These films were taken, fully or in part, within a couple hundred miles of Palm Springs, California. The captions in [brackets], whenever possible, include labels from the original item in “quotation marks.” We add estimated dates and other details. For best viewing experience, choose the 720p setting or higher setting on the player.
#739. [“Around the Trailer Court; Vernon’s Visit; Camping Out; Las Vegas; Airplanes; Death Valley; Calico Ghost Town; (Grand?) Canyon – Going In and Out; Calif. Hwy. 88; Lone Pine Camp; Grandkids; Scenery Along Ocean by Marineland and San Pedro, Also Long Beach; Trailer Court,” 1960s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Scenes of daily living on a street off a major road, visiting with family in the front yard, going camping out in a desert area, young children playing on a rocky beach, shots of the beach, ocean, and cliff from above near a stadium, POV from a car driving by Marineland and through San Pedro, visiting Calico Ghost Town, POV from a car driving through canyon-filled countryside and Zion National Park, spotting jets flying in the distance, more driving, now through Death Valley, a quick stop at a roadside attraction / gas station, then driving again (along Highway 15?), camping at a wooded camp site, then scenic views of mountains and possibly Lone Pine Lake. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#579. [“On Way to Calif., Mexico, Xmas in Calif. 12-25-61, Oil Wells.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Notes with the film: “Turnpike Oklahoma; the trees are in Texas; Albuquerque, N. Mexico; Our house at 7211 Motz St., Calif; the night before Christmas day at our house; Amy and Rosie; Betty and Bob Collette; on the way to Mexico and oil wells at Long Beach, Calif.”
#164. [“Southern Calif. and Mexico,” ca. 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Latines or Chicanos/Chicanas enjoying a West Coast beach with some drinks and corn on the cob. Three women on shore strip down to their swimwear. Douglas Oil and Gas Company service station. Women disembark a tour bus, unknown location (perhaps San Diego or Tijuana?) Description by board member Sean Savage.
#116. [“Farmers Market, Universal Studios, Part I”, after 1978.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Bakery window with cakes and pastries. Farmers Market (3rd & Fairfax, Los Angeles) with glimpse of CBS Television City. Barengo wine cellars tasting room. Universal Studios tour: rock slide, Lucille Ball dressing room, tour guide and rear projection demonstration with San Francisco cable car. Description by board member Sean Savage.
#87. [“Memorial Day,” — San Diego to Tijuana, ca. 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. A family goes on vacation visiting locations in San Diego, Lakewood, and Tijuana: a girl plays in the pool of a motel the family is staying at, shots of (presumably) the San Diego zoo and various animal exhibits, mother and daughter at the petting zoo, the family walks around a large fair that’s been set up in the Lakewood Center parking lot (you can see the original May Company and Buffums’ buildings in a couple of shots), a bit of the Lakewood Pan American Festival Parade, panning shots of the streets of Tijuana, a show with penguins and seals at SeaWorld, the family walks and plays along a beach then walks through some beautiful flower fields near the coast (possibly in La Jolla), then grilling with the family out on an apartment balcony. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#139. [“Laguna Vacation, Disneyland, 1960.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Waterskiing on lake. Relaxing on ocean shore. Disneyland main gates. Family enjoys park beginning with meeting Minnie & Mickey. Main Street flower market. POV of park from monorail. Autopia. Matterhorn bobsleds. Caterpillar cars, Alice in Wonderland. Dumbo ride. Casey Jr. Circus Train. Aerial park views. King Arthur Carrousel. Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Three Little Pigs greet children. Frontierland. Indian Village. Mark Twain Steamboat. Cascade Peak waterfalls. Main Street trolley. Saxophone quartet. Kids in Carnation milk wagon. Description by board member Sean Savage.
#108. [Vacationers on Catalina, etc., 1949-1950.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Shots of the L.A. harbor including the S.S. Avalon, POV from aboard the S.S. Avalon as it leaves The Catalina Terminal (located at 100 W. Water Street, Berths 184 and 185, Port of Los Angeles, Wilmington, CA) for Catalina Island (including a shot of a Miss Catalina speed boat racing by), touring Catalina: the landing area and shops, POV from a bus or shuttle driving around the island, shots of the harbor from above; a man posing in front of El Toreo de Tijuana, a view from inside the Toreo and part of a bullfight, then views of San Diego Bay and the Star of India ship (part of the Maritime Museum of San Diego), and a big group of deaf people hanging out in a courtyard/park chatting in sign language and posing for the camera. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#81. [Santa’s Village (CA), ca. 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Includes great footage of Santa’s Village near Lake Arrowhead.
#80. [“Big Bear Lake,” ca. 1940s-50s.] 8mm. B/W. Silent. Woman and several children play on the lake and swim. We did the digitization on this one — sort of a salvage job.
#261. [“Vacation in California, Colorado, and Family, July 1952.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. A family posing on a front yard, POV from a car driving through a desert, a man and woman posing in front of Joshua trees, shots of large buildings in a city (maybe San Diego?) and people on a beach, shots of various family members posing and playing on a (different) front yard, a man and woman posing with oil wells in the distance (possibly in El Segundo), a Maltha Refinery Union Oil Co. sign, a quick look at a rushing river then more of the refinery, a shot of what looks like Alcatraz in the distance, family posing by trees in Muir Woods, shots of palm trees lining a street, POV from a car driving along desert roads through Colorado, a “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign, family having a picnic at Carp Lake in Grand Mesa National Park (with some nice views of the lake), animal exhibits at an unknown zoo, family gathering and posing in a big yard in Gunnison, Colorado, hunters posing with their kill (a buck) on a scraggly mountainside, kids in fun Halloween costumes posing for the camera. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#238. [“Mt. Laguna, CA. San Juan Capistrano,” 1960s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Views of Mount Laguna before it was developed along with (what is probably) Lake Cuyamaca in the distance, and shots of Mission San Juan Capistrano’s exteriors, grounds, and outer hallways. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#233. [“Owl, Picnic, Tahoe 1946 — Death Valley.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Older children and teenagers with great 1940s outfits playing baseball, views of Lake Tahoe, group posing on Fanny Bridge in Tahoe City, scenes around Furnace Creek Inn (now The Inn at Death Valley), including the mule-drawn wagon train used in 1885 to haul borax from Death Valley to the Mojave desert, and folks relaxing around its huge swimming pool, plus POV shots from a wooden speed boat.
#222. [“KLAC Ranch Party,” Sunday, October 29, 1978.] 8mm. Color. Silent (sadly.) Country music radio station KLAC hosted its first annual (and seemingly only) “KLAC Ranch Party” at Montie Montana’s Rodeo Ranch in Agua Dulce, California, on October 29, 1978. Footage includes Montie (in the white outfit on/off a horse) and Elly Montana and others trick riding and doing rope tricks, Roy Rogers signing autographs (at 1:21), Rex Allen, Sr., (at 1:30) on stage and other musical acts performing (Rex Allen, Jr., at 2:55, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez — yes that’s his name — at 3:42), and a KLAC personality. Great panning shot of the crowd and surroundings. Here’s a full page ad in the Los Angeles Times from that day. Thank you Ken from the Valley for ID-ing some folks!
#740. [Black Church Gathering and LA Dodgers Parade, Los Angeles, ca. 1961.] 8mm. Color. Silent.
#283. [Seabiscuit at Santa Anita Park, March 2, 1940.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Santa Anita Park grounds with crowd, spectators in seats, a bit of the race Seabiscuit (#4) famously won. If you care about horse racing history, read Laura Hillenbrand’s book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend, or saw the 2003 film adaptation by Gary Ross, you’ll know that race 6 of the Santa Anita Handicap on this day was a momentous one for this famous horse and its rider Red Pollard! Together they won $100,000 and set a new track record for the mile and a quarter race.
