8mm Forum: Top Cat 400ft Colour Sound "Dibble breaks the Record"

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Topic: Top Cat 400ft Colour Sound "Dibble breaks the Record"

Tom Photiou
Film God

Posts: 4837
From: Plymouth U.K
Registered: Dec 2003

posted May 26, 2016 03:42 PM

I thought as the Halifax building society in the UK has now taken Top cat as there new advertising we should put on one of our two 400 ft colour sounds. These dont come up that often, released by columbia with absolutely top colour, image and sound quality. Like many of us i grew up watching these at 4.30pm after school days along with The Flintstones.
Unfortunately, like the Flintstones the Top Cat cartoons are without the title sequence, a pity really as these and the Flintstones opening tunes were a big part of them. I dont know how many Top Cats were released in the colour sound 400ft format but the two we have is enough for us. Both are in there original boxes and neither is suffering from any fade at all.
Here is the summary plot of this episode,
Dibble attempts to break the record for being the longest-serving police officer on the beat. If he wins, he goes on holiday... and leaves the gang free from him. With this in mind, Top Cat does everything he can to help Dibble win.

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Adrian Winchester
Film God

Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004

posted May 27, 2016 11:35 AM

Fascinating - I'd never heard of these releases but I have a Columbia '400 featuring the Jetsons, although I think that one does have the opening sequence and song. I think my Jetsons copy also retains good colour, so considering how badly faded many of the Columbia films are, it makes you wonder if these animated releases were printed at a different lab?

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Adrian Winchester

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Tom Photiou
Film God

Posts: 4837
From: Plymouth U.K
Registered: Dec 2003

posted May 27, 2016 12:10 PM

I thought that to Adrian. The flintstones we have are like new.

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Panayotis A. Carayannis
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 969
From: Athens,Greece
Registered: Jul 2008

posted May 28, 2016 08:51 AM

According to a 1977 catalogue,Columbia released ten complete Top Cat episodes, (five of which are in my collection!) It is one of the few tv cartoons that I like.Perhaps because the Hanna-Barbera limited animation and stylisation was still fresh and definitely because the scripts were by live action comedy writers Harvey Bullock and R. S. Allen.

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Andrew Woodcock
Film God

Posts: 7477
From: Manchester Uk
Registered: Aug 2012

posted May 28, 2016 09:37 AM

The Top Cat and Flintstones prints I have all have excellent colour still.

They are all the 400ft editions, 5 in total.

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"C'mon Baggy..Get with the beat"

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Adrian Winchester
Film God

Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004

posted May 28, 2016 12:59 PM

Panayotis - I wondered if your catalogue also indicates how many Flintstones and Jetsons releases there were at the time? Any other animated 400' releases?

No doubt the good colour encourages collectors to hold on to them, but the scarcity of these in the UK makes me wonder if relatively few were imported.

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Adrian Winchester

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Panayotis A. Carayannis
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 969
From: Athens,Greece
Registered: Jul 2008

posted May 28, 2016 05:29 PM

35,(yes! Thirty Five) Flintstones and 10 Jetsons.All the other Hanna-Barberas are one reelers.

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005

posted June 01, 2016 12:32 PM

I have a strangely edited down (15 minutes) of the "Flinstones
Flyer", which was one of the 1st episodes. Love to find the full 400ft version, but this does have very good color, however.

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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