frantone

Paper Chromatography (1961)

This 16mm reel has lost all its color, but what a document it is of a time when spending all day hovering over open beakers of ether and acetone (or mixing them together - even better) was just fine.  You'd come-to eating a sandwich in a strange place having no idea how you got  there or what it was you'd been doing all day.  Oh, those free-wheeling days of science!  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/eTGZkjz44hw<...

Sea Stars (1987)

Did you know that sea stars have no brain but are excellent hunters, and that they are operated completely by hydraulics?  It's True!  Learn more about the fascinating world of sea stars and their cousins in this film - yes, it is from 1987 - the newest print that I own that I did not shoot.  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/mtzmmH4pP4E

Sprechen Sie Deutsch? (1964)

The lesson of this 16mm film is simple - If you fly to Frankfurt, and a creepy guy walks up to you asking if you speak German, and if you tell him that no, you are actually learning German, and he hands you a rose and asks you to wait while he corrals other people who are also learning German - this is important - Do NOT take the rose!  Just RUN!   Okay...   enough learning for today.  Enjoy!

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Film Update!! (2021)

Almost to the bottom of the barrel, but I wish I could show you more!

https://youtu.be/ZhERDH-WnCE

Thermometers And How To Use Them (1964)

If you think I did a bad job of color correction, just skip to the end and see the clip I put in of the unaltered original.  But even without color this film is chuck full of info about our friends the thermometers  - and all the hard work they do all day in our lives.  Yes, the  unappreciated glass tubes filled with harmless fluids that you stick in  your mouth, your food, and your lives.  Appreciate your thermometers!   One day.... they could all be g...

Leisure In The USSR (1963)

Back in the US - Back in the US - Back in the USSR!  Well, this vintage 16mm reel is a slice of life from the other side of the Iron Curtain circa 1963, and as you can see the Soviet Union was a friggin Paradise!   First and foremost, you have religion.... of course.   But it doesn't  stop there - the amusement park clowns are scarier, the airplane rides for your kids have real engines on them with real props - none of this fake shite...  They dance!  T...

Maps Are Fun! (1946)

They sure are!  The color may have escaped this vintage 16mm Coronet print but not the FUN!  Back in the days when Cartography was a rough-and-tumble adventureland of daily excitement to be savored at any desired scale you choose.  I easily would have been a map maker back in the day... and with all this fun they're having, wouldn't you???  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/sp8G-yXa_1I

Work Print For An Electronics Film (1969)

Another one of a kind 16mm reel, this time in glorious Ektachrome!  This one has my narration since it is a silent reel but I know nothing about who shot this, or if it ever became a finished film, or if there are published copies of the final version still in existence, but I'll talk about what I see as I see it.  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/5NhLemyA7os

Appreciating Our Parents (1950)

This early 16mm Coronet film is right in the Mr. Bungle tradition of better kid-making.  Tommy sees that his parents work really hard.... and he thinks - "Goshers!  I wanna work really hard too!"  Yea, you get the idea.  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/Z-lIuvoJRpw

Let's Go Out Together - In Philly!!! (1977)

Oh, this 16mm film hits one straight to my Philly heart!  A class trip out in Philly in 1977?  I'm there!  The title song is written and performed by Philly's very own Michael Bacon (Of the Bacon Brothers) so the only way this could be more Philly is if one of these kids was Questlove.  Well, that's probably not true, but I am glad I am able to put  this little gem of a reel up on the YouTubes for all of ya to see.   Enjoy!

2021-12-10 19:18:20 +0000 UTC View Post

Space Quest 1965

This 16mm NASA film is an overview of the accomplishments of 1965, with lots of satellites, Moon shots, the completion of Saturn 1 and the launch of Saturn 1B, the completion of Gemini with lots of great footage, and the Apollo 1 spacecraft in testing.  Brought to you by NASA in stunning Technicolor!  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/WuQudkzaTwk

Saturn One And Gemini Prepare For Apollo (1964)

Every frame of this 16mm film is historic - First we see the successful completion of the Saturn One program, and the preparations and simulator training for Gemini.  Also included are a number of notable satellite launches and several early Moon shots leading up to the eventual soft landings of the Surveyor series.  Brought to you by NASA in glorious  Technicolor!  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/-ICM8Ksb0mI 2021-12-10 19:16:35 +0000 UTC View Post

Building Kennedy Space Center: Launch Complex 39A (1964)

Every frame of this 16mm film is historic!  You really want to know where some of those Billions spent on Apollo went?  Well here it is!  A seldom seen look at the Kennedy Space Center under construction, with the gargantuan machines, 7 foot thick roads, hundreds of specialized buildings and mammoth Thunderbirds constructions that became the world's  first fully functional Space Port.  Brought to you by NASA in stunning Technicolor!  Enjoy!

