Vintage film, TV, documents, and photographic footage from down the years

[Johnnycomelately]

Posted by Mark (Star Mariner) (here)
Very interesting, but jeez, don't they smile? They look thoroughly down in the dumps in almost every picture.

Dear Mark.sm, chill Sir. Not cool casting shade on ladies who looked like they were struggling. I hope your own troubled facets are not distributed so, for people like you to joke about.

I rather like how these ladies changed each two years, some staying sullen but others swapping countenances to look OK. And the last pic was golden, peace in all of them, relatively.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Posted by Johnnycomelately (here)

Posted by Mark (Star Mariner) (here)
Very interesting, but jeez, don't they smile? They look thoroughly down in the dumps in almost every picture.

Dear Mark.sm, chill Sir. Not cool casting shade on ladies who looked like they were struggling. I hope your own troubled facets are not distributed so, for people like you to joke about.

"(said with) tongue in cheek"
Idiom
Humorous or intended as a joke, though seeming or appearing to be serious

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Footage of the previous Pope named Leo, Leo XIII filmed in 1896. Not sure if accurate that he was the earliest born person ever filmed (1810), but it won't be far off.

https://x.com/amuse/status/1920609505743647028
POPE: The current Pope is Leo XIV. This film shows his predecessor, Leo XIII filmed in 1896, making him the earliest-born person ever captured on film. Shot by Vittorio Calcina in the Vatican gardens, it’s among the first recordings of a human being.

[gini]

'The Lost World Of Qing China Captured On Film' --- '

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=P5rE1_RIt8c

26 jul 2024--47 min
Renowned filmmaker Christopher Doyle narrates this uniquely vivid picture of Chinese history through film, compiled with exclusive access to the British Film Institute China collection. These never-seen-before films provide new insights into China’s momentous changes, from the first ever Chinese film in the Qing dynasty through to the Communist era.

Silk Road is your guide through the storied history of the Far East. Our channel delves into the vibrant histories of the Far East and the Middle East, uncovering the hidden stories of empires, traders, and cultures that flourished along the fabled Silk Road. '

[Open Minded Dude]

Posted by Mark (Star Mariner) (here)

Posted by Johnnycomelately (here)

Posted by Mark (Star Mariner) (here)
Very interesting, but jeez, don't they smile? They look thoroughly down in the dumps in almost every picture.

Dear Mark.sm, chill Sir. Not cool casting shade on ladies who looked like they were struggling. I hope your own troubled facets are not distributed so, for people like you to joke about.

"(said with) tongue in cheek"
Idiom
Humorous or intended as a joke, though seeming or appearing to be serious

Maybe they were deliberately following the 'vintage' or 'old school' style on their photographs as an artistic means?

(I guess you already know that in the early days of photography people hardly ever smiled on photographs. It wasn't wished for and said to to 'look dumb', also in very early times there was also a technical reason because back then photographs took longer to take and a smile would be too exhausting to hold then.)

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Open Minded Dude (here)
(I guess you already know that in the early days of photography people hardly ever smiled on photographs. It wasn't wished for and said to to 'look dumb', also in very early times there was also a technical reason because back then photographs took longer to take and a smile would be too exhausting to hold then.)

That's a very good point. I just searched for images of Franklin Roosevelt, and there are barely any of him smiling anywhere, ever. Here's his photo on Wikipedia:



Meanwhile, here's Bill Clinton's Wikipedia photo:



That really does say quite a lot.

[Bill Ryan]

This could hardly be more trivial, but some might find it fun nonetheless.

And it might bring back some memories of the 60s for a few readers. The Monkees were originally merely a silly TV show (John Lennon, who was a fan, compared them to the Marx Brothers), and they had all their songs written for them. But Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith could actually play, and soon after they had a sequence of hits with some at the time comparing them to the Beatles.

Enjoy. (an interesting note: not all those featured here on camera made it to the show.)

The text:

Rare black and white footage of Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones auditioning for the 60s NBC television program The Monkees.

Monkees Screen Tests

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=63nhSFFFfJ4

[Mari]

Waterloo Station, UK, 1931. Note how people are so smartly dressed...and hardly anyone's hatless.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=8zj-tk72oXE

[grapevine]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=9fR5Tb5dXeE

These look fun, but not as much as my Jaco's when I was a kid.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=nGyLp2MepDQ

[Tintin]

Fabulous footage from Portobello Road market in London in the 1970s. I often used to walk through there largely en route to Kensal Rise for music album mastering sessions. I can recommend Garcia's Spanish food market for anyone anywhere near the area now: I used to shop there with my Spanish girlfriend at the time many years ago and believe it may still be there now

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Tintin (here)
Fabulous footage from Portobello Road market in London in the 1970s. I often used to walk through there largely en route to Kensal Rise for music album mastering sessions. I can recommend Garcia's Spanish food market for anyone anywhere near the area now: I used to shop there with my Spanish girlfriend at the time many years ago and believe it may still be there now

I watched the whole thing. (Yes, memories! )

And not a single non-white face. Just sayin'.

