What 8mm films did I watch last night?

[Brian Fretwell]

And for me it had to be the 'scope Tom & Jerry "Happy go Ducky"!

[Oliver Feld]

Of course I had to screen EASTER PARADE. Judy Garland and Fred Astaires legendary performances will last forever

[Douglas Meltzer]

Two Jerry Lewis cutdowns. Film Office's Le Dingue du Palace (The Bellboy), 250'.

Ken Films' Sailor Beware, 200'. Originally a silent release, I've striped it and added sound. The way this and other Ken Paramount digests are edited lead me to believe that there were plans to put these out with sound, but for some reason Ken decided to hold off till their next set of releases.

[Steve Klare]

Monday night, Tuesday night and Tonight:

One of my favorite movies: When the North Wind Blows (6x400'). It's a little special if you are a film fan: it's basically non-existent in North America except on 8 and 16mm.

We do a lot of features with the video projector: the variety and quality are spectacular, but this week we decided to go all-film. It's kind of a tradition I have of watching a multi-reel feature in chapters for a couple of nights, so my son and I got together every night at 10PM and did two reels.

[Osi Osgood]

That's a good sharp print, with good contrast too!

[Lincoln Thorn]

I watched NOTORIOUS with Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant last night! 2x1200ft reels through my ELMO ST-1200HD.

[Lee Mannering]

Reel Collector Favourites was so popular. Imax 70mm opener, Plan 9, Lampoons Xmas, Goldenfinger, STW's, Indy and Carry on screaming. Snappy sequence reel on a pretty full 200ft reel.

A little later REEL COLLECTOR HORRORS will be available 😎 by request.

[Graham Ritchie]

Hi Steve

Spirit of Brookland is one I also have, its really good. I am the same in looking back I should have got some more. I always liked those short films not only with L/L but Pathe News, one being special, in that it was one 200ft released onto a 400 foot reel "Pathe News review of 1965" signed by Bob Walker for the Derann 21 year Anniversary. Other ones from Derann picked up over the years were Gaumont British News. One Movietone reel, is a look behind the scenes of the film industry which includes an awards ceremony with Charles Chaplin plus vintage cameras and film equipment.

Jumping back to "Look At Life" The Last Battleship and Shopping For a Queen are also good ones. Derann really did have an extensive list of short films, ideal to go with the likes of a Tom And Jerry before the start of any feature.

[Steve Klare]

In that list, I also have:

Alpine Rescue
Eagles Nest
Fire over London
Jumping Jets
Under your Feet
Playing Trains
Spirit of the Brooklands

-all really great short films.

Graham, "Spirit" is one I hope you have! By the time that film was made, Brooklands was a few decades past being a motor race track and was well established as a center of aircraft manufacturing. They show the early history starting with auto racing, talk about the race track closing during WW2 and how it never opened again, and then move on to the modern era of building jet aircraft: a really impressive machine shop cutting an aircraft bulkhead out of thick aluminum plate. They finish up with the prototype Vickers Super VC10 taking off on an early test flight.

-just strikes me as something you'd like!

(There are still a few on that list I regret not buying back when they were easy to get!)

[Graham Ritchie]

For years I subscribed to the FFTC and the regular news letter, a must back then if you wanted to keep up with things. My biggest mistake was after Derann closed dumping years and years of news letters "big mistake" however a couple have survived so I had a look at them today, and boy were we lucky to have such a vast choice of Super8 films.

Anyway this surviving news letter listed some of the Look at Life films which includes Holiday Camp, also I had a quick look through my old Derann catalogue, always worth a look and its listed there as well. There were far more Look at Life films out there than listed here. I bought Village Of Violins locally during the late 1970s. I still have a few more L/L from those times, long before I dealt with Derann and are still worth watching every so often.

"Look at Life" and "Movietone News in Cinemascope" plus many "Pathe Pictoral" shorts were a great introduction to any film show

[Chip Gelmini]

I have heard of the look at life series, but never Holiday camp title specifically

[Steve Klare]

18. HOLIDAY CAMP History of this British institution 1 x 200' Col Price code E

This one was in the Derann catalog (and website) to the very last. I've always enjoyed these: they are very interesting, but at the same time kind of lighthearted. Some favorites: Draw the Fires, The Big Blow, Sounds of a City and Shopping for a Queen.

They were pretty easy to come by 15 years ago, but here and there another one shows up and I'm pleased to have it.

[Brian Fretwell]

DCR FIlms of the Isel of Wight also released "Look at Life" films perhaps before Derann, as when they closed Derann took on several of their titles.
Hundreds (literally) were also released on multi-DVD sets by Netwrok DVD in the UK, which sadly went out of business last year.

[Graham Ritchie]

As Graham stated above, they are "Look At Life" films. I am surprised Vitali and Chip, that you have never heard of them "Look At Life" have been popular on Super8 for as long as I can remember.

[Graham Sinden]

Vitali and Chip,

What Graham projected was the roughly 8 minute Look at Life documentary short also called Holiday Camp which Derann printed. These look at life's were similar in style to Pathe Pictorials just all different subjects. Rank made over 500 Look at Life shorts to be shown in their cinemas, every one in colour. Derann printed a selection of them from the Rank deal, all supplied on a 200ft reel.