Trailer Choice: Not such a shrewd move…

‘See the cruellest man-killers ever photographed’ read the graphics on the trailer for ‘The Killer Shrews’ (1959). What could these fearsome beasts be, one wonders, is it sharks maybe, or bears? No, it’s dogs wrapped in hearth rugs of course! We love a b-movie monster here at Clips & Footage and the killer shrews are some of the best.

The premise: on a remote island a mad scientist attempts to cure world hunger by creating half-size humans, his experiments have unfortunate side effect of producing gigantic shrews with a ravenous appetite. To make matters worse, when these shrews devour the rat poison meant to kill them it instead gives them a venomous bite. ‘Your flesh will crawl at their terrifying nearness’ the voiceover says, or you may just laugh at the unconvincing disguise the dogs are wearing. Either way, it’s brilliant schlock horror not to be missed.

Mad For Mad Men...

Why do we all love Mad Men?  We can't be nostalgic about the chain smoking, casual chauvinism and racism that were big fixtures of the early 60s so could the secret of the success of this cult TV series be the sheer unbridled optimism of that decade in which  the American Dream was writ large?  For the first time in history a glamorous lifestyle was not confined to the rich: mass production meant mass consumption. Along with the cult of the consumer, new technologies and materials were finding their way into the home and design took centre stage. It is this aesthetic that Mad Men captures so absolutely. The following clip from The American Look (1958) shows how advertising made domestic appliances cool.

The authentic visual style of Mad Men is not confined to the hairstyles, clothes and furniture used on set but extends to the cinematography which has abandoned the intense, hand-held shooting style of contemporary dramas for the elegant, considered classicism of the dolly shot.This clip from a General Motors ad from 1960 shows how high production values saturated commercials made at the time.

Fundamentally, Mad Men is not only gorgeous, well-made and authentic but is cool in a grown-up sexy way that is personified by characters like Christina Hendricks and Roger Sterling.

Psycho killer que est-ce que ce est? Or why we don't like shower curtains

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the release of Hitchcock's classic film Psycho. Like any film directed by Hitchcock, the promo he produced to trail Psycho is full of in-jokes and recurring themes and devices.  In the promo Hitchcock takes us on a tongue-in-cheek guided tour of the Bates Motel accompanied by his trademark jaunty music.  This clip shows the mother's bedroom which is, as Hitchcock remarks, "still beautifully preserved".



He then takes us to the top of the staircase where the private detective played by Martin Balsam is murdered.  Staircases recur in many of Hitchcock's films.  In Vertigo, for example, the stairs up the church bell tower are an important feature in the film while Suspicion includes a scene where Cary Grant slowly, menacingly ascends a staircase.  Birds, another of Hitchock's favourite devices, feature in the Psycho promo in the form of taxidermy with which the Anthony Perkins character surrounds himself. 



In the bright light of the fateful motel bathroom, Hitchcock teasingly creates a shadow of himself - another of his famous  and playful trademarks.Finally, Hitchcock shows opens the lid of the toilet where "an important clue was found".  The censors wanted to cut the scene in the film in which Janet Leigh flushes the loo finding it shocking, and impish Hitchcock couldn't resist drawing attention to it in the promo.

A State of Independence

Fifty years ago the political map of Africa was changing fast with several countries such as the Ivory Coast, Mali and Ghana attaining independence.  Just forty years before, a handful of developed countries in the west controlled almost 700 million people in overseas colonies including Africa.   Here a colonial foreman oversees the work of the "trained natives" in Kenya.



But dissatisfaction with their colonial masters was growing, particularly in Kenya. The Mau Mau uprising took place between 1952 and 1960 when the incumbent British governers attempted to squash a rebellion by an anti-colonial political faction called 'Mau Mau'.  This action inspired many other African nations to fight for independence.  This rare clip shows a British colonial couple showing off what was an essential accessory for them in Kenya c1954. 



Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and its third largest economy, was granted independence in October 1960.  While the Queen remained as Head of State and the Commonwealth, Nigeria was handed power to establish and run its own defence, fiscal and diplomatic infrastructure.  Nigeria's independence was greeted with great optimism given its rich mineral deposits and oil and gas reserves.  Here is some footage of Nigeria's independence celebrations.



Although some African countries made a relatively straightforward transition to independence, the Belgians were criticized at the time for their ill-conceived exit strategy from the Congo which left the country in a state of chaos.  The following newsreel clip shows the terrifying conclusion  for Patrice Lumumba, the Congo's first Prime Minister, as the country descended into civil war.