Film Review: Two Lost Worlds

by Mark on February 8, 2010

Two Lost WorldsNow here’s a movie that doesn’t get near enough attention for being the truly horrible film that it is. I’ve never hid the fact that I enjoy movies that fall into the “so bad it’s good” category, but this… I don’t know. Starring James Arness in his pre-Gunsmoke days, the bizarre 1951 release Two Lost Worlds plays like a pirate yarn crossed with a historical newsreel. It contains dialogue that would do Ed Wood Jr. proud, spiced up with pretentious narration that seems to exist solely to transition between disjointed film clips. One just cannot shake the feeling that footage from three aborted movies was edited together, and after about 45 minutes of pirates, romance and dopey attempts at humor, we’ve completely forgotten that the picture was supposed to include some sort of prehistoric shenanigans. but then we find our heroes stranded upon an island populated with dinosaurs. It’s about time! Unfortunately, those dinosaurs are merely lizards and baby alligators with fins glued to their backs, the footage having been borrowed from the 1940 version of One Million B.C. I can just picture a movie theater in the 1950s on a Saturday afternoon, packed with kids that have endured all this drivel only to see the crappiest dinosaur scene ever… in the last 10 minutes of the movie! Riots must have ensued. If this has somehow whet your appetite for more you’re in luck, as the swell folk at Image Entertainment have put Two Lost Worlds on DVD. [click to continue…]

Be the first to comment...

Coney Island, 1898

by Mark on February 8, 2010

Coney Island 1898This lithograph from 1898 isn’t just busy, it’s also big, measuring over twenty feet in length. At the time, the festivities shown on this poster looked like a day of fun, but today would surely have liability lawyers sharpening their knives. The original, in the Library of Congress, has been assembled from a number of pieces, which accounts for the grid-like pattern across the scene. I’ve attempted to reduce the largest gaps between the fragments with Photoshop, but to remove them all would be a daunting task.

1 comment

Mariposa Grove

by Mark on February 8, 2010

Mariposa Grove of Big Trees“The MARIPOSA GROVE is situated in the southern portion of the Yosemite National Park, 35 miles from Yosemite Valley. There are two other groves of big trees in the Park – Tuolumne Grove with about 40 trees, and Merced Grove with about 100. The Mariposa Grove has about 500. The most famous tree in this Grove is the Grizzly Giant, 30 feet in diameter at the base, 93 feet in circumference and 204 feet tall.” Enthusiasts of big trees, particularly fans of big tree postcards, should check out an earlier post on the subject.

Be the first to comment...

Crawford House

by Mark on February 7, 2010

Crawford House, New HampshireNow this is an old postcard. Postmarked in 1905, it shows the Crawford House in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The card was published by The Rotograph Co. of New York, a company that was active from 1904 until 1911.

Be the first to comment...

Pikes Peak Auto Highway

by Mark on February 7, 2010

Nearing the Summit, Pikes Peak Auto HighwayThis unmailed postcard probably dates from the 1920’s. The back includes this description:

NEARING THE SUMIT
PIKES PEAK AUTO HIGHWAY
Colorado Springs – Manitou, Colorado
This new Auto Road to the summit of Pikes Peak is, without question, the Wonder Trip of America.

Be the first to comment...

Mammoth Cave

by Mark on February 7, 2010

Mammoth Cave, KentuckyThere were two or three years that our family vacations were dotted with visits to caverns. It seems sort of odd, looking back on it, and I’m not sure what inspired my parents to get in touch with their “inner spelunker”. At any rate, the cavern visits were fun, which I suppose was the idea. I know we went to New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns, Wonder Cave and Inner Space Caves in Texas, and the one that I recall being the most impressed with, Mammoth Cave, located in north-central Kentucky. A national park since 1941, it is the longest known cave system in the world, with over 365 miles of passageways. This Curt Teich postcard bears a 1940 postmark, and the back reads:

Echo River is the largest body of water yet discovered in Mammoth Cave and a boat ride on this river, down on the lowest level, is an unforgettable experience. Here, 360 feet underground, is found several species of eyeless fish.

2 comments

The Clark Sisters

February 7, 2010

Photographed in 1850, these are “The Clark Sisters”. I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t keep this to myself.

