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Topic: MGM Television Box

Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007

posted June 11, 2018 10:18 AM

Did American TV stations receive their 16mm prints on cores?

I ask because I have just bought an MGM TV 3-reel feature which came in a cardboard box marked MGM Television, Culver City, California. On the back is "3-1600" which is, I assume, its capacity.

The 16mm film was on three grey plastic spools marked GB(?) which were cinched down, thus somewhat trapping the film as it tries to exit. The film may have to be re-spooled before projection. On close examination the box lids will not close cleanly over the spools, this has caused the cinching.

However, I then tried placing three cores in the box and they fitted perfectly. This gives the impression the box is only designed for a film on cores, not on spools.

Have any 16mm members had this same occurrence?

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Maurice

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David Ollerearnshaw
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1373
From: Penistone Sheffield UK
Registered: Oct 2012

posted June 11, 2018 11:09 AM

The films I have bought such as Hogans Heroes, Flintstones and others came on 1600ft spools while some were plain like Tuscan, others were embossed with SCREEN GEMS, CBS. So my thoughts would be a mix of spools and cores.

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I love the smell of film in the morning.

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Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013

posted June 11, 2018 12:01 PM

Mine have come on spools marked 20th Century Fox Television, TCM, and Viacom.

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Bill Brandenstein
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1632
From: California
Registered: Aug 2007

posted June 11, 2018 09:00 PM

Maurice, was it lab mint? Or perhaps out of long-term storage (which for a TV print actually wouldn't make sense)? I've never seen a TV print on cores out of a TV library.

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Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007

posted June 12, 2018 02:31 AM

Bill
It's "The Harvey Girls". LPP. Date code 1983. Intact leaders which says it's a TV print.
Original MGM Television box with film codes on spine.
But, as I said, the box is not deep enough to store the film on three spools although the back of the box says "3-1600".
I put in three cores (piled up) and there was adequate clearance for them. This seems to indicate that it's only designed for film storage on cores.

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Maurice

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David Hardy
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 955
From: Johnshaven Village , Montrose, Scotland
Registered: Jan 2015

posted June 12, 2018 02:39 PM

It makes complete sense that some TV prints would have been stored on film bobbins ( cores ). It would have been expensive if everything were archived on film spools. [Smile]

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" My equipment's more important than your rats. "

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Michael O'Regan
Film God

Posts: 3085
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Oct 2007

posted June 13, 2018 02:17 AM

I agree, David.
Cores were probably the default storage and transport option.
Maurice, you probably remember from your cinema days, films arrived and left the building on cores, or often without cores - cinemas tended to hold onto these.

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Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007

posted June 13, 2018 03:14 AM

It's true, Michael, but you are referring to 35mm. In the US cinemas 35mm films always travelled on spools, ready for projection.
And of course, all 16mm rental prints in the UK and US were kept on spools.
But my situation doesn't fall into these categories. David may be more correct with his assumption.

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Maurice

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