8mm Forum: received large donation of super 8 films today

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Posted by David Dvorchak (Member # 2703) on October 12, 2011, 03:03 PM:

I work for a library and we received a nice box of super 8s today. I deal in 16mm and don't even have a super 8 projector (well....yet), so these might be a little lost on me although I'll keep a few. Could anyone tell if any of these are particularly interesting or desirable from a collector's standpoint? I'm guessing probably not.

A Trip To The Moon (1 reel, 13 mins)
Battleship Potemkin (4 reels, 68 minutes)
Framing Youth (1 reel)
Gold Rush (4 reels, 90 mins)
A Bedroom Scandal (1 reel, 24 min)
Film Firsts (3 reels, 50 mins)
Laurel and Hardy - Whacky West (2 reels)
Mamas Little Pirate (1 reel, 20 mins)
Little Rascals - Birthday Blues (1 reel, 20 mins)
The Kid from Borneo (1 reel)
Super Hooper Dyne Lizzies (1 reel, 27 mins)
Broke in China (1 reel, 25 mins)
School's Out (1 reel, 20 mins)
Spooky Hooky (1 reel)
Lucky Corner (2 reels)
Donald Duck's Dilemmas 2 (1 reel, 16.75 mins)
The Pinch Singer (1 reel)
Balloonatic (1 reel)
Clown Princes of Hollywood (2 reels, 36 mins)
WC Fields - The Dentist (1 reel, 22 mins)
Shivering Shakespeare (1 reel, 20 mins)
Leena and the Geese (1 reel 15 mins)
Mary, Queen of Tots (1 reel, 30 mins)
Hook and Ladder (1 reel, 17 mins)
Dracula (note:"abridged version of Nosferatu")(1 reel, 32 mins)
The Silent Partner (1 reel, 26 mins)
Another Fine Mess (1 reel)
Dollars 4 Sense (1 reel)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1 reel)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (selected scenes, 1 reel)
The Poseidon Adventure (selected scenes, 1 reel)

I tried to include as much info as I could without actually being able to screen these at the moment. Most look to be Blackhawk, with a few exceptions.

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on October 12, 2011, 05:07 PM:

David, welcome,

First I have to ask this (bear with me): are you sure they all are Super-8 and not a mix of Super-8 and Regular-8?

In doing a quick scan, these stand out:

"A Trip to the Moon"...George Melies' early animation is always nice.

"Battleship Potemkin"....well, we know its place in film history [Big Grin]

so for a silent-feature lover, this could be something.

"The Gold Rush", Chaplin's comedy classic, seemingly in a complete print. Again, a silent "completionist" might like this.

"The Dentist" is one of W.C Fields' famous two-reelers, so if it is in good shape, I can't imagine someone not picking it up.

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" would be the 400-foot condensation of that film, running some 16-17mins; the same goes for "Poseidon."

The 400-foot editions, mostly in clamshell cases, were very popular with many titles available, but with the color ones, there is unfortunately a good chance the stock may have turned red, so a quick eyeballing of the first few feet should tell you that reasonably quickly.

A few cents' worth to get you going....

Claus.

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on October 12, 2011, 05:10 PM:

Nah, they're pretty worthless. I'll take 'em off your hands for $20.
[Razz]

Posted by Christopher Allison (Member # 1867) on October 12, 2011, 05:21 PM:

Welcome David,
The one "Film Firsts (3 reels, 50 mins" caught my eye. Does anyone have an idea of what this film contains and how old is it?

Posted by Christian Bjorgen (Member # 1780) on October 13, 2011, 01:00 AM:

Silent film lover right here!

"Potemkin" is a real classic, along with Birth of A Nation and other greats of the first decades of film.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on October 13, 2011, 03:09 AM:

Star Trek is a 12 minute promo reel with an awful Marketing Films preview reel on the end to make up the time.

Posted by Jonathan Sanders (Member # 478) on October 13, 2011, 04:10 AM:

quote:
The one "Film Firsts (3 reels, 50 mins" caught my eye. Does anyone have an idea of what this film contains and how old is it?

