Check it Out! The Rootes Archive's Rally Footages

We're taking a brief break from the monthly British Pathé series to put the spotlight on another great archive to be found on Youtube: The Rootes Archive. Unlike the British Pathé series of newsreels, The Rootes Archive focus solely on newsreels and short films/documentaries about automobiles, notably car rallies. 

The Rootes Archive is a trust founded in 2002 in England that preserves original drawings, microfilms, and promotional material from the Rootes Group which included the Hillman, Humber, Sunbeam and Singer among the automobiles that they manufactured. They are a relatively recent addition to Youtube, having joined in October 2025, but they already have a strong following and a very nice selection of classic rally-themed videos to watch, a few of which we have shared below. Check it out! 

The Rootes Archive on Youtube. 

European Holiday by Sunbeam Rapier (20:33) - This is a very entertaining short travelogue about a couple who take a Sunbeam Rapier overseas on their short holiday in Europe. This was filmed during the week of Prince Ranier and Grace Kelly's royal wedding in Monaco and during the Mille Miglia in Italy, so there is some lovely footage of the cities decorated for both events. The Sunbeam Rapier is quite impressive, too! If they were sold today, I'd be heading to a dealer to get one. 

The Monte Carlo Rally of 1956 (27:01) - Another exciting short film, this time about the Monte Carlo Rally of 1956 where a number of Sunbeams took part in the race. The roads are grueling, especially in the snow, so again this proves what a great car the Sunbeam was. 

Destination Capetown (22:23) - Did I say Monte Carlo was grueling? Wait till you see this crazy man from 1952 and his trek in a Humber Super Snipe nearly 6,000 miles to Capetown, Africa. Today, we have 4x4, navigation equipment, cellphones and repair stations nearby, but this man trekked it alone - and he did it twice before! 

Check it Out! The Kessler Twins

Last week, I read in the news that the Kessler twins passed away. In Germany, assisted suicide has been legalized since 2019, and Alice and Ellen Kessler, 89, chose this way to die together. They were an internationally renowned pair of entertainers and gained the spotlight stateside through their numerous appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s. 

Their death has relit the debate over assisted suicide in Germany, but instead of focusing on their chosen method of leaving this world, I want to highlight the talent of this incredible sister act. It has been a few years since I have watched their performances on The Ed Sullivan Show, so yesterday - thanks to the magic of Youtube - I was able to sit back and enjoy their beautiful dancing and singing through the clips shared by The Ed Sullivan Show Channel. 

The Kessler twins were best known as dancers but they were also blessed with lovely singing voices and they sang in harmony in almost all of their performances - in English, German, and Italian. After their appearances on The Red Skelton Hour and The Ed Sullivan Show, the leggy duo were featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1963, performed with Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye, Fred Astaire, and Harry Belafonte, and toured in nightclubs throughout America. 

Alice and Ellen Kessler represented West Germany in the 1959 Eurovision contest placing 8th with "Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen geh'n" and I was surprised to read that they had appeared in 12 different films in the 1950s and 1960s, usually in dancing roles. 

Like most identical twins, if you look at them long enough you can tell the slight difference between them, but once they got into a change of costume you had to begin the spot-the-difference game all over again. 

Below are videos from some of the appearances they have made on The Ed Sullivan Show. Check out their unique singing and dancing style - they were truly a one-of-a-kind (or should I say two-of-a-kind) duo! 

A November 24, 1968 performance of "I Say a Little Prayer". 

"Two by Two and Tea for Two" on April 24, 1966. Their skirts always tend to come off at the end of their programs... that's a carried over tradition from German nightclubs. 

"When in Rome"....do as the Romans do! Supposedly, they dance. This catchy number aired on October 16, 1966. 

"The Shadow of Your Smile" performed by the handsome Italian singer Sergio Franchi. We grew up with his LPs. This also aired on October 16, 1966. 

The always popular "Mas Que Nada" from April 19, 1970. 

