Elaine Patton, KHOU Reels, 8/23/12

Today I worked on:

• Box 6904, reels 8, 24, & 26 (~1969)
• Box 7103, reel 12 (~1971)
• Box 7106, reel 5 (~1971)

No real difficulties today: one untitled clip came at the end of a reel, and I noticed that 6904-08 had a clip title on the finding aid that hadn't been, ahem, updated to be more politically correct.

Items of interest:

Apparently even in 1969 (6904-08, "Extorsion[sic] Attempt") police were not in the habit of donning gloves to handle bloody crime scene evidence. The suspect was dead (hence the evidence being 'bloody'), sure, but then there's the consideration of blood-borne diseases. Nonetheless a detective (you can see blood on his fingertips) picks up a ski mask bare-handed. Also of interest: he's picking it up just to hold it up for the camera. Allow me to add here that the suspect shot himself in the head. Surprisingly macabre news-reporting, really.

Creepy in a different way: Halloween '69 celebrations for a group of kids (6904-26, "Airforce[]"). Not because of the costumes or decorations or any such thing. Instead, there is a near-constant overlay of kids' laughter, including when there's no children obviously laughing. Kids solemnly picking at their cake? Giggles. Being rounded up while trick-or-treating? Giggles.

Maybe the sound is just slightly out-of-sync; maybe it's because there's only one or two moments where you can actually see a child's face as they smile/laugh. Maybe I'm just inclined to notice creepiness based on the Halloween motif. Still, I found it eerie.

Fireworks stands apparently reached their developmental peak in at least the early '70s and stopped changing (7106-05 ,"Fireworks"):

In 7106-05, "Russians Visit Dome," you can see a couple men in suits look ridiculous as they try to play soccer with a baseball, apparently.

And finally, from the Vintage Style File:

7103-12, "Bill Sanford - Car Fatal"

Very '60s. Seen walking around in the background of the two clips relating to a fatal traffic accident. It's hard to see in a still image, but her dress also includes a (well-camouflaged) men's tie.