8mm Forum: standard 8 magnetic sound

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Posted by Steven Sigel (Member # 21) on January 15, 2010, 04:21 PM:

Does anyone out there collect standard 8 with magnetic sound? I just got several prints in and was surprised - I had always thought that standard 8 sound stuff was optical.

Anyway, if there are people who want them, I'll go through and find them and post the titles..

Posted by Mikael Barnard (Member # 1637) on January 15, 2010, 05:57 PM:

Hi Steven. Usually mag sound with standard 8, in fact I believe 8mm optical was never released to the public, just test reels, which is one of the reasons the Toei Talkie projector is such a laugh, mag and opt sound but never any opt film. I for one would be interested to see what you have in standard 8 sound for sale (money's tight though so can't promise to buy anything). All the best.

Mikael.

Posted by Steven Sigel (Member # 21) on January 15, 2010, 06:35 PM:

I just checked - the prints are Blackhawks in their original boxes.
- Nickel Nurser (Charley Chase)
- Midsummer Mush (Charley Chase)
- Laurel and Hardy Murder case (2 reels)
Also have "From Soup To Nuts (Laurel and Hardy) Silent)

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on January 15, 2010, 06:45 PM:

In my entire life I have only seen one R8 sound reel. Seen, not heard. I haven't ever had a projector capable of playing the sound on one. I watched it for picture quality and then packed it off to Tim Christian. We used to watch each other's E-bay purchases and intercept the bad ones before they were shipped across the Atlantic.

In R8 the stripe is much closer to the middle of the film so there was no balance stripe. (No stereo, either...)

Posted by Thomas Dafnides (Member # 1851) on January 15, 2010, 08:57 PM:

I had some standard 8mm post sound striped around 1985..and they put on a balance stripe...which toward the end of the reel would obtrude into the picture area.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on January 15, 2010, 09:55 PM:

That's interesting:

The standard calls for a single stripe between the sprocket holes and the frame. I bet your balance stripe was applied according to the Super-8 standard.

Posted by Alexander Lechner (Member # 1548) on January 16, 2010, 03:03 AM:

I've got the oddest standard 8 sound film: I would call it an early erotic film. As the title is missing I can only discribe it: a naked girl is lying on the bed and a mad looking hunchback tries to stab / strangle her in different ways; she gets saved by a guy dressed up like a noble man. Once she is saved the whole thing starts over again with the end being her saved by the noble man again. All three of them bow and they turn around to see "The End" written on her naked bottom. Does anybody know this film? It's quite a laugh. The sound consists mostly of the hunchback making stupid remarks in German and some screeming by her (dubbed by a man!) - it was obviously dubbed later in southern Germany as the original film is from an English speaking country.
One surprise for me was also to find a pre-striped standard 8 film in a camera that I bought not too long ago. It's the only one I have ever seen.

Posted by Panayotis A. Carayannis (Member # 1220) on January 16, 2010, 02:50 PM:

In std 8 the sound stripe is outside of the sprocket holes, not inside.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on January 16, 2010, 03:23 PM:

It's true, I just checked ito it myself.

Somewhere along the line I saw it drawn inside. Don't even know where anymore.

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on January 16, 2010, 04:25 PM:

I have 2 standard 8 sound films:

Silly Symphony "Three Little Pigs" (great color but scratched up pretty bad)
Battleship Potemkin (reel 2 from the feature)

I have many silents but would like to have a sound projector to play these and any more I would come across.

Steven...you wouldn't happen to have any odd reels from 'Battleship Potemkin' would you...?

Bill

Posted by Steven Sigel (Member # 21) on January 16, 2010, 05:23 PM:

RE: Potemkin - I have a full print, but only in 16mm , not in 8mm

If anyone wants any of these, $20/each or if you take all three of the sound prints, I'll throw in the silent one for free.

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on January 16, 2010, 05:39 PM:

Steven... I also have the full POTEMKIN in super 8, but it's silent.

If I had a standard 8 sound projector I might take you up on one of those films but I don't want to start that collection until I have something to screen them on.

Bill

Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on January 16, 2010, 11:15 PM:

My first, and I think only, standard 8mm sound was Walton Stooges Go West 200ft. I worked with a projectionist, who had a standard 8mm sound projector and he brought it into work (Forum 70mm atmospheric) one day so I did get to hear it back then at least once.

I loved that film as a teen and later got it in Super 8 - slightly different box art colours too.

Posted by Martin Jones (Member # 1163) on January 17, 2010, 05:00 AM:

I have a copy of The Glass Mountain in Std 8. Walton Films cat. no. F475. in 4 parts.No balance stripe.

Thomas, you said "I had some standard 8mm post sound striped around 1985..and they put on a balance stripe...which toward the end of the reel would obtrude into the picture area"
A striping machine would be set up to carry "Main stripe" on this side of the film (the Super 8 main stripe normally goes on this edge on the film); any attempt to load and use the narrow balance stripe there would be fraught with difficulty in keeping the stripe alignment correct.

Martin.
.Martin

Posted by David Pannell (Member # 300) on January 17, 2010, 07:21 AM:

Here is a list of my Standard 8 sound films. They are all full length features except for the first two:

Operation Bluebell - Restoration of the Bluebell Steam Railway.

Elizabethan Express - Synopsis of this famous train.

Oh Mr Porter - Will Hay.

Convicts Four - Ben Gazzara, Vincent Price, Rod Steiger, Sammy Davis Jr, Broderick Crawford.

Fort Algiers - Yvonne de Carlo, Raymond Burr, Leif Erickson.

Tomahawk Territory - Clayton Moore, Slim Andrews.

Tornado - Chester Morris, Nancy Kelly.

Northwest Stampede - James Craig, Joan Leslie, Jack Oakie.

