Richard Williams' The Little Island (1958)

This short by legendary animator Richard Williams (Who Framed Roger Rabbit [1988]) examines the nature of man through three symbolic figures alone on a tiny island. The figures represent truth, beauty and goodness and the film wordlessly tells the story of their self absorption, potential and conflict. Williams uses striking graphics and amusing, and at times compelling music to make his points. This was his first film and he is the auteur in the literal sense of the word. He did everything on the film except the music.

Though not available on DVD, it can be found in full on YouTube. Above is part one, uploaded by TheThiefArchive.

Obscurity factor: 8 (not on DVD, available on YouTube, known to film buffs, but otherwise forgotten)

Steve Martin, Buck Henry & Teri Garr in The Absent Minded Waiter (1980)

This wacky short was used in Steve Martin's live comedy act. Watch as a couple receives the worst service ever, with the best payoff.

This short was nominated for an Academy Award and was included in a VHS release of Steve Martin's work, but has yet to make it to DVD in any form. It's available on YouTube, uploaded by thewilfs1.

Obscurity factor: 8 (known to Martin fans, but not generally well known otherwise, on YouTube)

Madeline Kahn in The Dove 1968

Do you stay up late to watch the TCM Underground films? Are you always looking for something new from the past? Then we'd probably get along just fine. This is the blog for you. Here you'll find all sorts of unexpected films, the ones that slipped through the cracks of history and are now laying forgotten, under the floorboards of fandom. Subscribe and discover the wonders of Ingrid Bergman in The Visit, Joan Crawford in Della and Rosalind Russell in Rosie. I'm sure many of you will know more about the films than I do, but I'll try and provide some new and unexpected information to keep you entertained.

To begin with let's talk about Madeline Kahn. Oh, how I wish she was still alive! She was one of those actresses that I wished I could have worked with in some capacity. Her light touch was tempered with an off beat sense of humor that was just a few steps down from Andy Kaufman's. She went to Hofstra University, on Long Island, graduating in 1964 with a degree in speech therapy. Her first major film role was Eunice in What's Up Doc, which is one of my favorite films, and hardly obscure to anyone who has a modicum of film knowledge. However, two years before that she was part of an obscure short film parodying the work of legendary Swedish film maker, Ingmar Bergman called De Düva or The Dove. Ms. Kahn plays a lesbian with designs on the young ingenue. The film was produced by George Coe, Sidney Davis and Anthony Lover. You may remember Coe from the film Kramer vs Kramer as the head of Dustin Hoffman's agency. I was so pleased to finally get a chance to see the film when Tbirdsof1965 uploaded it to YouTube earlier this year. Watch for Madeline Kahn calling a cigar a "phalika symbol" as if that's what the Swedish translation of the word was.





Obscurity factor: 8 (not available on DVD or VHS, never shown on television, full version available on YouTube)

Look for more posts soon on the best films you never saw!