America's in Real Trouble

VHS compilation of two Tom Palazzolo documentaries - Marquette Park (1976) and Marquette Park II (1978) - about the American Nazi party and its leader Frank Collin.

Chesterton, Indiana's annual WIZARD OF OZ parade (as well as their many Oz-themed festivities) provides the backdrop for I MARRIED A MUNCHKIN, Tom Palazzolo's study of the life and career of Mary Ellen St. Aubin. Self-described as "normal, but little," Mary Ellen details her early start in show business as a performer in an all-dwarf vaudeville act, her brief appearance in 1946's THREE WISE FOOLS, her 1948 marriage to former Munchkin Parnell St. Aubin and their subsequent retirement from entertainment to run a bar (called the Midget Club) in the South Side of Chicago. Two other former Munchkins (Margaret Pellegrini and Clarence Swensen) briefly appear among the day's revelry. Also included is a postscript (shot some time after the initial film) featuring Mary Ellen briefly describing the original size of her role in THREE WISE FOOLS, which originally featured a line and an ill-fated "flying" effect. - Tom Fritsche

Surreal film melding documentary footage of Chicago and its residents, featuring fast paced montage sequences set against a rollicking 1960s musical backdrop. The film aptly deconstructs the absurdities of contemporary American life, particularly the thick fog of patriotism engulfing the country at the time.

A music and costume filled portrayal of the 1976 Gay Pride Parade by filmmaker Tom Palazzolo. All is fun and games until a bystander hurls an egg at Palazzolo's camera lens. It resumes quickly though.

A 14-minute almanac of Midwestern America and its funky Americana at the end of the Love Generation, Love It / Leave It begins with proudly naked people parading about for all the world to ogle at the annual Naked City beauty pageant in Roselawn, Indiana, before returning to Chicago, where families literally draped in American flags are found wilting under the heat of the sun along a downtown parade route.

Lisa Gottlieb's Oscar-winning spoof of misogynist film noir.

Lillie Santangelo had for most of the 20th century owned and operated a wax museum at New York's Coney Island. She leads us on a final tour, just before her museum is closed and her wax figures and exhibits are auctioned off. Old age and declining attendance have forced her to close and sell everything. This film deals with the loss of her "friends" (the wax figures), she has known for so long. She reminisces about her years as a Coney Island fixture as she visits the ocean boardwalk one last time.

A documentary about a man who wins a million dollars in the Illinois lottery. Takes place at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL.

Tom Palazzolo's 1978 film "Sharie's Prom" is a documentary that captures the experiences of Sharie Holeb and her friends during their prom night in Chicago. The film offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of these young individuals as they navigate the excitement and challenges of this significant high school event.

Filmmakers Tom Palazzolo, Jeff Kreines, and Bernie Caputo attend the annual Chicago Senior Citizens Picnic hosted by the Democratic Party. Shot in the style of direct cinema, they spend the afternoon in a Chicago park following the seniors as they have a musical revue, hula dance, listen to speeches, play organized games and generally seem to have an all around fabulous time.

A documentary on a Neo-Nazi rally in Marquette Park, Chicago, on July 9, 1978 features footage from inside the Neo-Nazi headquarters in Chicago (led by Frank Collin) and protesters in Marquette Park. In the headquarters they discuss logistics, chit-chat, and organize themselves for the rally. In the park beforehand we see people gathering (both anti-Nazis and Neo-Nazis) and police organizing themselves for the rally. Filmed by Tom Palazzolo and Mark Rance.

A profile of Chicago's greatest Presley impersonator, Jay Elvis

Footage documenting a toy drive – “Toys for Tots” – held at a leather bar / motorcycle club in Chicago, called the Baton Lounge. The club was originally located at 436 N. Clark St., but moved to 4713 N. Broadway in 2019. The owner is Illinois native Jim Flint, who along with Irv Kupcinet helped to inaugurate the club’s most well-known tradition, “The Top of the Nation Revue,” which popularized the art of female impersonation and lip syncing – some of which can be seen in this film.

A portrait of the spectators and press covering the dedication of Claes Oldenburg's "Batcolumn" sculpture on April 14, 1977, outside of the newly-built Social Security Administration Center at 600 West Madison Street in downtown Chicago.

Based on a comic Heather McAdams created for the Chicago Reader, the short comedic film was made by Tom Palazzolo's 1990 film production class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Set in downtown Chicago on S Columbus Dr & E Congress Pkwy, McAdams demonstrates tips on how to ward off unwanted attention from men on the road.

“Primarily a pet parade for children.”