[grapevine]

That clip takes me back, but to 1991, not the 1970s. On my 40th birthday I thought I'd do something mad and got a tattoo at a parlour in Portobello Road in my lunch hour (worked near Marble Arch then). It was only a small ladybird on my thigh and I hardly felt a thing, so my friend - emboldened by my stoic demeanour - decided to get a scorpion done on her shoulder blade at the same time, and she screamed the whole way through because of course it was a bony area rather than muscley, like a thigh.

Thanks for the memory Tintin.

[Tintin]

Posted by grapevine (here)
That clip takes me back, but to 1991, not the 1970s. On my 40th birthday I thought I'd do something mad and got a tattoo at a parlour in Portobello Road in my lunch hour (worked near Marble Arch then). It was only a small ladybird on my thigh and I hardly felt a thing, so my friend - emboldened by my stoic demeanour - decided to get a scorpion done on her shoulder blade at the same time, and she screamed the whole way through because of course it was a bony area rather than muscley, like a thigh.

Thanks for the memory Tintin.

My pleasure! Great story too. If you've ever seen the film This Year's Love there's a hilarious scene (with a few very choice words) with Kathy Burke who, after realising that the Scottish tattooist character inked "Celtic Forever!" on her backside...well...

Very brief clip in this trailer here (from 1999)

[grapevine]

Silk Cut Cigarettes
Two vintage adverts for Silk Cut Cigarettes, neither of which would be allowed today

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=BGETLgNytCw

(1:55)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=CqKvToVTih8

(2:03)

[Tintin]

Inspired a little by Bill's post re The Monkees, here's a screen test featuring Sigourney Weaver for what later became her seminal role as 'Ripley' in the ground-breaking Alien franchise, for me still one of the very great screen characters, and very best series of films ever created.





---

Great thread on X here with good background on the Alien original:

https://x.com/ATRightMovies/status/1926990667458269473

[mountain_jim]

The first game I purchased after getting my first PC at home (early 80's), Dark Seed was due to it being based on the art of H. R.Giger - which I had just learned of from this movie.

Dark Seed



The developers of Dark Seed were so inspired by Giger's work that they went one step further than most developers and actually collaborated with the legendary artist. As a direct result, Dark Seed is absolutely filled with extraordinarily detailed pieces of Giger's art. Visually, this is an impressive title that absolutely stands the test of time.

The rest of the game doesn't fare as well; the writing is simple, the music is grating, and the gameplay is deeply unfair (you will frequently need to restart unless you carefully follow a guide). That being said, it cannot be understated how interesting it is to explore the Dark World sections. Dark Seed almost feels like a virtual tour of Giger's art. That alone makes it a special experience.

[Bill Ryan]

I think this belongs here! (Though it's a little challenging to imagine Jimi Hendrix and The Monkees in the same context. )

Here's 19-year old Jimi Hendrix in the US Army in 1961, a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division.



Six years later, here he is at the Monterey music festival in 1967. In the first image, he's playing his guitar with his teeth. In the second, he's playing it behind his head.





No-one had ever seen anything like this before — because no-one had ever done it before. In the words of one music critic:

He arrived at Monterey as a rumor, and left as a legend.

That was 58 years ago. Jimi was dead 3 years later. But if Jimi were still alive now, he'd be 82 years old... which seems to be something nearly impossible to imagine.

[Tintin]

More of a curiosity piece here featuring a first edition print of J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit a copy of which appeared on the BBC programme Antiques Roadshow in December 1990. By that time the work would have been 53 years old. It was valued at £3,500 at the time.

According to the Tolkien Collector Guide website:

Aunt Jane (Neave) and Simon Tolkien's Hobbit. I don't know where the expert got the idea that Tolkien corrected 1500 dust-jackets himself to remove the extra e in Dodgeson. The book was brought in by Tracy Steinberg, Simon Tolkien's wife.

The book and letter were sold at Sotheby's English Literature, History, Fine Bindings, Private Press Books, Children's Books, Illustrated Books and Drawings on the 10th July 2003

469 (pp.294-5) - This lot consists of a First Edition copy of The Hobbit inscribed to Tolkien's aunt Jane Neave, together with a one page letter dated 22 September 1937. The lot description includes a few short quotes from the letter and the opening is reproduced in a photograph. It sold for £48,000.

The letter is also referenced on page 215 of the Chronology, J.R.R. Tolkien Companion & Guide by Scull and Hammond, 2nd edition.

The website also includes a link to a transcript of the letter which was never sent, obviously, and a little more information about that here:

Tolkien temporarily lost the letter and ended up sending his aunt Jane another copy (the one shown in the BBC programme - TQ) of The Hobbit with another letter dated October 6. He eventually found the original letter and kept it in his collection.[4] The letter was stuck to the front page of the book with tape and was passed on to Simon Tolkien after Tolkien's death.

(image from Antiques Roadshow programme)

[grapevine]

1967: Who Do KIDS Think is IMPORTANT? | Children Talking | Voice of the People | BBC Archive

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SbrxSTQfA50

(6:34)
Some of these testimonies really tickled me, especially the little girl who complained about the PM (Harold Wilson) and George Brown's handwriting.

[Tintin]

Olga Korbut representing the USSR at the 1972 Olympics performing her "Dead Loop" on uneven bars, demonstrating just how wonderfully flexible the human form is; that this is even possible. Sensational, and I was much too young to have appreciated this at the time, but with the benefit of the recording medium can continue to enjoy it today