Deadline Detroit presents an online video festival this week, featuring rarely seen films set in Detroit that have proven to be highly popular with readers.
The festival logistics are simple: One video will be posted below each day at 11 a.m. Click on the image below to watch it.
There are no tickets, no lines, no parking hassles. You supply the popcorn. And you can talk during the movie and no one will shush you.
The films are mostly several minutes long, suitable for viewing at work without the boss catching on. They are G-rated material, though one contains a scene of men standing at attention in their underwear.
Dating from 1919 to the 1950s, the films include a travelogue, home movies and so-called industrial films that are professionally made productions intended for a specific audience, such as young students. Some are silent films; others are "talkies."
What all the films have in common is their setting: Detroit. They show glimpses of the city that largely have been lost to the passage of time, such as an East Side gas station in the 1930s on a busy street on a normal day, with employees clowning for the camera, fabulous big cars and a girl passing by on roller skates. "High pressure greasing" was available.
The film festival is part of Deadline Detroit's mission to bring readers the most interesting online content about southeast Michigan every day.
Check back here each day to see the latest video.
Do you have a video of an old film about Detroit that you would like to share with Deadline Detroit readers? Or do you know of one that is lurking, mostly unseen, online? Contact us at info@deadlinedetroit.com.
