Sesame Street films

[ISNorden]

rememeber the film about the men who painted this large number 5 either on a street or a play area of a N.Y.C. neighborhood? the 2 men lay down this large white thing witch had a 5 cut out and 1 of the men spray paints the inside of this thing and the kids sing [counting-out rhyme snipped for space]... now this was probably 1 of the silliest film SS has ever made. 1 thing i wonder about is what did the 2 men think? probably didn't wanna do it but were ordered to by their boss. just imagine theese 2 men who work for the city of New York go in 1 morning, let's say this was in 1969, their boss calls them in and says men the 1st thing i have for you to do is go to Jones St. and paint a 5 in the street? the men look puzzled and ask why do you want us to do that? their Boss says some T.V. producers who are working on a show called Sesame Street wants us to do this. SS an educational series that helpes pre-schoolers with letters & numbers wich is going to debut on NET National Educational Television this fall. the men, so where just going to paint a big 5 in the street? how's that supposed to be educational? the boss, come on guys i have no time to argue with you about this. just go down to Jones St. as i said. the film crew will be right there.

ROFL...your description of the clip sounds as if Mystery Science Theatre 3000 were covering classic Sesame Street that day. Since most of the real city-street clips weren't set up specifically for TV, though, I'd bet that the workers were numbering parking-lot spaces (or showing a very low speed limit in the lot; I've seen 5-mph limits in the real world, so that's not such a wild guess).

 

[ISNorden]

One I've seen no mention of yet for the short films category (and believe me there are others too) is another 70's one that must have been called "lumiere". The camera zooms into a source of artificial light, such as a street light, neon, vehicle, or something else in the city. Funky progressive 70's muzak plays, jazzy if you will, until the camera is done zooming and a chorus of voices (like maybe Manhattan Transfer) sings "lumiere" in a chord. This continues for another time or two until the "chorus" has descending "lumiere" chords and quicker changes in light sources.

Are you in Canada, by any chance? I've never heard French words taught on the US version of Sesame Street at all. Spanish, yes; throwaway references to other foreign languages, sometimes; but I know of no American clips which teach specific, non-Spanish foreign words (like the one you recalled).

 

[ISNorden]

I don't remember the two is my favorite number, but I remember a "3 is my favorite number film" with dolphins I think. The first line was "1,2,3 1,2,3 1,2,3 count." Do you know if Joe Raposo did this one too, mike?

The recent shows have included a cartoon remake of the "Three Is My Favorite Number" segment, with a carpenter singing the song as he works. The character has a Deep South accent, which TV usually associates with ignorant rural types; I remember thinking "This character sounds as if three is the highest number he knows!" *groan* To be fair, the singer on the older version also had a thick accent (Eastern European); I wonder whether that was supposed to be the Count watching the dolphins offscreen.

 

[patrickballoonm]

There was a "beginning and end" one with a man who says, "Beginning" and then starts eating a hotdog. Music plays until he finishes it and says, "End." I don't think he ate it fast nor that they sped up the film. Well, actually I would say that it was eaten slightly faster than normal average time to eat a hotdog. Anyone remember or could tell where he was eating this? It was outside somewhere. Perhaps simply a park or street where a hot dog vendor was, but maybe with the circus like music playing it was at a circus. Seems like there were other things around him on the screen.
Anyway, it was just a simple sketch. Far more enjoyable was the one with the guy taking off his clown makeup to show his everyday face ("This is my everyday face. Whcih do you like better? [Camera shows clown face]. Me too.") but that one I've seen brought up several times before in other threads. Love that classic music during the clown one too. It's been played in a lot more things than just SS.

I remember that "Everyday Face Clown" segment. My father probably might remember, too, but I'm not sure. Anyway, one time, my father watched that segment with my brothers and I when we were much younger, of course. And when the clown took off the last of his make-up, so to speak, my father recognized the actor who played him. It was comedian Dennis Allen of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In fame.

 

[Chris Von Count]

I was recently thinking of another film from SS. I remember an earlier post about the boy who was narrating a film about how his brother works on a fishing boat and all that.
Here is the other boat film I remember, I remember some kids were talking about a boat crew that was hauling in lobster traps, and putting rubber bands on the lobster pinchers, and putting them in crates filled with ice. Then toward the end of the film it shows the lobster traps sitting at the back of the boat, and as the boat takes off the traps slide off the back of the boat and the kids are laughing as that happens and count them as they go back into the water, and then it goes back up to the wheel of the boat where a man was steering from and the kids try to get his attention yelling "There go your lobster traps back into the ocean!" then it goes back to the last few traps sliding off into the water with the kids giggling again.

Does anybody else remember this film at all?

 

[mikebennidict]

yupe.

 

[mikebennidict]

I'm Pretty.

I woner what was the reasoning for such a film with fish in the sea or perhaps at some aquarium and David singing this goofy song? Also here's an idea for the song I posted at the present day SS section. http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=23182

 

[mikebennidict]

Everybody Sleeps.

It's interesting if that last part of the original film where the lady is sleeping at the train station and the train comes rolling by and here's the camera trying to look at her from under the passing train as it goes by.

I wonder why they didn't edit the train out? Not that it really matters kids are often facinated by trains but I would think they would of edit out any type of interferences.

 

[Censored]

It's interesting if that last part of the original film where the lady is sleeping at the train station and the train comes rolling by and here's the camera trying to look at her from under the passing train as it goes by.

I wonder why they didn't edit the train out? Not that it really matters kids are often facinated by trains but I would think they would of edit out any type of interferences.

What's wrong with trains?

 

[mikebennidict]

Uh I think you know what I mean.