''Gizmo!'' is a 1977
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
produced and directed by
Howard Smith about improbable inventions, and uses old
newsreel
A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, informa ...
footage about these inventions. Early examples of
parkour
Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing a ...
and
buildering
Buildering (also known as edificeering, urban climbing, structuring, skywalking, boulding, or stegophily) describes the act of climbing on the outside of buildings and other artificial structures. The word "buildering", sometimes misspelled bil ...
are also featured, including footage of an urban
acrobat
Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...
,
John Ciampa
John Ciampa (1922–1970) was an Italian-American acrobatic stuntman and entertainer known by the stage names of the Human Fly, the Flying Phantom and the Brooklyn Tarzan.
As a child, Ciampa had been fascinated by the acrobatic agility of film s ...
(the "Brooklyn Tarzan"),
Frank "Cannonball" Richards
Frank Anson Richards also known as Frank "Cannonball" Richards and Cannonball Richards (February 20, 1887February 7, 1969) was an American sideshow, carnival and vaudeville performer whose act involved taking heavy blows to his stomach.
Richard ...
and a
stuntman
A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...
,
Arnim Dahl
Arnim Dahl (March 12, 1922 in Stettin – August 3, 1998 in Wedel) was a German Stuntman.
Life
His father Hermann Dahl was a former German champion in springboard diving. Following in his father’s footsteps, Dahl was the 1938 German yo ...
.
External links
*
"Gizmo!" description and reviewFilm clip from "Gizmo!""Gizmo!" on archive.org
1977 films
Documentary films about technology
Films directed by Howard Smith
1977 documentary films
American documentary films
1970s English-language films
1970s American films
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