for a ride with Gordon Beurig in his Tasco prototype. Tasco is an acronym that stands for “The American Sportscar Company.” It’s based on a design by Gordon Buehrig, built of post-World War II aluminum. It was shown in Wichita in 1948 in the hope of contracting with Beech Aircraft Company for production of the aviation-inspired automobile. This model is the only one ever built and is now owned by the Cord Auburn Dusenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana. Shown here at the Cardwell Manufacturing Company in Wichita, Kansas.
The 1920s ushered in significant changes in American life. They were years when most Americans acquired their first radios and automobiles, and achieved the highest standard of living in the nation's history.
The celebration of the Christmas holiday in the 1920s changed as well. The first national Christmas tree originated during the administration of President Calvin Coolidge. This sixty-foot balsam fir was lit in an impressive ceremony in 1923. Cotton ornaments, inexpensive and unbreakable, were at the peak of their popularity.
By the late 1920s, however, spectacular glass ornaments were being imported from Germany. The popular image of Santa Claus, originally created by German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast, was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s.
This rare vintage footage below shows what Christmas looked like in the 1920s:
That's how it looked like just after the German surrender! Fascinating moving pictures in color show the situation of the city in summer 1945 and daily life in the ruins.
Pictures from the destroyed city, the Reichstag, Brandenburger Tor, Adlon, Führerbunker, Unter den Linden, rubble women working in the streets, the tram is running again.
A collage of archive material
Produced by: Kronos Media
David Bowie waived his usual US$1 million fee for his Serious Moonlight Tour in Bangkok back in 1983 and appeared to be having "the time of his life" exploring the city.
David Bowie’s concert in Thailand on the night of Dec 5, 1983, was not supposed to happen. With a price tag of US$1 million per show, a Bowie concert was too expensive for those who hoped to lure him here. Yet, the singer took a huge pay cut simply so he could be in Bangkok and explore the city.
Bowie adrift on the Chao Phraya River in December 1983.
Although Bowie suffered a financial loss from his Bangkok concert, the artist apparently enjoyed every single minute he spent in the Thai capital. Despite performing to a half-empty stadium, Bowie saw the sights in the city, went on a boat trip, sneaked into a go-go bar, let a stranger spit on his face and hailed a taxi to take him to the concert venue — arriving only minutes before the show started. Bowie, at 35, went off the grid as much as those few days allowed.
“Such a wise man with a philosophical mind, he was down to earth and very polite in person,” Wasana Wirachartplee, the radio disc jockey and an executive of Nite Spot Productions, recalled.
Wasana is known as Bowie’s biggest celebrity fan in Thailand, and in 1982 went backpacking in Germany to see him in concert. She knew a concert of that scale would be too expensive for Nite Spot, despite the fact the company was the best, if not only, concert organizer for foreign artists at the time.
“We knew that Bowie was doing the Serious Moonlight Tour. It was his biggest concert, worth US$1 million per show. It was impossible for us. We never dreamed of bringing him to Bangkok,” said Amporn Chakkaphak, who is now the managing director of production companies Pisces Music and Boy Thai Band.
“On average, we could afford to pay $50,000 to $100,000 per show.”
The biggest concert Nite Spot Productions had organized to that point was for Engelbert Humperdinck.
However, Nite Spot was unexpectedly approached by Bowie’s staff. “We told them that we could not afford that. But Bowie’s people told us they would accept the pay cut. We just provided them with logistic support, such as accommodation and the venue. We were excited.”
Even with the pay cut, Nite Spot still found it a challenge to prepare for the concert. “We had to find an outdoor venue that was big enough to hold a rock concert of that magnitude. Prior to that, concerts were held inside halls, hotels or indoor stadiums.”
Nite Spot finally picked the Army Sports Stadium on Vibhavadi Road. “It was the first concert in an outdoor stadium,” Amporn said.
The challenge did not end there. Nite Spot did not have the sound equipment for such a large concert. “Bowie’s staff had to bring sound equipment from other countries to Thailand,” she said.