#286. [Driving past Joshua trees, Newport Harbor and/or Laguna?, Double Exposure of Catalina Island sites over ruins and desert sites (Arizona?), 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. POV from a car driving past Joshua trees, shots of a harbor (possibly Newport Beach harbor?), POV from on the water of a mountain in the distance and houses along the shore, then shots of sunbathers and other beach-goers on the beach in front of those houses. Double exposure with Catalina Island sites over shots of the desert and a man exploring some ruins. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#307. A Mask for Me, A Mask for You (Gabriela Samper, Ray Witlin, 1967). 16mm. Color. Sound. Adventures in Art Series title. Mubi’s synopsis: “A lonely little [B]lack boy in Watts finds his way to the Watts Towers Arts Center (South Los Angeles) and finds companionship and satisfaction in creating masks and other craft projects. This ethnographic documentary describes the thoughts of this boy who likes to hide behind the security of paper masks.” [Note: a big thanks to A/V Geeks for restoring this education film to most of its full-color glory.]
#309. [Track and Field Olympic Trials in The Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, August 5, 1984.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Panning shot of Los Angeles’ Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park, and spectators from the stands. Track and field events include Jeanette Bolden winning Heat 1 of women’s 100 meter race, Carl Lewis winning men’s 100 meter semifinal race 2, and women’s javelin.
#310. [Family (From Indio?) at Disneyland, ca. 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Little boy punching wooden cigar shop “Indian,” POV of Native American village from river boat, and the same little boy trying to get Goofy’s attention. We have another film from this same family (#328) over on the “Our Region” page.
#314. [Living Room Dance Party, Griffith Park in Fog, 1967.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Delightful film of two men dancing in the living room, two people at a street event, plus a glimpse of we think Griffith Park Observatory surrounded by fog. Reel indicates the film was shot in a house in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.
#330. [Disneyland Main Street and Character Parade, ca. 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Great footage of Disneyland’s Main Street, flower vendors, and close-up view of a parade with all the then Disney characters walking past, POV shots from aboard a boat, mariachis, and two women and toddler in a back yard. Possibly this is the same family as #310 above.
#275. [“Mexico, April 1963.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Amazing footage of a trip throughout Mexico from Mexico City to the countryside, including many basilicas, a gondola parade, donkeys drinking beer, etc.
#272. [“Lancaster, CA, Parade and Family, 1956.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Title card says “Our family grows…”, followed by three girls of different ages playing, then posing next to a camper trailer, then another title card, “We Try Our New Wagon…”, followed by a 1956 station wagon and road trip to Sequoia National Park, and then a long sequence of footage of a Shriners Parade in Lancaster, CA, held during the 1956 Fall Ceremonial.
#173. [(196?) Rose Parade, Family Pose, and Thousand Pines Baptist Camp and Conference Center, ca. 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. The Rose Parade from the stands (year unclear still, 1960s), the filmmaker’s family pose, and they go to Thousand Pines Baptist Camp and Conference Center to document the buildings, a man giving a sermon from an outdoor pulpit, the dispersed congregation.
#174. [“Monterey Club, Oil Fields, CA”, mid-1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. The Monterey Club was located at 13927 South Vermont Ave. in Gardena, Calif. It’s unclear where in Los Angeles the oil field they visit was located. The billboard for the housing development suggests this is an extant neighborhood in Lakewood, Calif., the West Coast’s version of Levittown, Pennsylvania. Lunch at Los Angeles’ famous Farmers Market, and some neat park. Read for more about the Lakewood development here and here.
#177. [“So. Cal., 1957” and Tijuana.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Adults and kids hanging out in a backyard, POV from a car driving through Coronado Island, by the Hotel del Coronado with various street vendors walking around offering wares, crossing the border into Tijuana and driving along a desert highway past numerous saguaros and palm trees, a young boy and a man walk around a rocky desert area, several young boys and a man play in a snowy front yard and slide down the street on a sled. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#184. [(Tijuana? and So. Cal.) Desert and Mission San Juan Capistrano, 1940s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. People hanging out in the streets of (possibly) Tijuana, a man and woman look out over desert mountains, the same man and woman packing their car in the parking lot of a motel, POV from a car driving along (Pacific Coast?) highway, Mission San Juan Capistrano exterior (kid in cute reindeer sweater), a man and woman holding doves near the fountains at the Mission, people touring the Mission and posing by the fountains. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#227. [“Coronado Island and on Ferry, San Diego, Calif. 1961.”] 8mm. Color. Pan of boats, shore from above, POV shot from inside car on ferry of San Diego and warships, then driving through desert landscape (possibly Anza-Borrego and/or into Mojave?)
#228. [“1955 Catalina.”] 8mm. Color. View from boat of Catalina, passing speedboats, the bird sanctuary on the island, the S. S. Catalina, a seaplane, bird sanctuary, folks on the beach, a marina full of boats, the Casino.
#230. [“Talmadge Tour of Southwest, Reel #1, July 1966.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. A great travelogue of the Talmadges (a middle-aged couple) through St. Louis (incl. the Dred Scott Memorial and the Gateway Arch), Albuquerque, a Native American pueblo and locals posing, the Petrified Forest, a Castle Film about the Grand Canyon spliced in, Hoover Dam, and finally great footage of Disneyland.
#237. [“Balboa Park,” ca. 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. San Diego. Shots of long-board surfing, kids and others fishing and horsing around on a pier, older well-dressed ladies checking out mid-century travel trailers, POV from car on the Pacific Coast Highway through approximately Encinitas or Carlsbad, grade-schoolers square dancing in the yard, Balboa Park where groups of folks parade in national costumes from around the world, a special focus on the Japanese group. We think this last bit was shot at the International Cottages in Balboa Park.
#241. [“(Grauman’s) Chinese Theatre, Actors, Actress Names, Footprints, June 1961 L.A. Trip.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Facade of the theater (The King and I is on the marquee), the wall of signatures on the Moulin Rouge theater with a couple close-ups, CBS buildings, wide shot of Los Angeles from hills above Hollywood (?), the Moulin Rouge nightclub exterior, and the Griffith Observatory.
#247. [“1964 Drag Races at Ramona, 4th of July Parade 1964, Clairemont Drive (Clairemont, CA), Flagstaff Ariz., Walnut Canyon, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Calico Ghost Town.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. (R.H. Widmer family?) Several drag races at the San Diego Raceway at Ramona, after which is an Arizona road trip, Hoover Dam, and back to the Calico Ghost Town.
#205. [“From San Diego to San Francisco, 1965.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Kutscher family home movie includes footage of the now defunct Bible Land in Temecula and the old Universal Studios tour. The makers also handcrafted some great opening titles. The possibly teenage daughter Carolyn was cameraperson. The family was from New Britain, Connecticut. Harry died in 1973.
#331. [“Bible Land Film with Sound,” ca. late 1960s.] Super 8mm. Color. Sound. Footage of the former tourist site, Bible Land in Temecula and they move on to a roadside attraction north of Escondido called the Glass Garden, and a quick shot of the sign for Hans Danish Farm Restaurant on Historic Highway 395 (now U.S. Route 395). Soundtrack includes voiceover walkthrough by the filmmakers and artist Bible Land artist Ted Conibear speaking.
#351. [“Newport Revelry (7/’40), Picnic Revels (8/’42), “COH on the Range (2/’34).”] 8mm. B/W. Silent. A home movie, edited by the maker with hand-made titles, includes fun times at Newport Beach, CA, a picnic in Lake Corpus Christi State Park in Texas, and military men conducting what looks like machine gun practice. More soon! See also #352 for more from this filmmaker.
