Jimmy Smith in Europe (1965)

The great Jimmy Smith Trio tours Europe with Dizzy Gillespie in this remarkable, black and white, cinema verite style documentary from 1965. As hip as it gets. 

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World - the CBC Cinema Verite Documentary (1963)

In anticipation of the 1963 launch of Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad Mad Mad World, United Artists spent close to four hundred thousand dollars in promotion, flying international media to Hollywood, putting them up at the Beverly Hilton, and tossing them a lavish party with comedians mingling about. Among the international media was a film crew from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In the States, Mad World's free infomercial came in the form of a cast appearance on the two-hour Jerry Lewis Show, a notorious and disastrous, short-lived ABC talk program. Dick Shawn, Jonathan Winters, Carl Reiner, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman and plenty of others cavorted on Jerry's stage for the full 120 minutes. Back in Canada, the CBC's stark, black and white, cinema verite style documentary aired once and then vanished forever. If the eight minute selection below is any indication... it must be pretty amazing - and overripe for rediscovery.

Cinéastes de notre temps: John Cassavetes (1968)

CBS Reports: Biography of a Bookie Joint (1961)

One of many seminal news documentaries churned out in the early nineteen sixties, Biography of a Bookie Joint helped create a stark cousin of cinema verite, coming to prominence around the same time. 

Watch the full hour - Biography of a Bookie Joint.

ABC Close-Up: Primary (1960)

October Country (1967)

Despite the optimism of this amazing film, their greatest claim to fame would be the music as Hanna-Barbera's Cattanooga Cats.

The March On Washington (1963)

Integration Report (1960)

Some of the earliest work from legendary documentarian Albert Maysles.

Take This Hammer featuring James Baldwin (1963)

Lonely Boy (1962)

We've posted this here in the past, but it always warrants a second (or more) viewing. Certainly one of the greatest Canadian films ever made and perhaps the greatest work of showbiz as Cinema Vérité ever created. 

Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965)

Found it. Click play. Once it starts playing hit pause, then give it several minutes to load. It should play fine after that. If that doesn't work, follow the same instructions but watch it here.

Born For Hard Luck with Peg Leg Sam (1976)

Another fine dancer-musician with a wooden leg, here is a 1976 black and white documentary from Tom Davenport about Peg Leg Sam. 

A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1963)

Before the feature-length, animated, theatrical release A Boy Named Charlie Brown was released in 1969, a live-action documentary showing a day in the life of Charles Schulz was made with the same name. Here's a five minute sample.