Tale Spinners for Children

There is nothing as exciting for us as discovering something "new"..... and luckily, this thrill comes weekly. After finding that certain something special, the next best feeling is sharing it. So this week, we have something special to share with you: the Tale Spinners series. 

If you enjoy audio books, then you will enjoy these (even though they are aimed at children), especially since the production quality of these albums are so much better than an audiobook. 

Tale Spinners for Children began in England in 1959 as a series of 30 records from the Atlas Record Label each featuring a story for children. The stories were classics and the actors/actresses reading them were usually classically-trained actors with rich and melodic voices such as Denise Bryer, Robert Hardy, Maggie Smith, Donald Pleasence or William Devlin. As lovely as it is listening to these actors, they were always supported by a full orchestra playing background music (once again, classically based) and a cast of other actors each reading the different parts. 

Listening to a Tale Spinners album feels like listening to a radio show but one featuring classic novels... how wonderful is that! 

After the success of the series in England, United Artists brought the Tale Spinners to the American market and pressed 69 different titles (!) including Robinson Crusoe, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Snow White, Cinderella, The Snow Queen, Swiss Family Robinson, Peter Pan, Davy Crockett, and Don Quixote. 

The Tale Spinners series continued until the early 1970s. New titles were no longer released but the series was re-issued up until the mid-1980s. Today, many of these albums appear quite frequently on eBay and several are available on Youtube, a few of which we have linked to below. 

Enjoy! 

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (c 1963)

Robin Hood (c1964)

Knights of the Round Table (c 1963)

Treasure Island (c1962)

The Mikado (c1963)

William Tell (c1962)

Tom Thumb (c1969)

Check it Out! How TV Series

Have you ever heard of "How"? I'm sure you haven't....at least, most Americans have not. This was a British series geared towards children but enjoyable for all ages. A panel of four presenters shared various "how-to"s within a half-hour span. The series was so entertaining that it lasted for 17 seasons between 1966 and 1981. 

Next month we are going to give a more thorough look into this fascinating show but, for now, check out a clip from a 1980 episode and see just how interesting this series was! 

Check it Out! - Ciao Italia Archives Online

Every Saturday afternoon for the last 20 years, I've enjoyed the routine of watching cooking shows on PBS. These include Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Lidia Bastianich, and of course Mary Ann Esposito, who hosted Ciao Italia which ranks as the longest-running cooking show on PBS. 

Ciao Italia first premiered in 1989 and ran for over 35 years...that's a lot of Italian cooking! Since Mary Ann Esposito has cooked so many authentic Italian favorites over the years she has built up quite a library of recipes and cooking footage from the series. If you head over to www.ciaoitalia.com you will find that she has shared many (if not all) of these recipes online in a wonderful database where you can click on any season and any recipe and view the recipe in full along with the film clip from the episode where it appeared. Simply click on "Seasons" and you will find them all. This is such a great site so be sure to check it out! 

Check it Out! An Irene Dunne Fan Site

Since Valentine's Day is coming up, I was re-watching An Affair to Remember (1957) for the umpteenth time and that got me to thinking about the original film - Love Affair - and what a great job Deborah Kerr did of stepping into Irene Dunne's shoes when she took on the role of Terry McKay in the remake. That's not an easy task. Irene Dunne was not only a very classy actress, but a great comedian and I loved how she would utter serious lines with a smile.... like she was inwardly chuckling. Deborah Kerr was also a classy actress and she, too, had that quality of charmingly making fun of what someone is saying. The banter between her and Cary Grant is what makes An Affair to Remember so addictive to watch. 

So thinking about Love Affair led me to searching online for information about Irene Dunne... and I discovered a marvelous site that I want to share: The Irene Dunne Site. 

This site is chock-full of information about Dunne's film career, her life off the camera, and her singing and theater careers as well. It is very well organized and a delight to browse. Check it out! 