#350. [“Arrowhead Snaps, Relaxing at Newport, Commencement, Dress Parade, Hiking in Fisk Canyon, Occidental College,” ca. 1940s.] 8mm. B/W and Color. Silent. B/W: Strawberry Peak viewpoint. Lake Arrowhead views (two in color!). Family with toddler trudge through snow. Collecting pine cones. Lounging, swimming, diving and kayaking in Newport Beach bay, a swimmer capsizes kayak. Outdoor commencement ceremony. Black-Foxe Military Institute (Hollywood) youth drills and marching band. Color: Five boys set out at the trailhead of Fish Canyon (Angeles National Forest) and eventually picnic at the falls. Campus sightseeing of Occidental College (Los Angeles). Description by board member Sean Savage.
#361. [U.S. Olympians and Sports Mom at Christmas, West Los Angeles, ca. New Year’s Day 1957.] 8mm, Color. Silent. Caccamise family film. POV from airplane window, Nellie Caccamise comes out of a small home (11530 National Blvd, Los Angeles — it’s still there!) to pick up the Los Angeles Independent with a headline “Happy New Year”, footage of the two Olympians (1956 and 1960 U.S. Olympian/hurdler Irene Robertson and Olympic alternate Rose Caccamise and her mother Nellie whose family’s films these are) running around, smiling and goofing for the camera, making phone calls, and more. We’re not yet sure who the blond woman is. [Note:Search for “Caccamise” on our site to see more of her family films and Women’s Track and Field Trials for the 1956 Olympics.* signifies Olympic medalists that year. Let us know if we’ve identified anyone incorrectly, or not at all.]
#349. [“Calif. Scene – Webers” pre-1941.] 8mm. Color. Silent. We originally placed this film on the “Holidays, Special Events, Parties, & Weird Stuff” page because it includes some interesting double exposure footage. The parade at the end, we recently discovered, runs down the fifth block of South Broadway in Los Angeles. The Shell Theatre you see was located at 547 S. Broadway. That theater seems to have been torn down by 1941.
#335 [“Griffith Park Party 1954.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Griffith Park, Los Angeles, CA. Donald Ramsay Lawson family films, donated by his daughter Beth Campbell. A big children’s birthday party with kids and adults, kids in cowboy costumes, opening presents, cake, etc. One man shows off his Polaroid Land camera. [Digitized by UCLA grad students in IS289-3 “Special Issues in Information Studies: Motion Picture Film Preservation” course, Fall 2022. There are some washed out areas, but overall they did a great job! See notes about the collaboration on the “Events and News” page.]
#378. [California Kite Festival, ca.1930s or 1940s.] 8mm. B/W. Silent (sadly). Radio announcer speaks with children who are kite festival participants, kids display and fly their kites. It’s unclear which location as there were several around the state. Possibly Carmel in 1931 or more likely the Ocean Beach (San Diego), which started until the 1940s, or the Twin Oaks kite festival of 1941.
#377. [Xmas 1952 Anne’s (Ken’s 2nd Wife) House, Xmas 1953, Tijuana, Mexico, Mt. Baldy – Snow, Mother’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Catalina Island, Forest Lawn — Paul and Elsie, Picnic.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Jay and Rowena Johnson film (from Whittier, CA). Two Christmas mornings, opening gifts, dinner, etc.; a trip to Tijuana, shots from the Mt. Baldy ski lift, playing in snow, Mother’s Day and Easter with family, laying flowers on graves at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Glendale), great color footage of Catalina, a woman and man on a lobster boat, back to Forest Lawn, a picnic, etc. [Note: This is the same family as #376 at right.]
#376. [“1954: Joyce 11th Bday, Mother’s Day, Will Roger’s Ranch, Yosemite Vacation, Knott’s Berry Farm, 4th July, Church Picnic, Beach.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Jay and Rowena Johnson film (from Whittier, CA). Joyce’s birthday celebration has children playing in the backyard, then adults and children play a game of volleyball together. For Mother’s Day, various family members gather in front of the house with everyone dressed up and wearing matching flower pins over their hearts. When visiting Will Roger’s Ranch (lost in the Pacific Palisades fire in January 2025), the family watches horses being led around an enclosure. Back at the house, mom, dad, and three kids climb into the car and drive away with a small trailer hitched to the car, presumably going on vacation. [Note: Digitizing this film was a bit of a salvage job. It was in rough shape and we thank Ping Pong Media for making it look this good. Due to significant damage, the reel does not include Knott’s Berry Farm onward. This is the same family as #377 at left.] Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#394. [“Catalina, Howard 1 Yr., Boats,” early 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Cute footage of presumably one-year-old Howard and his dad (or grandpa?) playing in the pool; then Catalina and harbor as filmed from an arriving ferry; then back to the baby and pool time.
#398. [“Thanksgiving, Xmas 1960, Mother’s Day…Harry & Family, Joe & Jay(?), Pets(?)….”] 8mm. Color. San Diego-area family celebrates the holidays, relax in the backyard and newly erected patio, pose in their Sunday bests, and go camping and motorbiking out in Anza Borrego. Crosslisted over on the “Holidays, Special Events, Parties, & Weird Stuff” page.
#382. [Old Universal Studios Tour, ca. 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. A ride on the old Universal Studios Hollywood backlot tour past set pieces in various states of construction and several famous neighborhood and city facades, getting out to touch and pose with film props for LandoftheGiants television show. kids playing and posing on an old wagon and old-western-style jail props. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#407. [Kleimer Moving Truck Driver Home Movie On The Road, ca. 1947.] 8mm. B/W. Silent. Home movie seemingly shot by a Kleimer Moving truck driver of places perhaps along his route? Footage includes Lake Arrowhead (we think!), either Kelso Sand Dunes or White Sands National Park in New Mexico, downtown El Paso, an Air Show where we see a blimp and a “New Douglas AD-1 Skyraider” among other aircraft, waitresses in a cafe near the old American Storage building on Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles along with city streets, City Hall and Pershing Square, perhaps The Grapevine in winter, Santa Anita racetrack, other bits and bobs, a team painting the dividing line down the middle of a highway, Deschutes River and coast in Oregon, young people drinking in the Melrose Cafe (5301 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles), and just a fun few seconds Hollywood Boulevard at night decked out for Christmas — right by the Pantages Theatre.
#393. [Big Bear, Snow Valley In Winter, Downtown and Lake, ca. 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Southern California family’s winter fun in the San Bernardino National Forest at Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Village, Snow Valley for skiing, etc.
#536. [“Alan – Graduation, Palm Springs June ’72.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. McCormick family films. Bolsa Grande High School graduation, class of 1972. Graduation ceremony, a day at the beach and a pool party. *The pool party also shows up in Stumpf#1. See more from this family throughout the website.
#537. [“Aug. ’71 – J. Grad(uation), Elsinore Beach.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. McCormick family films. Junior High graduation at we think Jordan Intermediate School in Garden Grove, CA; then a day at Elsinore Beach, and sunbathing on Huntington Beach. See more from this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#2. [“Aug. ’71, Lake Elsinore with Explorers.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family films. Fun camping and water fun on Lake Elsinore beach. Same event as end of #537. See more from this family throughout the website.
#414. [Wrestling Match (Bobo Brazil v. Don Carson), The Grand Olympic Auditorium (Los Angeles), ca. 1969-70s.] 16mm. B/W. Sound. Distributed by American Forces Radio & Television Service.
#439. [“Calif Trip,” ca. 1962.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Mytinger Family Home Movies. Ladies relaxing with martinis and cooking skewers on their poolside hibachi at the family’s Rolling Hills house, a birthday party, big group dinner, a stay at the former Erawan Garden Hotel in Palm Desert (then Miramonte Resort & Spa, and now Tommy Bahama’s), then they go to Torrey Pines resort in San Diego, Mission Valley Inn, and then to various stays and sites (including Kappa Alpha Theta sorority house) at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Then back to martinis and a hibachi and the family poodle. Search for more Mytinger Family films throughout the website.
