About the Recovered Entertainment Archives
We are pleased to present to you what we are anticipating will be the on-going investigation into Calvin Sportunn's themed entertainment masterpiece. If you have anything you'd like to add to our history of The World of the Future Exposition research (personal memories, pictures, films, "tourist items"), please feel free to contact us.
The Recovered Entertainment Archives is an independent entertainment research organization dedicated to recovering (finding and restoring) examples of "alternative" American entertainment including themed entertainment, fairs, expositions, radio and television specials and regular programming and motion pictures of all descriptions.Housed in a former SAC radar/missile silo in La Cañada, California in the foothills of the lovely San Gabriel Mountains north east of Los Angeles, the archives contain the nation's second largest collection of recordings, motion pictures, video tapes, kinescope films, scripts, photo stills and memorabilia related to "lost," "neglected," and "leftover" entertainment.
The Archive has recently begun research into an often over-looked sub-genre of entertainment: Money Pit Extravaganzas or MPEs. Largely a product of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, MPEs came about in response to social and political crises which made it attractive for corporations and individuals to sink millions of dollars into movies that were intended to be unprofitable or unreleasable, providing investors with lucrative tax dodges and systems by which to launder "dirty" money (and keep it away from changing, radical governments). So far, this body of titles is largely that of motion pictures, but our investigations indicate there may be some examples of 1960's Money Pit Extravaganza television programs -- regularly scheduled as well as specials -- and we are hoping to track down some of these in the near future.
In addition to our Money Pit Extravaganza research, we will in the future months be presenting our "The Office of Scientific Investigation Presents..." radio series. These pro-America, pro-scientific research (and many with technocratic-socialist leanings) radio shows aired from the mid-1930s well into the late 1950's. The popular Mike Pounder of the OSI movies (and later 1960's television show) began as "OSI Presents..." as did the ever-adolescent comic book heroes Albert & Franklin.
In the months to come, we hope to make available "OSI Presents..." radio scripts as well as biographies of the many writers, producers, directors and actors who made this once popular, now forgotten, radio series the success that it was.
Send mail to Head Archivist Kevin Whitaker here...
© 2000 Kevin W. Whitaker
Chapter 5 Return to Index The Recovered Entertainment Archives http://www.homestead.com/therea/files/aboutrea.htm