If 50 minutes at 24fps, this consists of Part 1 and Part 2 of this title from the Paul Killiam TV series SILENTS PLEASE, looking at the very early years of cinema. Some of the clips are still quite unusual and it includes an interview with G.M. Anderson (Broncho Billy), filmed specially for the programmes, I assume.

I believe Blackhawk issued this in both sound and silent versions, the latter with long intertitles replacing the original narration. (My own copies are video, from UK TV broadcasts almost 30 years ago.)

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on October 13, 2011, 10:50 AM:

David, there are lots of variables in determining the worth of these, but as you can see, yes, these titles are a worthwhile bunch.

As you rummage through them, notice if:
--they're all Super 8, or if some of them have the larger holes and smaller images of regular 8
--if they have sound or not. Even if the box doesn't tell you, those magnetic stripes (usually brownish) on the edges are what you're looking for
--whether any color prints have turned brown or red
--whether the condition look worn, scratched, torn, missing leaders, titles, or footage -- or pristine!

Even a great rare title can be made worthless if beset with a bad combination of problems.

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on October 13, 2011, 11:27 AM:

quote:
Nah, they're pretty worthless. I'll take 'em off your hands for $20.

Naaah...not even that! just donate back to me [Big Grin]

.....

from serious side, I can say that your titles are not rare. They come up at Ebay very often.

You can sell L&H and Little Rascal (Our Gangs) at around $7-15 each.

Poseidon Adventure is around $5-10
Donald Duck $10-15
Star Trek $15-25, etc, etc

But as Bill mentioned above you have to be more specific with details.

Silent print of sound version film or B/W print of Color film are less interesting so less value.

Color print with so many fade problem is also decreasing the value.

clean print vs scratchy print is very important.

VS (smell vinegar on your film) is strictly avoidable (do not sell!)

Film format: regular 8 vs super 8, where regular 8 is usually attract less buyers.

etc, etc.. so you can see there are many variables to determine the value of your films

For Blackhwak releases, they have specific catalog no to say if they are sound or silent, or regualr 8 or super 8.

If the catalog no start with:

- 880**** this super 8 sound
- 860**** this is super 8 silent
- 810**** regular 8
- etc, etc

I am sorry I forgot other prefix, probably other can chime in.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on October 13, 2011, 11:48 AM:

Std 8 b/w=810
Std 8 col=825
Sup 8 b/w=860
Sup 8 col=870
Sup 8 snd=880 (Whether B&W or Color)

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on October 13, 2011, 01:35 PM:

I can't argue with Winbert if he knows that all the titles are not rare but there are several that I haven't heard of, e.g.:
Shivering Shakespeare (1 reel, 20 mins)
Leena and the Geese (1 reel 15 mins)
Mary, Queen of Tots (1 reel, 30 mins)
Hook and Ladder (1 reel, 17 mins)

Are all these old silent films that only silent collectors are familiar with?

[ October 13, 2011, 07:51 PM: Message edited by: Adrian Winchester ]

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 13, 2011, 02:12 PM:

Isn't that "Star Trek: The MOtion Picture" actually just about ten or 11 minutes? It was an extra long trailer for the feature, along with additional trailers for other marketing films on the reel?

Posted by John Skujins (Member # 1515) on October 13, 2011, 02:38 PM:

Adrian: I've only seen "Lena and the Geese" for sale once on ebay, and I bought it, so from my perspective it's scarce. It's a Blackhawk Mary Pickford film on Super 8. It may have been released on R8 also but I don't know.

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on October 13, 2011, 04:44 PM:

quote:
Shivering Shakespeare (1 reel, 20 mins)
Hook and Ladder (1 reel, 17 mins)

Adrian, aren't they Little Rascals/Our Gangs?

Joe Caruso has these two titles for sale, aren't you Joe?

quote:
Mary, Queen of Tots (1 reel, 30 mins)

This is also Little Rascal/our gang but silent movie.

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