#440. [Rolling Hills House, Wedding, 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Mytinger Family Home Movies. Footage includes the family and their poodle at their Rolling Hills house, visiting another home (Guy Germain) and other locations in Maine, a wedding there, visiting the University of Colorado Boulder, etc. Search for more Mytinger Family films throughout the website.
#506. [“Reel #1: San Diego Zoo…San Juan Capistrano…Corriganville Movie Ranch,” 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. This filmmaker (D.S. Jones) and others visit the San Diego Zoo, road trip through the mountains and countryside, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Corriganville Movie Ranch, and Marineland.
#426. [“Hot Dog Stand, Beach & Topanga — Horse, March 1964.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Starts off in Palm Desert where this family first seems to have purchased or picked up their new cart. There’s always money in the hot dog on a stick stand! They then parkby at a Malibu beach, and ride horses at stables in Topanga, Calif. (Los Angeles). Hot Dog on a Stick started in Southern California on Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, but founder David Barham had a stall at the Date Festival for decades too.
#519. [“Goofy, Pluto, Small World, Car Ride, (Indecipherable) Vacation, California Road Trip, Classic Cars, Dave, Disneyland,” 1960s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent.
#542. [“Review at Fort MacArthur, Shook & Gladys at Phoenix & Tucson/George & Louise, Vintage Dance Festival,” ca. 1961.] 8mm. Color. Silent.
Stumpf#3. [“Summer 1969 Catalina.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family collection. Family trip includes sunbathing and playing on the beach, posing outside a house where they’re staying, a seaplane taking off and landing, boats, etc. See Stumpf#4. on this page for the rest of the trip, and more from this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#4. [“’69 Catalina.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family collection. Family on the groovy Skyline Drive tour bus including great shots of the town Avalon and harbor from above, the shoreline, KBIG Ranch sign, Santa Catalina Airport, buffalo, and other sights. See the beginning of this trip in Stumpf#3 on this page, and more from this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#11. [“Beach, Mom & Dad, Universal Studios, Aug. 1966.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family collection. The family at what looks like an Orange County beach and neat footage of a day at Universal Studios. See the rest of this visit in Stumpf#12 on this page, more from this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#12. [“Universal Studios, Aug. 1966.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family collection. The rest of the family’s day at Universal Studios. See the rest of this visit in Stumpf#11 on this page, and more from this family throughout the website.
Stumpf#13. [“Jeffrey’s Birthday at Disneyland with Becky, Oct. 16, 1966.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Stumpf family collection. Family visit to Disneyland — all the sights including Autopia and the Dumbo ride. See more from this family throughout the website.
#710. [“Surfing Hermosa,” 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Footage of several young men surfing (and wiping out) at Hermosa Beach. They do a bit of sand surfing at one point (plus a sweet glimpse at an actual Woody wagon), check it out! Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#575. [“L.A. to S.F., 1961.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Apartment building; title: “The Cassidy’s”; Los Angeles’s Union Station, family on train, POV from train, San Francisco’s sights, SFO?, guy with camera, POV from plane, title: “The End.”
#219. [“Parties,” 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent.
#742. [“Aug. ’59, May ’60” + Holidays 1959.] 8mm. B/W & Color. Silent. Christmas 1959 festivities plus a trip to Santa’s Village near Lake Arrowhead, the beach, Huntington Gardens, and more. Notes on the can say: “Kids in Backyard – Aug. ’59”; “Kids in Backyard – Aug. ’59” (again); “Sultan – Vera – Aug. ’59” [includes Knott’s Berry Farm and posing with “Chief Red Feather” (James Brady, Navajo & Sioux), greeter in the western town, 1948-1983; “Santa’s Filage [sic: Village] – Aug. ’59”]; “Christmas – Dec. ’59”; “After Xmas day – Dec. ’59”; “After Xmas and beach – Jan. ’60”; “On the beach – Jan. ’60”; “Huntington Garden – May ’60.”
#738. [“Big Bear 1967; Grandkids Xmas 1967; Grandkids and Space Fair, Pt. Mugu (Calif.) 1967; Flight Suit.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Footage shot from the moving car: highway down from Big Bear and the San Bernardino Mountains, through the streets of San Bernardino, then through the streets of Big Bear; an older couple visit with their son’s family living in military housing it seems, probably in Pt. Mugu: playing with the grandkids in the living room at Christmas, family hanging out and goofing around indoors, grandkids playing outside in the yard during summer; son parachuting during a demonstration on the base, and a great shot of the Goodyear Blimp; several cool shots of an airshow on the base, then family time again back home in the living room. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#409. [“Lesson #1 Film, 4/6/1968.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Hugo Montenegro Collection.
#410. [“Guitar Class, 2nd Meeting, 4/13/1968.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Hugo Montenegro Collection. Update: In Canoga Park, CA. Hugo Montenegro and guitarist Ralph Grasso conduct a second guitar lesson for a group of children and young teenagers, including nine-year-old Eve Plumb (“Jan” on The Brady Bunch). See also reels #409 (for Montenegro bio) and #411. Click here to read more about Hugo Montenegro, who lived out his final years in Palm Springs. For information on Montenegro, see below. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed Initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#411. [“Musica Class, 1968.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Update: In Canoga Park, CA. Hugo Montenegro Collection. Hugo Montenegro and guitarist Ralph Grasso conduct a third guitar lesson for a group of children and young teenagers, including nine-year-old Eve Plumb (“Jan” on The Brady Bunch). See also reels #409 (for Montenegro bio) and #410. Click here to read more about Hugo Montenegro, who lived out his final years in Palm Springs. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed Initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#123. [“Death Valley 1961.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. This home movie documents what looks like a tourist bus visiting Death Valley National Park including sand dunes, Badwater Basin, Furnace Creek Ranch (now The Inn at Death Valley), Borax mine ruins, Scotty’s Castle, as well as an old stagecoach and Death Valley Railroad car. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#162. [“Disneyland,” ca. 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. In this home movie an unidentified family plays in a hotel pool, and goes to Disneyland where they document a former version of the Jungle Cruise ride (when the shoreline sites were still culturally insensitive), the monorail, submarine ride, Autopia, the tea cups, Storybook Land, all the fun rides… Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#415. [Disneyland and Family Scenes/Domestic, 1960s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Home movie footage includes a family’s trip to Disneyland where they go on the Mark Twain Riverboat Ride, shoot images of the park from the Monorail, and film the Goofy character on stage singing with a band of other characters and an unidentified singer. The family then visits a homestead in unidentified woods near and a home on what looks like a farm. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#421. [Disneyland, Christmas season, mid-late 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Home movie footage follows a family during a day at Disneyland during the Christmas season in the mid-late 1950s, including Main Street USA shops, posing with Alice In Wonderland characters, and visiting Storybook Land. Film is a tad dark at times. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#167. [California Attractions Including Marineland and Knott’s Berry Farm, ca. 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. This home movie documents a family vacation in California including trips to Marineland, Buena Park (Calif.) and Knott’s Berry Farm, and the beach and sea lions sunning themselves, at perhaps Carmel or Monterey. Trip seems to take place around or during Memorial Day weekend, 1976. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#434 [“Vacation 1966, Xmas 1966.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. In August 1966, home movie makers document the family water-skiing on Lake Shasta and camping, their visits to local sites such as Lake Shasta Caverns and Antlers Trailer Park (where we they may be camping), a girl’s birthday celebration at the campsite. Lots of water skiing. In December 1966, the family spends Christmas in Antioch (California we think?) according to handmade titles. They open presents, including a projection screen, visit with extended family, and undecorate the tree. The filmmakers record family members opening presents exactly the same way every year. See also 435 and 436. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#103. [“Beach ’54 or ’55.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Brahms family films. Virginia, grumpy toddler, and two other boys (one carrying a big cat) in yard, Summer, three boys at front door which is huge and round like a Japanese or Chinese house, mom and they load up their sweet convertible — kid melting down, gang at the beach for the day. Long Beach??
