8mm Forum: 8mm film library/hire and those memories

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Posted by Mark Silvester (Member # 929) on April 12, 2019, 02:30 AM:

Hi all

although, I am only into the VP side of big screen entertainment...I do love reading the threads of those great days of the film collecting hobby. For me it started in 1973..but I thought it would be nice to think back about some of those wonderful 8mm film library's that were about.

Obviously there was Derann - and I remember getting my first block booking from them in 1976.

What about some of your experiences...it would be interesting to get some of those great stories..

My personal favourite was in hiring films from DJ Hurst in the early 80's...lovely man and I had block bookings for a long time.

Did Tony Powell have a hiring facility - he's the one guy I would have liked to have met. He had some great releases but I am told - Derek Simmonds confirmed it to me as well...that Tony Powell could be quite volatile and a hndful sometimes. [Eek!]

But...the ability to rent 8mm films and have film shows was a wonderful thing because in those days the actual price of 8mm to buy was often out of our reach!

Best

Mark [Eek!]

Posted by Bill Sherren (Member # 6743) on April 12, 2019, 10:43 AM:

Never brought many films- but hired absolutely loads!
From places like Watsofilms, .Bream Film Library, Perrys movies and others as well. Happy days!
It also introduced me to those marvellous old German silent UFA films..

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on April 12, 2019, 10:59 AM:

I only hired from Perry's which was local, but bought a couple of ex-library prints from PM Films

Posted by Leonard Goss (Member # 3172) on April 12, 2019, 11:00 AM:

Tony Powell did indeed have a hiring library which he also operated by post, I remember hiring many shows from him back in the day. I was living in Reading, Berkshire at the time.

Posted by David Michael Leugers (Member # 166) on April 12, 2019, 06:43 PM:

For a few years I lived just down the road from Dearborn Michigan. The Henry Ford Library there was just incredible. They had a huge catalog of 8mm films from the silent era and quite a few S8mm and 16mm sound films. The curator of the films (I've forgotten his name) had his own show on the local PBS station covering film history. Each week I'd check out at least a few films to watch in our apartment. I always wondered what ever became of the collection of films.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on April 13, 2019, 08:05 AM:

Dad used Golden Films quite a bit in London particularly for the old B&W British comedies also Harris Films. He used to tell me lots of stories how Watso Films 9.5mm sound prints were usually delivered with multiple centre perforations due to poor projection at home.
We also hired direct from Columbia who were shall we say tricky to deal with, but the short lived Derann Film Library was a great way to see a film before you ordered which I did with a couple of top titles.

Golden Films could hire you 8mm, 16mm and even 35mm! One memorable programme was Mr Pastrys Double Idendity 40 odd minutes of fun, a Laurel & Hardy and Inferno in Space. They had 3 episodes in all and I only ever got to see the first not knowing how Agar was dealt a blow. If you wanted a rest from projecting they offered a service to come and do it for you.
Happy times.

Posted by David Ollerearnshaw (Member # 3296) on April 13, 2019, 08:26 AM:

Lee those from Columbia were they the super 8 titles? I hire quite a few of them, plus from FDA and Rank all in super 8 It took the rest a number of years to get the same print quality. D.J. Hurst ad a few years on the block booking every two weeks I think. Bought a lot when he was closing down.

Posted by David Hardy (Member # 4628) on April 14, 2019, 03:37 PM:

I used our local film libraries in our photographic shops a lot when i first got into the hobby around 1965/66.

In Aberdeen Scotland we were lucky to have four at one time who hired 8mm and 16mm films daily or over the weekend.

They were James Henderson , Elena Mea , Lizars and The Aberdeen Photographic Services.

They had an excellent range of movies to hire.

Later i started hiring via mail order from the likes of Watsofilms and Westburn Film Sevices in Glasgow.

Happy memories. [Smile]

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on April 15, 2019, 01:05 AM:

16 David happy days waiting for the courier to deliver titles.

Posted by Ken Finch (Member # 2768) on April 17, 2019, 11:50 AM:

I was never into 8mm film hire as I have been a 9.5er for most of my life but also acquired a Cinetechnic Debrie D16 sometime in the late 1950s and hired films from Watsofilms,John King, and the sponsored film libraries of Sound Services, Petroleum Films Bureau, and Central Film Library. For the so called sponsored film libraries you only had to pay the postage. As a teenager I used the local 9.5mm film library of Butcher Kernow Chemists in Blackheath Village who also started me off as an amateur film maker with a Coronet camera! I stated collecting 9.5mm films in earnest when Super 8 started and many people were dumping 9.5 for the new upstart and I could obtain good 9.5 prints for £1.0 per reel!!!Ken Finch. i [Smile]

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