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7003
COMEDY - 1
Everyone enjoys a comedy, so here are eight films offering all sorts of fun,
transferred from 16mm to video using newly-restored prints and digital technology
to continue to make them available for all time in definitive versions. There
is a longer pause between items 4 and 5, to allow an interval to be taken
if desired.
THIS TAPE IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ROY WAINWRIGHT, FACI, IN HONOUR OF
HIS OUTSTANDING WORK FOR THE IAC AND AMATEUR MOVIE-MAKING OVER MANY YEARS.
| 1. |
THE THING FROM BENEATH THE BED!! Chris Jones (Lancs)
Around midnight, the mysterious thing that lurks beneath the bed jumps out
and goes darting round the house in a state of high excitement. We see everything
from the creature's viewpoint, hearing it but never seeing it. (It's the
director's own voice supplying the gurgles, by the way.) This made history
as the first-ever video to win the top amateur prize in the IAC's annual
International Competition.
This compilation uses the 16mm film transfer (lib. no: 1352) made by Colour
Video Services for the IAC Awards Show held at BAFTA on Sunday, April 2,
1989. See also lib. nos: FT/V 51 item 11, V 66 item 2 and FT/V 175 item 4
(unrestored versions).
IAC Daily Mail Trophy, Best Video Award, Best Editing Award, Best Sound Award
1989; Top Ten Video 1989 |
Humour
4.mins |
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| 2. |
THE MORNING AFTER ... Brian Dunckley, FACI (Newcastle Upon
Tyne)
A young lady (Linda Lewis) awakens to a messy flat after the previous evening's
party. Everything seems too bright and too noisy - and getting breakfast
is very, very difficult to manage ...
Transfer from lib. no: 1345. See also FT/V 51 item 12 (unrestored version).
IAC Gold Seal 1989 |
Humour
7.mins |
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| 3. |
THE STRANGE TALE OF ERNEST HUNCH Wanstead & Woodford
Cine Club (Essex)
A poem-on-film in which a gent
Into a spin is truly sent
When he sips a drink that makes him wail
And sets in motion this amazing tale ...
Directed by John Franklin and made over two consecutive Sundays especially
for an inter-club competition, this is a fine example of how with only a
handful of props, but with a lot of enthusiasm, you can make a memorable
comedy whose ending still surprises many years later.
Transfer from lib. no: 5066.
Ten Best Oscar 1963; IAC Commendation 1965 |
Humour
b&w
5.mins |
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| 4. |
ONE MAN AND HIS DOG Donald Black (London)
A young man (played by the film-maker) tries to telephone his girl-friend
(Penny Ross) from a call-box, but his efforts are constantly frustrated by
his companion - a massive St Bernard (Hennessey, trained by Colin Burke).
This is an enjoyable piece of visual story-telling - essentially a 'silent'
comedy - set to a clever music score by Pamela Liebeck (played by The Keele
Players) which fits the action precisely; and even the dialogue is rendered
in the form of descriptive musical sounds. The film-maker moved to London
in 1960 from Cape Town, South Africa, to study film technique. Soon afterwards
he began shooting this film in Parsons Green, near Fulham in south-west London.
Due to a lack of both equipment and funds it was 12 years before it was finished.
Transfer from lib. no: 3102.
Ten Best Oscar, Best Sound Award 1973 |
Humour
b&w
14.mins |
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| 5. |
LEGENDS OF DOO-WOP Tony Martillaro (USA)
Wayne (Wayne Morgan) and Rich (Richard J. Mortillaro) are two aging background
vocalists who claim to have been behind some of the biggest rock-and-roll
songs recorded in the 1950s and 60s. We see 'film clips' of them in youthful
action (Darin Morgan and Tony Mortillaro) and also 'stills of the era'. The
flashback performances are all in perfect synchronisation and it is extremely
inventive - and it's fun!
Transfer from lib. no: 1358.
IAC International Award (Open) 1990 |
Humour
7.mins |
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| 6. |
NIGHTWATCH Peter Ryde, FACI (Spalding, Lincs)
We are taken on a visit to Spalding's Urban Nocturnal Wildlife Study Centre
where the scientists have found a way to see 'night creatures' in the dark!
A beautifully written and delivered commentary and ingeniously contrived
visuals (including the use of single-frame animation) add up to a really
humorous and delightful film.
Transfer from lib. no: 1298.
IAC International Award, Best Humour 1986 |
Animation/
Humour
7.mins |
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| 7. |
THE NECKTIE Stan Whitsitt (USA)
At the IAC's 1989 International Amateur Film and Video Festival held in London
under the banner of movie 89, Helen Welsh, FACI, of Albany, New York, brought
over a programme of films for one of the events - the 'USA AND CANADA EVENING'.
One of the films Helen showed was this modest short and it caused much amusement.
It quickly found its way into the IAC Film & Video Library in this slightly
abridged version. It is about a man who, despite preferring his favourite
narrow neckties, finds plenty of ways to use his more fashionable wider ties.
Transfer from lib. no: 1346. |
Humour
4.mins |
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| 8. |
THE GREAT PRAM RACE Finchley Cine Society (London)
One can never resist the invitation to join the fun and fantasy world of
FCS and this fast-moving slapstick comedy will not disappoint. Directed and
photographed by David Wyatt, it has enormous energy and is full of incredible
set-pieces. Its crane shots are filled to the frame-edge with members and
friends of the society dressed in all sorts of apt(?) costumes and playing
all sorts of roles. Imagine being a shopper in Finchley on a busy weekend
and finding yourself in the midst of a filming session involving 15 prams
whose 'drivers' are all slithering about on banana skins! And whatever you
do - do not join the bus queue!
Transfer from lib. no: 1189.
Ten Best Oscar 1979; IAC Very Highly Commended 1979 |
Humour
11.mins |
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Price: £3.00 (Donated by Valrie Ellis, FACI) Total
running time VHS 59 mins.
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