#90. [“Trial with New Movie Lamp, Dec. ’64.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Brahms family films. See others from this family throughout the site. Filmmaker Harold uses new camera lamps for shooting interiors, films Virginia arriving home with gifts, the kids while sleeping, domestic scenes, blurry close-ups of family and a Black man who visits (the Brahms present as white).
#472. [Scuba Training in Pool, Water-skiing, Huddle Restaurant, 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Aside from the unusual documentation of scuba diving training in a backyard swimming pool, this group of people also stops by the long-gone Huddle restaurant (a roadside/Googie-style architectural gem) in West Covina (Calif.); and they continue on to either Big Bear or Arrowhead Lake to water-ski. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#482. [“Mother’s Day Pool Party at Doreen’s, Long Beach,” 1961.] 8mm. Color. Silent. This home movie documents a day at Long Beach in early 1961. First they play on the beach, and then enjoy the rides, including one on live horses, at nearby The Nu-Pike (formerly The Pike) amusement zone located there until 1979 when it closed. This footage is followed by a pool party and backyard lunch for Mother’s Day. Levine Family (Alhambra, Calif.) films. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#500. [First World Hang Gliding Championships in the U.S., April 12, 1975.] 8mm. Color. Silent. This home movie captures the First World Hang Gliding Championships, held on April 12, 1975, at Escape Country, located in Trabuco Canyon in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County (Calif.). It includes the competitors, press in attendance, spectators, and aerial views of the site. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
FB#4. [“Kellogg Ranch #2, Feb. 1960.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films. This 1960 home movie captures a demonstration of equestrian skill, trick riding, cattle wrestling, etc., at the historic W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center (AKA Kellogg Ranch). It was by that time part of Cal State Polytechnic College (now University). Part of the Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr., family film collection. Search for more Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films throughout the website. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
Family bio: Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr., (1902-1983), “Parkhurst” to friends and family, worked at Technicolor for many years and was a Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) Governor 1969-1970. In 1974, he was awarded by the organization the Natalie M. and Herbert T. Kalmus Medal “In recognition of his outstanding leadership, during the 37 years of his technical direction at Technicolor, Inc., in the advancement of the science of color in motion pictures.” Frank’s wife Katharine “Davida” (Wark) Brackett, and their daughters were Patricia (Brackett) Coulter and Alison (Brackett) Howell. It is Patricia “Pat” Coulter’s son, Steve, who donated this collection. Frank and Davida lived in North Hollywood and other areas of Los Angeles. Frank Jr.’s parents were Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Sr., (1865-1951) and Lucretia Burdick (1868-1937). Frank Sr. helped found a Christian school in Pomona (Calif.) that served as the foundation of Pomona College where he initially taught mathematics and Latin, and later astronomy. The Brackett Observatory on the Pomona College campus is named in his honor. Lucretia’s father, Cyrus Burdick was a a co-founder of the city of Pomona, California.
FB#11. [“February 1957, Include in Xmas Reel.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films. This home movie documents Brackett children posing for the camera and grandchildren playing in a yard; ends with Davida, later Frank Jr., and two other older people posing outside of a different house. Notes from the donor on first appearances of family members in the film: At timecode 0:24 Patricia and her husband Ray; 0:30 Alison; 0:56 Kathy with teddy bear and later in pink (daughter of Alison); unknown friends with Davida and Frank, Jr., outside of another house. Part of the Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr., family film collection. Search for more Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films throughout the website (FB#4 on this page incl. a family bio.) Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
FB#15. [“2nd Part 1956, (Unclear) San Jose Trip”, Las Vegas and Hawthorne, Nevada (?)] 8mm. Color. Silent. Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films. Covered Wagon Motel, a stop at Thunderbird Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) and pool, San Jose (presumably) visit with toddler and young family. Part of the Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr., family film collection. Search for more Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films throughout the website (FB#4 on this page incl. a family bio). Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
FB#16. [“Fire & Air Shots, Sept. 22, ’57.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films. This home movie captures some domestic scenes of toddler Kathy (Alison’s daughter) playing in a backyard play pool at Frank Jr.’s and Davida’s North Hollywood home; at 1:02 Patricia, Alison, and David visit nearby. Then the filmmaker, presumably Frank Jr., joins a pilot and likely owner of a two-seater plane in an airfield. Frank Jr. shoots out the window of the flying plane and captures a fire along a ridgeline above a freeway. According to the date and given the region where the Bracketts lived, the fire may have been off C.A. Highway 99 in canyons near the Newhall area of Santa Clarita that started on September 21st. The film continues with aerial shots of houses and freeways, then the Hollywood Reservoir and surrounding hills, and lastly, the Mount Lee radio transmitter tower and the back of the Hollywood sign. Part of the Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr., family film collection. Search for more Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films throughout the website (FB#4 on this page incl. a family bio). Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
FB#17. [“Pierpont Inn, Dec. 1956.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films. In this December 1956 home movie the Bracketts stay with perhaps friends at the historic Pierpont Inn in Ventura (Calif.). Footage includes shots of the beach across from the inn and the grounds; the group posing at the inn; and a funny POV sequence where the camera person walks up to a house’s front door with Christmas decorations, after which a women fills her car with wrapped Christmas gifts and drives away. Notes from the donor on first appearances of family members in the film: At timecode 0:15 Davida seated on the right, and again on the far left at 0:25; and at 0:36 Frank Jr. on the far right. Others on the trip may be friends or other relatives. Part of the Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr., family film collection. Search for more Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films throughout the website (FB#4 on this page incl. a family bio). Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
FB#35. [“La Jolla, Oct. ’61.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films. In this home movie the Bracketts, with friends or family, visit La Jolla (Calif.), La Jolla Cove, stay at La Jolly Cove Apartments and Motel, and finally stop by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California (now Scripps Research Institute.) At Timecode 2:53 Davida poses on the motel balcony. Part of the Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr., family film collection. Search for more Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films throughout the website (FB#4 on this page incl. a family bio). Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
FB#22. [Kellogg Ranch Film, Desert Drive, ca. 1958.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films. In this ca. 1958 home movie, the Bracketts visit the historic W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center (AKA Kellogg Ranch) to observe horsemanship and trick handling as well as a visit with grandparents. They then, with friends, drive down what might be the Old Spanish Trail Highway through the Mojave Desert and Inyo County (Calif.) past the Badlands near Tecopa, and stop at a motel resort around there. Notes from the donor on first appearances of family members in the film: At timecode 1:27 Davida and Kathy, Alison’s daughter. Others in the film may be friends or other relatives. Search for more Frank Parkhurst Brackett, Jr. Family films throughout the website (FB#4 on this page incl. a family bio). Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
JS#86. [“Busch Gardens #1, 1973.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sczempka family films. Donated by Joseph Sczempka, Jr. See others from this family throughout the site. Woman and teenage boy posing with the Busch Gardens (Van Nuys, CA) owl mascot, bird show with parrots and cockatoos (cute!), a band performing on stage in costume, followed by a magic show. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
JS#91. [“Disneyland Space Stage, Joe, Donna,” ca. 1975.]. Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sczempka family films. Donated by Joseph Sczempka, Jr. See others from this family throughout the site. Disneyland footage: various Disney costume characters on the Space Stage in Tomorrowland performing with a live orchestra; a speaker or announcer at the podium with Mickey; the start of an orchestral performance. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
JS#93. [“Disneyland Space Stage, Joe, Donna,” ca. 1975.]. Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sczempka family films. Donated by Joseph Sczempka, Jr. See others from this family throughout the site. A large house’s exterior and front garden, a performance on the Disneyland Space Stage in Tomorrowland with Snow White, donor Joe as Prince Charming(!), and the Seven Dwarves, followed by a variety of Disney costume characters performing together. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
JS#94. [“Disneyland, KOK ’77, Lady America,” ca. 1977]. Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sczempka family films. Donated by Joseph Sczempka, Jr. See others from this family throughout the site. An American Patriotic concert (lots of red, white, and blue) on a stage at Disneyland, with choreography and Disney costume characters. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
JS#101. [“Disneyland, Parade, 1978.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sczempka family films. Donated by Joseph Sczempka, Jr. See others from this family throughout the site. Footage of a Disneyland parade down Main Street: Disney costume characters and performers on foot, floats, a marching band, promenade down the street, performers on penny-farthings, two-person elephant costumes. Fun! Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
PSFam1#6. [Disneyland, 1950s/early ’60s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Former resident of Palm Springs. See others from this filmmaker throughout the site. Seeing the sights at Disneyland: entrance, the Matterhorn, Tomorrowland and the Moonliner rocket, a ride on the Skyway, and various other rides around the park. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
PSFam1#26. [Disneyland, Frontierland, Native American Dance Performance, 1950s/early ’60s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Former resident of Palm Springs. See others from this filmmaker throughout the site. Disneyland footage: Adventureland and the Jungle Cruise ride, Frontierland and a Native American dance performance, riding the Sailing Ship Columbia down Rivers of America. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#711. [Groovy Burbank House: Dinner Party, Family Fun, ca. 1960s.] 16mm. Color. Silent. Portnoy family films. See also #708 on “Our Region.” Local Palm Springs family.
