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Author
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Topic: A Question for Castle Films PROFESSIONALS!!
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted August 23, 2005 12:09 PM
I just bought a standard 8mm print of a "Castle Color" title called "the Big Bad Wolf", it's just one of the old Ub Iwerks cartoons, but thew auction said color so I thought, what the heck, no one else is bidding on it, and it's only a buck, if the eastman color is totally gone, what's a buck anyhow!!!
BOY!! WAS I SUPRISED!!
It wasn't eastman color, it was pure "Kodak Safety Stock" color, and it hasn't faded AT ALL!! Not a bit. My only sad point is that it doesn't have the original credits on it, at the beginning, but the original credits are on the end, with the earlier Castle logo. Even the color title cards have a "granite" style backing in gorgoeus light blues! As far as I'm concerned, this is a real find, and I'm seeing if he has anymore available.
My question is, due to the fact that this is "Kodak Safety film" color stock, what age is this standard 8mm film print? As far as I can remember, Castle films used Eastman stock, so I'm betting that this has to be at least the early 60's or much earlier. Please note, the edges of the film have a slightly bluish hue to them.
CASTLE FILM PROFESSIONALS, LEND ME YOUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE!!
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted August 23, 2005 02:32 PM
Wow, that was quick! That means this would have to be between 1946 and 56, which means that it's dang good color for it's age. I guess that shouldn't be suprising, as I have seen a number of old home movies from the 40's in standard 8mm, that have incredibly good color as well.
I read up on cine-color in the past and one site had some stuff on it. The problem with the cinecolor, (and it appears that this print has the problem as well), is that, though it has perfect color, it's very grainy and not as sharp as your average Castle film.
What's interesting to me is that , lets say that this is one of the 1946 prints. That would make it less than ten years since this film was actually made! (as this film was made in 1936, I believe), and may be some of the earlier examples of early home movie color.
In have a number of early prints that are color and all of them, before Eastman, have very good color. It's interesting that A.A.P. put out a series of color SOUND standard 8mm in "Ansco color" and the color on this print of "Hair Raising Hare" is excellent.
The same can be said for a "Hollywood Exchange" print of the Disney Mickey Mouse "Tugboat Mickey" (Standard 8mm color silent)which is also Ansco color, and is excellent. It was amazing, it must have been stored somewhere and still, to this day, never played! Not even by me, but upon looking at it frame by frame, once again, this earlier color tends to be grainy and the sharpness suffers slightly.
In a way, it seems like when home movie distributors turned to Eastman color instead of these other competing brands, they may have saved money in processing and such, but we collectors, in general, have payed the price years down the line!
The fellow who sold it said that they will be posting more of these in the next month, so I'm going to try for them.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted August 24, 2005 11:21 AM
I noticed that! I have a number of unfaded Ub Iwerks cartoons, (That were put out by Blackhawk in the early 80's) and while the color is okay, it's not up to the standards of a regular color combination, so I just wrote that off to Ub Iwerks working with an inferior color scheme.
But, upon looking at this standard 8mm print, the colors of this "Big Bad Wolf" are truly stunning, unfaded, and a full color spectrum. I tell you, it really is a revelation! Add to that the original Castle film logo's at the end and it's quite a prize, and that, at only one dollar! But then, alas, "Gold is where you find it!"
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted August 25, 2005 12:17 PM
Boy, that would suck (to have a logo burned in) Thanks to Kevin and John and the others who have contributed to this series of posts.
While Cinecolor wasn't perfect, I must say again that the cinecolor standard 8mm print I have, (and the same cartoon on Blackhawk eastman color) are like night and day, and the amazing thing is that while the Blackhawk eastman color print is only 25 years old, (and already starting a slight fade), the cinecolor print is at least 50 years old, (as Cinecolor, it sounds like, pretty much went bankrupt shortly after 1950) and yet still retains it's full and rich color, which at least tells me that this cinecolor process, while a little grainier, was a much better process. I feel thankful that I snatched this cartoon up and hope that this fella that I bought it from, has some more "Castle Color" titles from the same period, as it's lots of fun to have truly vintage early color films in my collection.
I don't know if anyone can answer the question as to when full color films (as in cartoons, features ect.) were first introduced to home audiences, but I'd love for someone to give some info on the subject.
Note : not the first color home movie film, but the first color film releases of studio films. I woudln't be suprised if these "Castle color" films were among the first.
It's kind of interesting, that perhaps the best color, (until some fuji prints or of course, and Kodak LPP color in the early 80's) was actually in the earliest films released to the public to collect.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted August 25, 2005 10:09 PM
One of the earlier posts, (either on this topic or the other), said that cinecolor did the early "Castle color" standard 8mm films, I can tell you for sure, that the print that i have certianly isn't eastman, but ansco color was certianly around back then.
ANYHOW it's great color and I'm proud to have ti in me collection, (even without complete titles)
The interesting thig about this title, is that I have a super 8 sound Ub Iwerks and it was released under the older Castle Films logo, and it has very good color as well, no fade, but I'm betting it's not a cinecolor print, as the colors on it pale compared to that standard 8mm I recieved.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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