Read the full article →

Rea, Conklin, and Cloud

February 6, 2010

A trio of Mack Sennett players: Marvel Rea, Chester Conklin, and Peggie Cloud. Chester Conklin, one of the original Keystone Kops, was a highly regarded comedic actor whose career spanned over fifty years. Besides Sennett, Conklin also worked with his life-long friend Charlie Chaplin. He made an easy transition to talking pictures, making minor appearances [...]

Read the full article →

Hotel Dale

February 6, 2010

Postmarked in 1946, this card shows the Hotel Dale in Coffeyville, Kansas. Constructed in 1924, the Hotel is today called the Hotel Dale Apartments, following a 2008 conversion to rental housing.

Read the full article →

Topaz the Beautiful

February 6, 2010

I came across this unusual postcard at the Montgomery Street Antique Mall this past week, and was curious to see if a little digging could uncover it’s significance. As it turns out, the studio-gallery in question was that of Roger L. Deering (1904-1980), a renowned seascape and landscape painter from Maine. The card says precious [...]

Read the full article →

Uncle Sam’s Follies

February 6, 2010

Cast members of Uncle Sam’s Follies, photographed on Dec. 24, 1925.

Read the full article →

The Witch’s Daughter

February 5, 2010

Frederick Stuart Church (1842-1924) was an artist/illustrator best known for his depictions of animals. Church often presented animals in their natural environment, but was also fond of using them in allegorical scenes. One such work is this pen and ink drawing from 1881, The Witch’s Daughter.
Deciphering an allegory isn’t always easy, particularly given the differing [...]

Read the full article →

Rolling Chairs on the Boardwalk

February 5, 2010

Looking like Americanized rickshaws, these “rolling chairs” on Atlantic City’s boardwalk served a similar purpose. One can see the Apollo Theatre, later to become a movie theatre, where sisters Cecil and Edna May Spooner starred in the stage production, The Taming of Helen. This photograph was probably taken around 1905.

Read the full article →

Redondo Beach Bath House

February 5, 2010

Interior of Bath House, Redondo Beach, California. Published by the M. Kashower Co. of Los Angeles, this unmailed postcard probably dates from around 1920. I’ve also seen what appears to be a later version of this card, one that has a white border with the description across the bottom in red.

Read the full article →

Grant Park, Chicago

February 4, 2010

Officially designated a park in 1844, this expanse of land east of Michigan Avenue was called Lake Park until 1901, at which time it was named Grant Park in honor of the civil war general and 18th U.S. President. This Curt Teich postcard features a crowd enjoying a concert being performed from under the spectacular [...]

Read the full article →

Antique Mall Stuff

February 4, 2010

Those in the Fort Worth area are invited to stop by the Montgomery Street Antique Mall (at I-30 and Montgomery, near the Arts District) and check out the swell stuff in my booth. My tastes tend towards mid-century, and it’s usually stocked with TV lamps, melmac dishes, vintage telephones and radios, etc. Y’all come!

Read the full article →

German Racers

February 3, 2010

This is the German entry in to the 1908 New York to Paris race. The team actually arrived in Paris first, but were penalized for skipping the Alaskan leg of the route and for transporting the car part way by train.

Read the full article →

N.Y.-Paris Race, 1908

February 3, 2010

If you’ve ever seen the 1965 movie, The Great Race, then you might be interested to know that it was inspired by this event, the New York to Paris Race of 1908. Six cars participated, three from France, the other three from Germany, Italy and the United States. They departed from Times Square on February [...]

Read the full article →

Buzzer the Cat

February 2, 2010

Two actors of stage and screen, Jane Cowl and Fay Bainter, and actress/model Audrey Munson, each posing with “Buzzer” the cat. So who was this marvelous cat that so many people posed with? (and make no mistake, there are many photos from the ‘teens that include Buzzer) If I were to guess, I’d imagine that [...]

Read the full article →

New Look

February 1, 2010

Atomic Antiques has been in a constant state of flux from the start, my tireless quest for the perfect blend of appearance and function prompting numerous theme changes. For those unfamiliar with the workings of WordPress software, it makes use of easily changeable “themes” that offer varying looks and functions. They can all be modified [...]

Read the full article →