#728. [(So. Cal?) Family and Friends Posing with New Baby, ca. 1940s.] 8mm. B/W. Silent. Family posing with new baby in a large backyard, a horse race (Santa Anita?), getting a parking ticket, family posing with new baby in a front yard, couple posing by the street with oil rigs in the background, a woman and baby on a blanket on a lawn. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#750. [“Tommy (Party?) 8/’58, Santa’s Village 8/’58, Andy and Margie Party 9/’59, Kids at Pat and Harold’s with Kite, Golf Club, Kids at Easter, 1955 Indio.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Footage of Tommy (a toddler) in the living room and out in the backyard: family posing, playing with Tommy, adults hanging around, kids in a kiddie pool; kids flying kites in the street; kids and adults playing golf in the yard; Santa’s Village near Lake Arrowhead, CA: a sleigh ride pulled by reindeer, riding a small train, petting goats, picnic area, sitting on Santa’s lap, Santa’s Village sign; kids hula-hooping in the yard; kids’ dance party indoors (in a dance hall?). Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#760. [“Park,” early 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Alvarado family (Yucca Valley/West Covina). Donated by Diana Ionescu. See others from this family throughout the site. Outdoor family picnic at a park, POV from a rowboat on a lake looking at other rowboaters, toddlers playing in a yard, kids in the yard all dressed up, playing on a playground. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#761. [Easter Egg Hunt and Family Barbecue, early 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Alvarado family (Yucca Valley/West Covina). Donated by Diana Ionescu. See others from this family throughout the site. Kids and toddlers doing an Easter egg hunt in a yard, toddlers goofing off, family barbecue and picnic at a park, kids playing in the dirt. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#762. [Elementary School Dance Performance, Kids in Park, mid-1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Alvarado family (Yucca Valley/West Covina). Donated by Diana Ionescu. See others from this family throughout the site. An outdoor elementary school performance: kids dancing with ribbons or streamers tied on their wrists. The last half shows two young girls playing at a park playground with other kids. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#764. [“San Gabriel (Mission),” ca. July 1961.] 8mm. Color. Alvarado family (Yucca Valley/West Covina. Donated by Diana Ionescu. See others from this family throughout the site. Toddler with a tiny handbasket, a man placing flowers on graves, San Gabriel Mission: interiors (hard to make out) and gardens; a shot of the sunset over the water, POV from a car driving near the coast. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#766. [Toddlers and Family Fun, ca. 1950s + It Came From Outer Space (Universal Pictures 1953, Castle Films 8mm Version 1960).] 8mm. Color. Silent. Alvarado family (Yucca Valley/West Covina). Donated by Diana Ionescu. See others from this family throughout the site. Outdoor birthday party for a toddler in the backyard: lots of kids, cake and gifts, raucous fun; a mason building a brick wall; family fun in the front yard; It Came From Outer Space (Castle Films) is an abridged 8mm version of the feature released by Universal Pictures in 1953 (and some of it was shot in Victorville, Palmdale, and Mojave Desert!) Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#768. [“Gray Whale (Reeves),” 1970s or ’80s?] 16mm. Color. Silent. Donated by Christina Frausto. POV from a boat out whale watching: footage of gray whales surfacing and spouting. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#773. [“Bill Snider, Jr.,” 1970s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Student film. High school students in classroom/teacher talking, then two sets of young men walk off campus away from the school, main teenage boy protagonist walks off campus and sits on a retaining wall, waiting for a car with other teens to show up; teenagers – boys and girls – sit on the ground near some fruit trees and smoke (pot presumably), student protagonist walks into school, sits down in an office; door closes, and handwritten sign reads “Board of Education. Private.” Described by 2024 volunteer, Rio Maropis, updated by DF.
#780. [Adults Having Fun at Backyard Party and in Balboa Harbor, 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Adults at a backyard party, hanging out and grilling; Balboa Harbor: helicopter pulling a sail overhead (that’s a beer can?), docked boats and yachts, couple sitting on a docked yacht, then sailing on a tiny sailboat and posing. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#782. [All American Canal, Desert, Calexico?, 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Visiting the All American Canal: view of the surrounding desert and sand dunes, an “All American Canal” sign, the canal itself. Footage of various desert cacti: ocotillos, fuzzy “old man” cacti; more desert scenery from the side of the road. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#797. [UCLA Male Students On and Off Campus, post-WWII.] 16mm. (Faded) Color. Silent. This filmmaker follows a small group of male UCLA students dressed in suits around campus, past a building site, and to the YMCA; includes footage of a neighborhood (nearby?), two older women posing in front of a house, and a tennis match between two students. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#804. [“Wax Museum,” late 1960s or ’70s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Interiors of the Movieland Wax Museum (Buena Park, CA): various wax sculptures of religious and historical figures, classical paintings, then outside the museum: a David statue in California Plaza. A woman’s birthday party celebration at home: cake, gifts, and ice cream cones. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#810. [Knott’s Berry Farm & So. Cal. Family, 1956 or after.] 8mm. B/W. Silent. Two girls playing on the beach, a sailboat on the water in the background, the family getting into the car, Knott’s Berry Farm: girls posing with “Chief White Eagle” (1892-1984), an organ grinding monkey, various rides, mom and toddler on a merry-go-round. who was a greeter in the western town from 1956-1980 (According to the LA Times, “Chief White Eagle” was a Cherokee actor named Louis Scott who played Tonto in the original Lone Ranger radio series and toured in “Indian shows” and was in silent films during the early 20th Century. He’s buried in Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, CA — thank you to Knott’s historian/enthusiast Eric Lynxwiler for helping us ID.) You can read more here about White Eagle/Scott. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado and updated Deserted Films.
