Browse Objects

Silent footage of an amateur circus performance in a backyard in the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen in the 1980s.

Two men (amateur filmmakers Robert Davis and Harry Hilfinger) lip sync to the song Modern Design.

An historical account of the story of Arthur L. Ball, the song and dance man, told through archival photographs, newspaper clippings, posters, and ...

A band of mysterious performers show up in small-town Illinois for a magic show with a horrific twist.

Made for a class project at Colu...

An adverisement for the Chicago Tirbune. The ad features a folksinging act, The Crowd Stoppers, performing at Earl of Old Town in Chicago's Old...

A home movie featuring the nuns and students of Holy Family Academy, a Cathollic elementary and high school once located at 1444 West Division Stre...

A brief look at the fast paced world of O'Hare air traffic controllers set to an upbeat soundtrack. ;Funded in part by Encyclopedia Brittanica, these short spots were directed by local cameraman, producer, and journalist Harry Mantel – most likely ...

This film captures a bustling lunch scene at the former Marina City restaurant in downtown Chicago. The image follows the action of one of the wait...;Funded in part by Encyclopedia Brittanica, these short spots were directed by local cameraman, producer, and journalist Harry Mantel – most likely ...

Set to a jazzy soundtrack, this short film captures a monkey habitat at a Chicago zoo. Includes scenes of visitors admiring the monkeys and their a...;Funded in part by Encyclopedia Brittanica, these short spots were directed by local cameraman, producer, and journalist Harry Mantel – most likely ...

A visit to Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory captured on 16mm and set to a soothing soundtrack. The film features various show rooms or houses a...;Funded in part by Encyclopedia Brittanica, these short spots were directed by local cameraman, producer, and journalist Harry Mantel – most likely ...

This short film captures highlights from a circus performance. Acts include performances from clowns, dancing dogs, elephants, acrobats, leopards &...;Funded in part by Encyclopedia Brittanica, these short spots were directed by local cameraman, producer, and journalist Harry Mantel – most likely ...

A variety show is performed at Peoria's Palace Theater. Includes live performances by a number of singers and dancers in front of a band of female ...

Snipe made for the Pekin Theatre advertising a performance of "Pirate Gold," an amateur theater production directed and staged by John B. Rogers Pr...

The Hoosier Hot Shots perform at a barn dance in Iowa.

Footage of men and women dancing, drumming, smoking, and hanging out inside a rustic wooden interior space, presumably the Dyer-Bennet School of Mi...

Footage of Mae West on stage at the New Palace Theatre, now known as the Cadillac Palace Theatre at 151 West Randolph Street in downtown Chicago. T...