Belle Starr's Daughter - George Montgomery, Rod Cameron, Ruth Roman.

Heart of the West - William Boyd, James Ellison.

Cattle Queen - Maria Hart, Drake Smith.

Rose of Cimarron - Jack Beutel, Mala Powers.

I Killed Geronimo - James Ellison, Virginia Herrick, Chief Thundercloud (as Geronimo).

The Block Signal - Ralph Lewis, Jean Arthur.

Nightmare in Wax - Cameron Mitchell, Anne Helm, Scott Brady.

All of the features were purchased from Paul Foster, and all are in good to excellent condition. Paul, at that time, had a vast list of titles in Standard 8 sound, but I haven't checked recently.

Most have now been transferred to 800ft reels from their original 400 footers, and run superbly on my modified Eumig Mark S.

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on January 17, 2010, 07:51 AM:

Paul still has a fine selection of both S and R-Sound, I'm a steady customer - My S8 STOGES GO WEST has a 9.8 box and sharp print - On to Std8 Sound, these prints often sparkle because they were duped from choice 16's, true many don't live up to standard. The stripe was sometimes near a darker brown hue, adn I often wonder why a stripe HAS to be in this range of color - In most cases, the sound booms - If anyone has R8Sound to sell or trade, I'm of a mind (what there is of it), Shorty

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on January 17, 2010, 01:41 PM:

Nice collection David!

I have a silent copy of The Block Signal. It's a Blackhawk print w/original box. It was on 4 200' reels and I put it on 2 400' reels. I have only watched it once. Does yours have a music score on it, as I believe it was a 'silent' film?

Bill

Posted by David Pannell (Member # 300) on January 19, 2010, 05:36 AM:

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your appreciation.

Mine is a Blackhawk print too, and it does have a music score on it - must have been added later. It came on 2 very full 400ft reels, but is now on 1 x 800ft reel - just!

What speed do you run your print, 16-18fps or 24fps? I have to run mine at 24fps because of the sound. Action seems a bit speeded up, though!

I'm still trying to obtain a 16mm sound print of Buster Keaton in "The General", with the music score which was added later, but no luck so far. I did have a silent standard 8 print but I sold that when I obtained a 16mm print, but that too is silent.

The Std 8 silent print of "The General" was correct at 16fps, but the 16mm silent print has correct screen action at about 20fps!!! All very confusing, though we all know that there was never any REALLY correct speed for silent films, as the directors and camera men of the day chose erratic/differing speeds to suit the action and mood of the film.

Cheers,

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on January 19, 2010, 06:47 AM:

My print of GENERAL runs perfectly, it's the Super 8 Sound (Scored) Killiam release from Blackhawk, somewhat abridged, but you can't really note the difference

Posted by frank arnstein (Member # 330) on January 19, 2010, 06:20 PM:

For all the Standard 8 Sound enthusiasts,
Here is a pic of a Bell & Howell that does the job well.
Part imported, modified and re-assembled in Australia by "16mm Australia Ltd" it is about all I can suggest you use besides a Eumig Dual 8 sound.
There arent many of these old girls floating around anymore, but I saw one on ebay a few weeks ago & it passed in.

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on January 19, 2010, 06:31 PM:

Steven, I have about a dozen prints R8 mag sound, including an old Derann! Can't get 'em as bright as Super 8 or 16 due to the smaller aperture, but the quality is generally very good to amazing. I've only bought them because they're not in demand and are therefore cheaper, so $20 each is too high IMHO, and much more than I would pay, even if really minty.

Posted by Thomas Dafnides (Member # 1851) on January 19, 2010, 11:17 PM:

Martin,
My film has the thicker stripe on the outside of the sprocket holes as it should be. The balance stripe appears about the width of a super 8 balance stripe and it is on the edge frame area of the standard 8 film. Towards the last few feet the balance stripe tends to lose its positioning and becomes viewable on screen at the edge.
I believe it was done by Superior Bulk Film in Chicago.

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on January 20, 2010, 08:30 AM:

My first sound projector was standard 8 sound...a ....Sears...ugh..but it ran..and had good picture and sound. I bought loads of Castle sound cutdowns..then blackhawk shorts and features. Still have and show some of them. The sound on many of them was superior to the early super 8 versions....with a 56 frame separation from aperture to sound head, the sound had none of the clatter you often get in super 8 films on some projectors. Castle films also were printing the most fabulous prints. I still have my Reg. 8 sound copy of their Frankenstein....which has a sharper nicer picture...than my 16mm version, which was printed later...and my 16mm feature version. Today's Eumig dual machines.. 810 and 824 show a really good and fairly bright picture as well.

Posted by Steven Sigel (Member # 21) on January 20, 2010, 09:58 AM:

Bill - wow, in 16mm any of these titles would easily bring $100 or more, - especially the charley chase stuff - those sometimes go for several hundred (I've seen some go for $500-$600 in the past). And I bet they cost more than $20 to buy from Blackhawk in the 70s.

I'll take offers on them if anyone wants them.

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on January 20, 2010, 01:20 PM:

Yes I'm not surprised as those old comedies in 16 do hold their value well, which you know far better than I, Steven! Maybe I've just been lucky on eBay, where reg 8 sound is uncommon but not fought over.

Posted by Martin Jones (Member # 1163) on January 20, 2010, 01:32 PM:

Yes, Thomas, sounds like poor workmanship on their part. Pity!

Martin

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on January 20, 2010, 04:54 PM:

David,

The projector I ran the 'Block Signal' on has variable speed. I remember ajusting the speed so the movement on screen looked normal. So, I'm not sure what speed I ran it at. When I run it again I will pay closer attention.

Funny you should mention 'The General'...I have a silent copy (on super 8) I just watched last night!

Bill

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