8mm Forum: Old 16mm Castle films prone to vinegar?

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Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on November 28, 2012, 12:08 PM:

This is an appeal to those of you who've handled many of the Castle 16mm titles over the years. Last night I inspected some reels that were especially infested with Vinegar Syndrome. What was different from these as compared to some other reels stored similarly is that they're all Castle 400' shorts, about 4 spliced together per canister. Granted these are over 50 years old (mid to late 1950s). However, I'm wondering if these are worse off because of how Castle produced their prints? It's also possible these were shown less and didn't get aired out much over the years (they're in really good condition other than the putrid odor), plus at some point they 'lived' in the warm climate of Mexico.

Sad to see good condition films in that state of deterioration. Value is lessened further since these are all lacking original reels, boxes, and most lab leaders. Oh well.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on November 30, 2012, 05:36 AM:

There are a lot of Castle 400' films in my collection. I consider their releases to be the best on 16mm, excellent picture and sound. I understand that most were taken from 35mm originals.

I have never had any trouble with V.S. Admittedly, the older films have that "old" smell to them which a lot of films do have.

As mentioned, the prints in question had lived in Mexico. Here in the UK the weather isn't always too good, but films seem to enjoy living in this country!

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on November 30, 2012, 08:16 AM:

Bill,

I've never noticed any connection between distributor and VS. I would think the closed canister and the climate are the culprits.

Doug

Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on December 02, 2012, 10:40 PM:

I have numerous titles from CASTLE in both 8mm and 16mm silent and sound editions from the 60's & 70's and not a hint of vinegar syndrome with any of them. I concur with Doug - it's all about the climate and storage conditions that film are exposed to. I've been keeping my film and equipment in a climate-controlled basement for nearly 15 years now and have not had any issues with degradation. I also keep my 16mm prints in cardboard decorative hat boxes and not in plastic or metal cans. I'm convinced film need to be kept in porous containers and, like anything organic, must be allowed to breathe.

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on December 03, 2012, 09:44 PM:

Thank you, guys, for your input and corroborating each other on this. I appreciate it. I also received a PM from another colleague who agrees. So it's clearly a case of metal canisters opened too infrequently. Tis pity - the films are in really clean shape.

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