8mm Forum: Miracles can happen

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Topic: Miracles can happen

Oliver F. R. Feld
Master Film Handler

Posts: 447
From: Berlin, Germany
Registered: Jan 2010

posted May 31, 2018 09:05 AM

Some years ago I‘ve bought a collection of ELMO reels and metal cans with „unknown“ content (mostly private home made) at eBay on a very good price and on one of the reels was written in a very nice handwriting „Blutige Hochzeit - 2. Akt“. Meaning „part 2“ of the Claude Chabrol masterpiece „Les Noces Rouges“.
I watched it and it is a fabulous cinematic jewel with a great cast like Stephane Audran and Michel Piccoli. I was sad because I knew that part 1 will be lost.
Now, some days ago I found another seller who was going to sell ELMO reels with parts of old features at eBay. And I couldn’t believe my eyes: on one of the metal cans was in the same handwriting „Blutige Hochzeit - 1. Akt“! Meaning: the missing part of „Les Noces Rouges“.
It arrived yesterday on a price of 37 Euros and it is ORIGINAL the missing reel!
2 reels from 2 very different sellers: this is what I call a miracle!
How were the parts been separated? How big was the chance to be re-united?
Did something like this happen to someone of my fellow collectors?
Would be great to collect some stories...
Regards
Oliver

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Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013

posted May 31, 2018 09:19 AM

That's a great story.

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Allan Broadfield
Master Film Handler

Posts: 452
From: Bromley, Kent
Registered: Nov 2010

posted May 31, 2018 10:47 AM

My 'scoop' isn't quite as amazing as that, but was as exciting for me. It involves 16mm (sorry, I know this is the 8mm column).
I've long been a fan of the 1930's Arthur Wontner Sherlock Holmes films, which are available on DVD but in most cases terrible copies. I'd heard somewhere that the Sherlock Holmes society of London had auctioned off their 16mm prints and thought how great it would have been to get a chance of having them.
To my surprise some time later one of them appeared on ebay which I succesfully bid for and after collecting it found that he had the other prints which I also bought, all at very reasonable prices.
The picture quality, incidentaly knocks spots off the DVD's

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Oliver F. R. Feld
Master Film Handler

Posts: 447
From: Berlin, Germany
Registered: Jan 2010

posted May 31, 2018 12:06 PM

Absolutely a collectors dream come true

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Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013

posted May 31, 2018 12:37 PM

I wondered why the Sherlock Holmes Society sold these irreplaceable films. I saw that some were auctioned at Christies, including a 35mm print, which fetched only peanuts. I bought the Pilot episode of the 1954 TV series, and the seller told me he had bought it at auction, but didn't have a projector. He also had other films for sale, including footage of the Society meetings.

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Mark Mander
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1236
From: Dunstable ,Bedfordshire.
Registered: Jan 2005

posted May 31, 2018 01:44 PM

Well done Oliver,nice to hear story like this ,goes to show you never know what you'll find in this hobby,Mark

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Elmo GS1200 1.0 lens
Elmo ST1200HD 1.1 lens
Sankyo 800 1.0 lens
Elmo 16CL
Elf NT1

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Rob Koeling
Master Film Handler

Posts: 399
From: Brighton, UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted May 31, 2018 02:44 PM

Great story! More feelgood stories like this please!

- Rob

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Brian Fretwell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1785
From: London, UK
Registered: Jun 2014

posted May 31, 2018 02:49 PM

For many years I had an incomplete print of "Hello Dolly" that was from White box specials labelled as check prints. A couple of years ago I bought the missing reel from CHC - it was also a check print!!!

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Mal Brake
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 591
From: Neath, South Wales, UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted May 31, 2018 03:56 PM

My story isn't in the same league but it's eerie enough, though. Some years ago, myself and two collector friends travelled from south Wales to a BFCC in Ealing (200 miles each way) and the conversations were about what we were hoping to buy. My wish was to find a 4x400 print of The Quatermass Xperiment. After many fruitless searches I had just about given up locating the film so I bought some 1200ft spools and cans from the Rake Films stand. Right at the end of the day I had one last look and there on Perry's stand was Quatermass. Ian had just put it on display for £40 so I snapped it up. Back home the next day I decided to mount the film on to a 1200ft spool randomly grabbing one in its can from the pile I had bought. The previous owner had written on the edge of the can.... The Quatermass Xperiment.

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I'm gonna live forever or die trying

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Panayotis A. Carayannis
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 969
From: Athens,Greece
Registered: Jul 2008

posted May 31, 2018 04:19 PM

I have two such stories. Several years ago,a friend of mine found at the flea market half of a Bomba the Jungle Boy feature. Later, when our group grew a little,one of our newer friends told us that he had found half of a Bomba feature...and it turned out to be the other half! Second,and more amazing: In one of my earlier visits to the BFCC I bought from the bring-and-buy the silent feature Down to the Sea in Ships.Back home I discovered that at 4x400 reels it was not complete,it was missing the end.Several years later,at another BFCC,I saw on the wall behind Patrick Moyles,responsible for the b&b and present editor of "Flickers" magazine,a sole reel,which at closer inspection turned out to be the fifth reel of Ships! He told me it had been misplaced by someone and they had kept it separately,for several years (!)in case someone asked! So I got it and now I have it complete!

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Oliver F. R. Feld
Master Film Handler

Posts: 447
From: Berlin, Germany
Registered: Jan 2010

posted May 31, 2018 04:23 PM

Absolutely wonderful stories!!!! Wow!!!

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