8mm Forum: Let's Talk About T-Bird's

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Topic: Let's Talk About T-Bird's

D'Arcy More
Film Handler

Posts: 92
From: Peterborough Ontario
Registered: Jun 2003

posted November 18, 2003 02:19 PM

Does anyone know anything about Kingsley of Thunderbird Films? Is he still around? What happened to their leftover stock? I visited their er um.........."showroom" back in 1987 when I first went to California. It was in an industrial park area and was quite run down. According to their old catalogs they released chapters of serials including Lugosi's Return of Chandu, Shadows of Chinatown and S.O.S. Coastguard but alas I have yet to even see a used print on Super 8 available. Another print they released (according to their catalog) was a half hour TV show called The Left Fist Of David starring Vincent Price and Peter Lorre. Video prints I have seen but Super 8 sound prints on second hand lists? Never. Can anyone shed some light on this subject? [Confused]

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John Whittle
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 791
From: Northridge, CA USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted November 18, 2003 09:43 PM

Thunderbird is long gone along with most of the "Hollywood" distributor/dealers like Gaines 16 Films, Budget Films, Movie Wonderland.

Thunderbird was one that ran afoul of the law several times for various problems. Nowadays they wouldn't be able to run their "lab" due to California environmental requirements.

Most of the titles Thunderbird offered were PD and the quality of his sources material was "variable" at best. With the arrival of videotape the market radically changed.

Last heard, "Mr. Thunderbird" had passed away in Mexico, but I may have have him confused with someone else because the name I remember with Thunderbird was Tom Donnahue.

John

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Steven Sigel
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 701
From: Massachusetts
Registered: Jun 2003

posted November 18, 2003 10:42 PM

John is right - Thunderbird prints were wildly variable -- their negatives for some of the old classics - ("Birth of a Nation", "Nosferatu" and "The 39 Steps" come immedaitely to mind) were great; while other stuff - like the Star Trek episode dupes, were often horrible.....

I think they did a lot more 16mm than super 8 - which is probably why you don't see many of their titles around on super 8....

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Joe Caruso
Film God

Posts: 4105
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted November 19, 2003 08:52 AM

I think it was Dunnahoo - T-Bird DID have fine masters for their shorts (Super8), again PD Leon Errol and Edgar Kennedy RKO efforts; the only exception was a washed-out print of "A Panic In The Parlor" (1941) Errol, which just sold on EBAY the other day - Their "Dentist" was excellent as it contained the fade-in to the Paramount clouds-opening, Sennett card and main titles, unlike Blackhawk which jump-cut to the main titles - excellent quality of course, but I like things complete and was fortunate enough to locate a T-bird of "Dentist" years ago - I have seen SOS Coast Guard on EBAY (again, 2 years ago maybe) - prints are around - Place ads in BIG REEL and COMING ATTRACTIONS, things 'll happen eventually - T-bird's were nice, I really liked Art Edlestein at FAMOUS FILMS, now there was a selection! - Shorty

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James N. Savage 3
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1375
From: Washington, DC
Registered: Jul 2003

posted November 21, 2003 06:55 AM

I never really dealt with T-Bird, but I have a catalog from Morecraft Films (U.S.) from the late eighties that had tons of neat public domain films and trailer reels and cartoons in both 16mm and super 8. Does anybody out there know of this company? Nick.

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Paul Suchy
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 199
From: Westchester, IL, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted November 21, 2003 04:16 PM

In the mid to late 70's, my friends and I had about 25 reels of Thunderbird trailers. The quality varied, but overall they were decent. The thing we got a kick from was how they grouped their trailers: Disney's SNOW WHITE shared the same reel with MYRA BREKINRIDGE which was rated X. We still laugh over the HAWN/PRESLEY reel; it sounded as though Goldie Hawn and Elvis were a famous screen team. Their best seller of the trailer series was probably THE GODFATHER/JAWS/THE EXORCIST-my three friends and I all owned that one.

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Paul Suchy

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D'Arcy More
Film Handler

Posts: 92
From: Peterborough Ontario
Registered: Jun 2003

posted November 22, 2003 09:15 AM

By the time I visited Thunderbird Films, back in 1987, they were already Morecraft films. I think Kingsley purchased the biz off of that Tom fella. I remember going in one morning after a night of rainfall and it was still a bit drizzly. There was a bucket on the floor catching the leaky ceiling. I asked Kingsley for some titles from his catalog and he passed me the catalog and said "Here, take this and I will go in the back room and you shout the titles you want and I will let you know if we have them or not". It was kind of a humourous moment playing Super 8 Roulette! I came out of there with one feature (The Midnight Girl from 1925 which is an early silent drama of Lugosi's....print was striped but no music track recorded), a Frankenstein trailer reel, that oddball pseudo S & M short Ed Wood did with the Lugosi voiceover, plus the grainy trailer reel Hitchcock hosted for Psycho. I was a happy camper dropping about $200 in his shop. I just now wish I had of picked up some other stuff that he DID have in stock. [Roll Eyes]

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James N. Savage 3
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1375
From: Washington, DC
Registered: Jul 2003

posted November 22, 2003 11:27 AM

Thanks for that info D'Arcy! I never knew that Morecraft and T-Bird were basically one and the same. I did'nt even know that T-Bird existed until a saw it refered to on a used sale list in the late eighties. I remember seeing some classic old stuff listed in the catalog, like "Daughter of Horror" and Roger Corman's "Creature from the Haunted Sea", as well as many unique exploition trailers. Sure wish someone knew where all the negatives were. Nick.

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Michael De Angelis
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1261
From: USA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted November 22, 2003 03:21 PM

A fellow collector friend told me once that he believed that Morgan who ran Morecraft Films was originally the lab man for T. Dunawho (sic).
Not to sound slanderous or to create libel, but it was told to me that he was incarcerated and it has been about 3 years since his passing.

On the other hand, about 17 years ago, I had the TV playing: The Peoples Court, while reading the newspaper one afternoon.

The voice over announces a young man that was suing Morgan of Morecraft; to get his money returned in back rent because he wanted to break his apartment lease from Morgan.
The young man believed that Morgan was making "passes" at him, and the young man wanted out.

--------------------
Isn't it great that we can all communicate about this great
hobby that we love!

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Joe Caruso
Film God

Posts: 4105
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted November 24, 2003 06:50 AM

Another nice mess

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