2021-12-09 15:28:34 +0000 UTC View Post

Pioneer 11 And First Look At The Space Shuttle (1974)

This 16mm reel forecasts Pioneer 11's approaching encounter with Saturn and gives us a rare glimpse at the early prototype Space Shuttle.   Presented by NASA in Beautiful Kodachrome!  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/Qy7IDBc39Pc

The Mission Of Pioneer F (1972)

This short and very worn fragment of 16mm film is from NASA and details the upcoming launch of Pioneer F (Which would be re-designated Pioneer 10 after launch) in 1972.  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/R_oJI2QjcOs

Telephone For Help! (1968)

This very worn and faded 16mm print is still a classic example of the kind of films I saw in school way back when.  "I've fallen and I can't  get up!!!" It's kids to the rescue - at home, on the ball field, everywhere... and lots of cool neato shots of the fire station and police dispatch switchboards.  Looks like a lot of fun!  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/zKB9rUwwsBY

Copyright Trolls And Film Questions

I'm gonna talk about optical soundtracks and the things I have to do to comply with the copyright rules on YouTube so that you can enjoy the films in my archive, and I rant about some other things too.

https://youtu.be/DEH88GMeOWw

Making A Science Film (1962)

A one of a kind 16mm reel of gorgeous Kodachrome from 1962 looks as good as it gets, and gives us a peek at an unedited reel of original camera footage from the production of an educational film about electricity back in the heyday of the genre.  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/9cWoUH291y4

Greedy Hank's Big Pocket (1970)

This classic 16mm Coronet film seems out of date in 1970, and the English narration might divert from the fact that it's actually German -  Ya, diese ist ein Deutsche film!  This animated short tells the story of a greedy kid who is given a smock with a pocket as bottomless as his greed and ambition.  This film could be titled "How To Grow Up To Be  Rich".  Enjo... er, Genießen!

https://youtu.be/z...

A Safe Ride On Your School Bus (1970)

A classic 16mm reel that hits close to home for me.  True story: in the winter of 1972 I survived a terrible school bus accident.  It was in one of these very buses shown in the film, where every kid in every seat faced a solid steel bar that ran across the back of the seat in front of them, and of course no seat belts or anything like that.  Well, one afternoon the school got dismissed early due to a blizzard, and on the ride home the bus collided head on with a PA State snowp...

Getting Ready For School (1969)

This classic 16mm Coronet film is in the "Mr. Bungle" style of showing how kids can turn their bad habits into good wholesome habits and go from being annoying scamps into productive citizens.  Get that homework done kid and get ready for bed - It's 7:30!!!!  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/Y_FPE-TVmd4

Apollo 16 (1972)

A great 16mm Kodachrome reel telling the adventure of Apollo 16.   Brought to you by NASA, right from my own collection.  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/mxiQ3m1vS1o

The Flowering Desert (1968)

Sadly a very faded print, as this would be more wonderful if the color were in full bloom - but I did my best to turn this completely pink 16mm reel into something more viewable.  Of course it has some Space stuff in it!  A good view of a desert tracking station towards the end - but this is a mostly a fascinating and charming little educational film about how desert plants do their thing.  I learned a lot!

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Plaster Sculpture (1958)

The title of this very faded 16mm film could be "How To Make Shitty Art" or perhaps more aptly, "How To Make Authentic 1960's Star Trek Scenery".  Filmed during the height of the colored plaster and wire frame Picasso sculpture craze of the late 1950's, this film may have  lost its color, but retains all of its weirdness.   Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/Ty7993gAqbw

Watch Mr. Wizard (1964)

This 16mm Kinescope of episode No.166 of Don Herbert's popular science show was recorded in New York in the early 1960's.  It is unfortunate that this reel has so much sprocket damage through the middle of the  spool, but still worth watching.  The date code on the Eastman film  stock is 1964, but taking into consideration the 14 year run of the  program series with over 500 shows in total and the episode number 166 on the reel, it would put this episode much earlier ...

Alone At Home (1983)

Some music had to be removed due to YouTube copyright rules.  This very 1983 reel is all about what to do and not to do when you are a latch key kid, taking care of yourself at home after school.  Like so many of my generation, we were expected to be able to take care of ourselves, and this 16mm classic would help guide the uninformed.  But in reality, we pretty much just did whatever we wanted.  Enjoy!

2021-11-30 14:56:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Satellites: Servants In The Sky (1977)

This very faded and abused 16mm reel is definitely dated, and would be considered today by some to be rather Colonialist in tone, but if you scan through the more cringe-worthy narration it does have some really good footage on Landsat and communication satellites of the late 1970's.   So....  Welcome to the last class on Friday - the projector is set up -  Hey... We're watching a movie!!!!  Enjoy!

2021-11-30 14:54:37 +0000 UTC View Post

Dodge Drive (1961)

This unusual one-of-a-kind 16mm film is a reel of poorly spliced in-camera shots on reversal Ektachrome, with some high speed photography thrown in.  Very likely depicting a proof of concept full scale model for demonstrating the "Dodge Drive" features to prospective customers in industry.  This film has seen better days, but the color is still  pretty good.  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/9OvyXTeUcb4

Flannel Boards And How To Use Them (1958)

Music was deleted to comply with YouTube copyright rules.  Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about flannel boards, this little 16mm reel comes along to put you in your place!  Yes, long after you really get what flannel boards are all about, this film just keeps on deep diving....  probably more than I really wanted to know about flannel boards...  but hey - in 1957 these were a really big deal!

2021-11-29 17:19:58 +0000 UTC View Post

Sell... With Personality! (1973)

Music was deleted or replaced to comply with YouTube copyright rules.   This interesting little 16mm film is from the Lacy Institute and  showcases a lecture on how to develop a winning personality for better  sales, but honestly it translates into a talk about what makes people  likable and persuasive.  Some entertaining asides have actors depicting  the scenes being described.  They put some money into this little  production back in 1973, so enj...