#813. [“Kiddieland (Beverly Park, Los Angeles), C.V. Wedding, Easter, etc.”, ca. 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Easter morning at home: family dressed up, kids opening Easter baskets in the living room, prepping the dinner table, kids posing outside; “Kiddieland” (a nickname for the amusement zone called Beverly Park at the corner of Beverly Boulevard and La Cienega in LA) and the kids going on various rides; children’s (school?) performance: girls in matching white dresses, Mother Hubbard backdrop, several dance routines, a play, kids singing, all wearing some kind of costume; grade school graduates in pink, posing with family; family posing on a big ship; outdoor wedding reception: bridesmaids, guests, throwing the bouquet, bride and groom posing. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#847. [University of Southern California (USC) Graduation, late 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Footage of a graduation ceremony at USC: parents arriving and getting seated, young man and his mother posing, graduates lining up, the ceremony, conferring diplomas, young man posing with his family, showing off the diploma, family posing in front yard. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#811. [“Laguna Beach, (Mark?), Steve, Bill, Me, Nov. 6, ’81.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Adults hanging out on a rooftop patio by the ocean, climbing the rocks at Laguna Beach. Has some nice ocean views! Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#464. [“Gas Model Flying,” 1939.] 8mm. B/W. Silent. This home movie opens with a hand-crafted title card that reads “Building and Flying a Gasoline Motor Powered Model Airplane” and what follows is a unique amateur-made demonstration film about building a gas-powered model airplane from scratch. It begins with reading schematics, and then cutting wooden pieces, building, making improvements, etc. which leads to a model airplane exhibition in Pomona (Calif.). Other titles include, exactly as written: “Covering the surfaces,” “Water tightens the surfaces. When dry dope is applied by brush or spraying,” “The model is powered with an OHLSSON 1/5 h.p. motor,” “Off to the field for testing,” “The first flight,” “As the initial wing proved defective, a new one is designed and built and again the plane is tested,” “Gas model snapshots,” and “Gas Model Contest at Pomona, March 5, 1939.” Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved.
#769. [“Highway (Scenic? 5?) — Los Angeles, Marineland, Dizzyland (Disneyland), Hattie, Miriam, Bill,” mid-late 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. San Diego family. See others from this family throughout the site. POV from a car on the highway, shots around San Diego: U.S. Naval Station, Old Town San Diego, Natural History Museum; POV from a car on a desert highway (64 and 93), “To Los Angeles” (misspelled) written in the sand, beach shots, “Disneyland” and “Marineland” written in the sand, stopping by the side of a beach mountain road, neighborhood shots, POV from a car on a different highway, a stop at a rocky area and a gas station, POV from a car of the desert, a rustic motel, more neighborhood shots, POV from a car on Highway 5 to L.A., visiting at a house, posing for the camera, trip to Marineland: seal show, dolphin show; trip to Disneyland: entrance, Main Street, Rivers of America, riding the Columbia, Frontierland, riding the Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland (shut down in the late 70s). Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#803. [“Deb’s Pool & Deb’s Wedding,” Movieland Wax Museum, So. Cal. Pool and Park Fun, 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Sound. Deb’s wedding: bridesmaids posing, the wedding ceremony, everyone filing out of the church; two boys running around a yard, (sound ends here) family eating around a table at home, men doing dishes then diving into a pool (Deb’s pool?), group having coffee and cigarettes, Movieland Wax Museum exterior and (pretty well lit) interior shots; teens or young adults dressed up, family having fun at the park, a picnic, then fun at the pool in an apartment complex, shot of an airplane flying low, girls around a table, family lounging in the living room. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
PC#1. [Carnute Family Visits Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Car Fire, Hoover Dam, Longhorn Ranch, 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Peter Carnute, Jr., family films. Donated by Liza Palmer. Digitized by students at University of North Carolina Wilmington. Further description forthcoming.
PC#2. [Carnute Family Visits Donner Pass and Hearst Castle, 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Peter Carnute, Jr., family films. Donated by Liza Palmer. Digitized by students at University of North Carolina Wilmington. Further description forthcoming.
PC#3. [Carnute Family Goes to Disneyland, 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Peter Carnute, Jr., family films. Donated by Liza Palmer. Digitized by students at University of North Carolina Wilmington. Further description forthcoming.
PC#4. [Carnute Family Goes to Knott’s Berry Farm and Marineland, 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Peter Carnute, Jr., family films. Donated by Liza Palmer. Digitized by students at University of North Carolina Wilmington. Further description forthcoming.
#516. [“#15 Vacation July 4-13, ’51, All Am(erican) Canal & Sand Dunes, San Diego (Unclear), Balboa Park Zoo, La Jolla, Palomar, San Juan Capistrano – 1st Reel.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Same family as #517. Packing trunk of car, odometer, All American Canal, POV from car of desert, sand dunes; San Diego — hotel, scenery, posing, beach Bay Park Variety Store to buy film, woman with camera, POV driving around, beach, San Diego County Administration Building and sculpture, POV of city streets, Balboa Park Zoo, Mission San Diego de Alcala, POV, Palomar Observatory, POV by beach, San Juan Capistrano visit.
#560. [“San Gabriel Mission 5-19-71, 200 Anniver(sary), 8-’71.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Parade (perhaps for the anniversary), neat floats, dancers, etc.; Mission San Gabriel Arcángel (San Gabriel Mission) Museum, folklorico dancers, Native American dancers, grounds and mission.
#561b. [Busch Gardens Ad Outtakes, 1968.] 16mm. Color. Silent. Outtakes for #561a. of the gardens, visitors, birds, etc. in Van Nuys, CA
#561a. [Busch Gardens Ad, 1968.] 16mm. Color. Sound. Busch Beer ad shot in the Gardens (Van Nuys, CA). MCIPA “Print of the Month” and “Merit Award.”
#569. [Young People Skiing at Snow Valley, Big Bear, CA, 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Man and woman skiing at Snow Valley. Cute.
#697. [LA County “Fair,” in September, 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Los Angeles County Fair – view from up high from monorail, Mexican Village, crowd shots, various performances.
#573. [Camera Seller’s Stand at (So.Cal.?) Swap Meet, early 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. People stopping by a camera seller’s booth and passers-by at a swap meet we think in Southern California. Help us ID it!
#574. [Olvera Street (Los Angeles, CA), ca. 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Tourists on Olvera Street in Los Angeles playing with pigeons and looking at souvenirs.
#171. [“American Indian Dance,” 1960s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Footage of young Native American men (Luiseño Tribe of Mission Indians/Payómkrawichum?) demonstrating various dances (eagle dance, hoop dance, etc.) to a Mission San Luis Rey (Oceanside, CA) audience while a monk or priest oversees. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado, updated by Deserted Films.
#604. [“Santa Barbara #5, July ’71.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Includes footage of Santa’s Kitchen in Santa Barbara! Likely beginning at Castaic Junction (“Ham and Eggs” diner adjacent to bus station) a tour bus trip to Santa Barbara, with passing views of Lake Casitas, the Lobero Theatre; stopping at an unidentified dining room, Old Mission Santa Barbara, Santa’s Kitchen in Carpinteria; surfers and rocky shoreline; back on the bus for home… Description by board member Sean Savage.
#605. [“New Camera — Moris (?), Sept. 1971” (Baskin Robbins).] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Caucasian woman with young son and daughter in kitchen, boy speaks to filmer behind “new camera,” saying grace, boy makes faces to camera, both children wave; sprinkler saturating lawn, other (neighbor) kids paired up on bicycles ride around cul-de-sac; with undercranked camera, mother and children hurry through parking lot for Baskin Robbins, inside they order their scoops and enjoy them with other customers, briefly inspecting the cases that contain other cakes and treats. Description by board member Sean Savage.
#606. [“1962 – Aug., Hwy. 1, Madonna Inn, Carrillo Beach.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. G.W. Belcher family. Pan down bluffs to the beach, family takes in sights at viewpoint, waves to camera; Madonna Inn (San Luis Obispo) sign and exterior views; family enjoys the beach: swimming, evading waves, digging in the sand; back home, two girls on skates by clothesline (brief). Description by board member Sean Savage.