John Kobal's interview with Irene Dunne is definitely worth a read: https://irenedunnesite.jimdofree.com/press/interview-with-john-kobal-1972/

Cinematically Inspired Design - Check it Out!

Today we have a real treat to share! A few months ago I stumbled upon a great website called Mockingbird Lane where a cinema-loving woman named Marina Coates shares her love of architecture and design....especially set designs found in films and television series. Two great features of the site are her virtual TV/Movie Home Tours and her Cinematically Inspired Design tutorials. 

The TV/Movie Home Tours began with a behind-the-scenes virtual CG tour of the Petrie home from The Dick Van Dyke Show and has since grown to include the Bewitched house, Lucy and Ricky's apartment and country home from I Love Lucy, the Family Affair apartment, the Cleaver's home in Leave it to Beaver, and many more from classic TV shows. These are fantastic videos that show you all of the details of the houses you have seen countless times on television. Most are 15-25 minutes in length and honestly, you feel like you are walking in the house with a tour guide listening to fun facts about the show and all of the items in the house. 

She also has virtual tours of famous film houses like the North by Northwest house, The Parent Trap ranch, and the Inn from White Christmas. You don't want to miss these so be sure to check them out! 

Look familiar? It's the Ricardo's country house.

The Cinematically Inspired Design tutorials are even more amazing. Here, Ms. Coates shares her architectural experience with us and gives in-depth analyses of why the interiors of classic cinema houses look so good and tips on what we can do to improve our own interior designs. If you ever wanted to attend a class on classic Hollywood set design, this is it. 

If you are an art design nut like ourselves, then be prepared to set aside hours enjoying these videos!

Check it Out! Vintage Hollywood Commissary Menu Prints

There is a store for just about everything online. A few days ago I was thinking how interesting it would be to track down an original menu from a Hollywood studio commissary and, after doing a quick online search, came across this gem of a business: Vintage Menu Art. 

Someone already took the time and money to collect menus from the studio commissaries ( as well as lots of other great Los Angeles area menus ), scanned them, and is now offering them as prints to frame on a wall. What a neat idea! This would make for excellent kitchen wall decor. ( Click on the images below to view at a larger size.)

Menus were so much simpler in the 1940s-1950s. They didn't have pages and pages of food to choose from. Usually, one page featured it all, and hamburgers, cream of tomato soup, steak, cottage cheese, and bacon and eggs could be found on just about every menu. Paramount Pictures had a nice selection of more unusual items however, like Scotch Lamb Broth with Barley Soup, Veal Goulash and Swiss Bratwurst, Sweetbreads (!!), and a really nice choice of 10-cent desserts. That helps to emphasize their menu's slogan, "Eat, drink, and be merry for ye shall be a long time dead."

Below you will find the links to the studio commissary menus that Vintage Menu Art has to offer. But it is well worth checking their other menus out as well. Ozzie's Seafood sounds especially appetizing!

Paramount Studio Cafe - 1936 Menu

Paramount Pictures Italian Kitchen - 1955 Menu

Paramount Pictures Cafe Continental - 1956 Menu

The Brown Derby - 1957 Menu

MGM Studios - 1958 Menu

Warner Brothers Studio Commissary - 1963 Menu 

Check it Out! Iconic TV Homes Being Demolished

Recently ReMind Magazine posted an article about the famous Partridge Family and Bewitched house sets being demolished at Columbia Ranch. We are sharing the article below, which came from their website, www.remindmagazine.com. Check it out! 

https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/1845/iconic-tv-homes-demolished/

These houses sat empty for many years on the lot so it is understandable that they would want to demolish them to make way for more soundstages, but it is surprising that no one ever approached Warner Bros studios ( who now owns the Columbia Ranch lot ) to purchase the houses! If I had several million dollars lying around handy, I certainly would have offered to buy the Bewitched house and move it to a new location. 

The article does not mention anything about the Baxter residence from the television series Hazel ( 1961-1966 ) but that house will probably be demolished as well since it sat right next to the Bewitched house. 

