8mm Forum: Atlas Films

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Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on November 22, 2008, 05:22 PM:

I always thought that Atlas films was a little company releasing 200ft black and white silent cheapies with incredibly bad image quality, but I get the feeling that they did far more than that.

Can anybody give some history on this company, AND what they released in fact?

Posted by Brian Hendel (Member # 61) on November 22, 2008, 06:08 PM:

I'm very nostalgic for Atlas films... the camera/electronics shop in New York City's Penn Station always had many of them for sale (store is still there, films are not, of course). I don't know how they got away with it - but they used to steal other people's digests (ie. Columbia's Sinbad films), change the name, and released them in their own boxes! They also released, New York souvenir films, really cool FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN reels that had different scenes than the Castle release, and excerpts from George Zucco's DEAD MEN WALK, with various titles. There were also various cartoons (Popeye) and Laurel and Hardy shorts. I would love to see a list of all their releases if anyone has one...

Posted by Panayotis A. Carayannis (Member # 1220) on November 22, 2008, 06:58 PM:

I ,too, am very much interested in those older US companies like Atlas,Capitol, Adventure and Hollywood Film Enterprises but have never been able to obtain lists of their films so, please if anybody has any,do contribute,PLEASE ! !

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on November 23, 2008, 06:44 PM:

Osi,

Although I have quite a few Atlas prints I have never come across a catalog. I was shocked when I picked up a sound/color Atlas release of "Popeye meets Ali Baba". Perhaps if everyone listed the Atlas titles they own we'll have a better idea.

Doug

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on November 23, 2008, 08:38 PM:

Doug ...

You don't think you'd potentially, eh, PART with that Popeye print?

By the way, could that print of "Popeye Meets Ali baba" potentially be manufactured by another company but "reboxed" and released by Atlas?

That would occasionally happen with some film distributors.

Posted by Panayotis A. Carayannis (Member # 1220) on November 24, 2008, 04:39 PM:

Osi
I also thought that Atlas released only short silent one reelers but then,their generic box, pictures, among the usual Laurel and Hardies,Chaplins,Popeyes and Felixes some very Hanna-Barbera looking cats,so they must have been in business at least until the mid-sixties.Anyway,one of my prized possessions is an Atlas print,in its original box,of CHARLEY ON THE FARM ,a 1919 Chaplin cartoon by Pat Sullivan.So one of the reasons I want to see an Atlas catalog,is to see if there are any more Chaplin cartoons hidden among their Chaplin one reelers !

Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on February 03, 2009, 10:13 AM:

There's a copy of "Beasts Unleashed" apparently a 50' extract from "FMTW" released by Atlas in the ob on Fleebay. Just how did ATLAS get away with printing copyrighted material like the Universal Monster titles? Castle was on Park Avenue and Atlas (as I recall) was only about 12 blocks away (a 20-minute walk)in Manhattan and Select Film Library was another 20 minute walk away just eastward. I actually went to Select one day when I was about 12 and I remember being so disappointed. It was just a hole in a wall with a glass window in an office building and some grouchy old birds smoking ciggys and wondering what the hell I wanted and why was I even there - no showroom or films on display anywhere. How could the Castle execs not just "pop" in on Atlas and not start "snooping" around? I know I would have.

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