Cake as big as your head

Some gems unearthed from the Films section of the ultra-uber-awesome Internet Archive. Links along the lefthand side for streaming or download for all of these.


First up is one from 1959 called Lunchroom Manners.

Sidetrack: I originally saw this in the midst of an old (1981) HBO special called "The Peewee Herman Show". This was a young Paul Reubens, pre-movie and TV career, doing a more risque and adult-oriented nightclub version of what would years later become his kids' TV show Peewee's Playhouse. Right in the middle of his show, he ran this geeky little short which features Phil, the archetypical blonde, blue-eyed (presumably, though the film is in B/W) 1950s fourth-grader. Phil and his classmates watch a lame puppet show starring Mister Bungles, an ill-mannered hand puppet, behaving badly in the lunchroom.

Here we see Phil trying not to emulate Mister Bungles and instead washing his hands before heading into the lunchroom. Guess nobody told him a little soap goes a long way and that it's not necessary to pump out a Mount Foamamanjaro just to clean off a little dirt.



Phil doing some apparent carb-loading for lunch. Hey Phil! Is that a big enough piece of cake or what?! As you can see, he needs both hands just to heave it onto his tray.



This next one is a bizarre little film from, what? The spring industry? There's a spring industry out there making films to promote a more spring-filled way of life or something.

It's called A Case of Spring Fever and it features some poor sap named Gilbert Willoughby, who while repairing his broken sofa, is punished for daring to complain about the pesky springs. He wishes there were no more springs and is immediately granted his wish by "Coily", an obnoxious, animated spring who subjects him to the hassles of a springless world.

I think Coily's animators intended him to be playful and funny, but every time he pops up to taunt Gilbert's unfortunate wish (Gilbert's pull-down window blinds won't stay rolled up without springs, Gilbert's car door won't shut without springs and so on and so on), his "No springs!" mantra becomes first creepy, then annoying and ultimately infuriating.

Here's our irritating helical friend once again taunting our hapless schmoe of a protagonist after he realizes the gas pedal in his car is useless, useless I say! without precious, life-giving springs. The nerve-jangling tension is finally resolved when Gilbert buckles like overheated tarmac and grovels to Coily to please, please, in the name of everything sproingy, can he just take back his anti-spring wish? Of course, he spends the rest of the film singing the praises of springs to anyone who cares to listen, and those who don't care, too. Which is everybody.

Hey Coily! Since you're already curled up, just go ahead and die already.



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