BEST Super 8mm Sound Digests ... ?

[Joseph Banfield]

"Love at first bite" was also well done, even if the disco number is missing.

[Mike Newell]

Tom, I thought Walton's last release was The Cure. Am I confusing ?

Dominque I think The Cure was Walton’s last release too. Think they might have been bankrupt at that stage. Bought a new print of Larry from LGP.


Other great digests were The Desert Fox story of Rommel with James Mason and The Seven Ups told the story and had the great car chase. One of those titles I have bought in 8mm DVD and now Blu Ray. Key Largo 400 is also great edit of the entire film as is Treasure of Sierra Madre 2x400. Another two to consider would be The Great Escape and Magnificent 7 2x400 although prints no matter were you bought and format could be an issue.

Hitchcock Universal 8 400 releases of Psycho, The Birds and Frenzy are also great cuts. Sorry Family Plot doesn't count awful all formats.

[Brian Fretwell]

The think "The Cure" was actually the last set of prints that Walton had done, but was a reprint for an Arab state export, as it showed the perils of drinking alcohol, that never happened (I'm sure Larry said that). Possibly The Muppet Movie was the last one they edited and had as a "new release".

[Osi Osgood]

Thanks 4 answering that, Melvin. Yes very nice. Spielberg is renown for actually being involved in the digests of his films back on the demanding final word on the edits. Perhaps that's why the digests of his films are so good.

[Lee Mannering]

Derann RAISE THE TITANIC 600ft Scope Stereo. A better edit than the full film with 30 minutes of top end print quality looking pretty amazing on a scope screen. Always loved the film and the endless stories behind it and went to film on S8 the UK locations making for a nice little introduction to the film.

Pearl Harbor SCOPE is a good sequence reel and the stereo sound shines on it.

[Tom Photiou]

Regarding The Muppet 200ft extract, i may well be mistaken on this, perhaps if Barry is looking in from Indi 8 he may be able to throw some light on this.

Another longer edit, 3 x 400ft i put at the top is The Wild Geese, i wish i could find one with decent colour or even better, a full 16mm print.

[David Roberts]

War Of The Worlds, 50"s version from George Pal. Both the 400 and 3x400 great edits including best of the action.Just look out for pathetic screaming femail(Ann Robinson) that dates it rather. You can see the wires holding up the Martian invading craft,but who cares. Wonderful special effects and no CGI.

[David Baker]

Well Phil , this is quite the loaded question . Especially for me .

You must forgive my somewhat biased opinion on this subject , but I will be very honest .

Yes ALL the titles mentioned by all of you are of exception as I agree with you .

A few of you who responded have seen those I am about to mention , some are waiting to see them .

JURASSIC PARK 600ft. ( Poly low-fade , stereo ) is TIED with GODZILLA , KING OF THE MONSTERS 600 ft. ( Poly low-fade , hi-fi/mono )


with a close 2nd CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF 200ft. ( Poly low-fade hi-fi / mono )


BUT the best part about this question is - just wait and see what's coming ............

[Adrian Winchester]

Regarding the last Walton release, Brian is correct about it not being 'The Cure'. I have a 1976 Walton catalogue that this appears in. The LPG booklet about the end of Walton mentions the batch of prints that never left the premises, hence their inclusion with the booklet and film samples.

I've assumed their final release was the Charles and Diana wedding of 29 July 1981. I've found a Walton flyer referring to this (and the video version and a set of slides), and this amazingly says the film will be available from August 1981. They might have just managed it as the film's leader has the date 20/8/81. But even if this was the last release, it was very much a 'one off' and so 'The Muppet Movie' 200' could have been the last conventional one. As I don't have a copy (although I'm seeking one), I'd be interested to know the release number on the box. I have a 4-page Walton brochure that even has some digests of 1980 films on it, and the highest number given to a 200' or 400' release on this is A927 ('Monty Python and the Holy Grail Pt 2').

[Brian Fretwell]

The date on my copy of the 200ft Muppet Movie extract is surprisingly 24/12/80 (very near to Christmas) and number A930.

[Dominique De Bast]

Thanks all, for the precisions regarding Walton.

[Adrian Winchester]

The date on my copy of the 200ft Muppet Movie extract is surprisingly 24/12/80 (very near to Christmas) and number A930.

Thanks, Brian, that's helpful and certainly supports the possibility that it was the last conventional release. I presume it reflects the sales of the 400' version, which has the date 12/7/79. It - and A928 and A929 - may have never appeared on Walton publicity material, because an envelope I received with the above-mentioned items was sent in January 1982. This also had a flyer with "10 more" Tom & Jerry releases, and these have the numbers TJ 21 up to TJ 30. The last three are 'Love that Pup' (TJ 28), 'The Flying Cat' (TJ 29) and 'Tom & Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl' (TJ 30), so it would be interesting to know the date of any of these, although I expect they will be earlier than December 1980.

[Philip Hamilton]

I am very much looking forward to JURASSIC PARK and GODZILLA KNG OF THE MONSTERS - both of which I have ordered from Dave. When I get them they will be the highlight of my collection !

I am going to keep my eyes peeled for the titles that have been mentioned in this thread. THE MUPPET MOVIE is a surprise and I don't think I have ever seen that one listed for sale on eBay. In fact, not many of these titles show up on eBay I guess that is a result of collectors holding on to them.

[Carter Bradley]

Funny story...I won an Ebay auction for the 400' digest of Elvis' "Roustabout," and the seller sent this original film clamshell box, but with "The Muppet Movie" inside. I contacted the seller only to learn that they no longer had any other films, so I added "The Muppet Movie" to my collection and am grateful I did. (I shortly thereafter found a copy of "Roustabout.")

[Melvin England]

Adrian - The date on my copy of "Love That Pup" is 11.12.1980.

With Brians "Muppet Movie" dated 24.12.80 it looks like the Walton guys had a very busy Christmas. (or was it that they were losing themselves in their work to get over the news of the then recent death of John Lennon?)

Philip - If you keep your eyes peeled to Ebay UK they do crop up on there from time to time. And, yes as you will see, the 400' and 200' Muppet extracts CAN be joined together just at the point where, on the 400', where they decide to head for Hollywood (?).