Check it Out! - Sally Ann Howes and Howard Keel on "The Bell Telephone Hour" ( 1960 )

Check out this wonderful clip from a rare color episode of The Bell Telephone Hour ( 1960 ) featuring Sally Ann Howes and Howard Keel singing "Tonight" from the Broadway musical West Side Story. Two beautiful actors with beautiful voices. 

The Happiest Millionaire - Valentine Candy ( 1967 )

Valentine's Day is only ten days away, so we have a clip to share of Lesley Ann Warren's beautiful rendition of "Valentine Candy" from The Happiest Millionaire ( 1967 ). What has this to do with Valentine's Day? Absolutely nothing. It's just fun to listen to! 

ReMIND Classic TV Magazine

Last week I discovered the neatest magazine and in the most unlikely location - Dollar Tree. The magazine is ReMIND and it is filled with articles and fun stuff related to classic television shows and pop culture of the 1950s-1990s, plus loads of trivia games. Little did I know that this magazine has been around for well over 7-8 years! 

The Past is a Blast! 

If you like Closer magazine, then you will love this one. We shared some pictures down below so you can see what the interior looks like and, if you click on this link, you can read through a full issue digitally. 

The cover price is $4.99 per issue, but with a subscription, it is only $2 an issue. Better yet, with code "DOLLAR5" it is only $1 an issue. What a deal! Plus they give you a bonus trivia book. We all love puzzles, don't we? Click here if you want to take advantage of that deal. We don't get any kickbacks from this, we're just sharing it with you. 

ReMIND back issues are available on their website for $7.99 each (including shipping ). Not a bad price, considering they have some collectible issues.... especially that one with The Munsters on the cover. 

Keep your eyes open for the next installment of The Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie Game because we will be giving away a one-year subscription to the magazine for the first person who can guess the screenshot. 

Check it Out! - Karen Wyman on The Ed Sullivan Show ( 1967 )

 

When Ed Sullivan says "here is something you won't forget" it means you are in for a special treat indeed. This man saw so many talented top-notch entertainers in his days as a variety show host, but he thought 16-year-old Karen Wyman's debut performance of "Why Can't I Walk Away?" ( from the stage production Maggie Flynn ) was something extra special....and it certainly was. 

Enjoy this clip from The Ed Sullivan Show - June 22, 1969. 

Check it Out! - The Landing of the Pilgrims ( 1940 )

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers! 

We hope you are having a wonderful day and counting all of your blessings. There is so much we can all be grateful for!

If you have a few minutes and want to watch something Thanksgiving-related then check out this fabulous little cartoon from 1940 - The Landing of the Pilgrims. It's a bouncy light-hearted look at how the pilgrims from the Mayflower came to America and contended with the Native Americans. It is far from being historically accurate but that's what makes it so wonderfully fun! 

Have a wonderful holiday! 

- Constance & Diana 

Check it Out! - Preparing for Bedknobs and Broomsticks

On October 7, 1971, Walt Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, a delightful and magical musical starring the late great Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson, had its world premiere in London. Earlier that day, John Noakes, the host of Britain's popular children's series Blue Peter, was in Leicester Square, helping the owner of the famed Odeon Theater prepare for this event. 

It takes quite a bit of doing to hang up those large BEDKNOBS letters outside the theater, not to mention suspending from the roof the lifesize mockup of Angela Lansbury as the witch Eglantine, so it is hard to believe that they undertook this task the very morning of the premiere! John was his usual brave self and climbed up those amazingly long ladders with ease. Check out the clip here: 

BBC Archive - Bedknobs and Broomsticks ( 1971 )

Unlike most Disney-related promo clips, this one did not follow up the news bit with footage from the film. I was hoping to find some newsreel clips of the actual premiere but had no luck, so you will just have to imagine what it was like that evening. 

