A 1985 documentary chronicling Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine" success

It's time to feel good!  Shot during the Waves' 1985 summer tour, here's a behind-the-scenes look at the English rock band during the summer of their greatest fame that lacks VH1-style freneticism or "polish" (read: ridiculous editing) and feels all the richer and more "real" for it.  Granted, it was just made to sell the (included) music videos, but it's still an enjoyable trip.  It also features "Walking on Sunshine" being played a few times, but don't worry, they've got other songs too.

1975's THE SANTA TAPES takes a behind the scenes look at a department store Santa

Scott Jacobs' timepiece is a great, if downbeat, documentary/interview on Art Baldwin, an Chicago Marshall Fields' Santa in which he talks about his career, the kids he deals with and lack of decent pension, all with barely a hint of holiday cheer.

Evening Entertainment: "No Small Parts" looks at the life and career of Warwick Davis

Warwick Davis has been a notable figure in genre film since playing Wicket the Ewok in RETURN OF THE JEDI, no matter how many layers of make-up his face is covered in.  The latest episode of "No Small Parts" looks at Davis and his career, and serves as a fitting mini-biography of underappreciated figure.

PROTEST - A short about a 1981 protest against CALIGULA

During the Vancouver release of 1981's Penthouse-produced all-star spectacle CALIGULA, the film's release found itself heavily protested due to "community standards," and this short doc features footage of the protests, mostly consisting of a bunch of people that readily admit to having never seen the movie in the first place.  Play faulty logic bingo! 

Good thing nobody can try to shut down the release of a movie today due to questionable content, right?

Evening Entertainment: Michael Moorcock on 1979's "Time Out of Mind"

"Time Out of Mind" was a 1979 BBC TV series focusing on science fiction and fantasy that I can't find a heck of a lot of info about, but it sure looks nifty from what I've seen.  This episode serves as a great documentary/interview on Michael Moorcock, the science fiction/fantasy writer, artist and Hawkwind collaborator, who turns 75 today.  Happy birthday, sir!

The Screen Gems logo causes panic in the mini-documentary THE S FROM HELL

The Screen Gems logo created in 1964 caused a strange sense of panic in viewers of a certain age, and Rodney Ascher's great little documentary short explores the varied reactions and memories to the logo.  Is it evil?  We may never know. 

Evening Entertainment: Documentary KING DONG looks at Len Cella, the creator of MORON MOVIES

Len Cella's deadpan, dumb-to-the-point-of-clever comedy resulted in a series of incredibly short self-made films, released as MORON MOVIES and MORE MORON MOVIES in the '80s, and making Cella a minor star as he and his work appeared on "The Tonight Show."  Simon Mercer's great documentary is essentially one long, fascinating interview with Cella, with a fair share of his work interspersed for good measure.

Evening Entertainment: ARCADE ATTACK: SILVER HEROES VS. VIDEO INVADERS is a tale of pinball against video games

Both arcade video games and pinball machines have reached an unholy alliance now, fighting for their lives in retro arcades all over the world, but Mike Wallington's 1982 concept documentary features plenty of opinions on both size of the debate, as pinball wizards and video game junkies face off.

Birthday buddies James Karen and Thom Mathews star in a a rare featurette about RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II

Today is the birthday of two stars of RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, James Karen and Thom Mathews!  So why not take a look at their most famous project's... sequel?  This little-seen behind-the-scenes news featurette about the ill-fated 1988 horror comedy follow-up features interviews with Karen, Matthews, director Ken Wiederhorn, and make-up artist Kenny Michaels.

BLADE RUNNER convention reel takes you behind the scenes of a classic

Created to promote Ridley Scott's masterpiece to convention audiences prior to the film's 1982 release, this promotional doc on BLADE RUNNER features input from Scott, Douglas Trumball and artist Syd Mead, along with plenty of behind-the-scenes footage and a look at the concept art.

A tour of the Ackermansion circa 1986

Today would have marked the 98th birthday of Forrest J. Ackerman, the editor of "Famous Monsters of Filmland" and one of the men responsible for making genre fandom what it is today.  This 1986 tour of his home, which housed a countless amount of horror and science fiction memorabilia, was conducted as part of a Pasadena City College student-produced show on cable.

Documentary SPADE: THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF SPADE COOLEY is a tale of western swing and murder

Western swing musician Cooley is the focus of this 14-minute documentary that takes a look at his music and the notoriety of the man convicted of murdering his wife in 1961.

Evening Entertainment: THE MOST, a documentary about Hugh Hefner featuring music by Dudley Moore

There have been countless documentaries on the Playboy Magazine founder over the years, but this was one of the first, a fascinating look at the man when he was a mere 35.  Plus, a great jazz score by Dudley Moore!

Happy birthday, Vincent Schiavelli - a mini-documentary on the life and career of the great character actor

Vincent Schiavelli, the immensely talented and memorable character actor known for his roles in GHOST, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEXT, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, AMADEUS, LORD OF ILLUSIONS, BETTER OFF DEAD and about a hundred other films, would have turned 66 today had he not passed away in 2005. Here's a great look at Schiavelli's life and career courtesy Brandon Hardesty's No Small Parts, a great webseries concentrating on character actors.

Watch This Thing - 1978 Student film mini-documentary on THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW at the Biograph Theater in Chicago

If you lined up all of the ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW documentaries end to end, you'd have a, well, a very lengthy thing indeed.  But this particular 5-minute doc is one of the earliest, made by Columbia College student Jim Doherty in 1978, emphasizing the RHPS fandom at Chicago's Biograph theater, and is certainly a fascinating time piece of midnight movie fandom in the Chicago area.  The Biograph is notable as the theater in which Dillinger was shot in 1934, and is no longer showing films today.  (I do, however, have great memories of seeing the likes of Jack Hill, John Waters and Doris Wishman there for screenings.)

Watch This Thing -1974 mini-documentary of an Afrocentric primary school in Los Angeles

This short documentary on the Ujamii Uhuru Schule Community Freedom School, an Afrocentric primary school in South Los Angeles, produced in 1974 by UCLA film student Don Amis is a fascinating timepiece of the Black Power movement of the era. The sole voice over comes from an employee of the school explaining the philosophies involved.