Snoozles, May 1960
One particular batch has turned out to be a rich source of Snoozles™. So many of them are especially dark and gloomy, as if a cartoon villain has somehow drained the landscape of joy.
Ordinarily I'd be dancing a little jig when finding a photo of the E.P Ripley (old #2 - which wasn't that old in 1960) pulling into Main Street Station. But you can barely see the locomotive here, a good 60% (maybe even 63%) of the image is just blackness. Try not to be scared by the red hands in the lower left corner. I'm a bit baffled by this one, there appears to be a shadow cast by the station (with sunlight on the right side of the tracks), but it also looks like there are lights in the inky distance. You can see where the train staff walked their emotional support poodles.
Just for yucks, take a look at this view of the E.P. Ripley from 1971 - so much nicer.
From the same dark batch comes this drab and dismal look at the cursed Matterhorn, as seen from the Town Square side of Main Street Station. Even the usually-bright-yellow Hills Bros. Coffee Garden looks dreary. Well, I'm going to go cry now!
7 comments:
I threw up a little in my mouth when I saw where "the train staff walked their emotional support poodles". Eeewwww!
Like you said, this one is a head scratcher. If the scene is actually brighter than it looks, i.e. daytime, then why are those light on in the background? Maybe those aren't lights? I think the guy with the red hands is a demon... plus, he's smoking; another dead giveaway.
Darnit. In the 2nd pic, the train is a little farther forward, so it's blocking where those 'lights' would be in the 1st pic. I was hoping we would be able to see what was making the lights.
Oh my. I think that's the darkest picture of the Matterhorn we've seen. This is definitely NOT "the happiest place on Earth"! One would expect to see Dr. Frankenstein's castle up on that foreboding mountain.
Somewhat disturbing and confusing Snoozles this week, Major. Thanks? ;-)
The scary thing about the red hands is that it’s holding a cigarette!!
Hmmmm. I wonder if it's possible for photographs to be possessed?
What a coincidence, Major! I wasn’t that old in 1960 either.
Possibly the photographer was using an incorrect setting for the film? All the pics seem to share the same defect.
At first I thought those lights would be the souvenir counter, but comparison with 1971 show that’s not right. Maybe they are vehicles out in the parking lot? Wasn’t that the employee area back then? Or bus parking for big groups?
I’ll have to settle for the sights in the 1971 pic, monorail track, power lines, Denny’s sign, and the Piece of Resistance, the Disneyland sign itself!
And a passing nod to the Hill Brothers sign also!
Thank you Major!
JG
nice snoozles, nice theme for them both
I never realized one could see backstage from the train station, I would have been fascinated as a lad.
ooh, I think I see the reflection of city hall in that light globe... serendipity? or is it the whole point of the composition of this photo?
nice pics, Major
JB, I’m always glad to know when people throw up! It’s just a good feeling. That first photo reminds me “day for night” scenes, only those are usually so obviously filmed during the day, when this is just weird looking. I was thinking that maybe the distant lights could be a motel, but I guess we’ll never know. I don’t know if this is the darkest Matterhorn photo in my collection, but it is definitely up there (down there?)!
Mike Cozart, don’t you know that doctors recommend Chesterfields for their patients who smoke? Don’t exercise, just smoke a cigarette!
TokyoMagic!, I admit that my walls are weeping blood, but I thought nothing of it.
JG, I’d say it’s almost a certainty that the photographer had the settings wrong, but it almost feels like something else was at play. I don’t know if storing film incorrectly could result in pictures like these. But YEESH! Hmmm, vehicles in the parking lot is a good thought. But what are vehicles doing in the parking lot?? ;-) Happily, I’ve been scanning slides this weekend, and there are some real beauties from 1959, with great clarity and color.
LTL, you can’t see a lot of the backstage area, and you usually have to twist around to look behind you, but you *can* do it. News alert: it’s pretty mundane! I am not sure if the reflection shows City Hall, or possibly the train station itself?
That Ripley picture looks like a day-for-night scene out of some low-budget horror film I'd see on Svengoolie.
I think the Matterhorn needed a power wash in the last pic. Maybe all of the smog collected on it.
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