Gizmo!

Howard Smith's fizzy Documentary assembles dozens of newsreel style clips of all kinds of contraptions and oddball behavior into a highly entertaining stew. The basic idea here is a tribute to invention - whether by contraption or by physical feats. And, the motto is that even if one doesn't succeed, the effort is worth the risk of defeat. Of course, a large source of the enjoyment here is watching how spectacularly they often fail (although none of the footage seems to depict anything truly life-threatening). Transportation in it's various modes seems to be the invention of choice here (especially, attempts at flying). Milt Moss narrates in his wry thick New York City accent. Loose dialogue is dubbed over some of the clips along with a large selection of songs (including a Randy Newman composition) and music, adding to the breezy lite tone. In some ways GIZMO! resembles a visual compilation of Ripley's Believe It Or Not and Guinness Book of Worlds Records by way of those 60s Mondo films (not to mention a predecessor of World's Funniest Home Videos). But, Director Smith (who won a Documentary Oscar for MARJOE) gives the film a more unified vision here of the indomitable human spirit. And, a darn delightful one at that.