Bowie arrived in Thailand with his crew on Dec 3. Nite Spot rented an old Mercedes limousine so he and three other members of his crew could do some sightseeing around Bangkok before the concert. According to a video clip that was released later, he travelled by boat along the Chao Phraya River. The clip captured the interior of a go-go bar in Bangkok and Bowie receiving a blessing from a Thai man, who spat what was apparently holy water from his mouth on Bowie’s face.
The singer was so taken by the city he was almost late to his own concert. “I was waiting for David and his team to arrive at the concert venue in the limousine that we sent to pick them up from the hotel,” Amporn said.
“We started to get worried when he was behind schedule. At that time, there were no mobile phones. We didn’t know how to find them.
“He finally showed up crammed in a taxi with the other three members of his team. It turned out the limousine broke down and they all got out and hailed a cab. Yet David was still smiling and in good spirits, as if he was having the greatest time of his life.”
It is said David Bowie turned up in “someone’s” house just off Soi 36 wearing happy pants and a big smile.
Expulsed German girl in despair, beaten (maybe raped), filmed on a country road near the Czech border.
Thousands of innocent German residents were murdered in their homes by the Czechs, others were forced into interment camps where they were beaten and maltreated before being expelled. Bishop Beranek of Prague declared: 'If a Czech comes to me and confesses to having killed a German, I absolve him immediately'.
The Americans, utterly blind to the political consequences of allowing the Soviets to liberate Czechoslovakia, halted at the Karlsbad-Pilsen-Budweis line. The Sudeten Germans now had no protection from the torrent of bestiality vented on them by the Czechs.
Around the small Bavarian village of Postberg (Postoloprty) in the province of Saazerland on the Bavarian-Czech border, hundreds of German men, women and children were shot to death during the Czech 'ethnic cleansing'. All German civilian residents in the province were rounded up by Czech soldiers and communist partisans and marched to a collection point in Postberg. There they were interned and beaten, many were executed.
Color 8mm footage of the 1939 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Floats and balloons featuring: Pinocchio, Donald Duck, The Tin Man, The Scarecrow, Old King Cole, Uncle Sam, Gulliver, Acrobats, The Butcher, The Baker, and the Candlestick Maker, Santa, and more...
In France, the Twenties were called the "Années Folles". This fascinating decade began after the First World War and ended with the economic crisis of 1929.
During this period, the behavior of the French suddenly changed, with an aspiration to joy and debauchery, particularly in the upper and middle classes. The French tried by all means to get rid of the pre-war values.
The 1920s were a real watershed in the culture as well as in daily life which went through many changes. If you view this again, and again, and again, each time you'll notice details you hadn't noticed before. Enjoy!
The Swing Wing is a toy, similar to the Hula Hoop, worn on the head and twirled by moving the neck and/or body in a back and forth motion. It was developed by Transogram Games and introduced in 1965.
The Transogram Company had been producing mainstream toys such as tiddly-winks and doctor kits since 1959. Then one day in 1965 they came up with the idea for the Swing Wing. Nothing says "fun" like a cerebral hemorrhage, so Swing Wing was eventually pulled from the market, leaving kids searching for a new fun way to get their spinal injuries on.
"In my day the only thing the children were shaking around was their necks! Not their hips like these little whores of today," said some old person who was around when this toy was a product.
We all know the most dangerous game is man, but in these days the Swing Wing was the most dangerous toy, claiming the lives of dozens of children before the FBI shut down production at the Swing Wing factory in Dublin, Ohio and burned all the evidence that they ever existed except for this Swing Wing toy commercial.
Various shots of gorgeous 1940s glamour girls in swimsuits and high heels using exercise machines in a gym. The machines are “the latest mechanised units” of the kind that massage away lumps and bumps (supposedly) on legs, tummies and bottoms. Great footage for showing exercising machines and typical 1940s swimsuits and hairstyles. Fast swing music on soundtrack.
