I should have guessed Scopitone but it looked more elaborate than others I have seen. I checked again and that it is. I understand why anybody would find the Scopitone performances corny and maybe even wierd or just incredibly awful but for reasons I am tryin to figure out I just find most every performance very intriguing and enjoyable in a funny sort of odd way. I always get a vibe from them that I never felt.
At first, I thought this Debbie/If I had A Hammer was from a TV special aimed at ages 30 and up. I suspected most people would not like it but maybe seniors would like it and consider the song's message coming from Debbie over the artists the young people liked. It is also interesting to know that this would not have been on TV although I think similar productions were at that time but different than anything produced for Scopitone. I wonder if the odd vibe of Scopitone films was the result of one man deciding how they were created? I wonder if Debbie was told what to do and if she had much input on this production. Posts on the two threads of this on youtube suggest Debbie was in need of money at the time because of a former husband/manager who lost big money of hers. Others claim that Ann Margaret and Stockard Channing are two of the back up dancers in it.
My fav versions of If I Had A Hammer are:
http://youtu.be/heIyz6_pqac http://youtu.be/_UKvpONl3No http://youtu.be/7SCt8JPAkgU http://youtu.be/wdXDd0PZYtY http://youtu.be/v9uytEoP6nU
I love youtube for bringing the most incredible entertainment to everybody.