Seriously Moving Images

NOTE: This revised version of my recent blog post corrects some misinformation and assumptions about where and when the footage was shot.

In 1990, I was doing some archival film research under contract to the BC Archives’ audio-visual unit. I was corresponding with Douglas S. Wilson, a Toronto film buff and collector. Through him, I’d become interested in the early work of Vancouver amateur filmmakers Dorothy and Oscar Burritt. Mr. Wilson, who had retained some of their films after Oscar Burritt’s death in 1974, was willing to loan them to the BC Archives so that we could look at them and have video copies made. Four films were loaned for inspection, and the archives arranged for them to be copied to 1-inch Type C analog videotape — the best they could manage at the time. After the copying, the original films were returned to Douglas Wilson (who has since died); their current whereabouts are unknown.

Three of the four films were pretty straightforward: footage of a labour-union May Day parade in Vancouver (1938); an early experimental film (194–); and a 1969 TV clip of Oscar Burritt introducing a classic movie on CBLT Toronto. The fourth can of film, labelled “Bats Out of Hell,” was something of a puzzle.

This unique footage of midget car racing at a Vancouver racetrack was filmed by Vancouver cinéaste Oscar Burritt (1908–1974). He shot and hand-processed the original footage, using his own home-built processing rig (set up in a bathtub). He added several still photographs that he’d also filmed. But he doesn’t seem to have gone any further with the project. The footage was spliced together roughly onto a single reel, but it wasn’t “completed” or edited to make a “story.”

The footage presents some challenges, to say the least. A good deal of it is over- or under-exposed, and the results of Oscar’s home-processing work are wildly inconsistent. Because of the low light levels in the late afternoon and night scenes, he has “push-processed” the footage just to bring up an image on the film. This has produced some incredibly grainy and contrasty scenes — some of which are nonetheless quite striking. On the other hand, some of the footage is so dark or devoid of contrast that it’s not possible to extract a reasonable image.

Much later, I discovered a discrepancy in the details about the film. I’d understood that it was shot at Hastings Park, likely in late 1937. I’ve since learned that the midget car races introduced at that time were staged on an indoor track.[i] The outdoor midget car races, which began two years later (1939–1941), ran on a dirt track at Con Jones Park, just across North Renfrew Street from Hastings Park.[ii]

Eighty-five years after Oscar shot “Bats,” I’ve organized his raw footage, cleaned it up, and tried to develop some sort of structure. In doing so, I have taken some liberties. The sequencing of shots in this video is entirely my own. I’ve stretched some shots and condensed others. Spotting a fragmentary shot of a car on fire, I constructed an “accident” sequence, using some stray flash frames and very short trims to build up the episode. (See ca. 6:18–6:50 in the video.) It turns out that this accident (on 6 July 1940) hospitalized popular local driver Mickey McDowell.[iii] This gives us a date for at least some of the footage.

Near the end of this video edit, we see the crowning of the winner of the evening’s race. Yes, he gets to wear an actual crown (donated by New Westminster Mayor Fred Hume, no less!), and he takes a victory lap around the track (at 7:00 in the video) — holding the crown onto his head with his free hand.

I’ve also added tricked out Oscar’s silent footage with a musical score, using two pieces created by my former archives colleague, David Mattison. I do appreciate the way that David has lit up the “House.” If the footage itself doesn’t quite speak to you, you can always get up and dance!

In several shots, Oscar has framed the racing cars with some children in the foreground, watching intently from the grandstand railing. When I see them turning their heads and craning their necks as the cars zoom past, I think that Oscar must have enjoyed and shared their enthusiasm. I do, as well.

[i] Vancouver Daily Province (18 August 1937). “‘Roaring Mosquitoes’ to Perform at Fair,” p. 7.

[ii] Vancouver Daily Province (15 July 1939). “Rowe’s Midget Auto Racers Coming July 25,” p. 19. In 1942, Con Jones Park became Callister Park.

[iii] Vancouver Sun (8 July 1940). “Local Midget Driver Injured,” p. 11.