Final shots show the girls using a variety of exercise apparatus including exercise bike, rowing machine and a kind of rotating tombola that seems to be massaging a girl's stomach and nether regions - fancy!
“Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. ”
― Dave Barry
The Sixties was recognized as a decade of transition from the conservative Fifties and also the birth of revolutionary ways to live, Sixties Dancesthink, and create. In the entertainment industry, many changes happened in the world of dance. The Sixties was all about learning the newest dance craze and performing them on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Dancing, was a driving force that brought people together in peace and happiness, and continues to be influential across the world today.
Looking back, there were so many great dance crazes from the Sixties that a few of our favorites have been somewhat lost to history. So the Dusty Old Thing website decided to compile them all in one place for your toe-tapping pleasure. Chances are you've heard of most of these great dance songs; if you're old enough, you might even remember dancing along to a few of them!
1. The Twist
We would be remiss to not start off this list with Chubby Checker’s 1960 hit “The Twist.” We consider this to be the Godfather of dance crazes, and for good reason. “The Twist,” remains the only song to ever top the Billboard Hot 100 on two separate occasions — once in 1960 and again in 1962. The song was originally written and released by Hank Ballard and the Midnight’s in 1959, but didn’t reach a mainstream audience until Chubby Checker’s rendition.
2. The Watusi
The Watusi, or the Wah-Watusi, is next on the list. The dance comes from a song performed by The Orlons, a vocal quartet from Philadelphia. That song, “The Wah-Watusi,” debuted in 1962 and stayed on the Hot 100 charts for 14 weeks, peaking at the number two spot. Two other versions of the song also peaked on the charts. In 1963, dance craze master Chubby Checker’s rendition appeared on the Hot 100, as did Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’. The song was also covered by Annette Funicello, the Isley Brothers, and The Vibrations. In the following clip, you’ll see The Lennon Sisters, Norma Zimmer, Larry Hooper and Russ Klein perform the dance and the song on an episode of the Lawrence Welk Show from 1962!
3. The Hitchhiker
In 1962, Marvin Gaye released a song called “Hitch Hike,” that he co-wrote with Clarence Paul and William “Mickey” Stevenson. The song would spark the Hitch Hike dance craze when Gaye performed it on American Bandstand and did the dance move on stage (the dance move, as you might remember, consisted of making the hitch hike gesture a few times). The crowd started dancing along, and soon the nation had its next dance craze! Gaye also performed the song on the T.A.M.I. Show, which helped fuel the fad.
The single was successful, landing Gaye his first top forty pop single when it reached number 30 on the charts. The song was also covered by The Sonics, The Rolling Stones, and Alice Cooper (believe it or not). See his performance of the song and dance below from the 1964 T.A.M.I. Show, and just try not to dance along!
4. The Loco Motion
In 1962, Little Eva released her smash hit “The Loco-Motion.” Co-written by Carole King and her husband Gerry Goffin, the bubbly, catchy tune went perfectly with Little Eva’s harmonizing skills and The Cookies backing vocals. The song itself was quite successful, reaching number one on the Hot 100 in 1962. However, covers of the version also reached the Top 5 on the charts: Grand Funk Railroad’s version reached number one in 1974, and Kylie Minogue’s rendition made it to number three in 1988, making “The Loco-Motion,” the only song to appear on the Top 5 in three different decades. Though the song had no official dance accompanying it upon release, Eva Boyd created one for it after it became a smash hit.
5. The Stroll
OK, so technically “The Stroll,” was released in the late ’50s (December of 1957), but we definitely remember people dancing to it in the ’60s. Written by Clyde Otis and Nancy Lee, The Stroll is probably the slowest dance on this list. The dance itself was performed to many different songs, including “C. C. Rider,” by Chuck Willis on American Bandstand and Link Wray’s “Rumble.” The dance consists of two lines of dancers facing each other (men on one side and women on the other), with a paired couple stepping out to do a more elaborate step up and down the rows of dancers. In the following clip, you’ll see a group of youngsters performing the dance on a local television dance show in Idaho.
