Author Archive: Retro

Produced by the Marine Corp. Documents the battle of Tarawa, one of the bloodiest of World War two. In color.

Dir. Frank Capra. Part of Capra’s “Why We Fight” series.Famous U.S. Army training film in WWII before theatrical release, asks ‘why we fight.’ The answer compares the ‘free’ and ‘slave’ worlds. Included: development of dictatorships in Italy, Germany and Japan, while anti-militarism and isolationism rise in the USA; a look at enemy propaganda; and the first acts of aggression. Walter Huston narrates a combination of archival footage, maps, and other graphics. Look at events of 1931-39 including Italy’s conquest of Ethiopia and Japan’s conquest of Manchuria.

Leni Riefenstahl’s documentary footage of 1936 Berlin Olympics. The film Olympia I – Festival of Nations and Olympia II – Festival of beauty were created on the specific wish of Adolf Hitler and were intended to spread Nazi propaganda. Despite the grim background to these games, the black American Jessie Owens won four gold medals, the Slovene Leon ?tukelj came second with his performance on the rings. The film includes the only known clip of ?tukelj from these Olympic games.

Most of the footage was taken by Soviet battlefront cameramen, but was developed and assembled into this film wholly within the USA.

It’s 1889 and the Cherokee Strip is about to be opened to settlers. After cowboy Dan Carver helps move the Box K cattle off the strip he meets Molly Lassiter. Attracted to her he decides to try to file on the Box K ranch for her. But when he returns to the strip to check for stray cattle, he is arrested as a Sooner and is now unable to participate in the land rush.

Outlaw leader “Draw” Egan, believed dead, turns up in the town of Yellow Dog. The townsfolk believe him to be William Blake, a strong and law-abiding man. They appoint him sheriff to rid the town of the hoodlums who have nearly taken over. He does so with dispatch, becoming a genuinely lawful and respected member of the town’s society. But then Arizona Joe, one of Egan’s old gang, shows up in Yellow Dog, threatening to expose Egan if he doesn’t help his old comrade take over the town.

In the wayward western town known as Hell’s Hinges, a local tough guy is reformed by the faith of a good woman.

While the original title, “Trailing the Killer” isn’t a misnomer, it was a bit misleading since the “trailer” is a dog named Caesar Caesar the Dog) and the killer is a mountain lion, aka as a cougar or puma the narrator was quick to point out. But the makers also pointed out that Caesar “is the most intelligent dog actor since Rin-Tin-Tin” which probably lured a few Rin-Tin-Tin fans with a show-me attitude. Caesar prowls around the woods of the Northwest, dispatches a rattlesnake, visits his she-wolf mate and their pups, pauses to watch the dainty habits of a raccoon personally washing every morsel of food before eating it—and that raccoon had enough food to use up several minutes of running time—and then saves sheepherder Pierre (Francis McDonald)) from getting et up by one mean mountain lion. Rin-Tin-Tin he ain’t, but then who was? Commonwealth changed the title to “Call of the Wilderness” when they [...]

A young woman finds herself trapped by a bandit gang. Rather than be raped by the gang, she commits suicide. When her brother finds out what happened, he turns to a life of banditry, hoping to find the gang responsible for his sister’s death.