Check it Out! - Mitzi Gaynor singing "Love is Blue" ( 1968 )

 

Can anyone top a Mitzi Gaynor performance? This glamorous woman was the full package deal....a fantastic dancer, singer, and actress, plus she had a fabulous figure! This performance from 1968 features Mitzi performing "Love is Blue", a Eurovision ballad that French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat made popular in the United States in 1967. 

Check it Out! - Giant Movie/TV Posters on Sale

If you have an afternoon free then here is something that will take up a good hour of your internet time - AllPosters is running a sale for new customers - 55% off all items plus free shipping. We're not affiliated with AllPosters and actually never bought from them before but this just seemed like too good a deal not to share. They have a great selection of 8x10" photos but more impressive is their line of photo posters. 24x32" and 30x40" posters are only $12.15 each after the markdown. Gadzooks! Once you start jotting down your favorite films and television shows to search, you'll likely end up spending more than one hour shopping.  

Check out some of the images they have down below: 

Check it Out! - Maureen O'Hara singing "Heather on the Hill"

During the 1960s, Maureen O'Hara guest-starred a number of times on The Andy Williams Show where she got a chance to entertain the audience with her beautiful singing voice. Maureen made a lot of dramatic films but, surprisingly, no musicals....even though she sang like a lark since she was a lass in Ireland. 

In this particular episode, she gives a lovely rendition of "The Heather on the Hill" from Lerner and Lowe's Brigadoon. Check it out! And if you enjoy this clip, be sure to look at Ms. O'Hara's performance of "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" on the short-lived The Jimmy Dean Show here. 

Check it Out! - Rare TV Show Releases from VEI

Visual Entertainment Inc. has released a number of rare television shows of the 1970s on DVD and they are currently running a great sale on these discs. You can pick up the complete series of The Protectors or The Persuaders for only $2.50, the complete collection of Angie for $5, or grab Henry Fonda's short-lived sitcom The Smith Family for $10. 

While any of these series are good, what is most exciting is seeing Bill Bixby's 1973 series The Magician finally get a release. MeTV posted an article several years ago about this series and the reasons why it should have lasted longer than one season. You can read the full article here. Needless to say, it is well worth checking out the series. 

VEI also released DVD sets of the short-lived sci-fi series The Immortal ( 1970 ) starring Christopher George, the 1971 Emmy-Awarding series Longstreet ( featuring James Franciscus as a blind insurance investigator ), and Barry Newman's legal drama Petrocelli ( 1974 ). All we need to wait for now is The New Perry Mason and Nanny and the Professor to get their own DVD releases. 

Check out Visual Entertainment Inc's complete television lineup at their website here. 

Check it Out! - Tony's Trading Site of TV/Film Annuals & Comics

If you love browsing antique stores and tend to stop and pick up old Dell or Golden Key comics just to admire their cover art ( especially the Movie/TV themed issues ), then you'll have to check out Tony's Trading Site of TV/Film Annuals and Comics. This great site is run by Tony ( natch ) and features a great selection of cover art from British "Annuals" of the 1960s-1980s. 

Film annuals are not something most Americans are familiar with since they are not common stateside. The closest thing to them is the Movie/TV-themed "collector issue" magazines you may see at a supermarket checkout line. You know, those glossy-covered-chock-full-of-pictures beauties that cost $10+. But even those aren't quite annuals because they feature articles on the entire run of a classic series ( e.g. I Love Lucy ) whereas annuals were released....well, annually. Since they were published while the series was still airing, the articles usually focused on the previous season's episodes and the cast. They also had newly-written stories based on the show and comic strips for the young fans to enjoy. 

Tony's Trading collection has a nice selection of TV-themed annuals of both American and British television series. The covers are real winners....the only disappointment is that the images were not scanned larger to properly enjoy them. Nevertheless, it's fun to find a resource like this. 

Click here to check out Tony's TV Annuals - and while you are there, head to his homepage to check out his other non-TV-themed annuals and his great collection of Doctor Who and Walt Disney books and VHS covers.