#601. [Death Valley and Amargosa Valley Trip, ca. 1932.] 16mm. B/W. Silent.
#596. [Los Angeles Visit Including Olvera Street, Santa Anita Park, etc., ca. 1947.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#610. [“California Summer 1967 #1.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Same family as #611. Further description forthcoming.
#611. [“California Summer 1967 #2.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Same family as #610. Further description forthcoming.
#617. [“Vacation – Santa Barbara, Aug. ’57.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Gonzales family. Further description forthcoming.
#618. [“Georgie’s Birthday,” ca. 1957.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Gonzales family. Further description forthcoming.
#36. [“Las Vegas Daytime,” — and nighttime, early 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Caesar’s Palace – Tom Jones on marquee, wedding chapel nice nighttime neon shots on Fremont Street too.
#620. [“Easter Sunday at Home & Long Beach,” ca. 1960.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Gonzales family. Further description forthcoming.
#619. [“Big Bear, Jan. 1960.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Gonzales family films. Further description forthcoming.
#626. [Mexico, Border Crossing, California Beach, ca. 1960.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#628. [Men on Las Vegas and Hollywood Trip, ca. 1970.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#636. [“Western Trip, Reel #1,” April 1961.] 8mm. Color. Sound.
#643. [Military Families and Friends Hang Out, Thanksgiving, Las Vegas, and Disneyland, ca. 1960s/early ‘70s.]
#652. [“Dec. 25, ‘60 Carlsbad Ocean, Surfboarding.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. A Ted Sequin film. Further description forthcoming.
#659. [“Jay & (Page?), Bond Club,” ca. Dec. 1960s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. A Ted Sequin film. Pasadena, CA. Men in the (Los Angeles or Pasadena?) Bond Club exit building and stand around, meeting/drinks. Perhaps a luncheon. Note the red bomb shelter sign on the sidewalk. Crosslisted on our “Melissa’s Obsession: Work and Social Club Parties” page.
#683. [Griffith Park, Pony Ride, René, Lincoln Park Sunset,” ca. 1959.] 8mm. Color. Silent. A Melina M. Oscislawski film. Further description forthcoming.
#685. [Family Goes to Sea World, Lion Country, Toddler, Christmas, Japanese Village and Deer Park, ca. 1971.] 8mm. Color. Silent. description forthcoming.
#701. [“G.C.S. (Guidance Center Sanitarium in Anaheim, CA) Snow Trip, 1-18-’75.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#704. [Death Valley, ca. 1973?] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#729. [Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden (Arcadia, CA), Hotel Del Coronado, ca. July 1970.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent.
#855. [Disneyland, Erecting Large Antenna, Ladies Playing Cards, Wedding, POV from Plane, Stovall’s Inn of Tomorrow, Anaheim Streets, ca. 1969.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent.
#851. [So. Cal. Couple’s New Baby, Sweet Car, Big Bear and Lake in Winter, Santa’s Village, ca. 1957.] 8mm. Color. Silent.
#852. [“Disneyland July 18th, 1962 #1 Roll, Coming In – Jungle Ride – Columbus Ride.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Same family as #853. Further description forthcoming.
#853. [“Disneyland July 18th, 1962 #2 Roll, Muleback Ride – 3 Ronnie Little – Pigs & Wolf – Cars, etc.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Same family as #852. Further description forthcoming.
#854. [Griffith Park, Ronnie as a Toddler, Board Ride on Big Bear Lake, May-July, 1958.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Same family as #851. Further description forthcoming.
#787. [Ladies at Calico Ghost Town, 1950s.] 16mm. Color. Silent. Two women and a teenage boy tour Calico Ghost Town, with panning shots of the town and the surrounding desert. Description by Pathways Summer intern (2024) Janeth Delgado.
#859. [Calico Ghost Town, ca. 1960.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#889. [Los Angeles (Incl. Olvera Street), Palomar Observatory, Solar One Electric Plant, after 1982.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#886. [Santa’s Village, 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#884. [1976 – Kids on Alpha Beta Bakery Tour.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#880. [“July 1953, Knott’s (Berry) Farm.”] 16mm. Color. Silent. Marcus Decker family films.
#868. [“7/‘78 Go To Denmark.”] Super 8mm. Color. Sound. Starts out at LAX. Further description forthcoming.
Kerry Marcus
During Summer 2025, Norma Marcus donated her husband Kerry Marcus’ home movie collection after his unexpected death in March 2025. Kerry and Norma, creatives and massage therapists, had attended a couple of our holiday shows at the Palm Springs Cultural Center and Kerry expressed to Norma his wish to donate his family films to Deserted Films in the future. We are so honored to have the films (and, thanks to Norma, access copies) which were shot by Kerry’s father Irwin Marcus (1928-1984) who was a Quality Control Engineer at Douglas Aircraft (likely the Long Beach location). [Continue reading…and watch his home movies!]
#906. [“‘76.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#911. [Fishermen’s Fiesta in Port of Los Angeles/San Pedro, September 2, 1962 and A Crowd Looking at Rose Parade Floats on Display, January 1, 1962.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#895. [Day Trip to Tijuana, 1969.] 8mm. Color. Silent.
#684. [“Aug. 1981, Solvang, Coming Home From Grand Lodge.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#930. [Santa Barbara: Mission, Santa’s Kitchen, and Beach, July 1962.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#907. [“Rockets, Del (Monte?), Desert & Fourth of July, California,” 1946 & 1947.] 8mm. Color & B/W. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
RAK#1. [“Disneyland and Club 33, 8-30- 1992.”] VHS. Color. Sound. Robert Allan Kutcher collection. Further description forthcoming.
RAK#2. [“Goodyear Blimp — Spruce Goose — Queen Mary — Bees — Volcano — Dr. George — S.C. (San Clemente) Pier,” 1980.] VHS. Color. Sound. Robert Allan Kutcher collection. Further description forthcoming.
RAK#3. [“Death Valley Trip, March 24, 1981.”] VHS. Color. Sound. Robert Allan Kutcher collection. Further description forthcoming.
RAK#4. [“Baha (Baja) Cross, Bob in Car,” ca. 1980s.] VHS. Color. Sound. Robert Allan Kutcher collection. Further description forthcoming.
#912. [“June 1967 Expo Park, Disneyland, Pop & Manny’s Visit.”] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#921. [Victor Hugo Restaurant in Laguna Beach, Surfers at Dana Point, ca. September 1962.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#82. [Southern California Family Visits to Knott’s Berry Farm and Mission San Juan Capistrano, 1956 or later.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed Initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
#924. [“Hollywood Homes,” ca. November 1969.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Further description forthcoming.
#925. [Behind the Scenes on the Set of “Harry and Walter” Go To New York (Mark Rydell, 1976) ca. 1975.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent
GB#36. [“San Diego Zoo,” 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sam Simnowitz Family Films. To read more about Simnowitz and watch more of his home movies, see his section on our “A Longer Drive” page. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed Initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
GB#15. [“Lion Country 2,” 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sam Simnowitz Family Films. To read more about Simnowitz and watch more of his home movies, see his section on our “A Longer Drive” page. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed Initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
GB#21. [Disneyland, San Diego, and San Francisco Visits, 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sam Simnowitz Family Films. To read more about Simnowitz and watch more of his home movies, see his section on our “A Longer Drive” page. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed Initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
GB#34. [San Diego Wild Animal Park, 1970s.] Super 8mm. Color. Silent. Sam Simnowitz Family Films. To read more about Simnowitz and watch more of his home movies, see his section on our “A Longer Drive” page. Thanks to a generous grant from the California Revealed Initiative of the California State Library, this film has been digitized and preserved. Further description forthcoming.
Coming Attractions
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